BCCI happy with price it got for series title sponsorship

Mumbai: There was just one bidder in fray and the sponsorship rights went for the base price but the BCCI today said it was happy with the deal it struck with Star India Pvt Ltd and ESPN for all 13 home international fixtures till March 2014 considering the difficult economic times. The BCCI today awarded the title sponsorship for all international series and domestic tournaments in India for the year 2013-14 to Star Private and ESPN Software at the base price of Rs 2 crore per fixture, almost Rs 1.5 crore less when compared to their previous deal with Airtel. "The market situation is such that at one point of time we thought it will be very difficult to get the sponsorship considering the turmoil in the financial market. But we are very happy (with price)," Board Secretary Sanjay Patel told reporters after the BCCI's Marketing Committee meeting here."We are pleased that Star and ESPN Group bid for both the series. That means Australia and West Indies (series) and the deal will be close to Rs 26 crore. Only one bid was there and the minimum bidding price (is what) they have accepted. "But we are happy they have included the Australia series also though it is starting within two or three days. Under the market situation, we are happy the deal has gone through and the entire series is covered," Patel said. "The deal is always market driven. One has to be happy with the market situation. Rather than concentrating on less or more price, we should concentrate on what you are getting as per the market situation. We are quite happy that as per the market situation, the price is not bad." The new deal comes after Airtel's partnership with the BCCI ended this year. The private telecom giant had won the sponsorship rights in 2010 for all international and domestic matches scheduled in India. The three-year contract, running from September 1, 2010 to March 31, 2013, was worth Rs 3.33 crore for each international fixture. There was a three-month window for Airtel to negotiate an extension of the contract, but with no further discussion on the matter, the Marketing Committee floated fresh tender document last month.