ESPN-Star Sports tables fresh offer to BCCI

ESPN-Star Sports (ESS) has put forth a fresh proposal to the Board of Control for Cricket in India, saying that if they were awarded the right to broadcast the four-Test India-Australia series, they would pass on all profits (after costs) from advertising, and payments from Doordarshan, to the BCCI. However, this is unlikely to have any impact till the Supreme Court gives its ruling on the whole matter on September 28. There is an urgent need to resolve the impasse before Australia's tour of India, which begins with a tour match against Mumbai, the Ranji Trophy champions, on September 30.

The Supreme Court is expected to rule tomorrow and determine whether Zee's original bid for the rights was valid. If the court rules in favour of Zee, ESS could go to court once more, contending that Zee are not eligible in the first place. If the court rules against Zee, then the question of who will produce or broadcast the series comes into play.

In a letter to Jagmohan Dalmiya, the BCCI president, ESS offered their solution. The BCCI received the letter early on Monday, September 27. The letter, sent by Rik Dovey, the managing director of ESS, reiterated the ESS claim that Zee Networks was ineligible to be one of the contestants for the telecast rights. "As you know, it was our contention before the Bombay High Court that Zee was hopelessly ineligible in terms of your tender, in that, as admitted by Zee's counsel, Zee had not done a single day's production of a clean feed for an international cricketing event," says the letter. "Equally, it was our contention that not only had it not produced a cricketing event, it had not telecast a single cricket event either live or delayed."

The letter goes on to explain the rationale behind taking the matter to court and then withdrawing the petition. "We were confident of success in our petition but since it was expressed on your behalf that the Australia tour might be jeopardised in view of the ongoing litigation and since your counsel made a statement that there was no concluded contract and that the tender would be cancelled, in the larger interest of cricket, we agreed to and did in fact withdraw our petition."

Then the letter explains, in three points, the fresh proposal ESS have tabled before the BCCI:

"1.ESS will undertake the production and telecast of the India-Australia series on our networks. As you are aware, we have our own production unit and in-house production capability and leading commentators. (As you are aware Zee has neither in place).

"2.We have an agreement in place with Prasar Bharati to carry the signal on Doordarshan. (As you are aware Zee has claimed only to have an "in principle" agreement, which has so far not been disclosed.)

"3.We will give the BCCI all the net advertising revenues earned on our channel and our net share of the DD revenues net of costs."

The BCCI has so far not reacted to ESS's latest offer. The marketing committee of the board is set to meet tomorrow, and sources indicate that the board could produce the pictures themselves, if the court's ruling opens a door to such a possibility, through World Sports Group. If this happens the series will be telecast on Doordarshan in India and sold to interested parties worldwide.