Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa when addressing the media briefing yesterday reveal the cabinet decisions to the media , said, the Govt. has decided that the telecasting rights regarding the Sri Lanka (SL) cricket tournaments where the SL team is participating , shall be given exclusively to the State media . However he added that private television channels which are only covering sports can make requests for telecasting rights.
In SL there is only one such private TV channel , and that belongs to President’s son Yoshitha Rajapakse. The Executive Director of that TV service , ‘Carlton Sports News.’ (CSN) is Nishantha Ranatunge. This is a violation of the provisions of Sports Act, for an individual who is holding a Director post in a media Institution cannot at the same time hold a post in the cricket control Board. But Nishantha Ranatunge is both – the Secretary of the cricket control Board as well as the Executive Director of Carlton sports News.
Cricket and political analysts view this new rule as an underhand manipulation to transfer the television rights to Yoshitha’s ‘Carlton Sports news’.