The Seven Network and Foxtel have won the bidding war for cricket’s television rights, ending the four-decade relationship between the sport and the Nine Network.

Cricket Australia (CA) chief James Sutherland announced the six-year deal in Sydney on Friday afternoon, after the Nine and Ten Networks confirmed they’d lost the rights.

“We are genuinely excited for our new partnership and look forward to working with them as we grow cricket as Australia’s favourite sport,” Mr Sutherland said.

“The amount of cricket that will be broadcast extensively across the summer between Fox and Seven will be the highest it has ever been. On top of that there will be more cricket on free to air television than there has ever been before.”

The deal – worth $1.182 billion over six years, according to Mr Sutherland – is a coup for CA, especially after fears last month’s ball-tampering saga could affect the rights value.

Seven’s share is $450 million over the period, with Foxtel paying the balance.

The Ten Network has lost the coveted rights to the Big Bash League, with Tests and 43 of the 59 BBL matches to be simulcast between Fox Sports and Seven.

Fox Sports will exclusively showcase home international one-day and Twenty20 matches, along with the remaining 16 games of the BBL as part of a dedicated cricket channel during summer.

In total, about 80 per cent of all international cricket will still be available via free-to-air, with CA still trumpeting more cricket content will be available on commercial networks than ever before.

Mr Sutherland said CA “went through a number of parties that were interested in our rights and it has been a rigorous process”.

“It has been a long process. We are appreciative of all the interest that the parties have shown in our rights. Not going to go into details of the negotiations and how we arrived at this outcome. Suffice to say we are very comfortable with the process that we have worked through,” he said.

“Cricket’s been through a tough couple of weeks but we know cricket is an extremely resilient sport,” Mr Sutherland said.

“We’ve obviously got some rebuilding to do but we’ve spoken to both Fox and Seven about it and … they are committed to us rebuilding that trust and confidence not just through CA as an organisation and a sport but also through our players.”

What the deal means for fans:

The broadcasting breakdown. Photo: Cricket.com.au

The deal represents a 67 per cent financial increase on the previous deal, which is believed to have been worth $600 million over five years.

The joint deal with free-to-air and pay TV complies with Australia’s anti-siphoning rules and follows the lead of a number of other cricket nations including England, India, South Africa and New Zealand.

Nine’s loss of cricket comes after it secured the rights to the Australian summer of tennis from Seven, beginning from 2020.

It means the next international summer’s cricket fixtures will be the first to be played in Australia not broadcast by Nine since the late Kerry Packer took the game into the modern era.

“Nine is immensely proud of our decades long association between Wide World of Sports and the game of cricket in this country,” a Nine spokesperson said.

“We wish Cricket Australia and its new broadcast partners well for the future success of the game.

“Cricket will continue to be a part of Nine’s schedule into the future with current deals in place covering the next Ashes series from England in 2019, the ODI World Cup in the UK in the same year and in 2020 the T20 World Cups to be held in Australia.”

On Friday morning, Network Ten chief executive Paul Anderson said Ten was “disappointed” their offer had been rejected, after having televised the emergent Big Bash League for the past four summers.

“Network Ten turned the Big Bash League into the television phenomenon it is today and one of the most popular sports in Australia, a sport that all Australians were able enjoy for free,” Mr Anderson said in a statement.

“We had planned to extend that innovation to other forms of the game.”

Foxtel last broadcast the Big Bash League in 2012-13, when their deal also included other domestic competitions including the 50-over tournament and Sheffield Shield final.

– with AAP