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Journalism of Courage
Less than a fortnight before the Pakistani cricket team arrives in India, the BCCI is still wondering what will become of the all-important television rights 8212; and of its even more important bottomline.
Earlier this week, the Madras High Court asked the BCCI not to award rights for the series till February 17, when it resumes hearing a Zee Telefilms petition.
Any decision on February 17 is certain to be challenged in the Supreme Court the next day a Friday. 8216;8216;The earliest the Board will be in a position to sell the rights is Monday, February 218217;8217;, says a BCCI insider. The first Test is due to begin on March 4.
Even this best-case scenario leaves just 10 days for the rights to be sold, advertising deals to be sewn up, overseas rights to be finalised. As such, a tentative formula is being discussed in Board circles: Doordarshan gets to show the series, Ten Sports does the production and Sony sells the overseas rights.
This keeps Zee and ESS, the two companies at the root of cricket8217;s courtroom imbroglio, out of the way. The Board stays out of further controversy.
The upcoming series is a three-test, five-ODI affair. A matching schedule in Pakistan in 2004 earned Ten Sports 8216;8216;Rs 100 crore in ad revenue8217;8217;, says a cricket industry executive.
8216;8216;That was a unique situation,8217;8217; he says, 8216;8216;this one may not be worth as much. But the worldwide market for the series, ads and overseas rights taken together, should cross Rs 100 crore.8217;8217;
He warns, though, that 8216;8216;foreign buyers like Fox Australia, Supersport South Africa and Sky Sports UK, who dominate each market, may be unwilling to buy the series for any significant money at the last minute8217;8217;. Cable networks catering to NRIs in North America and the UK may be the BCCI8217;s saviours.
Either way, the BCCI could be facing a lost year. Zee had bid 308 million for the 2004-08 rights. The highlight of this package was Season One 8212; when Australia, South Africa and Pakistan played in India 8212; and Season Four 8212; a likely second Pakistan series.
The middle years 8212; 2005-06 and 2006-07, with 8216;8216;less valuable8217;8217; teams like Sri Lanka and England coming 8212; were essentially being subsidised. 8216;8216;Remove the first year and the value of the package drops by at least 100 million, maybe more,8217;8217; says a BCCI official.
With its tender documents being argued over in court, the BCCI resorted to ad hoc measures. It sold the rights for the Australia and South Africa series in winter 2004, as well as for the one-off India-Pakistan ODI in Kolkata on November 13, to DD on a revenue sharing basis.
DD has officially told the press it is committed to paying the BCCI Rs 80 crore as its share. 8216;8216;Dalmiya,8217;8217; says an associate, 8216;8216;had told us in Board meetings that the two series were worth double that.8217;8217;
In December, the BCCI tentatively sounded out TV companies on the rights for what remained of the original four-year period 8212; from the Indo-Pakistani series in 2005 to the South African tour that concludes the 2007-08 season.
The figure mentioned was 8216;8216;260 million, a pro-rata reduction from the 308 million that Zee bid8217;8217;. Apparently ESS was willing, even agreeable to being politically correct and sharing feed with state-owned DD.
Preliminary negotiations between the ESS management and BCCI officials are understood to have taken place during the Indian tour of Bangladesh. About a week ago, company sources confirm, a team from Singapore visited Kolkata.
The Madras High Court has, however, rendered any such ideas infructuous.
