Prasar Bharti to telecast Sri Lanka series

Prasar Bharati, the parent company of Doordarshan, has been awarded the rights to telecast the forthcoming Sri Lanka and South Africa series. The marketing committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India met in Kolkata on Thursday to decide on the production and telecast rights due to the delayed court case against Zee TV. This gives the board breathing space to finalise the 2005-9 television rights case, a matter that has forced it into courts frequently since late last year.

"With the two home series knocking at the door, the marketing committee felt that the Board should immediately take interim measures for television coverage of the two series," said Ranbir Singh Mahendra, the president of the board. "The committee felt that no chances should be taken, especially because of the ICC's stand that television coverage was essential for any international match."

While Prasar Bharati was awarded the rights for their offer of Rs7.5crore per game for the 12 matches, TWI was given the production rights. The meeting was notable for the absence of IS Bindra and N Srinivasan, two prominent members of the marketing committee. Bindra had said yesterday that the tender for television rights was restrictive, and if all the demands were met only two channels would qualify for the four-year rights. It is believed that one of the two channels is ESPN-Star Sports (ESS). Bindra had also said that Nimbus, a rival production company, had agreed to produce the 12 one-dayers for $25million.

The BCCI's case with Zee was postponed when the hearing was transferred from one bench to another. The case was regarding the restrictive eligibility clause in the tender document which prompted Zee to allege that it was being excluded from the bidding process. According to an earlier report in the Hindu, Zee has offered to withdraw the court cases if the BCCI awards it the rights.

However, a source in ESS told Cricinfo that the their own bid amount was likely to be much higher than the US$308million offered and matched by Zee to the board last year. "We have bid on the assumption that Zee will not be disqualified," he said, referring to the tender document issued by the board, which stated that only broadcasters who had experience in telecasting matches in 2002-4 would be eligible to bid. Zee pointed out that the tender was drafted in a manner to exclude it from the process, and pleaded that it be given a fair chance.

With the floor price set at approximately US$278.2million for 130 days of cricket in India, the bids, by ESS, Prasar Bharati, Zee and SET Max, are expected to throw up big numbers. According to the source, the numbers were unrealistic because the revenue earned for each day of cricket was highly unlikely to be anywhere near the amount paid for it. A proliferation in sports channels is seen as a reason for the rise in prices. Another reason attributed is that with broadcasters seeking a shift to the more accountable Direct-to-Home (DTH) platform, cricket is seen as the hook with which to grab reluctant audiences.