MUMBAI: After the India-England series, the Pakistan?s cricket tour of India has become a casualty of the ongoing dispute between international media and Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

News organisations around the world are angry that the BCCI has locked out major suppliers of photographic news material like Getty Images, Action Images and two Indian photo agencies.

International news agencies, which decided not to report on the England test series or provide any photographic coverage, are not covering the Indo-Pak series as well.

The BCCI?s decision to exclude photo news agencies from covering the games has provoked a widespread reaction from editors, publishers and other news organisations.

The India cricket board has however stood by its decision by contending that the primary businesses of photo syndication agencies involved the commercial sale and licensing of images rather than for editorial purposes which is against its guidelines.

"It is regrettable that the politically-charged Pakistan tour will be affected by the BCCI?s failure to recognise the long-standing importance of photographic news agencies in the flow of sport and news images every day," said the News Media Coalition, which campaigns for independent journalistic coverage at major sporting event.

Outside of India, virtually no photographs of the England Test series were published as the games unfolded from what has been labeled ?The Hidden Tour?, according to NMC.

"As a direct result of the BCCI stance, great sporting moments from the cricket tours to India are going unrecorded and therefore lost forever. England?s first four games were the hidden series and the Pakistan tour is heading for the same fate. That?s not good for cricket, nor for the image of India abroad,? said NMC Executive Director Andrew Moger.

The decision to refuse accreditation led to decisions by Thomson Reuters, Agence France-Presse and Associated Press to suspend reports of the tours as well as pictures. The Press Association, national agency in the United Kingdom, also did not supply photographs from the England Tests.

One of its member organisations, the World Association of Newspapers (WAN-IFRA), said in a statement: "All publishers, including those in India are concerned that the BCCI has decided to act against the photographic agency sector which has for years provided images for editorial customers in every country without problem. This is denying the ability of editors to select from the best of photography for the benefit of readers."

The photo agencies argue that they have been granted access to provide editorial coverage from numerous other sporting events such as cricket grounds, including those in Australia whose national team tour India in February next year.

While the BCCI has offered its own photographic account of the England games, none of the top online news websites outside of India has carried their images throughout the tour, the NWC stated.

Newspapers and big news websites such as the BBC have decided instead to resort to archive images to illustrate the key performances of players such as Alistair Cook for England and Sachin Tendulkar for India.

MUMBAI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has affirmed that it will not go back on its decision of not allowing photo syndication agencies to cover the on-going India-England series.

The BCCI defended its decision of not granting accreditation by contending that the primary businesses of photo syndication agencies involved the commercial sale and licensing of images rather than the supply of images to news publications for editorial purposes.

The cricket board had refused to grant accreditation to photo syndication agencies like Getty Images to cover the series which drew criticism from the international media with news agencies like AFP, AP and Reuters boycotting the series.

"The BCCI stands by its decision, which is based on the legitimate interest of prioritising and limiting stadium access to those persons and entities primarily involved in news reporting activities and, thereby, promoting the public interest in consuming news and editorial comment from diverse sources," BCCI secretary Sanjay Jagdale said in a statement.

"Certain other international and domestic applicants did not meet the BCCI?s accreditation standards on the basis that, in the BCCI?s good faith opinion after due evaluation, their primary businesses involved the commercial sale and licensing of images rather than the supply of images to news publications for bona fide editorial purposes. These applications were duly rejected and the BCCI?s decision was communicated to the applicants," the statement added.

The BCCI provided accreditation to many international news publications and news agencies to cover the series and provide unlimited number of match images for editorial use by their respective publications and agency clients worldwide.

With the BCCI standing firm on its decision, it needs to be seen whether the international news agencies will call off their boycott.

The BCCI also clarified that it has not placed any restrictions on the number, nature or type of images that can be captured or published by accredited photo journalists from bona fide publications and news agencies.

These accredited persons were presented the opportunity by the BCCI to supply an unlimited number of match images for editorial use by their respective publications and agency clients worldwide.

The BCCI has decided to supply a limited number of images to accredited media outlets due to the boycott by agencies.

"This was neither the intended nor desired approach of the BCCI for the series but is a facility made available to all bona fide media outlets given the decision by accredited news agencies to not undertake coverage," the statement clarified.

The Britain?s Society of Editors executive director Bob Satchwell had said that the BCCI?s decision will damage the ability of the press to cover cricket. He also termed BCCI?s decision to provide in-house photography as a dangerous precedent.

The BCCI denied allegations of censorship against it and termed the allegations of media censorship grossly misrepresenting the facts.

"The BCCI does not, and has no intention to, censor or limit bona fide news reporting. Any attempt by third parties to portray the BCCI?s legitimate decision, as described above, as media censorship grossly misrepresents the facts," the BCCI affirmed.