Zee to bid for telecast rights of ICC

NEW DELHI: After cornering Indian cricket's broadcast rights for non-ICC countries, Zee Sports is eyeing telecast rights of ICC and cricket boards of countries like Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and England.
"We are looking at expanding beyond India and will be going after telecast rights of the ICC (which includes World Cups) and other available boards, as and when they come up for renewal," Zee Sports' Vice-President Gaurav Seth said.
The announcement comes days after Zee Sports bagged one of its most-prized properties in BCCI's global media rights for non-ICC countries, for a whopping 219 million dollars.
The matches, to be played against top teams like Pakistan, England, Australia, West Indies, would be played at neutral venues like Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Holland, the US, the UK, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.
Asked whether Zee was confident of recovering the hefty amount it pays to BCCI for the five-year rights, Seth said, "Definitely, we will make profits and good money".
He said the BCCI's rights included not only TV telecast rights but also that for broadband and radio not only for the Indian territory but across the globe.
Seth said to expand the cricket profile on Zee Sports and move beyond Indian shores, the broadcaster would be bidding for rights of other boards as well as the ICC.
"The ICC rights come up for bidding next year and some of the other boards like Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and England will also be up for grabs around that time. We will certainly go for them," he said.
Apart from the rights of the All-India Football Federation (AIFF), Zee Sports also has the rights for Davis Cup, Fed Cup and WTA events for India.
Seth said the efforts of Zee would be to develop other sports to the level of cricket. "We feel that there is a lot of potential in other sporting events, like football. They just need to be tapped and marketed properly," he said.
Riding on the back of cricket telecast and other initiatives, Zee Sports hopes to break-even in the next 18 months.