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: Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia and Hong Kong-based Legend have sealed an agreement to broadcast Legend Fighting Championship (LFC), the Asia-Pacific Championship of Mixed Martial Arts, on AXN in 21 territories across the region.

The deal grants AXN the first and exclusive rights to broadcast all Legend Fighting Championship events from October 2012 through August 2013. In addition, four of the most recently concluded Legend Fighting Championship tournaments will premiere first and exclusively on AXN in the coming months.

Sony Pictures Television executive VP, GM Networks, Asia Ricky Ow said, "We are very excited to be partnering with Legend to showcase some of the best and most established Asian MMA fighters. Many of these fighters are already household names in Japan, Korea and China, where LFC has a huge following. We have no doubt that our broadcast of these thrilling fights on AXN will further enhance the popularity of LFC, especially amongst our viewers across South East Asia".

Legend MD Chris Pollak said, "This partnership with AXN begins an exciting new chapter in the Legend story. Since Legend was established, we have dedicated ourselves to growing the sport of MMA here in the Asia-Pacific and giving fighters from this region the opportunity to compete in a world-class organization. AXN is Asia‘s premiere platform for entertainment, and we are excited to bring the best in Asia-Pacific MMA to their audience, particularly since so many of Legend‘s elite fighters hail from AXN‘s key broadcast markets".

Founded in Hong Kong, Legend Fighting Championship invites exclusively the highest-level professional martial artists throughout China and Asia-Pacific to compete in a freestyle tournament using interdisciplinary martial arts skills including boxing, Brazilian jiujitsu, judo, Muay Thai, Sambo, Sanda, Taekwondo and wrestling in supervised matches under a strict set of rules designed to promote athlete safety.

The series focuses on the multi-faceted, tactical nature of mixed martial arts where athletes are armed with a well-rounded skill-set in striking, grappling, and submissions to compete. Since January 2010, 10 Legend Fighting Championship events have been completed. The most recent event included 20 fighters from several countries including India, Australia, China, Indonesia and New Zealand.

MUMBAI: New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has announced a new two-year deal with Sky TV for the broadcasting of all home domestic and international cricket matches.

The new agreement runs through to March 2014 and will include tours by England, West Indies and India. Part of the new commitment from Sky TV is to broadcast a number of domestic HRV Cup matches in the Friday night time slot.

NZC CEO David White said that he was delighted to continue the partnership with Sky and is particularly excited about the agreement to showcase HRV Cup games on Friday evenings.

"New Zealand Cricket has enjoyed a strong relationship with SKY and we are thrilled to be extending our agreement.Sky?s commitment to cricket is highlighted by their offer to broadcast HRV Cup matches on Friday evenings, helping extend the reach of our highly entertaining Twenty20 competition. Part of NZC?s mission is to have more people playing and more people watching cricket. The partnership with SKY will play a key role in delivering on that vision."

Sky Television director of sports content Richard Last said, "We are especially excited about the introduction of Friday night HRV Cup matches where we will have the opportunity to provide even greater exposure for cricket in this country. There are some of important international tours coming up, including England and India, and we are looking forward to showcasing top international cricket from New Zealand to fans around the world. We very much look forward to continuing this association over the next two years."