Cricket Australia has been caught up in a cheating scandal after their captain has admitted to ball-tampering during a test match with South Africa, and it threatens to affect the team’s media rights deals and sponsorship.
A new six-year media rights deal is planned to come into effect next summer but analysts suggest there could be a $200m shortfall compared to Cricket Australia’s $1b target.
In a sport that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull described as “synonymous” with fair play, and for a team associated with an almost sanctimonious approach to its morals, this scandal could really affect the brand of Cricket Australia.
Broadcasters are likely to want protection from such embarrassing PR in the future, and could include “clawback provisions” in any new contracts being drawn up.
It is likely that new sponsorship deals will be affected, but current sponsors could even invoke “disrepute” clauses in order to leave their contracts early.
Cricket is on the cusp of breaking into the lucrative US TV market, and this scandal could put wary executives off.