The Hindu Business Line : Zee bags telecast rights in non-ICC member nations

High scores
The main reason for playing matches in neutral grounds is to expand cricket globally, says Mr Mr Lalit Modi.
The risk in this win could be much lower as the payout of $200 million is much lower than what was paid to acquire the rights to the India matches, says Mr Himanshu Mody.

New Delhi , April 6

Zee Telefilms might have lost out in the race to bag the telecast rights for matches played in India, but the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has awarded it the global media rights for all matches played by India on neutral territory in the next five years.

The broadcaster has offered $219.15 million for the television, radio and Internet rights in non-ICC member countries where the matches may be played.

The current media rights tender is for a minimum of 25 games and the new venues would include Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Holland, the US, the UK, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. Pakistan, Australia, West Indies and England are the four countries that have confirmed their participation. The forthcoming clash between India and Pakistan in the DLF Cup to be played in Abu Dhabi is the first of the series.

Mr Lalit Modi, Vice-President, BCCI and Chairman of the Marketing Sub-Committee, told presspersons, "With this, the minimum bid guarantee of the BCCI has crossed the $1-billion mark."

Bid price

While the average match bid by Zee was $8.77 million, other companies such as Nimbus offered to pay $8 million per match and Sahara $7.05 million per match. ESPN-Star Sports bid of $2.86 million per match was disqualified as it was lower than the floor price of $5 million fixed by the board.

While all the matches will be official ICC matches, the main reason for playing matches in neutral grounds is to expand cricket globally, said Mr Modi.

Expressing happiness over the win, Mr Himanshu Mody, Head of Zee Sports said, "The risk in this win could be much lower as the payout of $200 million is much lower than what was paid to acquire the rights to the India matches. Also the quality of teams is extremely good as India will be playing the top teams of the world."

He hoped that the sports channel would start making profits in 18 months and said that it was open to sharing the feed with national broadcaster, Prasar Bharati.

Explanation sought

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Senate has sought an explanation from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on the deal with the BCCI for the DLF Cup. The BCCI and the PCB have agreed to share the revenues and the cost on a 50:50 basis. Mr Salim Altaf, Director Cricket Operations - PCB said, "The Chairman of the PCB will appear before the Standing Committee on Sports to address this issue."

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Zee bags telecast rights in non-ICC member nations