The Hindu Business Line : Cricket telecast: Opportunity for lost bidders

EVEN as Zee Telefilms chalks out its strategy for the cricket rights, legal experts are of the opinion that the Bombay High Court's suggestion for a fresh round of bidding could open options for the other broadcasters who had lost out in the first round.

They said that if the High Court has asked ESPN-Star Sports and Zee TV to make fresh bids, then why should the others not be allowed to participate in the process. "Earlier, the bidding process involved a single round where the highest bidder was given the rights. However, with the Court's intervention, the process seems to have entered into a second round," said a senior Delhi-based counsel.

Broadcasters, meanwhile, are biding their time. Said a broadcaster who had participated in the process earlier, "We will have to wait till Tuesday to see how Zee responds. Only after that can we decide on our future plans."

The Board of Zee Telefilms is likely to discuss the matter and take a final decision early next week.

Meanwhile, it is unlikely that the national broadcaster, Prasar Bharati, will participate in any more bids. Officials said that the public broadcaster, which had offered Rs 700 crore in the first round of bidding, does not have enough financial clout to up its stakes. Besides, it is quite certain that the private broadcasters would not be averse to sharing the rights to the cricket matches with Doordarshan for a commercial consideration.

In fact, the Chairman of Zee Telefilms, Mr Subhash Chandra, was to meet with the CEO of Prasar Bharati, Mr K.S. Sarma, on Friday on the sharing of terrestrial rights.

With cricket attracting a large viewership and huge revenues, the broadcast of the game has been mired in controversy. Early this year, DD and Ten Sports were battling it out in the Supreme Court for sharing of rights to the historic Indo-Pakistan series. This time around, ESPN-Star Sports has filed a case in the Bombay High Court challenging the telecast rights given to Zee TV by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for $ 308 million.

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