07 September 2004	Tuesday	21 Rajab 1425

NEW DELHI, Sept 6: India's cricket team may be struggling to hit top form on the field, but off it Saurav Ganguly's men remain the hottest marketing property on the international circuit.

An Indian television network on Monday agreed to shell out a staggering US$308 million to secure the rights to telecast all international cricket played in the country for the next four years.

It represents a six-fold increase from the $54-million paid by national broadcaster Doordarshan for the last four years, and dwarfs the recent deal of $48 million struck by Sri Lanka Cricket for a similar four-year period.

The Indian TV network which plans to add an exclusive sports channel to its multi-language bouquet of nine channels, won a fierce bidding war with Rupert Murdoch's ESPN-Star Sports network to secure the rights from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

"Zee are the highest bidders, so they will get the rights provided certain conditions are met," said BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya. The BCCI has asked the TV network to make an initial deposit of $20 million by Wednesday and also furnish a bank guarantee of $75m by next week before the deal is formalised, Dalmiya said.

Subhash Chandra, the TV network chief described BCCI's decision as "a dream come true", said his company will comply with all the directives in time. "We have worked very hard to get this contract and will not be found wanting," Chandra said. "I promise the viewers high-quality coverage."

The TV network begins coverage with a four-Test home series against world champions Australia starting on Oct 6, has been guaranteed a minimum of 144 days of international cricket over the four-year period.

In effect, the network will pay approximately $2.1 a day for the rights. Air time during the high-profile Pakistan-India series in March and April reportedly sold at $5,500 per 10 seconds. -AFP