Advertising Slump Hinders BCB’s Sale of Media Rights for Zimbabwe Series

Sports Desk

The economic downturn following the fall of the Awami League government last August continues to affect multiple sectors, including cricket. For the first time, the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) faces significant challenges in selling media rights for a home Test series, as no bidders have expressed interest in acquiring the rights.

BCB has struggled to sell media rights for the upcoming two-Test series against Zimbabwe, despite issuing a public call for proposals. After the March 19 announcement seeking Expressions of Interest (EOI) and financial proposals for the series starting April 20, the April 7 deadline passed without any submissions.

“To my knowledge, no one has shown interest, as they believe the two-match series is not profitable,” an anonymous BCB source told a local English daily.

Previously, Bangladesh’s home series were broadcast on T-Sports and GTV via the Millennium Media Consortium, but their contract ended after the home series against South Africa in October last year.

Moinul Haque Chowdhury, CEO of Total Sports Marketing (TSM), which holds ICC media rights in Bangladesh until 2025, stated that the advertising market crisis deterred them from bidding for the Zimbabwe series. “The market is so bad that no clients are willing to advertise… I informed [BCB President Faruk Ahmed] about the current situation. Since I don’t own a TV channel, I’d need to find one after acquiring the rights, making it unprofitable for me.”

If the BCB fails to sell media rights, the series may be broadcast on state-owned BTV and BTV World, which would generate no revenue for the board.

BCB CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury acknowledged the challenges but expressed optimism, stating, “The matter is not yet finalized. We remain hopeful.”

The Zimbabwe series is not the BCB’s only struggle. On March 11, the BCB invited EOIs from consultancy firms to assist in the global media rights tender for home series until June 2027. However, no interest was shown. “The BCB is trying to appoint an international consultancy firm to evaluate media rights and manage the tender process… but there has been no response,” an official stated.

Meanwhile, the BPL broadcast rights and TV product agreements have also expired, leaving the BCB without global media rights for home series.

The economic crisis has also directly impacted cricketers. The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and Dhaka Premier League (DPL), major income sources for players, have seen salaries drop to less than half. Many players have not received their reduced payments on time.