Zee ineligible for telecast bid: BCCI tells Court

Zee ineligible for telecast bid: BCCI tells Court

MUMBAI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) told the Delhi High Court that Zee Telefilms Ltd. had been found ineligible for the financial bid for telecast rights.

The BCCI said it had opened technical bids and found that Zee Telefilms was not eligible to participate in financial bidding for the award of telecast and broadcast rights of cricket telecast in India for the next four years.

Earlier, BCCI counsel Soli J. Sorabjee had informed the court about the board's decision to make some alternative arrangements for the telecast of the forthcoming one-day cricket matches to be played by India against South Africa and Sri Lanka. As per the interim arrangement, pubcaster Prasar Bharati got the telecast rights.

Zee Telefilms' counsel Harish Salve submitted that the interim arrangement was contrary to an assurance given by BCCI to the court that it would not grant any TV rights to any particular party pending the petition filed by Zee. The court asked BCCI to file an affidavit giving details of the decision taken by it by 22 October and posted the matter for further hearing on 24 October. It also asked BCCI to respond to an application filed by Rajasthan Cricket Association and Punjab Cricket Association seeking to be included as parties to the petition.

The court also ask BCCI to respond to an application filed by the Rajasthan Cricket Association and Punjab Cricket Association seeking to impleaded as a part to the petition, a Press Trust of India (PTI) report said.