BCCI to share Nimbus loss on feed sharing

The Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) has agreed "in principle" to share the revenue loss incurred by Nimbus for the first year following the Bill that makes it mandatory for private broadcasters to share their live feed with Prasar Bharati.

Nimbus bagged last year five-year telecast rights for cricket matches in India from BCCI for $612 million or Rs 2,755 crore.

An auditor each from BCCI and Nimbus will ascertain the extent of the financial loss sustained by Nimbus on account of the Bill, BCCI officials said today after a working committee meeting. The auditors will submit their report by May 31.

Nimbus will also pay the bank guarrantee of Rs 900 crore to the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) in October 2007 as part of its staggered payment arrangement with the cricket board instead of April 30, BCCI officials said. So far, Nimbus has paid Rs 350 crore to BCCI.

The loss incurred by Nimbus is a result of piracy of its sports signals beamed on Doordarshan's direct to home platform acorss the Asian countries. According to estimates made by Nimbus, it sustained a loss of Rs 140-150 crore.

While a committe on enforcing encryption of signals on Doordarshan's platform is studying the matter, no decision has been taken yet.