The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has raised BDT17.9 crore (US$2.1m) from its sale of broadcast rights to Bangladesh’s forthcoming home series against West Indies.
The value of the deal with the Ban Tech marketing agency is 42 per cent higher than the BDT12.6 crore (US$1.48m) base price set by the BCB.
Speaking after the bidding process held on Tuesday (5 January), BCB media committee chairman Jalal Yunus told ESPNcricinfo: “We are happy with the price for a single tour. There were two other bidders, T-Sports and Gazi TV and the bidding went on for ten rounds.”
Gazi TV, the Bangladeshi pay-television broadcaster, held the BCB’s domestic and international broadcast rights from 2014-15 to 2019-20. T-Sports, meanwhile, is a Bangladeshi sports channel that launched last year and aired the recent Bangabandhu T20 Cup.
Bangladesh will face West Indies in three one-day internationals, starting on January 20. This will be followed by a two-match Test series next month.
The BCB issued last month issued its invitation to bid for the satellite, digital over-the-top (OTT) streaming and direct-to-home rights. Broadcasters and agencies were asked to pay a non-refundable fee of BDT300,000 (US$3,500) for overseas bidders in order to obtain a copy of the tender document.
Bidders were asked to submit their offers by January 3 before the bidding rounds held two days later.
The BCB will be responsible for ensuring the TV production of West Indies’ tour. The live feed for the matches must also be provided to Bangladesh Television, the state-owned broadcaster, in order to adhere to the government’s National Broadcast Policy legislation.
Sources within the BCB board told ESPNcricinfo that it had opted for a short-term deal instead of a multi-year rights agreement as it is waiting for the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) next Future Tours Programme before looking for the next long-term broadcast partner.
John Stephenson
john@cricketinvestor.co.uk
#Cricketnews #BCB #BanTech
