The Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) have decided to launch tender process for IPL broadcasting rights through a tender process from season 2018 with president Anurag Thakur expected to make an announcement on the same on Sunday in New Delhi.
Sony Pictures Network India (SPNI) currently holds the TV rights of IPL after they signed a contract with BCCI in 2008 for 10 years which is set to be expired next summer. With the growth of IPL in digital and TV world, the board expects a number of contenders to bid for the rights of the next few years of IPL.
SPNI was supposed to make a new bid for the rights after IPL 2016 final in a period of 60 days and BCCI will have to respond in 10 days within the 60-day period. The SPNI have reportedly made a new offer but the board is yet to make a decision as they are likely to go for tender process.
“We had to make a final offer to them,” the BCCI official told ESPNcricinfo on Saturday. “That is in the text of the contract. We met several times and our line to them was, in today’s day and age, this is the biggest sports deal [IPL broadcasting rights], and it has to happen through an open tender. There is no other way.”
“The only transparent process is through an open tender and that is also the right way to discover the right price for this property. The Supreme Court judgment of July 18 clearly mentions that all future negotiations need to happen through a tender. So if we do anything else it would be an infringement of the order,” he added.
However, SPNI are not happy with the approach of BCCI. “SPNI has not accepted it. There are still a lot of things pending including legal options and all. SPNI’s view is BCCI is not honouring its contract,” an SPNI source said.
The board is expected to divide the rights in three categories which include TV rights, digital rights or a combination of both. With Star India claiming the digital rights, a few years ago and SPNI holding on to TV rights, the battle is expected between the two as BCCI looks for the best market price available.
However, according to the initial contract, SPNI should have the first right to refusal or also the right to match the offer to renew the contract with the board. The new contract length is yet to be confirmed as it is believed to be around 5 years.