The Hindu Business Line : DD to air India's Asia Cup matches

THE national broadcaster, Prasar Bharati, has managed to ink a deal with ESPN-Star Sports for sharing terrestrial rights of the India matches and the finals of the forthcoming Asia Cup tournament.

Officials in Prasar Bharati said the key India matches played against Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh would be aired on DD National. "The agreement with ESPN-Star Sports is for terrestrial broadcast and, therefore, the matches will be shown on DD National," they said. The national broadcaster has entered into an 80:20 revenue share agreement wherein ESPN would get the majority portion of the revenues.

The public broadcaster is expecting to generate at least Rs 20 crore from the matches. Advertising industry sources said that a 10-second spot for the India-Pakistan match on Doordarshan is being sold at Rs 2.5 lakh while a similar spot for the India-Sri Lanka match is being sold for Rs 1.25 lakh. The India-Bangladesh advertising is priced at Rs 85,000 for a 10-seconder.

Unlike the controversy surrounding sharing of rights of the India-Pakistan series with Ten Sports, Prasar Bharati officials said that the negotiations with ESPN-Star Sports had been smooth.