03 March 2006
Dubai: If you have been surfing the television channels endlessly for the last couple of days trying to catch the live action of the first Test between India and England here is some good news.
TEN Sports will telecast live all matches of the on-going India-England series, starting with the third day's play of the first Test in Nagpur today.
In a landmark deal, the Dubai-based TEN Sports channel has entered into a deal with Nimbus the company that holds the television marketing rights for the current India-England series and all international cricket in India whereby TEN Sports will now be able to telecast live in the UAE all international cricket in India for the next four years.
While cricket fans in the UAE missed the first two days of the first Test in Nagpur, they can at last breathe a sigh of relief as the rest of the series will now be shown live on the Pehla bouquet's TEN Sports channel.
Speaking to Gulf News, Peter Hutton, vice-president programming, TEN Sports, said yesterday: "We have always been very determined in our efforts in bringing top-class live cricket and other international sporting events to the viewers in the UAE and the region. Perhaps it is this determination that has helped tilt the balance in favour of the ADD Pehla-TEN Sports combine.
"Some of the other prominent satellite sports channels in the region were also in the fray and we are happy to have clinched this crucial deal that now allows us to telecast live all cricket in India for the next four years," Hutton revealed.
While refusing to divulge details of the financial value of the deal, Hutton said the amount sought by Nimbus was five to six times higher than usual.
In a way, the Board of Control for Cricket in India is responsible for the fact that the first two days of the India-England Test in Nagpur could not be shown live to UAE viewers.
The BCCI, in the first place, took a very long time to decide on the marketing rights for the series. It was just about 10 days before the series started that the rights went to Nimbus.
"Moreover, the fact that Nimbus had to pay an astronomical amount to get the rights from BCCI further compounded the crisis since the TV channels were expected to pay an equally high amount to obtain the rights from Nimbus," Hutton added.
By Sanjib Kumar Das
Gulf News 2006. All rights reserved.
