MUMBAI: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has issued a notice making it compulsory for TV channels that broadcast live sports of “national importance” to display a ticker with immediate effect stating the match is also available on Doordarshan’s free-to-air platform.
According to a report in Economic Times, the order has irked broadcasters. The two main broadcasters of sports content in India – Star India and Sony Pictures Networks India – are reportedly looking at legal options and may move court against the order, ET reports.
Sportscasters see this latest move by the I&B ministry as nothing more than a free marketing exercise for DD Sports, the beneficiary of said live sports of “national importance”.
Coming to the order issued by the ministry, it reportedly requires channels to run a scroll — ‘This match/game can also be viewed on DD Sports channel on DD Free Dish DTH and DD’s terrestrial network on free-to-air basis’ — in appropriate colour, font and size making it prominently visible every 15 minutes.
“This diktat lacks any statutory or policy foundation. Rather, it goes way beyond the remit of the Sport Mandatory Sharing Act as adjudicated upon by the Supreme Court in its judgement in the matter of Union of India vs BCCI dated August 22, 2017. If this notice is not challenged or allowed to be implemented, then it will undermine the investments made by private broadcasters in acquiring rights from sports federations,” a broadcasting executive told the business daily.
The Sports Broadcasting Signals (Mandatory Sharing with Prasar Bharati) Act, 2007, made it compulsory for private broadcasters to provide access to sporting events of “national importance” to the largest number of listeners and viewers on a free-to-air basis.
