MUMBAI: Sony, which on Friday wrested the international cricket telecast rights (for all countries except the Indian territory) for the upcoming Indo-Pak series, has sublicenced the satellite rights for the Middle East and Pakistan to Dubai-based Ten Sports.
 

As far as coverage area is concerned, it stretches from Egypt through to the UAE. Additonally, Ten Sports has the telecast rights for Sri Lanka and (for the test matches) Bangladesh, Hong Kong and Europe.

Ten Sports has held the rights for these territories for the last three Indian tours. The deal with Sony continues an arrangement for the Pakistan territory that stretches back to the last cricket World Cup and the ICC knockout tourney.
 
 

Cost of acquisition of the rights for Ten Sports: Roughly $ 2.5 million.

Asked for a confirmation on the amount Ten had paid for the rights, SET India CEO Kunal Dasgupta refused to "comment on any figures".

Queried as to which other regions were important for Sony as far as the upcoming series was concerned, Dasgupta mentioned the US, Canada, UK and South Africa in particular. Dasgupta said that in the US the telecast would be on Dish TV on pay per view (PPV). In the UK, however, the matches would be aired on the Sony network he said. Even on Singapore's Starhub, it would be on PPV, he added.

PTV ACQUIRES TERRESTRIAL RIGHTS FOR $ 650,000
Sony sold the terrestrial telecast rights for the Pakistan territory after "protracted negotiations" with the state run broadcaster PTV for $ 650,000, the Press Trust of India has reported.

PTI quoted the Pakistan information minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed as saying in Islamabad, "It is quite a costly price, but, in view of the interest these matches generate here, PTV has decided to acquire the rights."

Earlier, Prasar Bharati had been allotted the domestic telecast rights (following a court injunction) "for free" while TWI had pocketed the production contract for the much touted series. TWI's fee: $ 1.5 million.