ESPN to share Twenty20 World Cup feed with DD

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Millions of cricket lovers in non-cable households will be able to watch ICC’s Twenty20 World Cup kick off in South Africa on September 11. After weeks of dragging its feet over the issue, ESPN-Star Sports has conceded to Prasar Bharati’s demand to share its feed with Doordarshan for all the matches India plays, the semi-finals and the final, irrespective of whether India reaches the final stages.

While ESPN-Star Sports officials declined to comment, a source at Prasar Bharati confirmed the development. A top Prasar Bharati official told ET: “Doordarshan had sent a communication to ESPN-Star Sports requesting share of live feed of all matches India plays, including semi-finals and finals.

ESPN-Star Sports has not responded to our communication yet, but we have been given to understand that they have agreed to share the feed with us. A formal communication from ESPN-Star Sports is, however, awaited.”

Sharing feed of the Twenty20 format is not mandatory for the private broadcaster, unlike one-day matches and Tests telecasts. However, officials in the I&B ministry and Prasar Bharati had insisted that since the event was of national importance, the feed of the Twenty20 series too should be shared with Doordarshan.

Anticipating huge viewership, Prasar Bharati had demanded that sharing of the feed be made mandatory on the grounds that Twenty20 matches fall in the same category as one-day internationals. As per the law on mandatory feed sharing, the revenue sharing model is 75:25 in favour of the broadcaster.

Meanwhile, ESPN-Star Sports has sold the series at rates about 100% higher than even the 2007 World Cup, with rates averaging Rs 2.75-Rs 3 lakh per 10 seconds. “The format is new, and India’s performance has been encouraging, so advertisers are keen on the series,” a media source said.

WPP’s Group M, for example, has bought out 60% of the series inventory for $15 million on behalf of all its clients, including presenting sponsors Nokia, Havells, Hero Honda and associate sponsor PepsiCo. The deal also includes spot buys, which will be priced according to the performance of the Indian team across various stages.