The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Telecast rights: battle set for a close finish

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Aug 16, 2004

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Sport - Cricket

Telecast rights: battle set for a close finish

NEW DELHI, AUG. 15. The battle over Indian cricket's telecast rights is set for a close finish with the contenders, Zee Group and ESPN-Star, claiming that their bids met the criteria best.

Though Zee Group emerged as the highest bidder with Rs. 1,200 crore tender, it apparently failed to meet one of the criteria laid down by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

The BCCI had stipulated that only those with at least two years' experience in producing matches of international standard could take part in the bidding process. It had also reserved the right to award the telecast rights to anybody of its choosing, for a three-year period starting September 2004.

The ESPN-Star quoted the second best figure — about Rs 1,100 crore ($230 million), with Prasar Bharti ($150 million), Sony ($132 million) and TEN Sports ($115 million) in that order.

Even while a public interest litigation comes for hearing in the Bombay High Court on Monday, the PricewaterhouseCoopers, which was appointed by the BCCI to discern the bids, is expected to go ahead and prepare its report and submit by Tuesday.

The Managing Director of the ESPN-Star Software India, R. C. Venkatesh, said: "We have taken the game to the masses and hope the Cricket Board will keep our contribution in mind when finalising the TV rights for cricket in India.''

Mr. Venkatesh pointed out that Zee did not meet one of the criteria of having covered international cricket in the last two years and added that ESPN-Star was a dedicated sports channel. — Our Sports Reporter

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