South Africa struggling to secure UK TV deal to screen England Test series

Cricket South Africa has yet to secure a UK television rights deal for England’s marquee Test series next winter with Sky Sports declining an offer to renew a long-term contract that expired last year.

Sky’s apparent reluctance to extend a relationship that began more than 30 years ago has left CSA searching for alternative broadcast partners so that the three Tests over Christmas and three one-day internationals in January are televised in the UK.

The decision is all the more surprising as South Africa also hosts Australia in a three-Test series in October in a time zone that is convenient to British audiences, and reflects the dwindling value of bilateral international cricket.

TNT Sports has made a habit of buying rights rejected by Sky in the past, including last winter’s Ashes and those for Test series in India and Pakistan, but are unable to commit at present due to budget pressures and uncertainty over its long-term ownership. Paramount Skydance has agreed a $110bn deal to buy parent company Warner Bros Discovery but it has yet to be approved by United States regulators, leaving TNT in a holding pattern.

Sources at TNT have indicated that while there is interest in England’s South Africa series it is unable to offer the £8m rights fee the broadcaster paid Cricket Australia to secure last winter’s Ashes, which was in itself far below the host board’s initial asking price of £20m.

While the South Africa series is not a priority for Sky at present, it could revisit airing coverage nearer the time.

In another sign of the falling value of cricket rights, Cricket Australia is also yet to secure a UK rights partner for its next domestic season, despite the fact that England will be touring for three one-day internationals and five T20s in November before returning for the 150th anniversary Test in Melbourne in March 2027.

Sky has broadcast live coverage of every England Test series in South Africa since their first post-apartheid tour in 1995-96, but has increasingly moved away from covering overseas tours in recent years, with the exception of ICC events such as the World Cup and T20 World Cup.

In addition to the Ashes, Sky has not bought the rights for series in India, Pakistan, New Zealand and West Indies.

While England’s first Test series in South Africa for seven years is an attractive proposition for cricket fans, with an 8am UK start time also appealing for domestic audiences, the scheduling over a busy Christmas period is challenging for broadcasters.

Sky in particular has invested heavily in the rights for the PDC World Darts Championship, costing £25m a year. The tournament runs from 10 December to 2 January and clashes with the South Africa series, scheduled for 17 December to 7 January, particularly the afternoon sessions at Alexandra Palace.