New revenue-share model could cost BCCI Rs 1,000 cr

ICC's proposal on revenue distribution among member-boards would add to the woes of the BCCI

The International Cricket Council (ICC)’s proposal on revenue distribution among member-boards would add to the woes of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
 
The new proposal advocates a more equal distribution of revenue, as opposed to the current model where the ‘big three’ — India, Australia and England — get the lion’s share of the revenue, while the rest is shared among others. The three nations get more as they pull in more money through media rights and sponsorship, because of the sport’s popularity in their respective nations.
 
The proposal was put to vote at an ICC meeting in Dubai on Saturday. According to sources, seven of the 10 members voted in favour of equal distribution of ICC revenue. The international cricket governing body accepted the proposal in principle. Sources said only India and Sri Lanka voted against the new model and one board abstained. The final vote is slated for April. The ICC would need at least eight members to vote in favour of the proposal to implement it.
 
According to BCCI’s annual report for 2015-16, it earned Rs 150.20 crore from distribution of ICC’s revenue. “Under the new proposal, the share of revenue coming to the BCCI will drop significantly,” said a source. “On an average, in the current cycle (2015-23), the BCCI stands to lose almost Rs 1,000 crore in the next seven years. The irony is that England and Australia have also voted in favour of the new model. So, only time will tell if BCCI will be able to convince other member-boards to vote against it.”
 
BCCI’s revenue in 2015-16 was Rs 1,365.35 crore and net profit was Rs 528.57 crore. While the bulk of the revenue came from sale of media rights (Rs 648 crore), that revenue from distribution of ICC revenue was also a significant contributor to the total, along with Indian Premier League revenue.

 
The Indian cricket board has been in the line of fire after coming under Supreme Court scanner for alleged irregularities in management. The court had fired the earlier management and appointed a committee of administrators to run the board in the interim. Former Comptroller and Auditor General Vinod Rai heads it and members are Test player Diana Edulji, historian Ramchandra Guha and IDFC Ltd Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Vikram Limaye.
 
In a statement to the press, BCCI said Limaye had expressed concern over the documents presented regarding the new proposal, as there wasn’t sufficient time for the committee of administrators to take a view. He added  there seemed to be no scientific basis behind the percentage distribution allocation being proposed other than “good faith and equity”. Limaye requested both proposals be taken up at the ICC board meeting in April 2017.