World Sport Group wins Sri Lankan broadcasting rights

World Sport Group (WSG) has won the Sri Lankan Broadcasting and Sponsorship rights for the next three years. The announcement of the deal had been delayed due to the intervention of the Sports Ministry after a complaint by Dammika Ranatunga, the Chief Executive of the BCCSL at the time.

Ranatunga had complained to the Sports Minister, Lakshman Kiriella, that he had taken no part in the negotiations and did not want to be held responsible should any malpractices be discovered in the future.

However, the Minister passed on the details to the Attorney General and he found no fault with the bid process whatsoever. The Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka was then given the green light to complete the deal.

The exact details of the deal are yet to be revealed. However, sources in the board have indicated to the Daily Mirror that the deal is worth USD$28.5 million over the three-year period. That makes it by far the biggest deal in the history of Sri Lankan cricket.

Over that three-year period a record fourteen tours to Sri Lanka have been scheduled, including two by both England and India. There are to be a minimum of 24 test matches and 33 one-day internationals.

Thanks to the development of Dambulla International Stadium, which is situated in the dry area, cricket can be played throughout the year. This allowed the board to increase the number of matches held in Sri Lanka each year and thus increase the value of the broadcasting rights.

Sony Entertainment Television (SET) has held the rights for the last 18 months. They paid approximately eight million dollars. They had been expected to submit a very strong bid this time round but failed to be short-listed for the final negotiations. Trans World International (TWI) was the only other company to have been short-listed.

The board has issued the WSG with a letter of intent (LOL). The final contractual details are expected to take another 30 days. The contract will begin in January 2001.

The deal does not include Internet rights. This has been a separate process and has only reached the pre-qualification stage so far. Formal bids are expected in the coming weeks.