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RCA favours tender process for ad rights
Rajasthan Cricket Association has asked the BCCI to issue tenders for advertising rights so that the Board could earn good revenue.
Raising objections on giving telecast rights of the Indo-Pak series to Prasar Bharti for a "pittance", Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) has asked the BCCI to follow a tendering process for the advertising rights so that the Board could earn good revenue from the high-profile event.
"It is not (not) necessary that we should telecast the matches with Pakistan on Doordarshan at whatever price they offer. If Doordarshan is not (not) providing a good license fee or minimum guarantee, we may consider tendering the advertising sales rights to independent agencies with requisite experience," RCA president Lalit Modi said in a letter to BCCI president Ranbir Singh Mahendra.
"It is learnt that DD is offering Rs 80 crore for the telecast right which is a pittance for the high-profile series as a tender might fetch over Rs 175 crore," Modi said, adding, higher revenue could also be garnered through a third party which could sell advertising portion of the telecast on DD, a move "which would not (not) be violative of the Chennai High Court's order".
Revenue of about Rs 50 crore could also be earned from overseas rights through tender process, he added.
After a lot of uncertainty over the telecast rights, the Madras High Court on Thursday passed an interim order allowing Prasar Bharti to telecast the series and asked the BCCI to select any production company, except for ZEE and ESPN-Star Sports.
BCCI faced loss of revenue to the tune of Rs 150 crore in the last two series against Australia and South Africa, which were telecast on DD.
Meanwhile, in a separate letter to BCCI Secretary SK Nair, Modi said the allotment of a ODI for the Pakistan series to Vizag in place of Nagpur, under the Board's rotation policy, was incorrect.
"The rotation sheet, approved in January 2001, had strictly been followed up till now for alloting ODIs but for Pakistan series Vizag is being allotted the match even as it was the turn of Nagpur," he said.
"It is quite clear from the rotation list that the decision to allot the match to Vizag was not correct as it ought to have been alloted to Nagpur and the mistake should be rectified," Modi added.
