More cricket to hit the airwaves as CA extends audio rights deals

More cricket will be broadcast across the airwaves with Cricket Australia announcing an expanded suite of audio rights deals for the next seven summers. 

The ABC, SEN and Triple M, through its parent company Southern Cross Austero (SCA), have all extended the amount of cricket they will cover in a deal that aligns with CA's broadcast rights with the Seven Network and Foxtel in running through to 2030-31. 

Radio coverage for matches in Australia

 

ABC: All men's and women's internationals, WBBL and BBL

 

SEN: All men's and women's internationals, WBBL and BBL

 

TripleM: All men's internationals, three women's T20 internationals

 

All radio streams available for free via cricket.com.au and the CA Live app

The agreement means enhanced radio coverage of women's T20 International cricket, which will be heard on Triple M for the first time, with more networks carrying coverage of both men's and women's Big Bash Leagues. 

The Triple M network will now cover three women's T20 internationals each season, as well as adding men's T20 internationals to the existing coverage of men's Test and ODI cricket. 

The ABC, which will have been carrying cricket coverage for 99 years when this deal is up for renewal, will expand its coverage to include KFC BBL matches, as well as continuing to cover all men's and women's internationals and the Weber WBBL. 

And SEN will now add coverage of the WBBL in addition to its coverage of all men's and women's internationals and the BBL. 

The audio feeds from ABC, SEN and Southern Cross Austero will all continue to be available through the CA Live app and cricket.com.au. 

The audio rights also include coverage on the networks' own digital platforms.

SCA chief executive John Kelly said the network was delighted to extend and expand its coverage to the women's game and promised "the network’s trademark irreverent banter".

Australia's women will play six T20 internationals at home this summer, with three games against New Zealand between 19 and 24 September played in Mackay and Brisbane that will serve as important preparation for the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh. 

Alyssa Healy's team also play three T20I matches against England as part of the multi-format women's Ashes series in January. 

That series, including an historic Test match at the MCG on the 90th anniversary of the first Test between the women's sides, is a marquee event of the summer. 

Australia's men's team host Pakistan for a series of white-ball fixtures in November before the blue ribband five-Test Border-Gavaskar series against India that starts in Perth on November 22. 

There is renewed vigour about the Big Bash Leagues this summer too, with shortened seasons and revised rules around international player contracting. 

The WBBL begins on October 27 while the BBL starts December 15. 

CA's Executive General Manager, Business and Legal Affairs, Kate Ingber, said the governing body was "delighted to extend and enhance our audio partnerships with the ABC, SEN and Southern Cross Austereo for a further seven years as we enter an exciting period for the game. 

"Cricket is the sound of summer and we are fortunate to have partners who will provide such knowledgeable and passionate coverage of huge events including the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Women’s and Men’s Ashes and the Big Bash Leagues across their stations and digital platforms."

Commentary line-ups are yet to be confirmed, but in a recent post on X renowned ABC caller Jim Maxwell said had "mainly" retired but is "still doing Test cricket" for the national broadcaster.