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Tag: Abu Dhabi

  • BCCI awards ground rights for Abu Dhabi Series to PDM International

    BCCI awards ground rights for Abu Dhabi Series to PDM International

    MUMBAI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has awarded PDM International the contract for ground rights for the Indo-Pak Friendship Series to be held in Abu Dhabi. PDM bid $ 3.61 million for the rights, outbidding Abu Dhabi Cricket Club with a slim margin.

    The one-day series will be held on 18 and 19 April. The third participant in the bidding, Nimbus, was disqualified for not fulfilling the Tender conditions.

    BCCI Marketing Sub Committee VP & chairman Lalit Modi said, ”it is good to see corporates interested in associating with this series and more importantly the cause for which it is being played. Out of the three companies that submitted the ground rights tender, the BCCI Marketing Sub Committee awarded the rights to PDM International that had the requisite qualifications and experience as per the conditions listed in the Invitation to Tender. We now look forward to a positive and lasting association with them”.

    These matches are being played for the earthquake relief victims that affected millions of people in the subcontinent. 75 per cent of the proceeds will go to Pakistan, while 25 per cent of the proceeds will go to India. The India and Pakistan players have also agreed to waive their match fees towards this cause.

    Announcing the development, PDM International MD & CEO Sanjay Lal said, “We launched PDM India with a focused objective and today we have made our first step towards achieving this objective. We completely support this cause and deeply relate to it. We are happy to contribute in our own way by attaining the rights to this series. We will be announcing the title sponsor along with the other on-ground partners shortly.”

    Billed as the ‘Friendship Series’, this will be the first time in nearly eight years that India and Pakistan will play in a bilateral series on a neutral venue. BCCI & PCB have decided to play 15-25 games over the next 5 years at a neutral venue and these are the first 2 ties to be played, states an official release.

    There are a large number of expatriates in the UAE and they will be treated to an Indo-Pak cricket affair after nearly 6 years. These matches will be played at the Zayed stadium, which boasts of state-of-the-art facilities and a capacity of 18,000 spectators.

    PDM has been in the sports and entertainment arena since 1995 and have already made their mark in the subcontinent. They have worked very closely with organizations like Levers, Sahara P&G, Airtel and Hero Honda. In the past year, PDM entered the International arena and have worked in countries like the US, UK and UAE. This development signals the entry of PDM into the big league, the release adds.

  • BCCI calls for tenders for ‘neutral venue’ media rights

    BCCI calls for tenders for ‘neutral venue’ media rights

    MUMBAI: And so the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) continues along its merry road of extracting “maximum value” for its properties.

    The latest money-mopping plan the BCCI has pulled out of its cupboard, which will only add to an already seriously overloaded cricket itinerary, are for matches played by India at neutral venues (non-ICC member countries) over the next five years. The media rights for this latest piece of the India cricket pie will be inaugurated with the two-match Indo-Pakistan limited over series that will be held in Abu Dhabi next month.

    According to a media release issued by the cricket board today, the last date for submission of tenders for global media rights for India matches at these neutral venues would be 5 April, at noon at Nirlon House in Mumbai. The tenders would be scrutinised the same day.

    The financial bids would be opened in Delhi the following day between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. at the Oberoi Hotel, the release adds.

    “The global media rights tender is intended to streamline the process of match telecasting wherever the Indian team is playing. With the number and quality of matches growing, this streamlining becomes increasingly important,” said BCCI vice-president and chairman of its marketing sub-committee Lalit Modi.

    The minimum bid varies with the region/ country being bid for. However bidders have the option to bid for rights in more than one country/ region.

    Some countries tentatively included in the list of venues are Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Holland, Toronto, New York and Tristate Area, Houston, Chicago, Palo Alto and bay area, Singapore, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur.

    The Indo-Pak Friendship Series to be played at Abu Dhabi’s Zayed Stadium on 18 and 19 April is being organised as a fundraiser for the October 2005 earthquake victims in Pakistan and India. These matches are recognised by the ICC and will be counted as official one-day internationals (ODI).

    It was yesterday that the board invited tenders for the stadium ground rights that include all in-stadium branding and on air promotions. The eligibility criteria that the board laid down for this was that interested companies and agencies would need to have a net worth of $5 million. The minimum bid for the ground rights tender package is $3 million.

    “The ground rights sponsorship entails an exclusive sponsorship package, offering logos on all tickets, entry gates, ground logos, stumps etc.,” Modi was quoted as saying yesterday.
    Sealed bid entries will be accepted at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai till 4:30 p.m. 31 March. The bids will be opened at 5 p.m. the same day.

    “This is a unique opportunity for brands to not only reach out to the Indian communities overseas but also promote their brand in a unique manner where, for the first time, all rights are being offered to a single company,” Modiwas quoted in media reports as saying.