New Delhi, Aug 24 (IANS): With England set to tour Pakistan in October, uncertainties loom over the television broadcast rights for the much-anticipated series. As interest in bilateral cricket series continues to decline globally, securing a deal has proven to be a challenging task.

The initial reserve price set for the series was overly ambitious, causing broadcasters to shy away from negotiations, ESPNcricinfo reported on Saturday.

Reports from The Guardian on Thursday indicated that major UK broadcasters, including Sky and TNT Sport, have shown limited interest in acquiring the rights. Despite these reports, the PCB remains optimistic, dismissing talks of a possible UK blackout as “alarmist.”

“However, insiders from a major broadcasting company said that the PCB’s approach to securing broadcast deals might be hampering their ability to maximise the monetary value of these rights,” ESPNcricinfo quoted a source as saying.

The PCB recently faced a similar challenge when negotiating domestic broadcast rights for Pakistan’s home series between August 2024 and December 2026. The board had set an ambitious reserve price of approximately PKR 3.1 billion (USD 11.2 million).

Ultimately, they were forced to settle for a figure between USD 6 to 6.5 million—significantly lower than their expectations. Sources suggest that the transparency of the bidding process allowed broadcasters to collaborate and agree on a price much lower than the PCB’s valuation.

The eventual winner of the domestic rights were ARY (operating the A Sports channel) and Tower Sports (managing the Ten Sports Network). Despite falling short of their initial target, the PCB highlighted that the final deal was still double what they had achieved in the previous two-year cycle.

However, the discrepancy becomes stark when compared to the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) success in selling broadcast rights in Pakistan. The ICC secured a deal worth approximately USD 25 million for broadcasting six of its major events in 2024 and 2025, including the Men's and Women's T20 World Cups, the Women’s Cricket World Cup, and the ICC Champions Trophy.

The significant gap in valuations, according to a PCB official as quoted by ESPNcricinfo, can be attributed to the unique appeal of ICC events, particularly the guaranteed India-Pakistan matches, which are among the most-watched fixtures in global cricket. Pakistan’s inability to play bilateral series against India remains a major factor in reducing the overall value of their broadcast rights.

With England scheduled to play three Tests in Pakistan in October, time is running out for a broadcasting deal to be finalised. Two years ago, England made history by becoming the first team to whitewash Pakistan in their own backyard.

While the BBC has secured radio rights for the tour, television coverage remains in limbo. Without a deal, England fans might be left without a way to watch their team attempt to repeat the feat.