Speaking to TOI after the auction, Johri spoke about the process and the eventual result that projects very big numbers for the game in the country.
Excerpts…
The auction turned out to be a game-changer. Did the BCCI expect it to be so aggressive?
It is a game-defining moment. Look at the most aggressive digital bid that came today. It came from a hard core American company (Facebook) which has never had cricket on its radar. If you look at the interests of Sony and Star and ultimately the final number (winning bid), this is by far the highest number that has been put on cricket.
Cricket hasn’t stopped charming investors…
It is testimony to the fact that any company which wants to target a growing economy like India, there’s nothing better than cricket. The sheer confidence of a company to put this kind of amount on the table proves it. I expect an equally aggressive bid when the India rights come up. The reason for that is cricket transcends language boundaries. There are two ways to reach the audience in India – cricket and cinema. Cinema has language barriers. Cricket doesn’t. Cricket is an ideal platform for any strong business which wants to establish itself in India or wants to jump start in India. Television or digital is purely incidental.
When’s the tender going to be out for BCCI bilateral rights?
The Bcci Bilateral Rights are there till March 31. I don’t want to hazard a guess right now but it’ll happen before that. I’d rather say ‘early next year’.
Oppo, Vivo and now this. It’s a Rs 20,000 crore windfall…
It’s a great compliment to cricket in India that in one year, the BCCI has ended up making more money than it has in its entire history.
Regardless of BCCI’s legal tussles, money continues to come in…
For the management of BCCI, cricket is supreme. So long as we stay focused and transparent, the revenue will come.
Source : timesofindia
