IPL TV rights to be sold through tender process

Sony Pictures Network India (SPNI) were dealt a huge blow as far their presence in the Indian television market was concerned with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirming that the TV rights for the Indian Premier League (IPL), which currently expires at the end of the 2017 edition of the tournament, will be sold through a tender process.

Despite the 2013 IPL spot-fixing scandal and the betting scandal that resulted in the two-year suspension of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals - arguably two of the most widely supported franchises in the IPL - the 2016 edition of the T20 tournament attracted enormous viewership, thus stamping its authority on the Indian television market. As such, the BCCI is hopeful of maximising the profit even further with the 10-year TV broadcast deal sold to Sony in 2008 expiring at the end of the 2017 edition of the IPL.

With the BCCI expecting a huge windfall from a new IPL TV rights deal, as well as the fact that one of the main recommendations of the Lodha Committee was to hold a tender process for all broadcast rights means that Sony could well lose one of their biggest assets in the Indian television market.

"We had to make a final offer to them," the BCCI official told ESPNcricinfo on Saturday. "That is in the text of the contract. We met several times and our line to them was, in today's day and age, this is the biggest sports deal (IPL broadcasting rights), and it has to happen through an open tender. There is no other way.

"The only transparent process is through an open tender and that is also the right way to discover the right price for this property. The Supreme Court judgment of July 18 clearly mentions that all future negotiations need to happen through a tender. So if we do anything else it would be an infringement of the order."

Sony, however, is not willing to let go of their grasp on the IPL without a fight with insiders claiming that they might well have a case to contest here. As per the terms of the existing contract between the BCCI and SPNI, both parties had been involved in negotiations over a new deal in the 60-day window after the 2016 IPL final where it was expected that Sony would make an offer for a revised contract.

According to SPNI CEO NP Singh, that offer has been put on the table and he wants the BCCI to consider the deal considering the part they have played in making the IPL one of the biggest commercial success stories ever.

"When the BCCI conceived of the IPL, we identified it as a potential game-changing property," Singh told televisionpost.com. "Since then, we have worked productively with the BCCI to grow the league. Our agreement is now close to 10 years old, and both the parties have always followed it in letter and spirit. While I wouldn't comment on any particular clause, I would say that we feel comfortable in the knowledge that there will be fair negotiations.

“We have worked really hard to bring the IPL to where it stands today with the support of the BCCI and the franchises. We would like to carry this value-building exercise forward into the future as well.”

According to a BCCI insider who has been involved in the negotiations, Sony could even consider taking the BCCI to court should both parties fail to reach an amicable decision on the matter.

"SPNI has not accepted it. There are still a lot of things pending including legal options and all. SPNI's view is BCCI is not honouring its contract," ESPNcricinfo reported quoting a BCCI insider. "Sony told BCCI the IPL was a non-existing property. It invested in it and made IPL what it is today."

Singh’s words are unlikely to change the BCCI’s stance as they are also looking to maximise their profit and believe that a tender process is the best way forward. Sony are still expected to take part in the bidding process should things head that way but they are expected to face a big challenge from the Star India group who have made no secret of their desire to bag the IPL TV rights.