The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will have to decide among two bidders tomorrow for naming the official broadcaster for The Champions League, the international version of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
ESPN STAR Sports and Sony Entertainment Television (SET) are the only two bidders in race to acquire the telecast rights of the tournament slated for December this year, sources said. It was earlier announced that the floor price for the bid has been set for $750 million for ten years.
The Champions League, promoted by the BCCI and the boards of Australia and South Africa, will witness domestic clubs of various countries play in the Twenty20 format.
In the first year, the league will have four nations participating with two teams each. India, Australia and South Africa have confirmed their participation. BCCI is still trying to get Pakistan and England on board. Later on the number of teams will increase. The two teams representing India will be the finalists of the DLF IPL, which implies that for the first season Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings will play in the tournament.
The exclusive telecast rights of BCCI’s DLF IPL were won by the consortium of SET and World Sports Group for $1.03 billion (around Rs 4,000 crore) for 10 years.