NEW DELHI: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has imposed penalties on Globecast and Essel Shyam Communication Ltd (ESCL) for indulging in bid-rigging in tenders floated by sports broadcasters for procurement of end-to-end broadcasting services between July 2011 and May 2012, including for Indian Premier League 2012.
According to an official statement, the initial penalty levied on ESCL (now known as Planetcast Media Services) and Globecast was Rs 319.4 milliuon and Rs 13.3 million respectively, which is 1.5 times their profit during this time period.
Additionally, the penalty levied by CCI on officials of Globecast and ESCL was computed at the rate of 10% of the average of their income for the preceding three years.
The quantum of fine on ESCL and its officials was reduced to Rs 223.6 million by the regulator under lesser penalty provisions of the Competition Act, an official release states.
The matter of bid rigging in tenders floated by sports broadcasters was taken up by the CCI on the basis of disclosures by Globecast India Pvt Ltd and Globecast Asia Pvt Ltd. Subsequently, ESCL also approached the regulator as a lesser penalty applicant during investigation.
Globecast, a subsidiary of the Orange Group, is a provider of broadcasting services and ESCL is a technology service provider with specialisation in media broadcasting.
They had indulged in “bid-rigging in tenders floated by sports broadcasters for procurement of end-to-end broadcasting services ie. ground segment services as well as satellite bandwidth services for various sporting events during the period July 2011-May 2012, including Indian Premier League 2012,” the release notes.
