The Hindu : Sport : Zee Sports buys football telecast rights for 10 years

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Sep 27, 2005

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Sport - Sports : General

Zee Sports buys football telecast rights for 10 years

Sports Reporter

NEW DELHI: Indian football has capped a best deal ever with Zee Sports buying telecast rights for a period of 10 years. The money involved is reportedly astronomical. However, both the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and Zee Telefilms refused to divulge the exact figures. In any case, the deal is a windfall for the AIFF, which for years struggled with the lackadaisical attitude of Doordarshan both in terms of telecast of matches and promotion of the tournaments.

The AIFF President, Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, said that the amount involved was more than double that what the federation had signed in the past. Zee Sports was the highest bidder after the AIFF called for the bids for the telecast rights for a period of 10 years. Subsequently, the AIFF tried to bring the period down to five year as the bidders had quoted more than what it had expected. Zee, however, stuck to its stance of wanting to take the rights for 10 years, which the AIFF finally agreed to.

According to sources, the deal was signed for a sum of Rs. 504 crore. Zee Sports had initially quoted Rs. 500 crore before the AIFF unsuccessfully tried to call for a re-bidding.

Zee Sports will not only broadcast all the matches but also market the domestic tournaments such as Federation Cup, Santosh Trophy, National Football League and Super Cup. The deal also includes some international matches played by the Indian team in India.

Zee Sports proposed to telecast 100 matches live in the first year, with this season's broadcast starting on October 19.

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