Zee TV has bid $260 million for BCCI's cricket telecast rights, while ESPN-Star Sports bid $230 million.

Zee bid offers Rs 95 cr to boost cricket

BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya said in Kolkata on Tuesday that the board had asked for some clarifications from bidders and a decision on awarding telecast rights for cricket matches would be taken after deliberating on their responses. But bidders for telecast rights for cricket matches continued their jockeying.

R C Venkatesh, managing director, ESPN Star Sports, said, "BCCI's decision to take a closer look at the issue is indicative of the fact that money is not the sole criteria. We are sure to get the deal when it comes to choosing the best player in terms of technical expertise and experience."

"We are open to increasing the bid price. We are `flexible' to any extent," Venkatesh added.

If the action is heating up, that's because the contract for telecasting BCCI-organised cricket tournaments will bring rich pickings for broadcasters.

According to market estimates, the channel that gets the rights can earn around Rs 2, 000 crore (Rs 20 billion) from the telecast of matches over the period of the contract.

According to initial estimates, if it gets the BCCI telecast rights, the channel's subscription revenue will surge by about 30 per cent. Similarly, the advertisement and sales revenues of the channel will also go up by about 40 per cent. "The Rs 2,000 crore earning from the telecast of BCCI tournaments looks feasible. But it is too early to make an estimate. It can change," said a senior Zee group executive.

Subscription revenue is expected to contribute about 40 per cent of Zee's earnings, while advertisements and sales revenue will bring in another 40 per cent. The remaining earnings will come from revenues from direct to home services. If Zee TV gets the telecast rights, its DTH platform will benefit hugely.

A one-day international match held in India can, according to some estimates, generate about Rs 10 crore (Rs 100 million) in television advertisement revenue; a five-day test match can generate about Rs 20 crore (Rs 200 million).

Zee intends to raise television coverage of the domestic matches. It will produce live coverage of over 52 days each year of domestic cricket, possibly extending this to as many as 72 days each year.

In addition to a telecast feed for the global market, Zee will produce a specially customised feed for India with pre match breaks and post match programming.

Zee is already planning a daily cricket news show, a weekly India cricket news magazine show and a weekly cricket personality interview show.

Besides, when digital cable systems are installed in India, Zee will procure interactive television production systems wherever technically possible.

Zee has also worked out a detailed plan on how BCCI's television partner may assist it in building a brand and Indian cricket. Its plans revolve around developing domestic cricket, steps that can be taken to raise the profile of domestic cricket and how Zee can use its national and regional channels to assist in developing local fan bases.

Though BCCI's invitation to tender specifies 14 camera coverage, Zee plans to use 19 camera coverage, going up to 30 cameras in certain series.