Competition Commission slaps Rs 52.24 Cr penalty on BCCI

NewsBharati    30-Nov-2017
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New Delhi, November 30: The Competition Commission of India, CCI, imposed a fine of over 52 crore rupees on the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), for anti-competitive practices with respect to IPL media rights.

In its 44-page order, the CCI has found the cricketing body to be in contravention of competition norms for its assurance to the broadcasters of Indian Premier League. The BCCI had assured the broadcasters that it will not organize or support another professional domestic Indian T20 competition that is competitive to IPL for a period of ten years.

After a detailed investigation, CCI found that BCCI enjoys a dominant position in the market for organisation of professional domestic cricket league events in India and described the board as an enterprise in view of its nature of activities.

While recognising the role of sports federation in taking measures to serve the integrity or development of the sport, CCI held that the impugned restriction had no nexus to the legitimate interest of cricket in the country. Rather, the restriction was pursued to enhance the commercial interest of the bidders of IPL broadcasting rights and the consideration in turn received by BCCI.

The whopping success of IPL has not only ensured that teams are likely to break even in the first year itself, but also transformed the fortunes of its telecaster Sony Set Max, says a report prepared by the equity research division of Alchemy Shares and Stock Brokers.

The biggest gainer, though, is arguably BCCI – which is projected to rake in a profit of Rs 350 crore from IPL in the first year itself. This would be more than BCCI’s profit of Rs 235 crore for all of 2007. In all, IPL will bring revenue of Rs 1,200 crore a year into cricket, more than double the government’s entire sports budget of Rs 490 crore.

Ad rates for 10-second spots, which were at Rs 2 lakh per 10 seconds at the start of the tournament, have climbed rapidly to Rs 5 lakh and look set to rise further to Rs 10 lakh for the final, says the report.