THE EDITOR, Sir:
FINANCE MINISTER Omar Davies' inability to answer questions (in the House Finance Committee) relating to the income generated by Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2007 shows that he has forgone the first rule of contract: caveat emptor (let the buyer beware). The alarming lack of foresight by the Government when it entered into negotiations for the hosting of the event makes you question just who is looking after the interests of Jamaicans.
The fact is, the only income available to host countries of CWC 2007 comes from ticket sales; that is what was negotiated, and even with full houses, Jamaica was set to earn back less than 10 per cent of the money expended to host the event. All income from broadcast rights go to the Global Cricket Corporation Ltd. (GCC) which paid the International Cricket Council (ICC) somewhere in the region of US$550 million for this privilege. Therefore, at the end of the day, it is the ICC that is the sole beneficiary from the event, having collected their money upfront.
With India and Pakistan out of contention for championship honours, GCC is now finding that advertising revenue from the event is showing alarming shortfalls.
The major sponsors of the event are primarily Indian companies or companies like Korean electronics giant LG, which are attempting to penetrate the 900 million-strong Indian market. With interest from that region now at almost nil, these companies are withdrawing support for the event. With all this in mind, if the Jamaican Government thinks that their earning woes from CWC is of any interest to anyone else associated with the event, they better think again. In fact, Jamaica now has to pray that the GCC doesn't find any excuse to call in the US$15 million guarantee against ambush marketing put up by the Government. Boss, we deh pon wig own.
Anyone who watched the broadcast of the ICC Champion's Trophy competition held in India earlier this year, could have not help, but notice the less than bumper crowds that turned out for the matches, even in a cricket-mad country like India. So, why did we expect anything better in the West Indies? Claims by the ICC and promoters of CWC that the event is the third-largest sporting event in the world displays nothing more than delusions of grandeur. That honour probably belongs to the World Athletic Championships.
The fact is, of the nearly 200 countries that make up the global family, only eight (if you call the West Indies a country) consider cricket a major sport worthy of national interest, and of the potential global audience for the event, probably 70 per cent comes from India and Pakistan. Unlike football, cricket does not attract multinational support. If Jamaica is not in the Football World Cup, we have our teams who we will carry, so we will watch every match until the final whistle is blown. Who in India or Pakistan is still watching CWC?
All that is now left for us to look forward to is the long-term benefits from hosting the CWC that jumper estimates at US$600 million; no, US$400 million; no, US$300 million (the figure keeps changing). Therein lies another story, but that's for another time.
I am, etc.,
MILTON WILLIAMS
miltoncwilliams@yahoo.com
1300 Hull
St. Richmond, VAC
Via Go-Jamaica
