The Hindu Business Line : ESPN-Star, Zee in slanging match over cricket telecast

EVEN as the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) ponders over the coveted cricket telecast rights for the next four years, the two top bidders, ESPN-Star Sports and Zee Telefilms, are engaged in a game of allegations and accusations.

ESPN-Star Sports claimed that they are the "highest legitimate bidder" as Zee does not qualify as an eligible candidate to bid under the technical specifications spelt out by BCCI.

Zee Telefilms is strongly defending its case. It has said that ESP-Star Sports is making false allegations because they are threatened from being wiped out of business in India within the next few years.

In response to BCCI's tender, Zee Telefilms had submitted a bid of $260 million. It was followed by ESPN-Star Sports' bid of $230 million, which if extended up to the fifth year works out to $309 million.

PricewaterhouseCoopers is helping BCCI in analysing the bids. Meanwhile, BCCI's marketing committee failed to take a decision in its last meeting held last Tuesday.

Mr R.C. Venkatesh, Managing Director of ESPN Software India, said they are the highest legitimate bidder because Zee does not qualify to make any bid.

"As per the tender document, a bidder must have experience of cricket telecast in the last two years. That makes Zee ineligible as they have not telecast cricket. So, we are the highest legitimate bidder," he told Business Line.

He added that in a tendering process, before becoming a L1 (lowest bidder), a bid must be T1 or T2 (on technical qualification). "On this aspect, Zee Telefilms will lose out."

Mr Asish Kaul, Vice President, Corporate Brand Development, Essel Group, said that ESPN-Star Sports was making "childish comments out of sheer desperation", and added that Zee had telecast cricket to its international viewers in Africa, Europe and the US.

"BCCI has studied our bid and as far as we can realise, they have not rejected our offer. I think it is a silly act on the part of ESPN to spread such wrong information among journalists," Mr Kaul said.

According to him, Zee gave details of all the matches it had telecast during the last 10 years while submitting its bid. "Do you think our executives have not studied the tender documents before submitting our bid?"

Mr Kaul also said that this was just a tender process, where one party will win and others will lose. "You win some and lose some. Tendering is not walking into a departmental where you can change you deals whenever you feel like."

BCCI has said that it had sought certain clarifications from some of the bidders. However, both Mr Kaul and Mr Venkatesh said that they have not received any such communication from BCCI.

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