Sri Lanka ends television dispute over England tour

A television dispute that had threatened coverage of England's winter tour to Sri Lanka was settled on Tuesday afternoon, as Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) signed a broadcasting agreement with Taj Television.

The one-tour deal, signed for an undisclosed fee, followed two days of negotiations in Colombo between SLC officials and representatives from Taj Television, the Dubai-based television company that owns the Asia-based TEN Sports cable channel.

The agreement includes exclusive television rights within Asia and Europe only. Television rights outside these territories were not sold while radio and sponsorship rights will be sold directly by SLC

"We signed an agreement with Taj Television to cover the England tour today," confirmed Mohan de Silva afterwards.

The agreement ended confusion over the ownership of rights caused by the SLC's refusal to recognise an agreement signed between Taj Television and an interim committee appointed by the government to manage the board in October 2001.

Taj Television covered tours by West Indies, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, New Zealand and Pakistan over the next two years, but the current Thilanga Sumathipala-led SLC executive committee insisted that the contract was "null and void".

The stance offered a potential escape route from a financially crippling US$ 11 million damages claim being pursued in Singapore by WSG Nimbus. The SLC hoped to negotiate down the eventual payout by offering rights for the England tour.

The damages claimed had followed a Singapore tribunal ruling in June that the cricket board had wrongfully terminated a US$ 27.1 million contract. The tribunal is expected to announce the exact quantum of damages due to WSG Nimbus shortly.

But an agreement was not possible despite several weeks of negotiations and the cricket board decided instead to reopen discussions with Taj Television last week.

Taj Television waived their claim to the rights for forthcoming tours by Australia and South Africa, allowing the board to sell broadcasting and sponsorship rights for a fresh three-year term immediately after the England tour.