Agreement between PCB, PTV will promote cricket in country, says PM

(Karachi) Prime Minister Imran Khan has said the country is blessed with tremendous talent in cricket and there is need to bring reforms in it so that players could perform better.

Addressing the agreement signing ceremony between the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV) on Wednesday, he said that the pact is of great importance in improving the coverage of PTV and sports could prove a pivotal role in it.

"The signing of the Domestic Cricket Broadcasting Agreement between PTV and Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is a significant development," he stated.

Imran said the pact will promote cricket. "There is no other place in the world as talented as our country.If we change the structure of cricket, no one can defeat us," the prime minister maintained.

PCB has signed a three-year broadcast deal with the state broadcaster Pakistan Television (PTV). The deal will see PTV broadcast all Pakistan’s home bilateral commitments as well as all domestic cricket.

It marks a return of sorts for the broadcaster that played such a vital role in the growth of the sport with its broadcasts from the 1970s right up to the late 1990s.

The PCB and PTV will share revenues made from commercial rights for fixtures in the calendar: the PCB taking a 57.5% share and PTV 42.5%.

Global rights for Pakistan’s cricket will be sold separately. The PCB will keep production rights of the broadcast and bear its costs