BCCI has agreed to bear half the loss in revenue incurred by its telecast rights-holder Nimbus as a fall-out of the recently notified Sports Broadcasting Bill.
NEW DELHI: The Cricket Board has agreed to bear half the loss in revenue incurred by its telecast rights-holder Nimbus as a fall-out of the recently notified Sports Broadcasting Bill.
Nimbus, who last year signed a four-year contract with the BCCI to telecast all international matches in India, had claimed a 12 per cent loss in its projected earnings and accordingly had asked the Board to pitch in with six per cent of the amount.
The Board's Working Committee, which met here on Thursday, agreed in principle to Nimbus' request.
The exact figures would be decided by the audit firms of the two parties while Board member Arun Jaitley and Treasurer N Srinivasan will work out the modalities.
A final report on the issue was expected by March 31.
"We have had an amicable solution to the matter and there are no clouds over the contract now. The contract will continue," BCCI Vice-President Rajeev Shukla told reporters after the meeting.
Nimbus clinched the BCCI rights with a bid of Rs. 2700 crore. The private broadcaster had already paid Rs. 550 crore for the matches played in the first season, 2006-07, but had withheld the bank guarantee of Rs. 960 crore for the following season.
The Government recently promulgated an Ordinance making it mandatory for private broadcasters to share live feed of all sports events of national importance with Prasar Bharti.
The Ordinance was subsequently replaced by the Sports Broadcasting Bill.
Nimbus claimed that Doordarshan beaming the signals without encryption and also on its DTH had an impact on its international revenue.
Both the BCCI and Nimbus hoped that the government would look at their recommendations - to encrypt its signals and not telecast the matches on DTH - favourably.
"The ongoing World Cup is not being telecast on the DTH. The Prasar Bharti agreed to do so after the ICC wrote to them," Nimbus chief Harish Thawani said.
"If they have given a mature response to the ICC, I don't see any reason why they would not do so to the home body. If the government agrees to our recommendations, then the figures (in loss-sharing between BCCI and Nimbus) also will be adjusted accordingly."
BCCI Vice-President Rajeev Shukla said a tentative list of venues for the home series against Australia, Pakistan and South Africa next season.
India will play seven ODIs and a Twenty-20 international against Australia in September-October followed by three Test and five one-dayers against Pakistan.
After touring Australia in December-January, the team will host South Africa in three Tests in February-March 2008.
Shukla said the Committee also approved India playing three one-dayers in Ireland and another in Glasgow, Scotland, in June.
"The opposition is not finalised yet. We are in negotiations with South Africa, Sri Lanka and Australia," Shukla said.
The tentative list of venues for international matches in 2007-08:
ODI and Twenty-20 matches (Australia and Pakistan): Kanpur, Mumbai, Gwalior, Guwahati, Bangalore, Mohali, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Faridabad, Jamshedpur, Jaipur, Nagpur and Baroda.
Three Tests v Pakistan: Bangalore, Delhi and Kolkata.
Three Tests v South Africa: Kanpur/Chennai, Ahmedabad and Nagpur.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}