BCCI eye the SMS market

The Indian board today said that it would ask all telecom operators who provide scores and match updates through SMS to enter into commercial agreements. This will enable the board to generate at least Rs 400 crore [approximately US$90 million] annually.

"If telecom companies are offering SMS free, we have no issue. If they are charging for this, then the information is the property of the board. We should get appropriate share of revenue from it," Lalit Modi, the board's vice-president, told PTI.

Modi said that, "on any playing day we estimate SMS business in India to generate Rs 20-22 crore [appox. US$ 5 million] and the board expects Rs 8-10 crore [approx. US$ 2.5 million] a day from it." An average 40 to 45 days of international cricket is played in India every year.

Legal notices were sent by the board last week to the concerned telecom companies, including Bharti Televentures, Reliance Infocomm and Idea, questioning their circulation of scores without its approval. "We will be constrained to take appropriate legal action and take the matter to its logical conclusion," a BCCI counsel said.

Bharti Televentures, which operates under the brand name Airtel, responded to the legal notice by saying that "under the guise of doing the business of being an event organiser, your client [BCCI] cannot in effect claim ownership over the game of cricket, and all information about the game."

Bharti's counsel also charged the BCCI with misconstruing an interim order of the Madras High Court dated February 11, 2006 that had clamped down on violation of SMS rights exclusively granted to a party.