The T20 World Cup is knocking at the door. The fight to become the world’s best in the most popular and short format of cricket will start from October 16. The excitement of the 22-yard bout of World Cup has spread in alleys, neighborhoods and tea shops. Everyone is waiting to see this thrill on magic box or mobile phone. In such a situation, there is uncertainty about the broadcasting of the upcoming T20 World Cup. Due to banking complications, there is a fearful haze over the World Cup broadcast across the nation.
Related sources claim that the complication to obtain authorization for sending money is what has led to this crisis. Despite fulfilling all requirements set forth by the Bangladesh Bank to address the global dollar issue, domestic institutions are unable to purchase the broadcast rights to the game because Bangladesh Bank has not provided clearance or a “letter of intent.” In this scenario, airing the World Cup on domestic TV channels is becoming uncertain.
Millions of cricket fans nationwide may not experience the excitement of the World Cup as a result. The likelihood of witnessing the highly anticipated Shakib-Liton match is decreasing constantly as a result of broadcast uncertainty. In addition, the Bangladesh government might lose a significant amount of revenue from this source.
Every year, the broadcasting market for important international cricket competitions brings in billions of Takas for the government. Over the previous two years, this revenue has grown. According to internal sources from Bangladesh Bank in the fiscal years 2020–21 and 2021–2022 Star Sports and Sony Pictures Network reportedly gave Bangladesh government several million revenue for broadcasting major sports events such as Indian Premiere League.
It is noteworthy that the foreign exchange division of Bangladesh Bank assisted the government in receiving substantial sums of money from internet behemoths like Google and Facebook. The country’s TV viewers were also able to see these programs live and uninterrupted.
In the meantime, the outstanding bill for the broadcasting rights to the Asia Cup might be the “blow to the neck”. Payment of overdue bills is delayed as a result of Bangladesh Bank’s refusal. It is thought that the broadcasters’ good relationship with the domestic channels may worsen if the bill for the Asia Cup from last month is not paid promptly, and the concerned parties may even lose the chance to broadcast the T20 World Cup from the ICC. For an example, SriLanka was unable to broadcast international matches involving SriLankan National Cricket team due to these similar issues. Not only that, the arrears of Facebook and Google ads are stuck for about 5 months due to not getting permission from Bangladesh Bank. Due to this reason, Bangladesh may eventually run into legal complications.
Ajay Kumar Kundu, CEO of Mediacom, one of the broadcasting companies said, “Both domestic and international companies use Facebook and YouTube to advertise. However, sending the money to Facebook and YouTube for a long time has not been possible due to several regulations imposed by the Bangladesh Bank and the Ministry of Finance. It’s quite concerning for us. Not only Facebook and Google receives money from us, also large sums of money are also earned by Bangladeshis via these platforms. Another important fact is that, after receiving official clearance, a few Bangladeshi enterprises purchased international sports broadcasting rights at various points. As a result, against these transactions the Bangladeshi government also received VAT and taxes. People will turn to dishonest tactics if authorization or the necessary documentation are not available to transfer money legitimately. In light of this, it would be advantageous for both the government and businesspeople if a positive decision could be made shortly to bar money laundering.”
Morshed Alam, Managing Director of Asiatic Mindshare stated, “Due to Bangladesh teams’ participation in the T20 World Cup, it is once again the focus of attention for the general audience. In the most recent T20 World Cup, Bangladesh’s squad performed admirably. We now have greater interest in and expectations of the cricket players. Patrons may lose interest in cricket if the World Cup matches this year’s broadcast fails in our country. It will have an adverse effect on future cricket in the nation.”
Ziauddin Adil, CEO of Spordium said in this regard “Under the guidance of the Bangladesh Bank and the National Board of Revenue, a set of compliance has already been established regarding the screening of international matches in Bangladesh by setting the rates of foreign exchange and revenue. For the past few years, we have been organizing Bangladesh’s international games to be telecasted in accordance with these rules. Recently, however, we have yet to pay for the broadcasting rights despite having broadcasted a significant event like the Asia Cup on special consideration. This uncertainty might generate difficulty to broadcast the Women’s Asia Cup, which will begin in Dhaka next month, as well as the T20 World Cup, which will be held in Australia the following month. As a result, Bangladesh’s reputation will suffer globally. The advertising industry in domestic media around this type of international game provides huge chance for advertising-focused economic operations worth hundreds of crores of taka. Through VAT tax, it provides the government with enormous money. As a result, we anticipate prompt action from the legislators in this regard.”
Overall, the T20 World Cup is approaching, but there are questions about how it will be aired. If Bangladesh Bank does not act quickly, the country’s avid sports fans will miss the excitement of the upcoming Cricket World Cup, and the Bangladeshi government would suffer financial losses during the crisis.
