GECs
Sony withdraws from ICC rights bid process
MUMBAI: Sony Entertainment Television India, the “incumbent” holder of telecast rights for ICC cricket in the subcontinent, has withdrawn from the bidding process for the next round of bids, for which the deadline for bids submission is 10 November.
Up for grabs are the audio-visual rights for 18 ICC tournaments starting from the second half of 2007 till the World Cup in 2015. The last agreement began in 2000 and ends with the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 in the West Indies next March.
The Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI) board was unwilling to bankroll the bid, which was seen as being too fraught with financial risk.
Confirming the developments to Indiantelevision.com, Set India CEO Kunal Dasgupta had this to say: “We believe that the terms (of the tender) are quite onerous. We do not want to put our company at risk so we are constrained to hold back our bid. But that does not take away our right to enter into post-bid arrangements with the winning bidders.”
Dasgupta made it clear that Sony did not want to get sucked into a bidding frenzy similar to what was witnessed in February when Harish Thawani’s Nimbus Communications walked away with the telecast rights to India cricket after putting in a bank-breaking $612.18 million composite bid. Nimbus’ bid was nearly $ 200 million higher than the base price of $425 million that had been set by the Indian cricket board.
A point also worth noting is that Sony’s composite bid for the BCCI rights, made through Set Satellite Singapore Pte, was $478 million for the global rights and $397 million for the India territory.
AGAIN A FACE-OFF BETWEEN MURDOCH AND CHANDRA?
With Sony out of the reckoning, it could well be the same two who finally face off for the current block of cricket property, with Subhash Chandra squaring off against one time ally and now bitter foe Rupert Murdoch. It was Murdoch who won that particular skirmish so there will be some interesting history at play when the bids are opened at the ICC’s headquarters in Dubai tomorrow.
To rewind to 1999, the News Corp controlled Global Cricket Corporation (GCC) had paid out $550 million to secure the rights after a fierce bidding war with Chandra’s Zee Telefilms. At the time of bidding, the GCC was a 50:50 JV between News Corp and World Sport Nimbus (itself a 50:50 JV between Nimbus and the UK-headquartered World Sport Group). News Corp subsequently bought out WSN’s stake in the JV.
The GCC had sold the satellite rights for the Indian subcontinent territory to Sony Entertainment Television India for $ 208 million.
One player that will definitely not be in this particular game is Nimbus. It has been taken out of the equation by the News Corp distribution deal. And neither, for that matter, will News Corp be bidding as a separate entity from ESPN Star Sports.
Market speculation on how high the bidding will go this time round ranges from at least a billion dollars to even crossing $ 1.7 billion.
GECs
Sahara One reports financial results, notes director exit and business realignment
Muted revenues, steady expenses and strategic adjustments shape company’s current phase
MUMBAI: In a tale where the sands seem to be slipping faster than they can be gathered, Sahara One Media and Entertainment Limited has reported another quarter of wafer-thin income and widening losses, even as a boardroom exit adds to the unease.
The company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that its board, in a meeting held on April 4, approved its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2025. The numbers paint a stark picture. Total income for the quarter stood at just Rs 0.13 lakh, unchanged sequentially and sharply down from Rs 0.26 lakh a year earlier.
Losses, meanwhile, deepened. The company posted a net loss of Rs 24.16 lakh for the quarter, compared to Rs 18.81 lakh in the June quarter and Rs 39.69 lakh in the same period last year. For the six months ended September 2025, the cumulative loss stood at Rs 39.69 lakh, while the full-year loss for FY25 was reported at Rs 60.72 lakh.
Expenses continued to outweigh income by a wide margin. Total expenses for the quarter came in at Rs 24.30 lakh, led by employee benefit costs of Rs 6.51 lakh and other expenses of Rs 17.78 lakh. Earnings per share remained in the red at Rs (0.11) for the quarter.
The balance sheet reflects a company with significant assets on paper but limited operational momentum. Total assets stood at Rs 23,065.57 lakh as of September 30, 2025, broadly unchanged from March 2025. Equity share capital remained steady at Rs 2,152.50 lakh, while total equity was reported at Rs 18,004.85 lakh.
Cash and cash equivalents saw a modest uptick to Rs 6.75 lakh from Rs 4.68 lakh earlier, supported by a positive operating cash flow of Rs 180.01 lakh for the period.
Yet, beneath these numbers lies a more complex narrative. The company’s auditors flagged their inability to obtain sufficient evidence to form a conclusion on the financial statements, citing lack of access to records. They also raised concerns over the company’s ability to continue as a going concern, pointing to insufficient funds, delayed recoveries, and stalled content investments.
Adding to the governance overhang, the company disclosed that Rana Zia has resigned as whole-time director, effective October 16, 2025, citing other professional commitments. The resignation, noted and accepted by the board, also brings an end to her role across company committees.
Regulatory pressures continue to loom large. The Securities and Exchange Board of India has already initiated penal actions for non-compliance with listing norms, with trading in the company’s shares remaining suspended. There is also a risk of promoter demat accounts being frozen.
Legacy legal issues remain unresolved. A substantial deposit of Rs 694,027.88 thousand linked to the long-running OFCD dispute involving Sahara group entities is still under the purview of the Supreme Court of India. Restrictions on asset disposal continue to weigh on the company’s financial flexibility.
Operationally, challenges persist across multiple fronts. Advances worth Rs 1,92,916 thousand given for film content remain stuck, with delays in project completion and uncertain recoverability. The company’s YouTube channel, despite being operational, has generated no revenue for over three years due to compliance lapses. In a further twist, management has indicated that revenues may have been fraudulently diverted through unauthorised changes to its AdSense account, with a police complaint in the works.
There are also missed revenue opportunities. Television content rights continue to be used by a related party despite the expiry of the licence agreement, with fresh negotiations still underway.
For now, Sahara One Media and Entertainment Limited appears caught between legacy disputes and present-day operational hurdles. As losses linger and governance questions mount, the road to recovery looks less like a sprint and more like a slow trudge through shifting sands.
