BCCI, PCB yet to sign the ICC Media Rights Tender agreement

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is excited to bring the concept of media rights tender to generate more revenue. However, the process is taking time as all the ICC members haven't signed the Members Participation Agreement (MPA) yet. 

It is learned that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) haven't approved the idea of media rights tender for the international games. Though there has been a delay, ICC chairman Greg Barclay is confident of gaining approval from all the members. 

"No, not yet; they have not signed the MPA. It is part of a process. There is still time to sign," Barclay said, as quoted by Cricbuzz.

ICC is expected to roll out the tender rights after the IPL rights sale. The tender can come up in July as BCCI is planning to sell the IPL media rights for the next cycle in June. The council will be giving an option to the broadcasters to bid for the rights for four or eight years.

Though there will be compassion, ICC understands that IPL rights will gain much more value. Speaking about the interest of the broadcasters, Greg Barclay added that only one party is going to get IPL rights. So, they are expecting a tough competition for international rights as well. 

"The important thing is flexibility to all the parties. They can make decisions as they see fit. There is a dynamic market out there, and it needs some flexibility. It is important for all bidding parties to put it together as it fits their idea." 

"The IPL was always going to sell well commercially, and organisations allocate budgets accordingly. There is a lot of interest among a number of parties, and only one can pick the IPL rights. One of the others will be keen to pick up the ICC rights," Greg added. 

ICC was under scrutiny in the cricket fraternity after they announced an increased number of games during the 2024-32 cycle. The official body has planned to host one main event every year apart from the bilateral series. Reports suggested that the decision has been made to mint more money. 

"We have not increased the number of tournaments to have more money but to engage with more teams and provide opportunities in the ICC events. It was not necessarily commercially driven," Greg Barclay clarified. 

Further in the interaction, the ICC chairman opened up on giving the 2025 Champions Trophy hosting rights to Pakistan. There are high chances of India not travelling to Pakistan for the event. However, Greg is hopeful of seeing India participate in the Champions trophy. 

"Strategically, we have allocated events around the world, including Pakistan. We are excited about all of them participating. We are expecting that all teams will participate. That is what I can do; I hope that they all will be there," the ICC chairman concluded.