Broadcasters end IPL boycott after agreement

“The news broadcasters end boycott of IPL coverage. Let the show begin,” editor-in-chief of ‘IBN’ network Rajdeep Sardesai said on his Twitter account.

The development came hours before the IPL was scheduled to begin with a match between 2009 champions Deccan Chargers and Kolkata Knight Riders in Navi Mumbai on Friday night.

As per the new guidelines issued by the IPL, “there has to be a minimum of a 10-minute delay from the live telecast by the official broadcaster before telecast of any match footage by a news broadcaster.”

However, the “news broadcasters will be allowed to telecast an exceptional event (newsworthy event of an exceptional nature) occurring during the course of a match with a minimum of a five-minute delay from the conclusion of the live telecast of such exceptional event”.

The 15-point guidelines include a clause that news and current affairs broadcasters will be allowed a maximum of 5.5 minutes of ‘fresh footage’ per match in a day, “including not more than 4.5 minutes of deferred live coverage of match play and not more than 1.5 minutes of deferred in-stadium entertainment footage”.

Earlier, the main bone of contention was a diktat from the IPL authorities that non-rights broadcasters could air the footages only half an hour after a match.