Bangladesh cricket fans have often faced difficulties accessing live games, especially during away series. This issue was evident in the recently concluded Ireland-Bangladesh series, where fans had to rely on ICC TV for live coverage. To address such broadcasting challenges, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has taken the decision to establish its own dedicated television channel named BCB TV.
“We will apply for BCB TV. Hopefully, we will secure it soon. We aim to telecast our local and international matches on this platform,” stated BCB president Nazmul Hasan after the eighth board meeting held at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
Prior to the Ireland series, there was uncertainty regarding the live broadcast of the previous edition of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). T Sports and Gazi TV showed no interest in telecasting the country’s premier Twenty20 competition. Fortunately, Nagorik TV stepped in to provide live coverage, much to the relief of cricket fans across the nation.
“We noticed a lack of interest during the bidding for broadcasting rights before the BPL. This is unfortunate for us. We also observed that franchise leagues in Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates, and South Africa were broadcast live here, but there was no interest in our BPL. That’s why we felt the need to take action,” explained the BCB president.
Apart from the BCB TV announcement, several other key decisions were made during the eighth meeting of the BCB Board of Directors, including the purchase of land for developing cricket grounds in Pubail, Gazipur, Purbachal, Narayanganj, Chittagong, and Bogra. Additionally, measures were approved for the renovation of the inner and outer grounds of Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah to ensure their playability.
The board also gave the green light for the installation of new and advanced indoor cricket practice turfs at existing centers nationwide. Furthermore, the process of obtaining a license for BCB TV was initiated, and salary increases for centrally contracted women players, along with higher match fees for women players in One Day International and Twenty20 International matches, were approved.
The board meeting also covered salary contracts and enhancements for 77 first-class cricketers, the approval of the BCB Regional Cricket Association Guidelines-2022, and the endorsement of Regional (Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Rangpur, and Rajshahi) Ad-hoc Committees. Additionally, match fees for the Bangladesh A Team were increased across four-day, one-day, and T20 formats.
