Cricket Australia has put a tough couple of weeks behind it with a massive new $1.2 billion TV rights deal, which puts ODIs and T20 Internationals behind a pay wall for the first time.

Key points: Cricket Australia's $1.2bn deal with Foxtel and Seven is double the price of the previous long package with Nine

Cricket Australia's $1.2bn deal with Foxtel and Seven is double the price of the previous long package with Nine Plans to take international ODIs and T20s behind Foxtel's paywall could violate anti-siphoning rules

Plans to take international ODIs and T20s behind Foxtel's paywall could violate anti-siphoning rules Seven says the deal is much better value than its Tennis Australia rights, which have been picked by Nine

The joint bid between free-to-air operator Seven West Media and pay-TV's Foxtel divides up coverage of all forms of men's and women's cricket over six years and is double the previous $600 million rights package with the Nine Network.

However, the move to take the 50-over One Day and T20 Internationals behind a pay wall faces significant regulatory hurdles.

Anti-siphoning concerns

Both shorter forms of the international game are included in the Federal Government's anti-siphoning list, which requires that they be available on free-to-air television.

Cricket Australia chief executive James Sutherland said he would be working through the regulatory requirements with the government.

"One Day Internationals will be on Fox Sports and we are working with Fox Sports to come to a landing point for the regulatory requirements," Mr Sutherland said.

"Certainly the [communications] minister is aware of it."

Mr Sutherland said the important point was there would be more cricket than ever on free-to-air television.

"The amount of cricket across Foxtel and Seven, the amount of free-to-air cricket is greater than ever before — there is a commitment to women's cricket, Tests, 23 women's big bash league matches[will now be covered]", Mr Sutherland said.

"We will have more content on television over the next 5 years than ever before.

"Some of this is a significant uplift in revenue, but we have balanced that with an increased amount of cricket being made available to the public," Mr Sutherland said.

Similar to NRL and AFL deals: Fifield

Communications Minister Mitch Fifield said the arrangements are similar to those in place for AFL and NRL matches, where all events are on the anti-siphoning list but some are available exclusively on a subscription broadcaster.

"The Government is pleased that all Test matches and the vast majority of an expanded schedule of Big Bash League matches will remain available free to the public," Senator Fifield said.

"It is for Cricket Australia to explain how the arrangements they have entered into are in the interests of cricket fans and participants."

"The negotiation and allocation of broadcasting rights is entirely a matter for sporting bodies and commercial broadcasters. Government has no role in these negotiations."

Senator Fifield said it was up to the Australian Communications and Media Authority to consider key industry developments to ensure that industry complies with the rules.

"Whilst the anti-siphoning list mandates that broadcasting rights cannot be acquired by a subscription broadcaster unless they have first been acquired by a free-to-air broadcaster, it does not and never has reserved broadcasting rights exclusively for free-to-air broadcasters or required free-to-air broadcasters to acquire rights to these events," he said.

Seven and Fox Sports will broadcast all Tests on home soil as well as simulcast a further 43 Big Bash games. Fox Sports will televise another 16 Big Bash games exclusively.

Women's test cricket and Big Bash League games will be broadcast on both free-to-air and pay-TV platforms.

Domestic one-day matches and the Sheffield Shield final will be carried on Fox Sports.

CA hoping to rebuild reputation

Cricket Australia had been under pressure to deliver a big pay day having asked all parties to resubmit tenders earlier this year after a disappointing first round of bids.

The recent disastrous tour of South Africa, which led to heavy sanctions against captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner and opener Cameron Bancroft over ball-tampering in the midst of a pulverising 3-1 series defeat, did not appear to harm Cricket Australia's negotiating position.

"Cricket has been through a tough couple of weeks, but cricket is resilient," Mr Sutherland said.

"We obviously have a lot of rebuilding to do and we have spoken to our partners about it."

Much better than tennis: Seven

Seven West Media chief executive Tim Worner said it was a great deal for Seven, its viewers and shareholders and the game itself and was more than happy to switch from the network's 40 year relationship with tennis.

"Financially this is a much better deal for Seven West Media than tennis," Mr Worner said.

"You just have got to look at how many hours [we will broadcast] — daytime hours and you get to charge prime-time rates for it."

Mr Worner said the deal guaranteed Seven's audiences for the next 5 years.

"This deal is about certainty, it gives us 400 hours of premium sport. With tennis we had, say 14 nights versus 70 days and nights [with cricket]," Mr Worner said

Investors appear to agree, with Seven West's shares jumping 13 per cent over the day to 58 cents, while Nine's share price didn't budge over the day.

Musical chairs in summer sport broadcasting

It is the first time the Nine Network has lost the cricket rights in 40 years.

Nine Entertainment, which owns the Nine Network, said it also bid for the broadcast rights but lost out.

The company said the decision would not affect its 2018 financial results but it could not say what impact the loss of the broadcast rights will have on its bottom line for 2019.

Sorry, this video has expired Media commentator Peter Cox says major sports have been overpriced for years and Foxtel were desperate.

However, Nine is not totally out of the game for the time being.

It still has deals in place to broadcast the next Ashes series from England, the ODI World Cup in the UK in 2019 and in 2020 the T20 World Cups to be held in Australia.

The Cricket Australia deal is the latest round of an increasingly expensive game of musical chairs in TV sports rights, with the CBS-owned Network Ten again missing out.

"We are disappointed that our bid for the cricket television rights was rejected," Network Ten chief executive officer Paul Anderson said.

"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."

The inflationary spiral in recent deal has been extraordinary.

The Cricket Australia deal represents about a 100 per cent increase on it previous five-year deal with Nine.

Nine's recent Tennis Australia $300 million deal was 50 per cent higher than Seven's five-year deal which just expired, while the consortium of Seven, Foxtel and Telstra's bid upped its AFL rights deal by 67 per cent to a table-topping $2.5 billion over six years.

Breakdown of sporting pay deals