Cricket Australia's A$81.8m Profit and the 'Significant Loss' Warning: The Real Story Behind Big Bash Privatisation

The report that emerged after Cricket Australia's Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Melbourne said two more states were poised to vote on the privatisation of their Big Bash League (BBL) clubs. The headline read 'two more states poised to vote.' But I rewound the tape until the crowd disappeared—and what I saw there was very different from the headline. Cricket Australia has recorded a net profit of A$81.8 million for the 2026-26 financial year. That figure came after two years of losses. But in the same meeting, the CEO warned that the organisation is heading for 'significant' losses over the next two years because media rights revenue is declining cyclically. This contradiction is the hinge of the entire story. Let's clarify the facts first. Cricket Victoria has applied to sell its 100% stake in the Melbourne Renegades, while it is considering selling only a 49% stake in the Melbourne Stars. The CEO of Cricket Tasmania has said they are 'very keen to test the market' and could sell a 49% minority stake in the Hobart Hurricanes. Western Australia Cricket (WA) has shown a 'very open' attitude to talks regarding the Perth Scorchers but has not yet made a formal proposal. And Cricket New South Wales (NSW) is strongly opposing the 'self-determination' model, in which each state association would decide for itself how much of its club to sell. The first counter-intuitive signal here is that this sale is not about raising 'growth capital' but about 'risk transfer.' CA's A$81.8 million profit rests on two unusually lucrative home series—the Ashes and the ODI/T20I series against India. On the other hand, Test matches finishing inside two days in Perth and Melbourne cost CA A$20 million in lost revenue. That is, the very Test cricket considered the backbone of Australian cricket is now a source of financial pressure. I learned in a winter at the Wankhede, by counting empty seats, that attendance matters no less than the scorecard. The same applies here. The privatisation of the Big Bash is happening precisely when CA's own CEO is forecasting a decline in media revenue. For buyers, this is an entry point in 'distressed timing,' where the seller's need is greater than the buyer's urgency. The second major issue is governance. Former cricketer David Boon has been appointed interim chair of CA, because the previous chair, Lachlan Baird, had support withdrawn by his own state association (NSW) over his stance on privatisation. That is, at the very moment the biggest financial decisions are being made, the board's leadership is temporary. This is a process that could have been avoided. The least-discussed risk concerns the WBBL (Women's Big Bash League). New owners are expected to be in place before the 2027-28 season, and the WBBL licences are part of the same transaction. But no document makes clear how the women's league's funding and scheduling will be protected from the whims of new owners. This is a point that coverage has not addressed. The votes in Tasmania and WA are being presented as a 'wave,' when in reality the three states are at different stages. Cricket Victoria is the only state with a live sales process. Tasmania wants to 'test the market,' and WA is only 'open to talking.' These are three different situations, not a shared movement. There is another story unfolding in Melbourne that is outside the headlines. Cricket Victoria has filed trademarks for 'Rangers,' 'Magic,' and 'Blazers'—possibly to rebrand the Stars into a 'Melbourne'-based identity. But this was paused due to interstate opposition. This shows that the real constraint on the Big Bash's commercial growth is not market demand but federal politics. Privatisation could partially dissolve this constraint. Finally, a question for those who see Big Bash privatisation as 'modernising the game': have you ever considered that when the seller himself is announcing losses for the next two years, on what basis will the buyer set the price? The 100% sale of the Renegades will become the first benchmark for valuation in this sector. And that price will determine the value of stakes in the Stars, Hurricanes, and Scorchers. The tape has not stopped yet; the next six to eight weeks are the real turning point in this whole story.