The cost of BCB’s broadcast woes

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has once again invited Expression of Interest (EOI), along with financial offers, from reputed television broadcasters, digital platforms and marketing agencies for the worldwide media rights of the national men’s team’s upcoming home Test series against the West Indies.

The latest EOI, issued on September 6, is the second such invitation from the BCB in two months. On July 1, the board had invited EOI and financial offers for the worldwide media rights of Bangladesh’s home series in the 2026-27 season.

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That package included four series: India’s tour of Bangladesh in 2026, comprising three ODIs and three T20Is; West Indies’ tour of Bangladesh for two Tests; England’s tour of Bangladesh for two Tests in 2027; and Pakistan’s tour of Bangladesh for five ODIs in 2027.

There was initial interest in the package, including from a foreign broadcaster, largely because of the inclusion of the India series in September. However, after that series failed to materialise, the interested parties eventually backed out, forcing the BCB to issue a fresh EOI, this time only for the two-Test series against the West Indies.

The lack of buyers has also resulted in missed revenue opportunities. In 2024, for instance, the BCB failed to sell the broadcast rights for Bangladesh’s two-Test series against Zimbabwe and eventually provided the live feed to Bangladesh Television, which aired the matches free of cost.

According to insiders, the downturn in the advertising market has significantly affected the BCB’s broadcasting business. While broadcasters previously paid substantial sums for Bangladesh’s home series, the board’s earnings from media rights have declined considerably in recent years.

Broadcast, ticket and commercial rights are three key sources of revenue for the BCB. If broadcast earnings are affected, the board’s overall income is affected as well.

The impact is evident in the BCB’s financial performance. According to documents seen by The Daily Star, the board suffered losses in seven of the nine home series held between the 2022-23 and 2024-25 seasons.

The two profitable series were England’s tour of Bangladesh in 2023 and India’s tour in 2022, which generated profits of Tk 15.57 crore and Tk 67.30 crore respectively. Bangladesh also incurred losses of Tk 10.40 crore during New Zealand’s 2023 tour and Tk 10.89 crore during South Africa’s 2024 tour.

The trend reportedly continued into the 2025-26 season, with the BCB failing to make a profit from hosting Pakistan twice, as well as Australia and New Zealand in white-ball series, according to board insiders.

“The reason we bundled them initially was because the Bangladesh-India series was included. Naturally, interest in that series was very high, so bundling allowed us to maximize value across the overall package,” BCB media committee chairman Asif Rabbani told The Daily Star on Wednesday.

“Standalone Test series against the West Indies will naturally attract fewer interested parties. What BCB tries to do for such series is cover as much of our operational costs as possible. Given broadcast production costs, we aim to achieve maximum cost coverage.”

Rabbani said bundling remains the most effective way to generate profit and that the board would reconsider its operational model after its production contract with Real Impact expires in May 2027.

“The overall market is somewhat soft right now, though it will definitely rebound,” he hoped.