Prasar Bharati ready to telecast next series

Even as Zee and ESPN-Star Sports are slugging it out in court, Prasar Bharati today said it is fully prepared to telecast the upcoming India-Australia domestic series which begins from October.

"We have not received any official request from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on this matter, though one of its member has asked us to be prepared," Prasar Bharati CEO K S Sarma .

He said the public broadcaster was fully prepared and capable to telecast the series on its own.

The working committee of the BCCI is meeting in Kolkata tomorrow to look for ways to make sure that television coverage for the forthcoming international matches in India is not interrupted.

In the meeting, BCCI will discuss the latest situation arising out of the legal dispute and suggest the next course of action in view of the Indo-Australia test and one-day series from October.

The first test will start from October 6, but BCCI is now in a quandary to make sure it is telecasted as per the norms of the International Cricket Council (ICC), the cricket regulator of the world.

BCCI's contract with Doordarshan on telecasting domestic international matches will come to an end this month while the new series gets underway next month.

Sources said BCCI could make a short-term arrangement by offering state run Doordarshan live telecast of the Australia series, given the fact that the Zee-ESPN Star Sports legal battle might not be resolved easily.

The tour by Australia would be followed by the visit of South Africa in November.

Under ICC regulations, the organising board has to ensure video footage for the third umpire.

The case between two parties, ESPN-Star Sports and ZTL will come up for hearing before a division bench of the Bombay High Court tomorrow.

BCCI had awarded the telecast rights for the next four years "" October 2004 to September 2008, the rights to ZTL for $ 308 million but that ran into a legal quagmire when ESPN-Star Sports moved court challenging BCCI's decision.

After BCCI contended that both parties were equally eligible, the court asked the two parties to submit fresh bids.

However, ZTL decided not to re-bid and fight the legal way even as ESPN-Star Sports agreed to the proposal.