Projected $68m loss for CA makes TV deals crucial

Gaping loss projections for the 2016-17 home summer have underlined the pivotal importance of Cricket Australia’s forthcoming negotiations for new broadcast deals, both at home and in the spinally lucrative Asian market.

At an otherwise straightforward CA AGM at the MCG on Thursday, a graph presented by the governing body’s new chief financial officer Todd Shand stuck out for its frankness. After posting an A$98 million surplus for 2014-15, and a more modest A$9 million for 2015-16, the projection for this financial year plunged through the floor to the tune of a A$68 million loss for the visits of South Africa and Pakistan.

While CA are in robust financial shape, with cash reserves of nearly $150 million and a well-established four-year revenue cycle to factor in the fluctuations created by inbound summer visitors – essentially India tours bankrolling all others – the sharp change from one year to another made for stark viewing.

Contributors to the figure expected for this summer include increases in areas such as player payments and dividends to the states, plus the targeted investment of around $18m from the Australian Cricket Strategic Growth Fund. David Peever, the CA chairman and former …

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