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THE SPORTS BROADCAST RIGHTS RACE
GETS GOING
The most prized programming property
in India is up for grabs: the right to telecast international
cricket matches played within India. Hitherto, the rights
were with TV production company TWI but with its five-year
contract completing its course, the Indian cricket board
had called for fresh bids, which had been sent to it
from interested parties. Among the channels pitching
for the rights figure: Zee TV, Sony Entertainment, ESPN-Star
Sports, and DD, which is bidding to expand its four
hour daily sports service to 24 hours.
Both DD and Sony are believed to be
the front runners to bag the telecast contract for the
next three to five years. One estimate is that both
have bid Rs 1,000 million each for rights to telecast
the sport that captures the maximum eyeballs in India.
Says Sony CEO Kunal Dasgupta: "We are focused on the
cricket rights."
Sony was recently awarded the telecast
rights to all international cricket played in Sri Lanka,
but its bid could be in jeopardy with the Sri Lanka
cricket administration being driven apart by various
power groups and each questioning the other's legality.
Dasgupta agrees that Sony lawyers were seated in Sri
Lanka thrashing out the deal with the Sri Lankan board
and that the deal will be okayed soon..
Zee TV on the other hand is believed
to have made an offer to ESPN Star Sports chief executive
R.K. Singh to come on board as a co-promoter of its
sports channel and help it bag the rights. It will probably
try and outbid the other two and with Singh at the helm
of its proposed sports channel it would be on a good
wicket with the board as he is reported to have strong
contacts with the Indian cricket administration.
The cricket board has excluded production
companies like TWI from bidding for the cricket rights
which had cost $10 million the previous time round.
It has, however, voiced its intention to tie up with
any broadcaster, which pockets the prized rights. As
have several other production houses like Channel 9,
WorldTel, and Sky Sports.
The cricket board's marketing committee
is to meet in the first week of August and decide on
who will bag the contract.
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