LAHORE: State-owned PTV Sports has secured the non-exclusive broadcast rights for the 2025 and 2027 editions of the Asia Cup for a sum of USD 5.2 million, well-placed sources told Dawn.

The deal was finalised late Tuesday night in Dubai between officials from PTV and the Indian-based official broadcaster of the Asia Cup.

Under the agreement, PTV Sports will be allowed to telecast all matches of both editions.

However, the rights remain non-exclusive, meaning other Pakistani sports broadcasters are still eligible to purchase the same rights independently.

Initially, the three major sports broadcasters in Pakistan had sought to form a consortium to jointly acquire the rights. However, the official broadcaster — an Indian company — set the price for the Pakistan region at an elevated rate, reportedly 25 per cent of the total value. This figure is significantly higher than the 10–12 per cent typically recorded in the ICC and Asian Cricket Council (ACC) benchmarks.

The steep pricing raised concerns that no Pakistani broadcaster would bid, potentially depriving millions of local viewers from watching the event live. But PTV Sports eventually opted to proceed independently after receiving approval from Federal Information Minister Ataullah Tarar.

The 2025 edition of the Asia Cup is scheduled to be held in the UAE from September 9 to 28, having been shifted from India due to ongoing political tensions in the region, particularly between India and Pakistan.

Pakistani broadcasters had also expressed apprehension that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) might either field a second-string side or withdraw from the tournament entirely, amid mounting pressure from a public campaign in India opposing sporting engagement with Pakistan. Such a development, they feared, would dilute the marquee Indo-Pak clash and make the high-cost broadcast rights commercially unviable.

According to sources, the cost of exclusive broadcast rights for the Pakistan region has been set at around USD 12 million by the Indian company.

Earlier, a Pakistani private digital platform had acquired the digital rights for both upcoming editions of the Asia Cup.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2025