The Marketing Committee of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has set a minimum bid price of Rs 32.25-34 crore per match (Test, One-Day International, Twenty20) for its six-year global media rights starting in July, 2012.
Sources said the bid price of Rs. 32.25 crore was for 2012-14 (remaining part of the cancelled previous contract with Nimbus Communications) and Rs. 34 crore for 2015-18. The BCCI had terminated its four-year contract with Nimbus in mid-December, 2011 after the latter defaulted on payments. The media rights include television, internet and mobile.
Tenders
After a meeting here on Wednesday, the BCCI decided to invite tenders from March 10 to 26. The Marketing Committee will receive the bids in Chennai on April 2. Dr. Farokh Abdulla, Chairman of the Committee, said: “We discussed all aspects and gave shape to the tender. The contract with Nimbus has ended.
“The difficulties and deficiencies in the previous tender were looked into and rectified in the new tender. All care has been taken and it will be a global tender for six years. The process will take three weeks.
“First and foremost the difficulty in the previous contract was that Nimbus was not coming up to expectations. The payments that were supposed to come from them were not coming. They gave bank guarantees, but the banks said since the contract had been terminated the guarantees are not valid. We have gone to court on that. Nimbus did not fulfil the promises they made in the contract. They owe us over. Rs. 305 crore.”
Dr. Abdulla said the new tender would give a chance for new people to come in. “They can bid for the whole package or in parts. The tender will generate large interest and we hope to get more.''
