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ICC warns of serious financial concerns

The ICC has said that its finances will be seriously reduced as a result of a decision by the Indian government to force the Indian board to make private companies share TV broadcasts

Cricinfo staff
23-Dec-2005
The ICC has said that its finances will be seriously reduced as a result of a decision by the Indian government to force the Indian board to make private companies share TV broadcasts.
" I wouldn't like to speculate on how much money it would cost us, but I know it would be substantial," Ehsan Mani, the ICC president, said. "Cricket boards like the West Indies, Sri Lanka and others might not be able to survive without this revenue."
The amount of income from matches is seriously affected by the exclusivity of the broadcast. By demanding that matches can be seen across a number of channels, the value of the rights is significantly reduced. Many boards are heavily dependent on this revenue stream to survive.
Making the announcement, Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, the minister responsible, said: "The sports channels having TV broadcasting rights shall, with immediate effect, share their feed with [state-run] Prasar Bharti for national and international sporting events held in India or abroad. In case of cricket events, these shall include all matches featuring India and the semi-finals and final of international competitions."
The ICC is likely to send a letter to the minister in charge of broadcasting asking him to review the decision.
Matches involving India are among the biggest income-earners for overseas boards. One senior executive of a broadcaster described the decision as "financially devastating".
What is even more worrying is that the Indian government has said that ruling will apply retrospectively to existing contracts.