Indian Premier League and Cricket News by IPL Cricket Forum

IPL have sold their website rights to the Canadian company Live Current Media for a sum of $50m (£25.2m). LCM plans to form a Getty Images-style picture and video syndication service. The deal is for 10 years.

Under the terms of the deal, LCM will make a guaranteed payment of $5m a year - $3m for the BCCI and $2m for IPL - for the online rights. After that, revenue will be shared between the partners based on advertising, sponsorship and merchandise sales through the two websites.

LCM is launching IPLT20.com tomorrow, the day of the first match in the Twenty20 competition, as the official online portal for the 59 fixtures in this year’s inaugural tournament. The Canadian company aims to generate revenue from the IPL website by selling products, online advertising and through applications such as a fantasy cricket application for Facebook.

A key part of this strategy will be setting up the website as the official home for photos and short video clips of action from the IPL. Footage and pictures will be available to buy on the website - but no live streaming of games will be offered.
The IPL has moved to stop specialist cricket websites, such as Cricinfo and Cricket365, having full access to matches from inside grounds, although it has struck a compromise deal with news organisations.

LCM aims to develop the official online destination for the BCCI, which represents all Indian cricket including the national team, into a “premier sports website, akin to Fifa.com”.”Our team extends to north America, the UK and India and is set on creating the most interactive environment for cricket fans worldwide to engage in the world of Indian cricket from wherever they live,” said Geoffrey Hampson, the LCM chief executive.

LCM also have plans to develop its own website domain Cricket.com as a global cricket portal.

At the centre of the controversy are the accreditation terms and
conditions for photographers. The IPL states categorically that no
“Accredited Party” would be allowed to make available match images for
on-line publication and mobile phone users.

The relevant clause states that the IPL reserves the right to use
all images captured during the matches by any party; and all parties
must make available the images to IPL within 24 hours of the match by
uploading them on the IPL website at their own cost, else their
accreditation would be immediately withdrawn.

As such, the terms and conditions effectively prohibit agencies from
covering the matches since websites form more than a major portion of
their client base.