SLC calls separate tenders for TV/Radio and Digital Broadcast rights
View(s):Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) is floating three separate tenders for TV and Radio Broadcast rights, TV Production rights and Digital Broadcast rights for the next three years as their partnership with Ten Sports ends on March 31, 2020.
Even though TV and Radio Broadcast rights and TV Production Rights were floated separately during their last bidding process in 2013, the Digital Rights were not floated separately.
Broadcast rights are one of the main sources of SLC income and by going to the market separately for TV and Radio rights, Digital Broadcast rights, SLC is hoping to generate more funds.
Accordingly, SLC published three separate adverts in local newspapers on Friday, giving a January 6 deadline to submit Expression of Interests (EOIs) to join hands with SLC for the next three-year financial cycle ending in 2023.
“We want to maximize our earnings which is why we decided to go to the market separately for each service,” said SLC chief Shammi Silva. “This way we are on a better footing to increase our revenues.”
In 2013 for the first time, SLC went to the market with TV production rights being sold separately as they wanted to improve the quality of production by bringing in uniformity.
For example when a country like India plays a series, the producers use the best technology available but the production quality standards drops when some other country plays Sri Lanka.
Accordingly the production houses with prior experience in TV production of sporting events could express their interest. The board wants reputed international broadcasters and marketing agents who are interested in acquiring TV and Radio rights and Digital rights for SLC’s inbound tours to submit their interest on or before the deadline as SLC is looking to finalise the process by mid-February.
However the bidding process is not open for companies related to tobacco, alcohol, betting, online betting and gambling.
The current rights holder Ten Sports bought TV rights in 2014 for a sum of $60.373 million in total for the television rights to all of Sri Lanka’s home games. The production part of the contract has been valued at $14-15m, with Ten Sports also agreeing to donate $40,000 per year over the term of the deal to aid the development of Sri Lankan domestic cricket.
Meanwhile, Silva also said they will also go to the market in early January to find media rights holders for the proposed Lanka Premier League (LPL) – an IPL like domestic tournament with international participation.
The tournament was to get off the ground in 2018 but did not see the light of the day following changes in SLC administration. The board is hoping to conduct it this year in order to provide cricketers with a competitive tournament to improve their standards.