MUMBAI: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has filed a claim for damages before the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA) against IMG-Reliance for reneging on its contract to produce television coverage of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) earlier this year in the middle of the competition.
IMG-R pulled out days after a terrorist attack killed 44 Indian paramilitary troopers on February 14, heightening tensions between India and Pakistan.
According to a PCB document, accessed by Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper, which is to be presented before the PCB board meeting on Friday in Lahore, the damages claim was filed after there was no reply from IMG-R to a legal notice sent on October 21, seeking unspecified compensation for losses incurred.
After covering seven matches of the 2019 edition of the PSL, IMG-R informed the Pakistan board that it would not be continuing to provide production services any further for the remaining matches of the tournament and terminated the production services agreement dated January 24, 2019.
“The breach of contract by IMG-R could have resulted in the remaining PSL matches not being broadcast on television; this would have severely damaged the standing and reputation of the PSL. PCB was obliged to make alternative arrangements virtually overnight and at an increased cost,” the documents state.
The abrupt decision by IMG-R left the PCB at the time scrambling to find another broadcaster. And because of the compromised position it left the PCB in, revenues took a hit because of the new deal. It took two days for the PCB to strike a deal with Blitz and Trans Group, who bought the rights to arrange television broadcasts for the PSL for approximately $36 million, with this deal set to run till the end of the 2022 season, ESPNcricinfo reports.
For the five-match ODI series against Australia in March, and the recently concluded limited-overs internationals against Sri Lanka in Pakistan, the PCB had stipulated to Blitz and Trans Group that IMG-R would not be involved with the process in any way, and that the PCB had blacklisted them, the cricket website further reports.
