ICC to consider TV rights shake-up in annual meeting

On the heels of a proposed two-tier format in Test cricket with relegation and promotion between them, and a major overhaul in ODI cricket with a league of 13 nations, the International Cricket Council (ICC) is planning another shake-up—this time in the existing system of selling television rights.

According to a report in the ESPNcricinfo, the proposal was made by the boards of England, New Zealand, South Africa, Pakistan, and Australia at the ICC chief executives committee meeting in April. As per the proposal, once the current cycle of TV rights ends for each of the full members, a board may place the rights to telecast its home series in the overseas markets in a common pool into which other boards will also put their rights. These rights will then be sold collectively as bundles with the profits being divided among nations in accordance to their contribution.

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The member nations will continue to sell the rights for their home territory and enjoy the profits from it, with only the overseas rights going into a common pool, said the report. The ESPNcricinfo report claims that the topic is likely to come up for discussion at the ICC's annual conference in Edinburgh later this month. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is yet to respond on the matter, and the Indian board's decision will go a long away in deciding the fate of the proposal, says the report.

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