No Restriction on Broadcasting of CWC Matches

The Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) is reminding cricket fans across the region that there will be no restrictions as it pertains to viewing ICC Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007 matches.
As such, the opening match of the tournament between the West Indies and Pakistan at Sabina Park in Jamaica will be broadcast live around the region including in the host country, Jamaica.
“There are no restrictions at all unlike the home series when the West Indies Cricket Board is actually hosting those matches,” Adriel Richard, Cricket Plus Producer at CMC told JIS News.
This will be the case even when the matches are not sold out. The viewers in the Caribbean, Mr. Richard informed, will be able to watch some 51 matches.
“We are showing all the West Indies games for sure, and we are also doing the games out of Trinidad and Jamaica in the group stage and then we will be covering all the West Indies games once they qualify for the Super Eight matches,” he said, adding that both semi-finals and finals will be televised.
“Since it is the Cricket World Cup, the ICC wants the cricket to be spread all around and they want everyone to see the whole festival of cricket and in so doing, there are no restrictions on when and how and where you can watch,” he further explained.
In terms of radio broadcasts, the CMC will produce 20 or more matches including those featuring the West Indies team.
“For the other matches in the tournament we have worked out partnerships with our international radio broadcast partners, BBC, Australia Broadcasting Corporation, and Radio Sport in New Zealand, among others to provide coverage of those other games, which we are not producing,” he explained.
The CMC is spending an estimated US$5 million on rights fees and production costs for the ICC CWC 2007. This is a 100 per cent increase on what was paid the last time, Mr. Richard said.
“Television and broadcast rights are becoming more and more expensive as games grow [in stature] and as the attraction of sports and television [audience] grows, so too will the rights fees,” Mr. Richard informed.