All India Radio stumped by shabby treatment

Sunday 18 Sep 2011
All India Radio commentators say they got shabby treatment from the organisers during the fifth one-day cricket international between India and England in Cardiff on Friday, The Times of India reports.

Due to lack of space in the media gallery, the AIR commentators were made to report the match from a temporary tent, which angered the production staff.

“I’m surprised with the treatment given to us by the organisers. It has been raining and we had to shield our equipment with plastic covers. This is not the right way to treat a rights holder,” Ajay Sethi, the chairman of the Channel 2 Group Corporation, which bought the rights from AIR, said.

In total, there were seven broadcasting rooms in the media building at Sophia Gardens but some other broadcasters, who are also right holders, took two rooms each, leaving AIR in the lurch.

The Channel 2 Group paid US$65,000 to the official rights holders of the series.

“We are going to take this up with the ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board). We had some top Indian cricketers during the series and this is not the right way to treat AIR,” Mr Sethi said.