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India: Antitrust regulator fines cricket board US$8m

By  |  November 29, 2017

India’s competition watchdog fined the country’s powerful cricket governing body, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), US$8 million over a multi-billion dollar broadcasting deal for the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The Competition Commission ruled that BCCI, the world’s wealthiest national cricket body, abused its position by agreeing to broadcasters’ demands that it would not allow a rival competition to the IPL, for at leaset 10 years.

The commission ordered the BCCI to pay 520 million rupees (US$8 million) within 60 days.

Sony Pictures Networks has held the rights since the IPL started in 2008.

But in a major coup, Rupert Murdoch’s Star India channel in September bought the rights for 2018-22 US$2.55 billion — a 150% increase on the previous deal — confirming the league as one of the world’s hottest sports properties.

The antitrust commission made an initial ruling in 2013 that the BCCI’s deal with Sony was illegal because of a clause which prevented the BCCI from allowing any other 20-over league to compete with the IPL.

Full Content: Economic Times

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