Bid process to be set in motion

The bidding process for TV rights to Indian cricket will be set in motion on Thursday when the BCCI Marketing Committee meets to discuss the tender process. Ranbir Singh Mahendra, the board president, will chair the meeting, the sole agenda of which will be to deliberate on the tender process for the TV rights of matches to be held in India for the next four seasons.

The meeting assumes significance in the backdrop of reports that the BCCI has framed the terms and conditions of the tender so as to exclude Zee TV from the bidding. The BCCI is supposed to have made it mandatory that the bidder should have at least 3 years of experience in cricket telecast.

Zee had bid and won the telecast rights last year but BCCI cancelled it after ESPN-Star Sports filed a case against the Board in Mumbai High Court. Zee subsequently filed a case against the Board's decision in the Supreme Court. The apex court dismissed the appeal after a drawn-out court battle.

The meeting will be attended by former board presidents, Jagmohan Dalmiya and IS Bindra, BCCI Treasurer Jyoti Bajpai and Joint Secretary Gautam Dasgupta, among others.