Indiantelevision.com Team

(23 May 2007 10:40 pm)

MUMBAI: The sentiment towards cricket in the country may not be high at the moment but there are still some companies willing to take a long-term call on it. One such firm is The Future Group.

Through PDM Sports, the retail major has inked a deal with the Board of Control For Cricket in India (BCCI) to be the sole in-stadia rights holder for the four one-day international matches to be played in Ireland and Scotland next month.

The four ODIs cover the India versus South Africa series in Ireland, as well as the India-Pakistan benefit match in Scotland.

Queried as to how much the Future Group had committed to pay for the association BCCI VP Lalit Modi says it had matched the original tender price set by the board of $600,000 per match, or a total of $ 2.4 million.

What is not in the fine print of course, is that Biyani has bought the rights to this property in what is as good as a direct deal and therefore the issue of agency commission will not come into play. What's in it for PDM Sports? They have been paid a fee for brokering the deal and retain their market positioning as critical players in the cricket rights marketing arena.

Percept holdings MD Shailendra Singh says, "As far as the World Cup is concerned, I will say that sometimes success lies in failure. We have the chance to start afresh. We are at the point where cricket is looking to the future. That is the philosophy of the Future Group. So it was a strong strategic fit. The Future Group has had a relationship with us for 20 years and so this is a nostalgic moment for me. The BCCI is also focussing on youth, which is the same market that the Future Group targets."

Pantaloons has 40 brands and they will look at creating a strong presence through this event, Future Group CEO Kishore Biyani says. Queried as to whether the event would be used to announce his group's imminent entry into the non banking retail finance (NBFC) arena, Biyani did not deny the possibility.

The India-Pakistan match will take place to mark 60 years of Independence and will be organised by the British Asian Trust. The match is expected to raise over Rs 200 million for charities in the UK, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.