Broadcasters submit technical bids for ICC media rights

Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI), Disney Star, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) and Viacom18 – have submitted their technical bids to the International Cricket Council (ICC).

They have also paid bid collaterals, which is a pre-condition for participating in the bidding.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has decided to make some changes to the sale of the media rights process for the India market after caving in to pressure from broadcasters.

According to a report on The Times of India, the ICC could end up revealing bidding figures in the presence of participants at an event in Dubai on Friday, 26 August, besides conditions that could lead to an e-auction.

The tender process could enter an e-auction in the second round if the top two bids are within 10 per cent of one another.

“Considering now they have to share if the difference between the winning bid and the second-highest bid is less than 10 per cent for Round Two to go ahead, they will now have to announce all the bid numbers on 26th itself in front of broadcasters,” said a source in the TOI report.

The development comes after the said broadcasters — Viacom18, Disney, Sony and Zee — refused to attend ICC’s proposed mock auctions citing “opaqueness” of the tender process to which they demanded more clarity.

It also revealed the ‘Benchmark Price’ for the four as well as the eight-year cycles along with the multiplier that could help the ICC decide which cycle to go with.

According to the report, the benchmark price for the four-year cycle has been set at US$1.44 billion, while the same for the eight-year cycle has been calculated with the ‘2.8 multiplier formula’ — which amounts to US$4 billion. First Post