INQUIRER Sports

WITH BIDS TOTALING MORE THAN P600 million, the cash register will be ringing again for the country’s most popular varsity league.

The country’s two largest networks and a sports cable channel have offered over P200 million each to earn the television rights of the UAAP, whose contract with broadcast giant ABS-CBN expires at the end of the season.

“Definitely we expect a much better contract,” said UAAP president Anton Montinola of host Far Eastern U. “The popularity of the UAAP really improved the last five years. Even ABS admits that the UAAP deserves a bigger contract.”

Broadcast sources said ABS-CBN has made a P205 million offer for a five-year period, almost four times more than its current P65 million contract for the previous five years.

Solar Sports reportedly presented a P215 million bid, while ABS-CBN’s rival GMA dangled the biggest amount at P265 million for the same period.

But ABS-CBN, which airs the games on UHF channel Studio 23, owns the right of first refusal, allowing the network the right to match the other offers. It aims to boost its return bid by airing the games starting this Saturday on high-definition television (HDTV).

“It’s a historic first on Philippine TV,” said ABS-CBN vice president for sports Peter Musngi. A six-man UAAP committee will deliberate on the league’s next television partner.