'PCB sells broadcasting rights for $150m'

Source says the entire deal is dependent on whether Pakistan can have a home series with India on a neutral venue

KARACHI: In a recent deal, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has sold its international matches broadcasting rights for an estimated sum of $150 million for the next five years, a source told Indian news agency Press Trust of India. 

Ten Sports and Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV) unanimously submitted a joint bid that was accepted by the bid committee of the board, a reliable source in the board said.

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However, the source added that the entire deal is dependent on whether Pakistan can have a home series with India on a neutral venue.

"If India does not play Pakistan in this period then at least 60 percent of the total bid amount will be reduced by the successful broadcasters," he said.

According to the source, PCB managed to secure the million-dollar deal largely because its international calendar for the next five years is marked with two home series against India.

"Even when the broadcasting rights were sold on long term basis last time, the PCB lost out on nearly 70 percent of its total bid amount because India didn't agree to play any bilateral series in the period of the contract," the source added.

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The last full bilateral Test series played by Pakistan and India was in 2007 when Pakistan toured India and even though the two teams faced each other in a short one-day series in the winter of 2012-13, the PCB didn't earn anything from it.

This article originally appeared on NDTV