Controversy ends: Radio Pakistan inks accord with FM107

PBC now allowed to broadcast cricket WC on its AM frequencies

ISLAMABAD: The controversy surrounding illegal World Cup cricket broadcast by Radio Pakistan finally ended on Monday after it signed an agreement with FM107, the exclusive ICC World Cricket Cup Right holders for Pakistan and Afghanistan.

The development was confirmed by a senior representative of FM107. He also affirmed that apart from allowing Radio Pakistan AM rights, they were also providing them with live running commentary. When asked to elaborate how the controversy took place, he just said, “All is well that ends well.”

The controversy started when Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (PBC), started to relay ball-to-ball running commentary without securing the broadcast rights from either the International Cricket Committee (ICC) or FM107.

On being challenged and reminded of these infringements by FM107 and news articles in daily papers, PBC, instead of putting a halt to these illegal infringements, on the one hand not only ridiculed FM107 as not being the ICC cricket rights holder but also stated that they being the National Radio had all the right to broadcast.

However, this controversy finally came to an end when Radio Pakistan realised that they could be blacklisted by the ICC from its future sports events and finally signed a deal with FM107.  The rightful owners thus allowed Radio Pakistan to broadcast the World Cup Live commentary on its AM frequencies only.

The FM107 representative further said though the PBC had no rights for this World Cup, they did not want people of Pakistan to be deprived of following the contest.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 3^rd, 2015.