Sport | Cricket
Media and IPL locked in stand-off ahead of tournament's big day
Millions have already been spent. More will be spent in the next few days. But who gets to show the matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL), or who gets to see them is still not clear.
- IANS
- Published: 00:17 April 16, 2008
- Image Credit: Reuters
- New Zealand cricketer Stephen Fleming attends the launch of the Indian Premier League, but it has not yet been decided who will broadcast the matches.
New Delhi: Millions have already been spent. More will be spent in the next few days. But who gets to show the matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL), the world's most lucrative cricket event, or who gets to see them is still not clear.
The stand-off, with the IPL management on one side and media on the other, has not been resolved yet, though the IPL top brass deny this.
The National Broadcasters Association (NBA) is said to be holding meetings on how to deal with the outstanding issues.
Agence France Presse (AFP) New Delhi bureau chief Barry Parker told IANS: "We have not seen any official version about IPL's media accreditation going online again. We have only seen IPL commissioner Lalit Modi's comments in the media. We are expecting a decision soon."
Dedicated websites
The Press Trust of India (PTI) management, which has been holding talks with IPL officials, said on Monday all issues except the sale of photographs to dedicated cricket websites had been resolved.
But a top IPL official told IANS the organisers had addressed all issues, including those regarding dedicated websites.
Sources say some media outlets have gone to the extent of advising their reporters to "black out" IPL coverage, which could increase as the event nears, worrying franchises.
It is still not clear how the non-rights holding media, primarily TV channels, will deal with coverage, since Sony, the right-holder, is said to be demanding huge sums for even small lengths of footage, sometimes as little as three to five minutes. Use of archival footage also remains unclear.
The official said the IPL had nothing to do with channels' problems and they would have to work with Sony. The right-holder appear to have agreed to footage usage of seven minutes daily.
The championship has also raised security concerns with police in Delhi and Mumbai wanting a greater say. Nothing has been heard about transport arrangements following late-night matches.
There is also a lack of information on ticket sales, while disputes have arisen over the entertainment tax on tickets.
And finally, doubts still remain on what overseas players will be available with Pakistan, Australia, Bangladesh and West Indies involved in matches during the tournament.
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