BCB CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS AND EFFECTS (3)
TV deal in limbo for months
It has been eight months since the Bangladesh Cricket Board is being run by an ad hoc committee. A constitutional crisis that prevented the BCB from holding an election for months took a heavy toll on the organisation. The Appellate Division of Supreme Court on Thursday allowed BCB to hold the election in the greater national interest without waiting for the legal battle to end. In this series of reports, we look into subjects badly affected by the absence of an elected body.
The Bangladesh Cricket Board could not attract any television channel for a permanent broadcasting and marketing rights deal in more than a year in the absence of an elected executive committee.
The BCB has been searching for a permanent broadcaster since its previous contentious deal with Singapore-based Nimbus Sports International expired in March 2012.
The Board had floated a tender last year seeking a broadcaster for a four-year period from November 1, 2012 to April 30, 2016 but only two companies – local Virgo Media and Indian sports-event licensing company Sporty Solutionz – showed some interest.
Virgo Media thought it had submitted a valid bid but did not raise the offer from its initial $6 million, though the board had asked for at least $15 million.
The BCB extended the tender deadline at least twice and also amended certain clauses to woo some broadcasters but without any success.
It was then forced to sell the worldwide broadcasting rights just for the home series against West Indies last year to Virgo Media Ltd, owner of satellite television channel, Channel 9, for $50,000.
As the BCB has no elected body at present it has decided to follow the same procedure for the forthcoming home series against New Zealand featuring two Tests, three one-dayers and a Twenty20 International.
It is unlikely to get any big amount from the broadcaster as New Zealand series is generally a losing series.
‘A series against New Zealand has never been very attractive to the broadcasters,’ BCB’s acting chief executive officer Nizamuddin Chowdhury told New Age. ‘Soon there will be an election in the BCB. Then we will again invite tenders for a permanent deal.
The BCB is, however, unlikely to get a high price whenever they manage to strike a permanent deal with a broadcaster as Bangladesh are scheduled to host lesser number of matches compared to the other teams in the Future Tours Programme.
In the next three-and-a-half years, including the New Zealand series, Bangladesh will play 16 Test matches, 41 one-day internationals and four Twenty20 internationals at home.
-With New Age input
