Australian cricket fans are at risk of being plunged into a television black hole for Sri Lanka, with no network having yet acquired the rights for the two-Test series.
Three weeks out from the first Test in Galle, AAP has been told that neither Foxtel or any other Australian television broadcaster had so far agreed to show the matches.
The situation comes despite a record-breaking summer, with both Seven and Foxtel trumpeting more viewers for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy than ever before.
A Foxtel Group spokesperson confirmed to AAP on Wednesday that "discussions are ongoing" with Sri Lanka Cricket, but no deal had yet been reached.
The most likely scenario is that the rights will be claimed by an Australian party, with an 11th-hour deal before the first Test starts on January 29 still expected.
But that is not yet locked in, despite Australia being set to name their touring squad on Thursday.
Among those affected would be Test captain Pat Cummins, who has indicated he will likely sit out the series to be home for the birth of his second child.
Foxtel have traditionally shown the majority of Australia's away tours for the past 30 years, with more recent series also being streamed on their Kayo service.
Each bilateral series is reliant on a broadcast deal being struck with the home board, who negotiate fees to showcase games.
Every men's Test tour has been broadcast back to Australia for the past three decades, with the last Test not shown in Australia being the Pakistan tour in 1994.
Streaming giant Amazon have won the rights to ICC events in the 2024-2027 cycle, but their Australian arm are yet to dip their toe into bilateral series.
Foxtel did broadcast Australia's most recent Test series in Sri Lanka in 2022, while a live stream of the matches was on YouTube but not accessible from Australia.
The Pay TV network have not regularly broadcast Test series from Sri Lanka not involving Australia, and therefore do not have a long-running agreement with them.
Foxtel recently agreed to a sale to British-based sports streaming platform DAZN, but that is still be finalised over the first six months of 2025.
SEN have already confirmed they will be on the ground in Sri Lanka after acquiring the radio rights, while ABC are yet to announce if they will send a team.
