Channel 10 of Australia has bought rights to all the matches of IPL for the next 5 years for $10-$15 millions and will be telecasting it on the free to air channel. This will be Ten’s first foray into cricket. Till now it was Channel 9 that had monopoly on all national and international cricket in Australia. Ten usually covered motorsports and Australian Rules Football.
“It is the biggest new cricket competition and the most revolutionary thing that’s happened in world cricket since Kerry Packer started the World Series in the mid-70s,” David White, the Ten Network’s general manager of sport, told the Australian. So, Channel 10 is obviously excited at the prospect of showing the matches live between 9.30 pm and 1.30 am Australian time. The participation of current Australian players is doubtful as their Pakistan tour coincides with the IPL tournament.
But the other greats like Glenn Mcgrath, Shane Warner and recently retired Adam Gilchrist are expected to play.
Channel 10 absence on the cricket field for almost 30 years means that it has absolutely no cricket commentators on its panel. It will have to build up a completely new commentator group or poach some from 9. It’s playing its cards close to the chest. So, let’s see how things go.
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