ICC dictates terms; cancels World Cup accreditation of News Channels

Commercial interest of ICC sponsors harmed by shows on news channels sponsored by competition companies.

Rajat Arora | Delhi | March 29, 2011

ICC gave a shocker to electronic media on Monday by cancelling the accreditation of all non-rights-holder news channels as the channels have not followed ICC guidelines for the broadcast. The reporters of news channels will not be allowed inside the stadium to cover practice sessions, matches and post match press conferences.

The ICC decision came late on Monday evening, left everyone surprised in the electronic media. In an email issued by Sami Ul Hasan, ICC's media and communications operations manager, the body informed various news channels about the cancellation. "Please be advised that your accreditation has been cancelled for Wednesday's ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 semi-final match between India and Pakistan in Mohali. You will therefore not be granted a media match-day ticket and will not be allowed to enter the ground," the email said.

The channels have violated the terms and conditions of the accreditation agreement and news access guidelines they signed up to at the start of the tournament forcing ICC to deactivate their accreditations. It is believed that at least 40 leading channels will be affected.

It is believed that the breaches have been of a commercial nature; there could be elements of ambush marketing involved with the news channels running shows sponsored by companies that are in competition with the ICC sponsors.

Baffled at the ICC decision, Broadcast editors association has issued a statement saying, “This is infringement of media rights. The association will be complaining to the Information and Broadcasting Minister and will meet the Prime Minister.”

The news channels will not have access to any event-related activities such as pre-and post-match media conferences and team training session.

This means the news channels will also miss the cricket diplomacy during the India-Pakistan semi final. Indian Prime Minister and his Pakistani counterpart will be discussing various issues over cricket in Mohali stadium.

Rajat.Arora@BestMediaInfo.com

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