Returns for cricket pay-per-view not up to scratch

Pay-per-view of the West Indies tour of New Zealand wasn't bad but no profit was made, according to a CBC-TV official.

'It went quite well, all things considered,' said marketing manager Melena Sealy-Simmons.

The pay-per-view was offered on the eve of the start of the series when sponsorship fell well short of what was required.

Early indications from insiders were that bookings were quite good but Sealy-Simmons, declining to give figures, insisted that a surplus was not achieved.

She said that the response provided CBC with a pay-per-view option 'but it isn't first choice.'

'Cricket on Channel 8 is the way we prefer to go.'

Sealy-Simmons said that CBC was looking for sponsorship for the home tours by Zimbabwe and Pakistan and the West Indies series in England.

'As usual, it is quite slow but we are hoping it will pick up,' she said earlier this month. 'Advertisers don't always book well in advance.'

She said that CBC always started early to give the business community enough time to make decisions, even though it may seem that they are forced to make judgements at the last minute.

'We don't want to make a decision prematurely.'

As it is now, the trickle for the support of the home tours doesn't even cover the broadcasting rights far less the air time, Sealy-Simmons said.