MUMBAI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Nimbus have struck an agreement under which the latter will have the broadcast rights for all international Twenty20 matches to be played in India. “We have struck a separate deal with Nimbus to broadcast the international Twenty20 matches hosted by BCCI. Considering the T20 matches are very limited, it interested no other broadcaster,” BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi told ET.
BCCI sources said that while there was no rights fee per se for these matches, two parties agreed upon the financial terms and conditions after several rounds of discussions.
They also agreed to amend Nimbus’ contract. It must be noted that the original tender for the BCCI rights, which Nimbus bagged in 2005 for $612 million, did not include the T20 format. The $612-million deal only included international Test and ODI matches apart from domestic cricket. A top BCCI source said that Nimbus would pay BCCI about 50-60% of an ODI fee per match. While ODI fees differ from series to series, a ballpark of what Nimbus pays the Board of Control for Cricket in India per match falls in the range of about Rs 25 -30 crore.
A Nimbus spokesperson confirmed that all T20 international matches staged by the BCCI were part of the rights granted to Nimbus but declined to furnish any details. BCCI is still in the process of scheduling Twenty20 matches. However, the number of international T20 games that can be played at home are very limited. International Cricket Council also wants to safeguard the 50-over game, which after T20, seems to have lost its flavour amongst audiences.
Meanwhile, the government of India issued a notification declaring all official One-Day and Twenty20 matches played by Team India as of “high public interest” for which the private broadcasters would have to share the feed with Prasar Bharti.
Meanwhile, Nimbus has objected to the BCCI going in for a bid for its home league — Indian Premier League (IPL) — rights, and has told the cricket board that this in turn would materially affect its contract with BCCI. Nimbus has asked for a 20% reduction in the licence fee, which accounts for the domestic component of the entire $612-million deal. Nimbus has asked for a $120-million reduction.
BCCI sources said that while there was no rights fee per se for these matches, two parties agreed upon the financial terms and conditions after several rounds of discussions.
They also agreed to amend Nimbus’ contract. It must be noted that the original tender for the BCCI rights, which Nimbus bagged in 2005 for $612 million, did not include the T20 format. The $612-million deal only included international Test and ODI matches apart from domestic cricket. A top BCCI source said that Nimbus would pay BCCI about 50-60% of an ODI fee per match. While ODI fees differ from series to series, a ballpark of what Nimbus pays the Board of Control for Cricket in India per match falls in the range of about Rs 25 -30 crore.
A Nimbus spokesperson confirmed that all T20 international matches staged by the BCCI were part of the rights granted to Nimbus but declined to furnish any details. BCCI is still in the process of scheduling Twenty20 matches. However, the number of international T20 games that can be played at home are very limited. International Cricket Council also wants to safeguard the 50-over game, which after T20, seems to have lost its flavour amongst audiences.
Meanwhile, the government of India issued a notification declaring all official One-Day and Twenty20 matches played by Team India as of “high public interest” for which the private broadcasters would have to share the feed with Prasar Bharti.
Meanwhile, Nimbus has objected to the BCCI going in for a bid for its home league — Indian Premier League (IPL) — rights, and has told the cricket board that this in turn would materially affect its contract with BCCI. Nimbus has asked for a 20% reduction in the licence fee, which accounts for the domestic component of the entire $612-million deal. Nimbus has asked for a $120-million reduction.
