Nimbus throws its hat in the ring

With the Indian board still dilly-dallying over telecast rights for cricket played in India over the next four years, Nimbus Communications Ltd, a noted production house, has come forward with an interim solution and offered to produce and market the forthcoming ODI series against Sri Lanka and South Africa.

The marketing committee of the board, which met in Mumbai on October 16, couldn't come to a final decision regarding awarding of rights as a few "legal issues" were still pending. Harish Thawani, the chief executive producer of Nimbus, confirmed this while speaking to Times of India: "Our board of directors met recently to discuss the issue and we all felt the matter should not be allowed to drag unnecessarily." Nimbus, who have earlier been part of big events like the 1999 and 2003 World Cups, recently produced the Challenger Series, India's premier domestic one-day competition, which was televised by Zee Sports.

It is reliably learnt that Nimbus have offered an amount "much higher" than the other channels and that Rs 25million (US$558,000) was a fair estimate. The marketing committee of the board, according to sources, discussed the issue at their meeting yesterday.

Thawani added that if the board allows them to produce the series - an unlikely prospect since Nimbus haven't bid for the television rights - they would look for TV channels to come forward and support them. "We don't want any legal hassles," he said, "If at all we are permitted by the BCCI to produce the series, we want the television channels to [bidders] to come forward to support the cause."