Upping the ante a day before the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is to announce its decision on the telecast rights for all international cricket played in India over the next four years, Subhash Chandra, chairman, Zee Telefilms, said that he was “hundred per cent confident of bagging the telecast rights”.
However, he also said that in case Zee did not get the rights “despite being the highest bidder, we will go to court and it will be a fierce battle.”
Chandra said this at a press conference held in Chennai soon after the BCCI held a meeting with Zee Telefilms representatives. He said all issues regarding eligibility and experience had been “successfully” explained to BCCI officials at today’s meeting”. Chandra emphasised that Zee’s bid was “fully compliant from all aspects”.
The Zee chairman also told the media that on October 2 Zee Telefilms would launch a separate Sports channel, to coincide with the network completing 12 years of operations. “It will be a pay channel, and will be launched irrespective of the outcome of the bid,” he said.
The investment in the proposed Sports channel will be to the tune of Rs 150-200 crore. This is seen as an effort to expand its footprint. Chandra claimed that Zee’s DTH platform would also come in handy, as it would offer custom viewing by enabling the viewer to choose the angle and position from which the cricket is viewed.
Zee hopes to generate three streams of revenue, namely, from advertising, domestic subscriptions and distribution to international networks if the outcome is favourable.
Chandra expressed displeasure that the BCCI had decided to call the second highest bidder too for discussions. “BCCI should have called only the highest bidder for talks,” he said. Even as he was addressing the media, the BCCI was holding a meeting with the second highest bidder, ESPN-STAR.
Zee’s bid is the highest at $ 260 million, followed by ESPN-STAR at $ 230 million, Prasar Bharti $ 150 million, Sony Entertainment $ 132 million, and Ten Sports $115 million.
On the issue of capability, Chandra said, “No channel has better or greater experience than Zee. We are a full-fledged network with the best infrastructure. The fact is that the other channels, except Ten Sports, do not produce their own programmes. So where is the issue of them being in a better position than us?”
Zee also hopes to give more exposure to domestic cricket if the deal comes through. There would be 52-70 days of live telecast of domestic cricket. An investment of Rs 94.5 crore has been proposed for promoting domestic cricket. Chandra stated that the BCCI meeting clarified various aspects like experience, eligibility as per the tender document, payment schedules and whether there will be “sexualisation” of cricket.
The Zee network is the largest in India with 19 channels comprising its Zee and Alpha brands in six languages. It also operates Dish TV, the first DTH platform to be launched in India.
Zee Telefilms had a revenue of Rs 1,450 crore with a profit of Rs 308 crore for the year ending March 2004.