Indian Premier League only on Internet in UK?
It looks like this year’s Indian Premier League cricket could be shunted to just the Internet in the UK after the BCCI and Google were close to agreeing a partnership.
According to Telegraph Sport, the deal is in its final stage and a decision could be made in Mumbai today with an official announcement expected later this week.
With the closure of Setanta Sports in the UK last year, the IPL has been without a broadcast partner here and so this news will be welcomed by avid cricket fans.
It is thought Google will stream live content from the IPL on a YouTube channel which will be available in countries which currently do not broadcast the Twenty20 league.
The decision to share content and increase its online presence fits in with the plans of Lalit Modi, the IPL chairman and commissioner, to make his league a global brand along the lines of American football’s NFL.
Modi said, “We think this is important to ensure every cricket lover in the world, wherever he or she is, is able to watch all IPL matches live through one of these mediums. We are ensuring that IPL is available throughout the world in every country starting this season.”
This year’s IPL season kicks off on Friday 12th March.
In India, the matches will be shown on host broadcaster, Sony Entertainment Television Asia. The TV rights deal signed in 2008 with Sony TV was worth $1billion over 10 years. It was renegotiated and raised to $1.2billion. IPL is shown live in more than 30 countries with 60 matches, to be increased to 94 in 2011.
