Nimbus run out by BCCI; may appeal for no-ball

There is considerable speculation around the reasons for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) terminating its broadcast contract with Nimbus Sports for cricket matches held in India.

Nimbus had purchased the rights for Tests, one-day internationals, Twenty-Twenty (T20) matches, as well as domestic tournaments till 2014. On Monday however, the BCCI unilaterally terminated the contract on the ground that they had not paid contracted amounts.

"They have defaulted, they have not made the 50-per cent advance payment for both the England and the West Indies series, and the BCCI had no choice but to terminate the deal," said Rajiv Shukla, chairman of the Indian Premier League which runs the money-spinning IPL T-20 series.

The four-year deal was worth Rs2,000 crore. On Monday, Nimbus paid Rs24 crore but BCCI said it still owed Rs88 crore; and it did not want to continue with a defaulter.

Nimbus, which has been associated with Indian cricket since 2006, had agreed to pay approximately Rs2,000 crore for four years (Rs31.5 crore per international fixture) when its contract was renewed in 2009.

"Not a single series has gone where they have paid the full amount on time," a BCCI official was quoted in the media as saying. "Also another reason is that India's international commitments at home have finished with the ODI series against the West Indies," the official added.