New Delhi, March 12
International sports channel, Ten
Sports today agreed to provide Doordarshan (DD) signals for the live telecast of
the first one day international cricket tie between India and Pakistan tomorrow
at Karachi during a late evening hearing by the Supreme Court.
Ten Sports gave
an undertaking to this effect before a three-judge Bench comprising the Chief
Justice, Mr V.N. Khare, Mr Justice S.B. Sinha and Mr Justice S.H. Kapadia, which
heard the matter at Chief Justice’s residence here.
The sports channel, earlier
moved an appeal before the apex court against the Madras High Court order
permitting Doordarshan (DD) to telecast the match.
The undertaking was given
for the telecast of the Karachi match only and the court posted the matter for
further hearing on March 15, a day ahead of the second one-dayer.
In an appeal
against the Madras High Court’s interim order passed during the day, Ten Sports
said that it has got exclusive right to telecast all cricket matches played in
Pakistan under a 14.5-million-dollar five-year contract with the Pakistan
Cricket Board (PCB).
The High Court’s direction had come on a public interest
litigation (PIL) by two citizens’ consumer groups, seeking telecast of cricket
matches throughout the country in view of the nation-wide interest generated in
the game during the Indian team’s historic visit to Pakistan.
Ten sports also
contended that it has spent a lot of money on acquiring the telecast right from
the PCB and on generating advertisements. There would be a continuing liability
of 33 million dollars by the sports channel to the PCB irrespective of the
dilution of its rights in India by forced "simulcast" of its signals.
Earlier
in the day Ten Sports CEO Cris McDonald told a press conference that his channel
was ready to supply signals to DD in the low cable connectivity areas.
But
Prasar Bharti was demanding share in the add revenue, which was not acceptable
to them, he said.
In its petition, Ten Sports said the High Court had not taken
into consideration the fact that their’s is a "pay channel" and it was providing
the telecast on payment of Rs 17 to each household in the country through cable
network.
Telecast of free-to-air signal by it as demanded by DD, would negate
its contractual liability with the PCB, the Ten Sports said.
In a related
development, the Delhi High Court has restrained those cable operators who did
not have the authorisation from Ten Sports, from telecasting the cricket
matches.
The order came on a petition by Ten Sports and its local distributors
in the country, alleging that several known and unknown cable operators were
likely to telecast the matches unauthorisedly, causing huge losses to it.
The
High Court said a balance had to be struck between the public interest and the
private commercial interests of Ten Sports, which had sunk millions of dollars
to bag the global right.
