DLA Piper announced in February that it had assisted Sony Entertainment Television with the purchase of television rights to the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s new Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket event.
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The deal gives Sony exclusive broadcasting rights in India for the popular Twenty20 cricket league. World Sports Group secured the non-Indian rights. With a combined value in excess of US$1 billion, it is one of the biggest cricket-related deals in the world so far this year.
The IPL is due to start in April 2008 and includes 59 matches over 44 days. The league has eight teams, all based in different Indian cities, the franchises for which have been sold for a combined US$700 million for 10 years.
The DLA Piper team advising Sony was led by partner Nick Fitzpatrick. “The IPL will have a big impact on world cricket and helping Sony Entertainment Television on this deal was particularly satisfying,” said Fitzpatrick, who was assisted on the deal by solicitors Patrick Mitchell and John Cloke.
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