Multi Screen Media (MSM), which holds the broadcast rights for the IPL cricket matches, today denied accusations that it paid an illegal fee in this regard.
The background was last year’s termination of these rights and its subsequent award of these to World Sports Group (WSG), Mauritius. That resulted in MSM going to court and a subsequent agreement in which it got back these rights.
However, to get WSG to relinquish the right, MSM had to pay a “facilitation fee” of Rs 425 crore. This fee, noted MSM, was a result of the court and other public developments and were a formal and publicised part of the agreements between the parties concerned, to end the dispute.
“We wish to state that all transactions relating to MSM’s acquisition of the broadcast media rights in 2008, as well as 2009, have been undertaken with full knowledge of all the parties; in an open and transparent manner and in keeping with applicable laws,” MSM said in a statement.
On March 14, 2009, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had unilaterally terminated the then existing broadcasting rights agreement, dated January 21, 2008, with MSM. The latter then petitioned the High Court here. By the time the matter was taken up, BCCI had vested the Indian subcontinent broadcasting rights with WSG Mauritius, for a nine-year period (2009-2017).
Given that the contract had already been awarded to WSG Mauritius, the court did not grant MSM a stay. The matter was then renegotiated.
WSG Mauritius then agreed to give up its broadcast rights for the Indian subcontinent in favour of MSM, thus paving the way for BCCI and MSM to enter into another contract. In return for this, said MSM, it agreed to pay WSG Mauritius a facilitation fee of Rs 425 crore.