Media limited on Aus-India tour
International coverage of the Australian tour of India, which began in Chennai on Friday, will be severely limited because of restraints on press photography imposed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
The BCCI has clamped down on press photography of the tour, refusing accreditation for major photo agencies Getty Images and Action Images, as well as two local Indian photo agencies.
The News Media Coalition (NMC), an international organisation aimed at fighting threats to media freedom, announced on Friday that Reuters, Agence France-Presse and Associated Press had decided to suspend reports as well as pictures of the tour.
"International coverage of cricket tournaments in India will be severely limited and those that have a commercial interest in exposure through news coverage should take note," the NMC said.
"No press photography from the preceding England and Pakistan tours of India was distributed by international news agencies, results in free global publicity for cricket's commercial sponsors being wiped out.
"This results from the decision of the BCCI preventing reputable editorial photo agencies covering matches, just as news agencies do at countless other events," the statement said.
