Boycott of IPL's T20 cricket ends; NBA, IPL reach accord

New Delhi, Apr 17 (UNI) The boycott of the Indian Premier League (IPL) Twenty20 Cricket tournament by major TV channels has ended with the News Broadcasters Association(NBA) and the IPL representatives reaching an agreement late last night.

''They have accpted our main demands,''an NBA spokesperson told UNI today but said the Asociation would be giving details of the agreement later in the day.

The Twenty20 tournament is starting from tomorrow.

The IPL authorities and its television rights holder, Sony TV had a long meeting with their NBA counterparts at Mumbai to work out a solution to the dispute that arose out of the unprecedented restrictions put by the IPL on the media coverage of the event, and the NBA warning to boycott the event if the restrictions were not withdrawan.

The NBA threat had come after it felt dissatisfied with the IPL response to the issues raised by it in a letter to IPL chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi.

The IPL restrictions had evoked outrage in the whole media world, following which the League had to remove some of the conditions, which were found ''very unjust and stiffling for media.'' However, some of the irritants still remained.

The TV channels' main objection was over the high rates being charged for news clips and also the condition that footage can't be used in archival form.

The NBA had released a statement on Tuesday night in which it said it had sought clarifications from the IPL but, instead of receiving a response from either, or any of the other official, it received a reply from an official of the Sony Network, which along with World Sports Group had bought the TV rights for the IPL.

UNI NAZ SW AS1311