PTV lost TV sports rights and has fixed media rights deals in favor of its ex-partner A-Sports/ARY by compromising its crucial revenue stream.
PTV’s management submitted a bid of Rs 5.17 billion against the winner ARY’s Rs 6.3 billion, almost Rs 1 billion less than the reserve price of Rs 7.3 billion.
Serious doubts have been raised about the PTV’s conduct by letting this opportunity go into the ARY hands through under-the-table mischief.
In this connivance and clandestine deal, PTV will now benefit ARY by getting PSL air rights at hefty prices.
Conversely, had PTV got exclusive media rights from PCB for PSL 9 and 10, it would then earn almost double the price by selling rights to at least three intending channels.
That kind of fixing with a private channel has exposed the PTV management or the Information Minister, Murtaza Solangi, who held several rounds with PCB Chief Zaka Ashraf, to get PSL rights.
A probe into this “fixing for lose deal” would unearth many hidden faces as it was not a tough call for PTV to either match ARY’s bid price or to have a partnership with any other channel.
Why this mischief and under-table fixing was done by a state broadcaster has raised many eyebrows.
Fixing to lose!
