Millions spent on covering tours

PCB spends Rs1.4 million on coverage of World Cup.

ISLAMABAD:

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has spent Rs6 million on 72 journalists for the coverage of overseas matches during the last three years. The sports minister informed that journalists from both state-owned and private sector media groups covered eight events in various countries. Rs1.4 million were incurred on covering World Cup matches in Sri Lanka, while the PCB spent Rs0.6 million on four journalists for the national team’s recent tour to New Zealand.

A further Rs1.2 million were spent on the coverage of the Test series between South Africa and Pakistan last year.

The PCB has also been spending money for media coverage of the tour made by the National Cricket Academy team when it visited Kenya. Nine journalists visited Bangladesh to cover the tri-series involving the hosts, India and Pakistan in 2008 at a cost of $9000, while coverage of tours to Abu Dhabi and Canada in the same year cost the PCB Rs1.8 million.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 4^th,  2011.