Ten Sports bags ICC rights for Pakistan

MUMBAI: Ten Sports has acquired the Pakistan broadcast rights for International cricket Council (ICC) cricket matches for the next three years as a sub-licensee of Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV).

Taj Television bid $15 million for the rights. Independent Media Group, which runs Geo, bid $5 million.

Independent Music Group had previously won the right to contest the tender through the Lahore High Court, after PTV had originally indicated that Ten Sports would acquire the satellite and cable rights. The court last month had directed PTV to hold a tender.

Taj Television CEO Atul Pande told Indiantelevision.com that Independent Media Group was the incumbent. They questioned the deal that Zee and PTV had done with ESS which is the global rights holder for the property. Hence the court ordered a tender.

Indiantelevision.com was the first to report that Ten Sports had taken the ICC telecast rights for Pakistan. While it would show the live telecast of ICC matches in Pakistan territory on its satellite sports channel, PTV would telecast it terrestrially.

The biding process was carried out by a four ?member evaluation committee of the PTV Board of Directors. The committee, consisting of three ex-officio senior government officials and PTV MD, conducted the bidding process.

The committee had held meetings last month. The committee also considered the bids submitted by Independent Media Group (petitioners in the LHC case) and Taj TV as well as other prerequisites and subject to formalities to be completed by the prospective bidders.

In the initial bids both parties failed to provide a satisfactory bid in terms of value or to fulfilling necessary prerequisite, formalities and conditions. Due to this, both parties were provided an equal opportunity to submit fresh bids on 27 December 2011, with all formalities fulfilled and requirements in order for their bids to be treated as valid and acceptable to the bid evaluation committee.