Tennis fans will need to get used to the prospect of watching the Australian Open on Channel 9 for the first time in 40 years. The big questions for cricket fans now is whether they will have to switch channels to tune into their favourite sport.

Nine Entertainment Co's decision to pay $60 million year for the rights to broadcast the Australian Open for 2020-24 - as revealed by Fairfax Media on Thursday - has upset the status quo for summer sports broadcasting.

Channel Nine has snatched the tennis broadcasting rights away from Channel Seven. AAP

Having lost its stranglehold on the tennis, rival free-to-air broadcaster Seven West Media faces increased pressure to switch to the cricket. At the same time Ten Network, which has had disappointing ratings start to the year, is very keen to secure a marquee summer sport under the new ownership of US network CBS.

This means Nine boss Hugh Marks may decide to walk away from the cricket - a sport the network has not only broadcast for more than 40 years but helped shape under the ownership of the late Kerry Packer. Marks is relatively fresh face at Nine and has none of the emotional attachment to cricket of predecessor David Gyngell who was close to Packer.

Television networks now expect to lose money when they make big sports deals. Nine's offer of $60 million a year to snare the rights to the Australian Open, the Hopman Cup and the Brisbane, Sydney and Hobart Internationals means it will probably lose about $20 million each year (although side deals with social media platforms or pay-TV group Foxtel may reduce that figure). Tennis Australia's existing deal with Seven is worth around $40 million per year.

However, they continue to make big bets on mainstream sports including the football codes because they deliver guaranteed audiences at time when online video streaming businesses such as Netflix and the Nine and Fairfax Media-owned Stan are chipping away at audiences.

The question for Seven and Ten now is how much they are prepared to lose buying the 2019-23 rights to broadcast Test matches, one day internationals and Twenty20 games from Cricket Australia, which would like bids of about $170 million per year (the current deal is around $100 million per year).

Channel Nine has won the Australian Open tennis broadcast rights from rival television network Seven, starting from 2020.

There will be changes for viewers too. A question mark remains over whether key tennis commentators, such as Grand Slam winners Lleyton Hewitt and Jim Courier, will transition from Seven to Nine.

Seven, Nine and Ten are locked in a battle to win cricket's broadcasting rights. AP

It is understood Seven recently resubmitted its bid for the cricket, as did Nine and Ten, after the networks were told their offers were not acceptable. If Nine does not secure cricket rights, this would have left it without any sport to broadcast in the 2019 summer.

In a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange, Mr Marks said the network was "excited" to have achieved the rights to premium tennis.

"The timing of tennis, and the audience demographics, are a perfect fit with Nine’s audiences and advertisers."

Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley, in the market announcement, described it as a "landmark deal" .

There are components within this new agreement which we believe will help us further grow our events and the sport of tennis. Tennis Australia's Craig Tiley

"Four years ago, we brought the host broadcast for all our events in-house and this success has

allowed us to unlock even more value in our domestic media rights," Mr Tiley said.

A statement from a Seven spokesman said the network had "delivered so many milestones to grow the game".

“But we have been consistent and steady in what we have said about the economics of sports rights - the deal has to make commercial sense or we will step away.”