State broadcaster Pakistan Television on Tuesday announced that it had secured domestic broadcasting rights to all Asian Cricket Council (ACC) events from 2025 to 2027.
“PTV Sports proudly announces the acquisition of television rights in Pakistan for all ACC events from 2025 to 2027!” it said in a post on Instagram.
It said the events included in the package were the Men’s Asia Cup 2025 and 2027, Women’s Asia Cup 2026 and the U19 and Emerging Asia Cup tournaments.
The Men’s Asia Cup is scheduled to be held from September 9 to 28 at its new venue — the United Arab Emirates — where it was shifted from original hosts India, due to Pakistan-India political tensions and also due to strains between India and Bangladesh.
Dawn previously learnt that this year’s Asia Cup was facing a fresh challenge from the broadcaster.
A highly exorbitant rate set for Pakistan’s region by the official broadcaster of the Asia Cup based in India, plus the uncertainty prevailing over the pinnacle clash of the event between Pakistan and India, the chances were bleak that any sports channel in Pakistan could buy the broadcasting rights for the continental showpiece.
According to well-informed sources, Asia Cup’s official broadcaster had set a significantly higher rate for Pakistan’s region. It was learnt that the broadcaster, having secured Pan-Asia broadcast rights in a $170 million deal valid until 2031, was demanding that Pakistani broadcasters pay a staggering 25 per cent of the total broadcasting rights value, whereas the country was contributing no more than 10pc of the event’s regional broadcast worth.
“A 10-12pc value rate for Pakistan’s region is decided in the books of the ICC and the ACC but the Indian broadcaster is demanding a very high rate from Pakistan’s sports channels that are interested in covering live matches.
“It ultimately may force all Pakistan-based channels, either to make a joint consortium to buy the rights or to quit the race altogether,” one of the officials close to the situation had told Dawn on the condition of anonymity.
“They [Indian broadcasters] are over-leveraged and gambling with market stability. If this backfires, the repercussions could destabilise the entire ecosystem,” the official had added.
He had continued: “The consortium [of Pakistan sports channels] may agree to pay higher rate but there is no clarity if an Indo-Pak match will be played [during the Asia Cup].”
With television advertising revenue in Pakistan down more than 22pc year-on-year, and corporate sponsorship budgets in freefall, these inflated demands from the (Asia Cup) broadcaster appeared not only unrealistic, but dangerously detached from commercial reality, sources were claiming.
Another point of worry for Pakistan sports channels was also increased manifold as the Indian broadcasters had sold out the Asia Cup digital rights to a Pakistan-based consortium for approximately $4.3m.
In case India and Pakistan reach the Asia Cup final, they will have played three matches against each other in the event, a big deal for broadcasters.
“[The] Indian cricketers are facing pressure from their fans at home, creating a situation which may compel India’s top players to refuse to play the Asia Cup or even the BCCI to quit as hosts,” the source had added.
“In such a negative situation prevailing [currently] while time is running short to meet the Indian broadcasters’ demand, it does not seem possible for a single sports channel in Pakistan to strike the [broadcasting] deal on these [higher] rates.
“While the negotiations are on with the Asia Cup’s official broadcaster, it is not ready to demand less from Pakistan’s region even in case there is no Pakistan-India clash in the continental event,” the source had revealed.
In the past, when a Pakistan-India bilateral series was part of the ICC’s decided schedule of activities, the Pakistan Cricket Board had to sign a deal with broadcasters for the entire calendar for two different likely scenarios — first, if India and Pakistan play in a bilateral series and second, if they do not face each other.
Also, a PTV official, on the condition of anonymity, had told Dawn that uncertainty was prevailing for Pakistan over the Asia Cup broadcasting rights.
“In negotiations with the official broadcasters, we are trying to resolve the matter to ensure Pakistan fans watch live matches of the Asia Cup. However, the situation is tricky and no one can say what will happen in the end,” the PTV official had said.
