Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Friday, Sep 10, 2004
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Friday, Sep 10, 2004 |
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Courts/Legal Issues Industry & Economy - Radio/TV Variety - Sports HC asks Zee, ESPN to make fresh bids Our Bureau
Mumbai , Sept. 9 THE Bombay High Court today suggested that ESPN-Star Sports and Zee TV make fresh and final bids for the rights to broadcast national and international cricket matches to be played in India between October 2004 and September 2008. This time around, the rights will be granted to the highest bidder and the court will not entertain any further appeals after this round of bid, Mr Chief Justice D.S. Bhandari and Mr Justice D.Y. Chandrachud told the court. They were hearing a petition filed by ESPN-Star Sports challenging the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) decision to grant the telecast rights to Zee TV. The judges today asked the contenders - ESPN-Star Sports and Zee TV - to arrive at a consensus and settle the issue. The two parties are expected to submit their bids in sealed envelopes to the Registrar-General of the Bombay High Court on September 15. The bids will be opened on the same day in the court. Lawyers representing ESPN Star Sports told the court that the channel is willing to participate in a final bid process. However, Zee said that it would have to seek its board's approval. Zee's board is slated to meet on September 13. If the board agrees to go in for a final bid, it will have to inform ESPN Star Sports and BCCI on Tuesday, the judges told the company's lawyers. In the event of Zee's board not agreeing for a final bid, the ESPN Star Sports case will be heard on September 16. Zee Network had emerged the highest bidder for telecast rights at $260 million, followed by ESPN-Star Sports at $230 million. Sony Entertainment Television, Prasar Bharati and Ten Sports were the other bidders. In the last round of negotiations, both Zee and ESPN-Star upped their offer to $308 million as BCCI increased the number of days of international cricket to 160 from 144. ESPN-Star Sports, however, decided to seek recourse from the court against BCCI's decision on the grounds that Zee Network was not eligible for telecasting cricket as it has no previous experience. ESPN also said that Zee had no production facilities. The final bids, if made, are expected to be higher than $308 million. The news from Bombay High Court did not augur well for the shares of Zee Telefilms, which fell to Rs 151.15 from the previous close of Rs 159.40.
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