Sri Lanka Cricket wishes to submit the following clarification pertaining to a Media Report Published on ‘The Morning,’ News Paper on the 05th March 2021, under the title of ‘SLRC ACCUSES SLC OVER LIVE ACTION BLACKOUT’.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLRC) wishes to state that the said article referring to an ‘’ unnamed SLRC ( Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation) Source’’ is trying to hold Sri Lanka Cricket responsible for not telecasting the 01st T20i match played between Sri Lanka Cricket and the West Indies Cricket Team, on the 03rd March 2021.
SLC wishes to state that said article has been written without an understanding of how such ‘Live Broadcast, Radio, and Digital Rights’ business takes place in the cricketing world. How the ‘Television, Radio and Livestreaming’ Business Works
In the cricketing world, the ‘Television, Radio and Livestreaming Rights’ are sold through a competitive bidding process initiated by the Host Country Cricket Board (In this case the WICB), either directly by the respective board or via a selected agency (in this case ‘’Pitch International’’), to a party which offers the highest bid to win the ‘Television, Radio and Livestreaming Rights’.
To further elaborate on the ‘Business Model’’, the Cricket Boards either sell the ‘Rights’ to ‘Regional Distributors,’ who resell them to interested parties or sell directly to the Channels in the respective countries, which is exactly what happened in the case of Sri Lanka vs West Indies Cricket Series.
Terrestrial TV Rights
According to a Media Release issued by the West Indies Cricket Board, fans in Sri Lanka was enabled to watch the 01st T20I played during the ongoing Sri Lanka vs West Indies Cricket Series via the YouTube Channel of the West Indies Cricket Board, while the rest of the games, it announced, will be broadcasted via (SLRC) Rupavahini (TV) Corporation, which has been given the ‘Terrestrial Television Rights,’ for the series in Sri Lanka.
In this case, the writer, who wrote this article, is unaware that owning the ‘Broadcast Rights’ is purely a ‘Business Decision’ of the SLRC, and in such a situation, it is the responsibility of the SLRC to do the cost analysis and the viability of a such an operation, and not blame SLC, as quoted by the newspaper report, published on ‘The Morning’.
SLC Facilitation
Even though it is the responsibility of the respective bidding parties to directly connect with the Host Country Boards to submit bids for ‘Television, Radio, and Livestreaming’ Rights, Sri Lanka Cricket facilitated the connection between the Commercial and Marketing arm of the West Indies Cricket Board and the SLRC, as a matter of courtesy.
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evertheless, for the benefit of the cricket-loving public, Sri Lanka Cricket decided to bear the US$ 8,400 needed for the RTMP (Real-Time Messaging Protocol) to air the matches in Sri Lanka.
We wish to state that SLRC sought SLC assistance to sponsor the ‘RTMP Cost’ of the Live TV Broadcast, only on the 04th March 2021, pointing out that PITCH International acting on behalf of the West Indies Cricket Board, made a last-minute price revision, from what was originally agreed.
