Cashing in on cricket

BROADCAST: ESPN-Star Sports fixes a high price for Star Cricket. Will cable operators play ball?

Cable bills in non-conditional access system (CAS) areas may go up by 10-15 per cent with the launch of the all-cricket sports channel, Star Cricket, today.

With this launch, sports broadcaster ESPN Star Sports will become the costliest sports bouquet in non-CAS areas in the country, with a price of about Rs 65 per susbcriber.

Nimbus Communications bouquet of two sports channels "" Neo Sports and Neo Sports Plus "" is the second most expensive bouquet, priced at Rs 37.25 per susbcriber.

"While we will not be able to comment on the individual pricing of Star Cricket to the cable operators, the fact that it will be seen in most cable homes confirms our committment to millions of cricket fans across India," an ESPN executive says.

Together, ESPN and Star Sports cost Rs 42 per susbcriber in non-CAS homes while it is priced Rs 5 in the CAS homes of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. With Star Cricket, it will become the costliest sports bouquet in the country.

The leading sports broadcaster has sold its all-cricket channel at Rs 19-23 per subscriber per month to different multi system operators (MSO) on the basis of exclusive coverage of the India-England three test match series begining today.

Star Cricket witnessed a soft-launch on July 1 and the sports broadcaster was seeking Rs 28 per susbcriber from MSOs.

Cable operators say that this will force them to increase cable prices by 10-15 per cent in non-CAS homes. Senior executives of the MSO WWIL (formerly called Siticable) say that there was no question of paying Rs 28 for Star Cricket.

"With the mandatory sports law in place, there is no exclusivity for any sports broadcaster except for test matches. We will have to pass on the pricing to the consumers or show only two out of three sports channels from ESPN bouquet," says a Delhi-based cable operator working for a leading MSO.

But it will be good news for direct to home (DTH) susbcribers. About 22 lakh susbcribers of Dish TV, a large DTH company, will be able to view Star Cricket, a Dish TV spokesperson has confirmed.

The deal with Tata Sky, the second-largest DTH operator, is also on the anvil, sources close to the development inform.