BCCI scraps broadcast deal with Nimbus

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has terminated its contract with its broadcast partner, Nimbus. It is learned that BCCI has proceeded to encash the bank guarantee of Rs2000crore given by Nimbus. The BCCI said in a statement on monday that, “They (Nimbus) have defaulted. They have not paid 50 percent advance payment of both England and West Indies series and that is why the contract was terminated,” [caption id=“attachment_154439” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Nimbus has had to forfeit its bank guarantee of Rs 2000 crore. Reuters”] [/caption] Earlier last week, BCCI had accused Nimbus of defaulting on payments for a certain number of matches. The contract which was signed in 2009 stated that Nimbus would pay a sum of Rs 31.50 crore for each Test, 50-over and Twenty20 international played in India in that specific four-year period. Nimbus bagged the four year contract for nearly Rs 2000 crore. Last week Nimbus went on record to say that there were no outstanding payments pending. Nimbus had stated that that up to 75 per cent of the pending amount had been made and that they requested the BCCI to extend their January deadline for the last leg of the payment. Earlier on Monday, the World Series Hockey, a city-based hockey tournament backed by Nimbus, was postponed for February next year after its dates clashed with Indian hockey team’s camp for the Olympic qualifiers. Nimbus is expected to approach the court on the issue.