BCCI’s Future Seems Perfect

THE Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) woes on roping in a sponsor for the ground rights for the Ireland series may come to an end. According to sources, the Future Group is a key contender to acquire the entire ground rights and title sponsorship for the Ireland and Scotland series. When contacted by ET, Kishore Biyani, CEO, Future Group, confirmed that he was in conversation with BCCI, but refused to divulge details. Apart from the Future Group, an international company has also offered to buy out the in-stadia rights. Sources involved in the development said that the deal will be closed on Tuesday and the announcement will be made by the BCCI on Wednesday. This is the first time that a single sponsor has offered to buy out the entire ground sponsorship. Usually, it is sold to a host of sponsors.

Sources reveal that the deal has been closed at around $4,50,000-6,00,000 per match. The series has a total of four matches. It was also indicated that the deal ensures BCCI maintaining its price levels, without any reduction on the floor price. “If India was performing, we would have got a much better price. But considering the current scenario, we have managed to clinch a good deal,” said a BCCI insider. Last week, BCCI had its back to the wall, with absolutely no takers for the in-stadia right for the Ireland-Scotland series, following which BCCI had decided to go in for a new tender for the in-stadia and title rights offering a discount of as much as 20% from the original bid amounts.

The minimum floor price for the bids have been set at Rs 2.45 crore, and it was said that BCCI would revise the price to Rs 2 crore per match. However, BCCI sources said they would not be looking at revising the tender prices as the deal has been sealed. India’s early exit from the World Cup has caused more damage than just dampening the aspirations of its few hundred million cricket fans. Undoubtedly, BCCI and sports broadcasters, who have bet big on cricket, find themselves in a sticky situation as they had been hoping to exploit the cash-rich game.

With the bulk of the money expected to come from the Indian sub-continent, cricket prices need to come back to track to ensure the game is commercially viable. With the recent India-Bangladesh series also not garnering significant revenues, it remains to be seen how ESPN will bring in the moolah for the upcoming India-England series.