Hitting a sixer every time

While he may not have always been on the ball with cricket, Mark knew that the field of communications is where he belongs. In 1977, he went to the US to do his masters in communication and joined CBS television. "I started selling news radio and within six years ended up in the international division," he says. And Mark’s rapid rise culminated in LBS international as vice-president and general manager in 1987.

But when WT was born in 1989, no one was more surprised than Mark himself.

"I was always a company man. When I was in CBS, my singular goal was to be president. It was the same at LBS. Until a taxi ride from Cannes to Nice airport, when a rep of mine told me that one day I would work for myself, I had never even thought about it," he says.

But coming back to India was no act of fate. He hit the Indian market by acquiring the telecast rights of the prestigious World Cup cricket series, piping his competitors to the post. "Before I got the WC, I never covered any cricket in my life. But after that, I thought we needed to get into the cricket business. I got to Sharjah at a time when nobody was prepared to give the organisers any financial guarantees," he says.

The WC deal was signed on August 21, 1993 and Sharjah in September. Today, all Sharjah tournaments are exclusively covered by WT. But the 1996 WC still holds special memories for Mark. Says he, "It happened so fast. You get just one chance to do it right. The matches were seen all the way from Australia to North America. And at that time we didn’t understand the magnitude of our task."

What really helped was that Mark had some sports grounding before he took on the cricket WC. He had covered the alpine World Cup skiing in western Europe and the football coverage for the US Soccer Federation. "I got WC fever after working on the soccer WC. I realised that these properties are premium and went out and paid an astronomical sum. At that time people thought that I would go out of business soon," says Mark, his eyes glittering with the feverishness of an inveterate gambler. And backing the right horse is really what his business is all about. "Understanding what television networks are looking for, is my focus. Then gambling with these audience drivers is my fundamental expertise. I am able to assess what they want and then can put the right price tag. In the case of WC, it was a number out of the hat. The organising committee wanted Rs 10 million and I agreed," he says.

In 1995, he pulled another ace when he set up World Tel Sports India to take care of Sachin Tendulkar’s commercial endorsements. "I gambled again when I guaranteed him a certain sum of money which made him the richest cricketer in the world. I did that without knowing where the money would come from. I just knew that Sachin was talented beyond comparison." Today, their files include the other boy wonder from the East, Saurav Ganguly.

But, despite several hits, Mark still waits in dread for the one miss. Before each telecast he is with his crew checking, checking, checking and until the last detail is not fine-tuned, he does not go home. Says he, "There is a lot of pressure before a telecast. I still feel that pit in my stomach before the game starts. But that tension makes it even more exciting." While his job involves a lot of travelling, Mark makes it a point to be with his wife and two children whenever he’s in the US. But sometimes he can’t help it. "I spend more time in India than I do in the US. I haven’t been home to America for the past two months," he says.

But right now, family and friends are the last thing on his mind. He is completely immersed in the world of cricket. "I love cricket. I had gone to America but now I am back, associated with a sport that’s a passion in this country.There’s nothing better than sitting in an Indian cricket stadium, watching a match with 70,000 of your countrymen roaring with excitement."

And this Saturday, Mark was able to do just that.