Sport - Cricket

Nimbus seeks better facilities

Mumbai: Nimbus Sport, which has signed a $612 million broadcasting rights with the BCCI for a four-year period ending March 2010, has asked for better infrastructure at venues that have been awarded the home series against Australia and India. It has also asked for better working conditions for its personnel.

“We would like to highlight infrastructure issues we experienced during the last time we covered a match at some of these venues.

“We humbly request the BCCI to attend to these issues as these are faced each and every time we go to these venues. Correction of these issues will greatly facilitate better coverage of the matches,” Nimbus Sport said in a letter to the BCCI.

The letter also said Nimbus would be using high speed cameras to introduce ball tracking technology for the first time in many centres. The home series against Australia and England will be played at Bangalore, Mohali, Nagpur, Delhi, Rajkot, Indore, Kanpur, Guwahati, Cuttack, Jamshedpur, Ahmedabad, Cricket Club of India (Mumbai). Nimbus has pointed out that the box enclosure for commentators at Bangalore and Kanpur is very small, non-existent at Cuttack and worst positioned at Jamshedpur with only 30 per cent of the ground visible.

The letter also said the movement of engineers and technicians has been a problem with tight security on the ground. It requested for large TV control rooms with improved air-conditioning facilities. It also wanted toilets for ladies.

The official broadcaster has also noted that at Guwahati the TV Control Room is non-existent. “This is a very, very serious issue. The local association (Assam) provides small rooms where we have to accommodate all the equipment and crew. The last time the sewage pipe above the control room got choked and started leaking making it difficult to work in inhuman and very dangerous conditions.”

With regard to Jamshedpur, Nimbus has pointed out that the TV Control Room is on the first floor which made it impossible to carry 15 tonnes of equipment to the first floor considering the limited time available. “The room had many windows which did not close properly and hence the AC was not effective at all. Due to considerable heat a lot of equipment failed.” Nimbus has said that “the one area of concern at the CCI is the Line Camera position on the Club House. This is too small to accommodate all the cameras and hence the LBW matt camera has to be placed on the roof. During the last match, there were people sitting on the roof of the club house and they moved the camera.”

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