After an out of court settlement of Rs 1.6 bn, MSM gets IPL back

The various controversies over the second edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) seem to have settled down. After getting a clearance on the dates that the Centre and most of the State Governments have finally accepted, the spat between Multi Screen Media and the BCCI also seems to be resolved. MSM has retained the telecast rights for the IPL ousting close contender NDTV.

by Noor Fathima Warsia
Published: Mar 19, 2009 10:07 AM | 2 min read

After an out of court settlement of Rs 1.6 bn, MSM gets IPL back

The picture for the Indian Premier League (IPL) has cleared significantly. In a sudden shift of events, the telecast rights of the IPL, that looked well to be on their way to NDTV on March 18, 2009, are back at the Multi Screen Media (MSM) stable. On the evening of March 18, 2009, MSM was locked in a round of discussions with the World Sports Group (WSG) over the issue brewing between the BCCI and MSM and court case that had begun last weekend when the BCCI was looking at terminating the telecast rights with MSM.

MSM had subsequently got an injunction from the Bombay High Court challenging BCCI’s decision, and BCCI was advised that it could not discuss the telecast rights with any other broadcaster in the interim.

The decision over the court case was inconclusive since Monday. However, it is understood that in an out of court settlement late on March 18, 2009, the telecast rights of the IPL is back with the MSM.

A source close to the development said, “MSM officials informed all advertisers and media agencies on March 19, 2009 morning that the issues are sorted out and they have the IPL now. The stakes were much too high for MSM to let the IPL go. The only question is what would MSM’s profit margin look like given that they have had to pay Rs 1.6 billion for this now.”

MSM officials have not responded to exchange4media’s calls or mails.