Team on the rocks, BCCI jacks up telecast rights

The Indian team is on a low in the wake of humiliating defeats abroad and market conditions in the country, cricket's global commercial hub, are also on a downward path. However, that does not seem to have made an impression on the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Firoz Mirza reports.

The Indian team is on a low in the wake of humiliating defeats abroad and market conditions in the country, cricket's global commercial hub, are also on a downward path. However, that does not seem to have made an impression on the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).The Cricket Board, which terminated its telecast rights deal with Nimbus Communication in December with two years left in the contract, is still waging a legal battle over

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encashing the guarantee money. However, it is floating fresh global tenders to sell broadcast rights for the next six years (July, 2012 to March, 2018).

The BCCI marketing committee met on Wednesday and decided to float a fresh tender. It has fixed a base price for telecast rights of Rs 31.25 crore per international match for the first two years, and Rs 33 crore each over the subsequent four years.

The marketing panel head, Farooq Abdullah, said the BCCI was wiser after the termination of the Nimbus deal ran into legal complications. “The terms and conditions of the tender process have been made more stringent after Nimbus failed to live up to the BCCI's expectations.”

The telecast rights deal will be a litmus test for the health of the game as well as the BCCI's marketing skills.

There are already clear signs of fan fatigue, which was particularly evident in the Champions League Twenty20 last year after most matches were played before empty stands. India's defeats in England and Australia have only added to the dismay of the India team supporters.

With inputs from New Delhi