HDTV production contract for Commonwealth Games in final stage

         The HDTV production contract for the Commonwealth Games scheduled to be held from October 3 to October 14 2010, has entered the final stage  with two companies,  Nimbus Communications with Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as a partner and UK-based Satellite Information Services Live have filed their bids as the last date closed on 19-08-2009. Earlier there were five shortlisted companies for production and coverage facilities in high definition television (HDTV) for the Commonwealth Games next year on behalf of host broadcaster Prasar Bharati. It is learned that the bids will now be examined from the financial and the technical angle. The estimated production cost for the event may turn out to be around $ 250 million.

                The others who had initially filed an Expression of Interest (EOI) were Reliance Big Production in consortium with the Beijing branch of Interpublic Marketing Services (Shanghai) Ltd. and Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc; Nimbus Sports International Pte Ltd of Singapore in consortium with International Sports Broadcasting of the United States; and International Games Broadcast Services of    Switzerland.The five whose EOI had been rejected included Zee, Alfacam of  Belgium,, Swiss Timing of Switzerland, the Sunset Vine (UK)-Sports Five (France) consortium, and the World Sports Group which is a consortium with Broadcast Solutions of Singapore with the Australian V&A Projects as consultant.

        It is to be remembered  that the bids had been called because Prasar Bharati would not be equipped with the technical infrastructure for HDTV coverage by 2010 . FRIENDS OF PRASAR BHARATI  had reported earlier in 2008 that Digitisation of prasar Bharati  is in trouble due to the  absence of any budgetary support in the Eleventh Plan allocation (2007-12), for the digitisation of Prasar Bharati network.  Please read that report on