Star Private, ESPN bag BCCI sponsorship rights for 2013-14

Star Private and ESPN Software have picked up the title sponsorship rights for the Indian cricket team's remaining matches in 2013-14 at Rs 2 crore a match, much lower than the Rs 3.33 crore per match that telecom company Bharti Airtel had paid the cricket board in a previous deal. The entire deal is worth around 26 crore and includes the Australia series which begins in the next few days. 

In a tell-tale sign of declining interest in cricket after the recent spot fixing scandal in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the controversies over the control of the board, the BCCI received only one bid. It therefore had no option but to award the title sponsorship for all domestic and international tournaments in India for the year 2013-14 to Star-ESPN. This includes Sachin Tendulkar's 200th test match, against the West Indies, which is expected to be a huge draw. 

The new title sponsor was announced at the BCCI's marketing committee meeting on Thursday. Airtel, whose contract ended on March 31, 2013, had the opportunity to renegotiate an extension of the deal, but chose not to after which BCCI floated a fresh tender document last month. 

Two international tournaments are to be played between October 2013 and March 2014 - a one-day international (ODI) series against Australia that will have seven games and one T20 international and then two Tests and three ODIs against the West Indies. The sponsorship rights will also include domestic events such as the Irani Cup, Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy, Deodhar Trophy and Raj Singh Dungarpur Trophy.

Source: http://cablequest.org/news/national-news/item/3321-star-private,-espn-bag-bcci-sponsorship-rights-for-2013-14.htmlSource: http://cablequest.org/news/national-news/item/3321-star-private,-espn-bag-bcci-sponsorship-rights-for-2013-14.html