Now There's a Good Bet

by C. V. Twest

Prasar Bharati is one of India’s foremost radio broadcasters. The news by-line on the internet date line Wednesday April 2nd, 2003 read “Prasar Bharati is going to pay $50,000 for World Cup rights.” The projection was that Prasar Bharati would return RS 60 crore from their investment. Prasar Bharati exceeded their expectations and laid the foundation for a feeding frenzy for broadcast rights to the 2007 World Cup.
            We do not know what radio and television broadcasters on the subcontinent paid for broadcast rights to the 2007 world Cup but there is an opinion, Sambit Bal – “it’s only a game”, that suggests the early exit of India and Pakistan from the World Cup of cricket will have economic consequences for cricket boards of control, broadcasters and internet service providers, worldwide. Our testing of the hypothesis with respect to internet service providers and broadcasters proves otherwise.
            On February 25th, 2003, in response to the news that cricinfo had gone private, we e-mailed the webpage and asked for details. We were told that Wisden Cricinfo Ltd. was a private company owned by John Wisden and Co. and SIFY (an Indian NASDAQ listed technology company). We searched the NASDAQ listings and extracted a news release dated April 3rd, 2002 which informed “There are currently 3 India based companies listed on the NASDAQ including Satyam Infoway (SIFY)”. We searched Satyam and discovered the listed company call name SAY, separate from the SIFY listing. As at march 11th, 2003 SAY, which appears to be the parent, was trading at $9.50(US) and had a market capitalization of $1.5 billion. As at March 11th, 2003 SIFY was trading at $3.00(US) and had a market capitalization of $100 million.
            Fast forward to April 6th, 2007 – SAY is trading at $23 U.S. and SIFY at $8.25 U.S. A leading stock promoter is recommending purchasing SIFY, he writes“SIFY is often compared to the AOL’s and Yahoo’s of the late 90’s, so valuation should be a fool’s main focus here…6 top reasons to pick SIFY. New management – Current CEO sold one of his companies to Broadcom for $2 billion and (2) CEO owns 40% of the Company (3) just turned profitable etc.”
            The World is wash in money. The early exit of India and Pakistan will not matter a sou to the organizations that control cricket. This year I woke up to the fact that I could not view the Masters Golf tournament on my cablevision package. Former viewers of cricket on the BBC in the UK have for several years been deprived of that pleasure. We have been co-opted by pay per view. I refuse to pay to view cricket on the tube. I sneak over to my addict friends place for a shot, but SIFY looks like a good stock to buy.
            Sambit Bal, in his excellent article, “it’s only a game”, laments the commercialization of cricket but we suggest that neither the meltdown of India and Pakistan cricket, nor the murder of Bob Woolmer will bring either cricket administrators or corporations to heel. These oligopolies have no competition. Cricket has become a global business that respects the almighty dollar and eschews community values.
            Seven years ago we held the Cobra cricket and cultural festival at Brockton Point in Stanley Park, Vancouver, B.C., Canada. That venue had been described by “the don” as one of the prettiest cricket grounds in the world. The event lasted over three days, involved local artists and players from among the cricketing countries of the world. The concept has been copied in Australia under the moniker of “Masala Cricket.”
            The one aspect of the Cobra festival that was a failure was the food concessions. We took the trouble to ask around and were told by members of the Punjabi community “don’t charge for food and drink”. We took that advise to heart and approached several of the local Sikh Temples to provide a free vegetarian meal and water, for the anticipated three to five thousand visitors per day to a Kabaddi, cricket and cultural festival to be held at the same venue in 2008. The temples have agreed in principle to participate. Kabaddi has agreed in principle to participate, but the local cricket administrators, dominated by a WASP clique, refuse to allow the browns to invade their sanctuary, Stanley Park. 90% of the cricket players in British Columbia are men of colour. A disproportionate number of umpires and cricket administrators are white.
            Canada did not qualify for the World Cup of 20-20 cricket. The disappointment is not that we didn’t qualify; it was that the Canadian Cricket Association did not receive the $250,000 dollar prize for qualifying. The empty stands at the various World Cup venues in the West Indies are testimony that cricket administrators have little respect for community values. Will they learn or admit to their lack of foresight or hindsight by the next world Cup. We think not. We are willing to go further and suggest the reader and cricket boards of control and trusts buy some shares in SIFY and SATNAM in the expectation that these securities will increase in value and more than pay for cricket programs and the exorbitant cost of tickets, hotel, airfare and food for individuals to the next real convocation of limited overs cricket lovers.
            Now that is a good bet. If I am right I win. If I am wrong I win.