Sony opts out of ICC bidding process

Sony Entertainment Television Asia has withdrawn its bid for ICC cricket, which included audio-visual rights for 18 ICC tournaments starting from the second half of 2007 till the World Cup in 2015.

The channel currently holds the rights to the ICC matches, which expires in March next year after the World Cup.

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 online portal IndianTelevision, 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.”