Bermudians are reportedly responding well to the Pay-Per-View offer for complete Cup Match coverage on television.

President and managing director of Inter-Island Communications Limited (IIC), Glenn Blakeney, said yesterday that ?people are buying? the $100 package to view both days of the cricket showpiece from Wellington Oval.

?We?re happy with the response so far. The public has responded really well. I?ve been on radio explaining the situation from our perspective a little more and we got nothing but encouraging calls.?

However, the executive declined to give specifics regarding the number of subscribers wanting to watch the match live on television.

?In Bermuda for most events ? notwithstanding it?s only about 48 hours before Cup Match ? folk always wait until the last minute to actually do their bookings. Their mind is made up but they don?t actually activate the subscription until the very last minute in lots of cases.

?I can?t reveal numbers because I?m not really privy to them. I just know there have been several indications and enquiries and CableVision has said it?s going really well,? said Blakeney, adding that he wouldn?t want to release such data even if he had it.

The IIC chief noted that the company did have to do some public relations work because of the negative perception that viewers might have taken after being asked to pay for something that they would otherwise receive for free.

IIC beat out Bermuda Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for exclusive television rights for the annual mid-summer spectacle, striking a deal with this year?s hosts St. George?s Cricket Club. BBC previously broadcast afternoon action from Cup Match for free but, Blakeney insisted, had initially bid to carry it as Pay-Per-View this year also.

BBC managing director Rick Richardson said previously that organisation withdrew its Pay-Per-View proposal with one that would have made Cup Match entirely free for viewers.

For the eighth straight year Black Star Communications will sponsor the Cup Match Safe Hands Award.

The award is presented to the player chosen as the best fielder over the course of the two-day event by a panel of adjudicators.

President of Black Star Communications, Rolfe Commissiong, explained: ?The award was designed to promote excellence in the match by focusing on what has often been an under appreciated facet of the game.

?And as far as we have been able to determine there is no other award scheme comparable in the world of cricket that focuses on fielding. In that respect we think that the Safe Hands Award is unique. The other benefit is that it gives something back to the game and to the players who have given so much over the years to the match and have made it what it has become.?

Not only will this year?s winner be presented the Calvin (Bummy) Symonds Cup, but they will also pocket two round trip tickets to one of the gateway cities, a cheque for $500 and an assortment of other prizes.

Commissiong added: ?We are especially grateful to the sponsors Bank of Bermuda and Bermuda MRI.?

Somerset?s Jermaine Postlethwaite was last year?s winner.

This year?s award ceremony will be held in the Bermuda Industrial Union building on Union Street on August 2.