TV channels boycott IPL function

Mumbai:

Seeing the total absence of the electronic media personnel at the media conference to announce a new tie-up here on Saturday, Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi observed that the boycott of TV channels of the Twenty20 League continued.

"I see that the complete boycott of the electronic media continues," was Modi's opening remark at the announcement of IPL's first-ever branded merchandise deal with 130-year-old Swiss watchmakers Bandelier.

The stand-off between the National Broadcasting Association, the umbrella body of the electronic news media, and the IPL is over the restrictions imposed by the T20 League over the amount of footage that can be used by the TV channels during the March 12-April 25 event.

Two days ago Modi spelt out the reasons for the impasse and said the bone of contention was in the usage of the footage during post-match packages which, he said, were with rights owners Sony.

"We have no issues relating to the news coverage and have come to an agreement on this with the news channels. The area of disagreement is over the usage of IPL footage in post-match packages whose rights are with our broadcast partner (Sony)," the IPL chief had elaborated.