NEWS
Follow UsStar Sports, the official broadcaster of International Cricket Council (ICC) events in India is reportedly seeking a rebate to the tune of $100 million in their $3 billion contract, which came into being in 2022.
According to a report by Cricbuzz, Star India, the owners of Star Sports, had to bear a negative impact due to the timing of the matches in the T20 World Cup 2024. Most importantly because India’s game against Canada got washed out in Lauderhill.
The main contention, however, presented to the ICC in two letters addressed to them by the media house is the result of the semi-final involving South Africa and Afghanistan, which lasted only 20.4 overs, both innings combined. The pitch for that game at the Brian Lara Academy in Trinidad was later rated poor by the ICC.
Star India is also looking to renegotiate the entire $3 billion deal as the situation has changed completely. While the T20 World Cup saw low-scoring and washed-out games, Star’s four-year deal now seems unsustainable with no certainty on when and where will the ICC Champions Trophy be played, since it has been awarded to Pakistan and the Indian cricket team in the past decade, have not travelled to their neighbouring country.
Also, before bagging the broadcast rights, Star had signed an agreement with Zee TV as a partner for the deal. But because the Zee-Sony merger could not be completed, Zee pulled out and Star is bearing the burden alone.
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