Question

How did cricket boards become rich?

• A. By selling television rights to television companies
• B. By organising large number of matches
• C. Through patronage from rich industrialists
• D. None of these

Answer 1

The correct option is A By selling television rights to television companies

Cricket boards became rich by selling television rights to television companies. Television channels made money by selling television spots to companies who were happy to pay large sums of money to air commercials for their products to cricket’s captive television audience. Continuous television coverage made cricketers celebrities who, besides being paid better by their cricket boards, now made even larger sums of money by making commercials for a wide range of products, from tyres to colas, on television.