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  • First day of ICC Board meeting concludes with unanimous support for key principles

    First day of ICC Board meeting concludes with unanimous support for key principles

    DUBAI: The first day of the International Cricket Council’s Board meetings concluded in Dubai on 28 January with unanimous support for a set of principles relating to the future structure, governance and financial models of the ICC.

     

    The ICC Board unanimously supported the following principles: 

     

    * There will be an opportunity for all Members to play all formats of cricket on merit, with participation based on meritocracy; no immunity to any country, and no change to membership status.  

     

    * A Test Cricket Fund paid equally on an annual basis to all Full Members (except the Board of Control for Cricket in India, Cricket Australia and the England and Wales Cricket Board) will be introduced to encourage and support Test match cricket.

     

    * A larger percentage from the increasing Associate Members’ surplus will be distributed to the higher performing non-Full Members.

     

    * Mutually agreed bi-lateral FTP Agreements which will be legally binding and bankable and will run for the same period as the ICC commercial rights cycle (2015-2023).

     

    * Recognition of the need for strong leadership of the ICC, involving leading Members, which will involve BCCI taking a central leadership responsibility.

     

    * A need to recognise the varying contribution of Full Members to the value of ICC events through the payment of ‘contribution costs’.

     

    * The establishment of an Executive Committee (ExCo) and Financial & Commercial Affairs Committee (F&CA) to provide leadership at an operational level, with five members, including BCCI, CA and ECB representatives. Anybody from within the Board can be elected to Chair the Board and anybody from within ExCo and F&CA can be elected to Chair those Committees. With the ICC undergoing a transitional period that includes a new governance structure and media rights cycle, this leadership will be provided for two years from June 2014 by: a BCCI representative to Chair the ICC Board, a CA representative to Chair the ExCo and an ECB representative to Chair the F&CA.  

     

    * A new company will be incorporated to tender future commercial rights for ICC events.  There will be three major ICC events in each four-year cycle, including the ICC Champions Trophy which will replace the ICC World Test Championship.

     

    * ICC will utilise a more efficient operating model for all ICC events, with a simplified accounting model across ICC income and expenditure to help better manage ICC administrative and event costs.

     

    ICC President Alan Isaac said: “This is an important time for world cricket and it is extremely encouraging that the ICC Board has unanimously supported a set of far-reaching principles that will underpin the long-term prosperity of the global game.

     

    “These principles emphasise the primacy of Test cricket and that for the first time in cricket’s history participation will be based entirely on meritocracy, giving everyone powerful incentives to play better cricket and develop better cricketers. 

     

    “There is more work to be done by the Members in developing their schedules of bilateral cricket while at the ICC we need to work through the detail of the manner in which these principles will be implemented.

     

    “Extensive work will now be undertaken in advance of a follow-up Board meeting next month.”

     

    Isaac also expressed his disappointment with the misconceptions that had been created as a result of a draft position paper produced by three ICC Members being leaked.

     

    “Several months ago I encouraged BCCI, CA and ECB to enter into a constructive dialogue together to help resolve some of the key commercial and governance issues facing the game. These leading cricket nations have worked tirelessly to produce a document which provided the basis for the past few weeks of extremely constructive discussions.

     

    “It is obviously very disappointing that a draft position paper from these Members was leaked as this prompted a debate that ignored the ongoing negotiations between all Members and led to unwarranted criticism of many of those involved in the process.

     

    “The principles agreed today provide clear evidence that through the course of further discussions over the coming weeks we can be increasingly confident in achieving consensus.”

     

    David Richardson, the ICC Chief Executive, added: “An enormous amount of effort has gone into developing a comprehensive set of proposals that include input from all Members.

     

    “The Board has held some very constructive, inclusive, wide-ranging and far-reaching discussions and I am looking forward to bringing to fruition some of the principles that have been proposed and accepted in relation to the cricketing structures of the global game.” 

     

    The ICC Board consists of the chairman or president from each of the 10 Full Members plus three elected Associate Member representatives. Also present at ICC Board meetings is the ICC President, who chairs proceedings, the ICC Chief Executive and the ICC Vice-President.

     

    Alan Isaac                                                      ICC President

    Mustafa Kamal                                               ICC Vice-President

    David Richardson                                          ICC Chief Executive

     

    Zaka Ashraf                                                     Pakistan

    Dave Cameron                                                 West Indies

    Peter Chingoka                                                Zimbabwe

    Giles Clarke                                                     England and Wales

    Jayantha Dharmadasa                                      Sri Lanka

    Wally Edwards                                                  Australia

    Nazmul Hassan                                                Bangladesh

    Imran Khwaja                                                   Associate Member Representative

    Chris Nenzani                                                   South Africa

    Keith Oliver                                                      Associate Member Representative

    Martin Snedden                                                New Zealand

    Neil Speight                                                      Associate Member Representative

    Narayanaswami Srinivasan                               India

  • MSM moves to court over exclusive media rights for IND-NZ cric series

    MSM moves to court over exclusive media rights for IND-NZ cric series

    MUMBAI: Multi Screen Media’s (MSM) sports arm Sony Six bagged the exclusive broadcast rights for the highly anticipated India’s tour of New Zealand just 10 days prior to the first match.

     

    However, after the first One Day International (ODI) which was played at Napier on 19 January where the Kiwis decimated the boys in blue by a margin of 24 runs, MSM discovered that few website operators and a radio operator were providing live and contemporaneous text and audio commentary and detailed ball-by-ball update of the match without obtaining any authorisation from MSM.

     

    While ESPNCricinfo was providing live and simultaneous text commentary over the internet, Cricbuzz was providing audio and text commentary online, and RadioOne was providing audio commentary through internet and mobile. Since the Network has exclusive copyright over the content, MSM moved the Delhi High Court (HC) against these three entities seeking inter alia for permanent injunction restraining violation of its exclusive media rights, damages and rendition of accounts.

     

    The New Zealand Cricket Board had granted exclusive media rights including television, internet, mobile and data rights pertaining to the India tour of New Zealand cricket matches series being played in January/February 2014 to Multi Screen Media along with its affiliates (MSM) for telecast in the Indian subcontinent.

     

    MSM general counsel Ashok Nambissan says, “We are happy that the Hon’ble High Court has granted us an injunction preventing the flagrant violation of the exclusivity of our rights in the ongoing cricket series between India and New Zealand. These rights are acquired at great cost in our efforts to bring international sports events live to our viewers. We will continue to be vigilant and take action as per law to protect our rights.”

     

    The above-mentioned matter came up before Justice GS Sistani of the Delhi High Court on 21 January, 2014. Upon hearing the submissions made on behalf of MSM, the Judge – plaintiff – issued a notice to the operators (ESPNCricinfo, Cricbuzz and RadioOne) – defendants – and passed an ex-parte ad-interim orders.

     

    The relevant portion of the aforementioned order reads as below:-

     

    “Accordingly, defendant, its agents, servants, employees are restrained from:

     

    * Making available, through any medium whatsoever, live/contemporaneous audio commentary of the matches played in the cricket series between India-New Zealand;

     

    * Exploiting or authorising the exploitation of cricket match-related material/information/details including but not limited to current cricket score, ball-by-ball updates, score cards, score updates, alerts etc, contemporaneous with match situations/events, as they happen in relation to the matches played in the cricket series between India- New Zealand.”

     

    The Delhi High Court has directed these websites and radio channel to obtain licenses from MSM if they wish to provide live commentary on their websites and apps and/or provide score updates, scorecards or any other match information.

  • Final Ind vs Aus ODI garners unprecedented viewership

    Final Ind vs Aus ODI garners unprecedented viewership

    MUMBAI: Beginning today everyone will be glued to their television screens to witness one of the biggest cricketing moment in history. This will be the last time that cricket fans will get to see the master blaster – Sachin Tendulkar – don the Indian colours.

     

    But, that’s not all – cricket as a sport has always been followed as a religion in this culturally diverse nation. The latest viewership numbers that the seventh and final ODI played between India and Australia witnessed proves it.

     

    The last ODI between India and Australia emerged as the highest rated single day TV event in India for the year 2013. According to data provided by Star Sports, the match garnered 55,561 TVTs (CS 15+, M, SEC ABC, All India ) which remains unmatched on Indian television across all genres this year. It also recorded highest time spent per viewer (TSV) across ODIs in 2013 with 101 minutes on both Hindi and English commentary feed on Star Sports channels.

     

    The recently concluded Star Sports India vs Australia ODI series 2013 was watched by almost 43 per cent of the C&S homes.

     

    Speaking on the occasion, Star India head of sports business Nitin Kukreja said, “We are delighted with the viewer traction for the series. There is an upswing of almost 18 per cent in average time spent per viewer per match for the India-Australia ODI series as compared to all India ODIs played in the year 2013.  We are pleased to note the stickiness that Hindi commentary has been able to generate in the HSM markets. This is a clear cut vindication of our strategy of promoting choice of language for the consumer.”

     

    Sports broadcaster Star Sports had launched a high-decibel campaign, with the core theme ‘Fight for No 1’; to promote the India Australia series featuring seven ODIs and a T20 match. The high profile series commenced on 10 October and ended on 2 November, just two days before Diwali.
    ODI 4 and 5 of the series were impacted by rain. India won the hard fought contest 3-2 thereby retaining the number one ranking in the ICC ODI Rankings.

  • Cycle Pure Agarbathies to co-sponsor the upcoming ODI tri-series featuring India

    Cycle Pure Agarbathies to co-sponsor the upcoming ODI tri-series featuring India

    MUMBAI: Cycle Pure Agarbathies, India‘s incense sticks (Agarbathi) maker and one of the leading sponsors of cricket in India is adding yet another feather to its cricket association.

    Cycle Pure Agarbathies is co-sponsoring the ODI tri-series between the three countries – India, Sri Lanka and West Indies. The cricket ODI tri-series will start from 28 June and will go on till 11 July. West Indies will be hosting the tri-series against India and Sri Lanka. The ODI tri-series will be held at two venues this year: The first half of the cricket tri-series will be held at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica from 28 June to 2 July, after which the venue will shift to Trinidad.

    The Triangular series consists of seven one-day matches (ODI‘s) to be played. As a part of the co- sponsorship initiative, the brand will feature on pitch mats, perimeter boards and third umpire decisions. The awards that will be presented to the best all rounder are ‘Cycle Pure Agarbathies Trusted player of the match and Trusted player of the series award.‘

    A strong on air presence has also been planned. Cycle is the associate sponsor for the sports program ‘Straight Drive‘ that will be aired on ten sports during the ODI Tri-series.

    ‘Prayer capsule‘, a new concept will also be presented. The Prayer capsule will be known by the tagline ‘Everyone has a reason to pray‘. This will capture on-ground snippets of players and spectators in their prayer moments.

    The brand will also be overtly active on the digital front through its Facebook page. Participants can send prayers for their favourite cricketers and the winners of Cycle Agarbathies trusted player of the match and series. Exciting prizes have been planned which include autographed match balls.

    Speaking on the association, Cycle Pure Agarbathies MD Arjun Ranga said, “It is an honor for Cycle Pure Agarbathies to associate with the India- Sri Lanka- West Indies tri-series as co-sponsors. Cycle Pure Agarbathies has been associated with cricket for many years through exciting properties, like Red alert, Milestone branding, and Third umpire branding. This initiative will take our association to the next level and reinforce our commitment to Indian cricket. We are proud to be associating with this series and wish the best to all the three teams.”

    The official broadcast TV partners for the Tri-series Cup is Ten Cricket, Ten sports and Ten HD.

    Over the years, Cycle Pure Agarbathies has been associated with exciting cricket properties like Red Alert, third umpire branding and Milestone branding. In July 2012 they were also the associate sponsors of India Srilanka ODI series. This association will reinforce Cycle Pure Agarbathies status as one of the front runners among the brands associated with cricket in India.

  • ‘We expect ICL to break even in two and a half years’ : Himanshu Mody – Zee Sports business head

    ‘We expect ICL to break even in two and a half years’ : Himanshu Mody – Zee Sports business head

     When Zee launched the Indian Cricket League in the face of a take-no-prisoners campaign of opposition from the Board of Control for Cricket in India last year, there was scepticism galore on whether the Subhash Chandra-backed league would bat it out. Particularly after the the BCCI announced plans for its own league shortly thereafter.

     

    ICL, however, successfully staged two events despite all the hurdles thrown in its way. The Indian Premier League kicking off on 18 April notwithstanding, Zee Sports business head Himanshu Mody is confident that his cricket endeavour will hold its own.

     

    Indiantelevision.com’s Ashwin Pinto caught up with Mody to ascertain his views on the progress made and future plans.

     

    Excerpts:

    Firstly, congratulations on having been able to deliver the second edition of the ICL despite the best efforts of the BCCI to skewer you. How has the experience been different from the first edition?
    It was much better. The first one was with six teams in one venue. There were 20 games. For the next event we added two more teams and had three venues. Lahore came from across the border. The event was held on a larger scale.

    What were the learnings from the event that you will take, going forward?
    We learn every day. Despite the pressure and resistance that we face, I think that we are set on a path to success. We have good players and have built on the ground infrastructure. We have 250 members, 80 of whom are Indian players. The rest are foreigners – coaches, players support staff, etc.

    How is the event being expanded upon this year?
    From April to September it is summer and then the monsoon season. There is not we can do in this period. We will hold an event later this year. We could include ODIs as well. We had a non televised ODI tournament in January which was played in Chennai and Hyderabad. What we come out with will depend on the commercial viability.

    How succesful have you been thus far in infrastructure and grassroot talent development?
    The Indian players come from various small towns and cities like Jammu, Srinagar, Assam, Indore and Bhopal. The Indian players come from 58 cities. We have a diverse mix in this sense. We also have talent scouts in each Zone where they have gone out to find emerging talent. We will now be setting up a central Academy for our boys.

    A notable feature this time round was that there was an increase in spectators in the stadia. Has some sort of a spectator/viewer connect with the state teams happened?
    This is starting to happen. The event is a family viewing experience. People are supporting the local team. In the final, Hyderabad Heroes had a lot of local support. At the same time support depends on performance as well, which is what has hampered Mumbai.

    Simulcasting the event on Ten Sports and Zee Sports has ramped up viewership quite significantly. What have been the average combined ratings? Have they been up to expectations or have they exceeded your brand partners’ expectations?
    The ratings have exceeded our expectations. We managed an average of 1.5. Ratings peaked at 3.5, which is more than India Test cricket and some ODI ratings.

    Was it a challenge to get sponsors on board given the BCCI stance?
    The establishment tried everything they could to prevent us from getting a start. They tried to resist sponsors from coming on. Also, to be fair, for the first event sponsors were reluctant as they did not know what to expect. The first event was a solid start.

     

    The second event has been a big hit and on the back of that we launched a tri series between an Indian XI and a World XI. We sold most of our inventory for this. The likes of Pepsi, HUL and Vodafone have come on board.

    And what of the other cricket boards? Do you see a softening of their stances vis-a-vis the ICL and what could be the catalyst for it?
    The other cricket boards have to realise that more than ICL, it is the IPL that presents the biggest threat to them. I think that they are starting to realise this. We do not ask any existing players to break their contract. At the moment the IPL presents that dilemma to current players as to whether they should play for their country or IPL club. We have taken players who are on the fringe or who do not have a central contract with their respective boards.

     

    The international governing body needs to take a call on what is more important. In soccer for instance, club soccer contributes more revenue as opposed to countries playing against each other. Cricket must decide if it wants to go down this route. If that happens, then country versus country matches will have to come down. If, however, it decides that the country format is more important, then the IPL could be limited in terms of matches played.

    How has ICL fared businesswise? Could you offer any idea of the kind of investments that have been pumped in?
    I cannot talk about numbers. However the business is robust. Earlier when we started this last year, we had given ourselves a breakeven period of three years. Now we expect that to happen in two and a half years.
    ‘The other cricket boards have to realise that more than ICL, it is the IPL that presents the biggest threat to them‘

    Where have the revenues come from and how does it compare with the inaugural edition?
    We have several revenue sources. We have ground sponsorship, associate sponsorship, ticket sales sponsor, advertising on television, broadband rights.

     

    ICL was aired in several countries including UK, US, Pakistan, the Middle East, Africa, Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand. We did deals with international broadcasters for ICL including Showtime in the Middle East, Starhub in Singapore and Astro in
    Malaysia.

    The ICL is unique in that everything – whether it be telecast rights, teams, stadia – is owned by the promoters. Therefore, by extension, it’s Essel that has to spend on development, promotion and marketing of every aspect of the event. With IPL as a rival, in effect you’re confronting the power of 10 – not just a powerful cricket board but eight strong franchises as well as an established television network for share of mind. Doesn’t that become a huge challenge?
    We took satisfaction from the fact that the IPL format has duplicated ICL. The economics of the whole thing differs from product to product. We knew what the marketing plan would be and what would be enough to cover the country. We are on track. If we incur all costs and do it ourselves, then all revenues belong to us. We do not have to share them with anybody on a
    80:20 or 60:40 basis.

     

    If there is no India cricket in a certain period, then the ICL becomes a strong proposition. If you can have many news channels, I don’t see why two leagues cannot co-exist. We can have as many events as we like with all our players.

    Actor Mithun Chakraborty has picked up a stake in the Kolkata ICL team. What are the future opportunities for stakes in teams?
    We are talking with a few corporates. We chose not to sell teams initially as we wanted to show people the value that we bring to the table and what our delivery is. Having done this, we can now command a premium for our teams for strategic partners. It is not just a question of money. We are looking for partners who share our vision and who can bring synergies to the table that will help the ICL grow.

     

    We will, therefore, be selective about whom we choose to partner. We need to know the drive they have and what their objective to invest is.

    With the BCCI’s league being launched next week, what impact will this have on ICL in terms of retaining both local and international talent and viewer interest? In the present context, the ICL has a shelf life as a low-cost, lower value alternative to the IPL. But if these eight franchisees are going to expand in a big way, what will be left over for the ICL to pick up might just be the crumbs. Are some of these fears being expressed?
    I don’t think that it is a fair comment. There is enough local and international talent to go around. We have contracts with our players and I know that the satisfaction level they have is high. We are a closely-knit family. I don’t see substantial movements happening.

     

    A mature sports market allows for trading, though. The players have contracts with us and if somebody wants them, then they will have to pay us accordingly. That is how sports clubs operate globally. A player cannot simply break his contract. Our stated objective has been to have talent at the grassroots level. So we did not go out and try to get the likes of Sachin, Dravid.

     

    What we do is in line with what Zee does if you look at shows like Sa Re Ga Ma or India’s Best (Cinestar Ki Khoj). We short-listed 15 Indian players who we felt were the best. They played in the tri series. The fight they showed was commendable against a global bowling attack.
    The flip side to ICL is that many cricket boards, including Pakistan, are peeved that cricketers were taken. Do you feel that this will negatively affect your ability to go after their TV rights?
    I do not think that there is a conflict over here. The businesses are separate. If our bid is the highest, then it will come to us. A good price is what any board would look for. The best man wins. I don’t think that the board will be concerned about who offers the highest.

    How is the relationship with Ten Sports working out?
    We have been partners for a year and a half. It is working well. There is content sharing. We distribute Ten Sports. They handle our ad sales. The FPC is made by a central team. If there are clashes, then the programmes get split between the two channels.

     

    The Uefa Champions League sometimes has two games at the same time. So we air one match. In fact, we started doing this before we partnered with them. This offers the power of two.

    You are also doing an initiative Goal 2010. How did this idea come about and what progress has been made?
    This came about when Fifa president Sepp Blatter came down to India. This sport has a huge potential. We are putting money into this sport and in a couple of years, we will start seeing the results. We do a lot of school soccer tournaments.

     

    Our focus is at the grassroots level. We need to emerge as champions at the Asia level by 2010. We should be among the top five teams in Asia. Ten Sports airs domestic football in the Middle East. We are also working with the AIFF at tweaking the format of domestic football.
    Is the appeal of soccer moving beyond the three states of Goa, Kerala and West Bengal?
    Yes. It is getting popular in parts of states like Gujarat and Maharashtra.
    Do you think corporatisation will help sports like soccer and hockey to move forward?
    It can certainly help soccer. Hockey, however, is on a downturn not just in India but also abroad. In soccer, you have 32 teams playing the World Cup. In hockey just seven or eight teams play the event. Even in those countries the popularity is not as high as it should be.
    How is Zee Sports faring on the distribution front?
    The ICL has done us a lot of good. We have achieved 50 per cent connectivity. This rose from 25 per cent over the last three months.

    What property acquisitions were recently made?
    Zee and Ten Sports acquire things together. We renewed the West Indies cricket rights. We have the US Open tennis event for the long term.

     

    India is a unique country in that there are several sports channels but only one sport dominates. In other countries there are only two sports channels but multiple sports are followed. This is why the price of rights are going up dramatcially in India due to
    competition.

    Finally on the advertising front brands at the moment are not sure about how to use sport beyond cricket. Do you see this changing in the near future?
    It is changing already. A lot of advertisers are going to Golf. Once the Indian advertisers start to understand the true value of sponsorship that goes beyond just TRP, things will change. The best example is what the EPL has done for Barclays.

     

    This, though, has been built over several years. Indian companies are realising that they should invest in sport over a long term. The advertiser has to invest with the sports federation.
  • Tata Sky reaches deal to air India cricket

    Tata Sky reaches deal to air India cricket

    MUMBAI: The Tata Sky DTH platform has reached an agreement with Neo Sports, the channel that has rights to telecast India cricket.

    An immediate fallout of this is the fact that Tata Sky subscribers will get to watch live the third ODI that kicked off in Chennai today and the subsequent matches as well.

    The remaining matches of the series will be available live on Tata Sky and in digital picture quality, a release issued by the DTH service provider states.

    Doordarshan is also showing the matches but with a seven-minute delay. The national broadcaster was allowed to telecast the matches ‘deferred live’ following a Delhi High Court ruling on dispute between Nimbus and Prasar Bharti.
     

  • Sify is webcasting India-England ODIs

    Sify is webcasting India-England ODIs

    MUMBAI: Sify, which works in the area of consumer Internet and Enterprise Services in India with global delivery capabilities, is live webcasting the current One Day International (ODIs) series between India and England.

    Sify senior VP interactive services Surya Mantha said, “This is another first in our quest to provide the most exciting India-centric broadband content for Internet users. Cricket in India goes beyond a national passion- its practically a religion! Now broadband users will be able to watch the ODIs from the office, or from Sify iWays in over 149 cities across the country.

    “The live webcast of the first ODI on 28 March at the Feroze Shah Kotla ground in Delhi received an overwhelming response, and confirms our belief that there is a large and growing number of broadband users who are turning to the Net for all their needs. Our intention is to make www.sifymax.in their home on the web with initiatives such as this”.

    SifyMax holds the internet and broadband rights for India for the live webcast of the one day series. So SifyMax users will be able to view each match live, ball-by-ball, as they would on TV.

    For users who are unable to access the live feed due to overwhelming demand, a live video scorecard is also available on SifyMax. The video scorecard provides video clips of the highlights of the game as it unfolds- how 4’s and 6’s were hit, how the wickets fell, catches and run outs.

    The live webcasts can also be accessed from over 3100 iWay cyber cafes across the country as they all have broadband connectivity.

  • Oz-SA batting blitz ODI gets ESPN high eyeballs

    Oz-SA batting blitz ODI gets ESPN high eyeballs

    NEW DELHI: The epic one day international between South Africa and Australia, which saw eight records tumble during the record run chase by the Proteas, registered a very impressive TVR of 3.1 in India on 12 March, 2006.

    Sports broadcaster ESPN garnered highest channel share of 16.5 pr cent during South Africa’s historic run chase against the world Champion. ESPN Star Sports is broadcasting Australia’s tour of South Africa covering the five one day internationals and three test series between the two cricketing giants.

    ESPN’s share was almost thrice than the next competing channel Star Plus during the time 1743 -2203 hrs on 12 March. Star Plus garnered 6.1 pr cent, Zee Cinema 4.9 per cent, Sony 3.2 per cent and DD National 2.7 per cent during the time period, an official statement from ESS said today, basing it on TAM figures (Males, 15+, SEC ABC all-India).
    The simulcast of India-England Test match on the same day garnered a rating of 3.1 (DD1) and 1.8 (Sahara One).

    And it’s not just once-in-a-lifetime matches like the one witnessed in Johanesburg that are getting in the viewer numbers, according to ESPN. Non-India cricket ratings have been on a rise, the channel claims. ESPN’s channel share surged ahead of all satellite channels during the victorious run chase of Bangladesh against Australia on 18 June, 2005, the statement avers.

    ESPN registered a channel share of 8.1 which was way ahead of other channels including Star Plus (6.9), Sony (5.7) and Zee TV (4.6).