MUMBAI: The heat is on. Taking its case to the court of public opinion is what ESPN Star Sports is attempting, even as the suspense builds ahead of the award of India cricket telecast rights by the Board for Cricket Control in India (BCCI).

It is on Sunday (5 September) that the BCCI is expected to reveal whether it is highest bidder Zee Telefilms or highest "legitimate" bidder ESPN Star Sports (as the sports broadcaster describes itself) which gets the live television and radio broadcast rights for international cricket to be played in India for the next four years. India cricket board supremo Jagmohan Dalmiya is expected to make the announcement after the BCCI's crucial working committee meeting in Kolkata on Sunday.

ESS' ad is clearly aimed at gaining the support of the Indian cricket viewing public when it comes to their preferred channel. 'Can Anyone match it?' is the question ESS poses. Through the ad, it has laid strong emphasis on its claim to having over 20,000 hours of live cricket as well as 4,176 hours of additional cricket based content.

Not surprisingly, the ad gets sentimental by stressing that on ESS cricket means capturing every shot and delivery bowled along with the crowd emotions. It further claims to be the only broadcaster that airs sport to 100 million homes across Asia.

As was first reported by indiantelevision.com, Zee put in the highest bid for India cricket rights at Rs 12.06 billion ($260 million). It has further committed another Rs 945 million towards the development of domestic cricket. ESS' bid was second at $ 230 million.

For ESS, it is a must win situation. If it fails then it has no worthwhile India cricket till December 2006, which is when the Indian squad visits South Africa. This would seriously hamper efforts to push up its declared subscriber base over the next two years, is the common industry perception.

As the cricket countdown draws ever nearer to "D-day", it is still anybody's guess as to who will finally bag the rights. Indiantelevision.com has been privy to as many industry sources who are convinced it will go to ESS as there are those who say it is Zee Tele CMD Subhash Chandra who holds the aces in this particular deck of cards.

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Chandra confident of bagging India rights