In a sudden turn of events, leading TV networks Star TV Network and the Sony Pictures Network (SPN) have decided against participating in the upcoming bidding process that is set to happen later this month for the upcoming seasons of cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL), according to report from Mumbai Mirror.
The report suggested that both the networks have decided against participating in the bidding process which is one of the talking points about IPL in the recent weeks. There has been lot of controversies surrounding the bidding process as Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) are still trying to be compliant to the recommendations made by Lodha panel.
One of the major reasons for the bidding process is that it is one of the recommendations made by the committee as against the traditional media rights process where the board awards the rights to the network which offers the best payment to the board.
Reports suggest that the deal for the upcoming media rights bidding process could be as high as $2billion as BCCI eyes huge cash by selling the media rights for the next tenure which would help the league get a global reckoning.
However, SPN (Sony) who have brought the rights for the first ten years of IPL has earlier released a statement which read: “Further to the order of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India dated 21st October 2016, the BCCI has submitted all the documentation pertaining to the IPL ITT process for the Media Rights to the Hon’ble Supreme Court appointed Justice Lodha Committee and are awaiting directions from them. We will keep you informed of the further course of action as may be advised by the Justice Lodha Committee.”
The clarity about is still to be stuck with only hours left for the bidding process which has made the potential bidders a little frustrated as they are not completely aware of the proceedings that will take place in the coming days.
“All this is the theater of the absurd. It is not just about vegetable shopping, it is going to be a multi-billion dollar deal and we don’t have clarity on the whole thing just 36 hours prior to the date of bidding,” said a top honcho of a company that is a potential bidder.