Home > Business > PTI > Report
Zee pays $20 million to BCCI
September 07, 2004 14:54 IST
Zee Telefilms has paid the first installment of $20 million to the Board of Control for Cricket in India for telecast rights of cricket matches to be played in India and said it would decide 'in a day or two' on who it would partner for its sports channel.
"We have paid the first installment as stipulated by the BCCI," Essel Group vice-president (corporate and brand development) Ashish Kaul said on Tuesday.
Asked about the rest of the money that has to be paid to the BCCI, Kaul said, "A detailed payment schedule has been given to us. Both the parties (Zee and BCCI) have yet to finalise the schedule and sign it."
With regard to the launch of the sports channel, he said Zee Telefilms is talking to the Turner group and Ten Sports.
"These are among the companies that have approached us and we will take a decision very soon, in a day or two," he said.
The Turner group already has a distribution network with Zee called Zee-Turner Ltd. The Zee group bagged the rights for telecasting domestic cricket matches for the next four years for a whopping $308 million.
On the name of the sports channel, he said it would be decided by late Tuesday or Wednesday.
The selection of Zee Telefilms by the BCCI has been challenged in the Mumbai High Court by ESPN-Star Sports which alleged that 'unfair advantage' was given to Zee.