Win some, lose some
On a tight two-day scheduled trip to India soon after he’s taken charge as Managing Director of the joint venture ESPN Star Sports (ESS) in Asia, Manu Sawhney’s in for a jolt. Nimbus, the competing group that owns NEO Sports, has bagged the telecast rights for all International Twenty20 matches in India.
“We are not aware of a tender being floated or know what the criteria/requirement were. We do intend to ask BCCI about what was its consideration. In the past, BCCI has always been open,” says Sawhney. This twister is rather puzzling to him, coming as it does on the heels of India’s thumping victory at the recent ICC World T20 championship, which was telecast on ESS.
The more recent one-day series, the company claims, has also afforded it 63 per cent channel share during the India-Australia semifinals and television rating points have touched 23.2. So all is right, and barring that little blip, Sawhney is really ready to take the fight forward in terms of firming up leadership position in India.
Market observers aver that the going now for ESS cannot be easy as it has to contend with a market that has seen active consolidation with big groups like Zee establishing its sports channel and willing to take on the might of all the existing stake holders—including the BCCI.
There’s also Nimbus with Neo Sports that has managed to carve its own niche as it sits with telecast rights for all international cricket played in India from February 2004 to April 2010, and now it’s also armed with the racy T20 matches in India. “There were some fears from media observers that we are losing ground. In fact, many even questioned the logic of us launching a third channel (Star Cricket). But we have put a great distance between us and others. We are Asia’s No. 1 channel and have 95 per cent penetration in the region,” says Sawhney.
According to Mona Jain, executive VP, India Media Exchange (Publicis Group), the strength of ESS is its distribution. “It’s had a head start and is more deeply present with a wider distribution compared to others,” she says. But the challenge ahead would be in sustaining the tempo and, maybe, a lot depends on Indian team’s performance.
Sawhney, however, begs to differ. “The market has really matured and many viewers watch international matches with interest—even when India is not playing. Which is why we have acquired the rights from other boards,” he says.
It has in its kitty now the Australia cricket rights as well as the England rights, even as boards such as West Indies, South Africa, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are on its radar ‘as and when they come up.’ The company already has 550 days of international cricket till 2012. “My agenda is to build other sports and deepen the market here. We already have taken up and done very well with hockey. Similarly, Tennis and English Premier League has been working well,” he says. But eventually, it is cricket that brings in the big bucks, and Sawhney knows that, too.
