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MUMBAI:
The fracas between the Indian Premier League (IPL) and news
organisations is showing no signs of letting up.
The
IPL has, thus, issued an international benchmark study to
provide guidance on the DLF IPL 2010 Media Accreditation and
News Access Guidelines, and to educate cricket fans and the
general public regarding the issues involved in light of certain
demands being made by the representatives of the News Broadcasters
Association (NBA) on behalf of its members.
The
IPL Governing Council notes that any major sporting event
such as the IPL is made possible through the commercial participation
of sponsors, partners and broadcasters who are each granted
certain exclusive rights and privileges by the governing body
of the sport in exchange for their financial and other support.
Protecting the interests of investors in sport is critical
to delivering them value which, in turn, provides them incentives
to bring greater value, innovation and a world-class product
to fans and the viewing public.
With
this as a background, it is conventional for sports governing
bodies, such as the BCCI-IPL, to attempt to balance the rights
of its investors and the privileges granted to the media covering
the event. This enables it to optimise value for the public
by facilitating access to diverse sources of information and,
at the same time, necessarily protecting against leakage of
commercial value, keeping it available for reinvestment in
the sport.
The
IPL says that its 2010 Media Accreditation and News Access
Guidelines fairly embody international legal standards on
news media access to fresh and archival match footage. In
particular, it says that the table below demonstrates that,
with respect to the right to use fresh and archival footage
beyond regularly scheduled bona fide news bulletins (i.e.,
in sponsored special programming on news broadcasters’
channels), the NBA’s demands are not supported either
by legal precedent or international practice.
No
international sporting event of significance provides the
news media free and unregulated access to match play footage.
Unrestricted use would eventually make the event itself untenable
and would thereby materially compromise fans’ viewing
experiences. Globally, courts have interpreted media access
to sporting events to mean reasonable restrictions on use
of copyright footage to protect the rights of event organisers
and their commercial sponsors. The courts also specifically
recognise that over-use of footage by news broadcasters changes
the character of ‘news coverage’ to ‘entertainment
programming’.
As
much as it is a critical part of the music and movie industries,
an anti-piracy and rights protection programme forms a vital
element of the management of an international sporting event.
With this in mind, the BCCI-IPL has notified and has implemented
certain rights management measures through the DLF IPL media
accreditation process, including those aimed at ensuring that
match footage is not over-used and commercialised by news
broadcasters. Ultimately, these are essential for protection
of the event itself and, consequently, the experience of cricket
fans and the viewing public worldwide.
The
BCCI-IPL, as the governing body and guardian of the DLF IPL,
says that it would like to place on record that it has acted
in good faith in discussing all pertinent issues with the
NBA and has offered constructive alternatives to address certain
reasonable concerns raised by the NBA. "However, the
BCCI-IPL will not and cannot accede to unreasonable demands
from news broadcasters and their representatives that would
compromise the very integrity of the event. The ultimate beneficiary
of the BCCI-IPL’s anti-piracy measures and its commitment
to rights protection is, and will always remain, the cricket
fan," the BCCI adds.
Issue
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DLF
IPL 2010 News Access Guidelines
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Demands
of Indian News Broadcasters Association
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International
sporting event standards
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Comment
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Amount
of fresh footage usable from matches per bulletin/day
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Up
to 30 seconds of fresh match footage may be used per regularly
scheduled news bulletin, subject to a maximum of 120 seconds
of fresh footage per match in a day.
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Two
minutes of fresh footage per half an hour, subject to
not more than five and a half minutes per match in a day.
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Up
to 30 seconds per match (match play + associated/ interview
material) in a news bulletin – Rugby World Cup 2007
|
The
DLF IPL 2010 news access guidelines of 120 seconds per
match in a day are in line with other international sports
with respect to amount of fresh footage per news bulletin.
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Total
fresh footage usable in a day
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The
overall limit for use of IPL footage shall be not more
than seven (7) minutes for the entire day.
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Maximum
of 5.5 minutes of fresh footage per match in a day including
not more than 4.5 minutes of deferred live coverage of
play & not more than 1.5 minutes of in stadium entertainment
programme.
|
Up
to an aggregate maximum of two (2) minutes of event footage
may be used in any news programme/bulletin per day –
PGA European Tour, London Marathon
Up
to an aggregate maximum of three (3) minutes of event
footage may be used in any day – Cricket Australia
|
The
DLF IPL 2010 news access guidelines of 7 minutes per day
of footage is in line with, if not more favourable than,
other international sports with respect to total fresh
footage that may be used in a day.
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Number
of repeats of fresh footage in a day
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Footage
cannot be repeated more than three (3) times during the
entire day. |
A
maximum of two repeats of footage would be permitted in
an hour, except in the case of an exceptional incident
on the field of play which will have no limit. |
Footage
may be displayed in a news bulletin only up to three (3)
times per day, each such bulletin to be separated by at
least three (3) hours – Rugby World Cup 2007, Cricket
Australia. |
The
DLF IPL 2010 news access guidelines of up to 3 repeats
per day are in line with other international sports with
respect to number of repeats per day.
|
Type/Nature
of use – Regular news broadcast and special programming
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Use
of footage permitted only in regularly scheduled news
bulletins and not in special programming created for the
purpose of and centred around any match.
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All
programming on news broadcaster’s channel to be considered
“news”. Footage will not be re-harnessed for
any commercial purpose. This will not prevent broadcaster
from commercially exploiting a relevant program as a whole
and/or segments of the relevant program, as long as no
ad, sting, logo or any other commercial (morphing) activity
is carried out immediately before, immediately after or
during a clip, and no association is created between the
clip used and any third party brand or product.
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Event
material may only be used in regularly
scheduled
bona fide daily news programmes/bulletins
(specifically
excluding any magazine, analysis, feature
and/or
discussion programmes) of which the actual local, regional,
national or international current hard
news
elements constitute the main feature of the programmes.
Such programmes may not be positioned or promoted as
event programmes – ICC Champions Trophy 2009, Rugby
World Cup 2007, London Marathon
For
the avoidance of doubt, it is expressly prohibited for
the Tournament related element of any sports news bulletin
to carry stand-alone sponsorship - Rugby World Cup 2007
|
The
DLF IPL 2010 news access guidelines of limiting use of
footage in special programming is in line with other international
sports with respect to number nature of use.
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Use
of live footage; required delay
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The
use of live footage is not permitted at any time and under
any circumstances. There will be a minimum of 30 minutes
delay from the live telecast.
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The
use of live footage is not permitted at any time and under
any circumstances. There will be a minimum cap of a 10
minute delay to/during the live telecast for normal match
footage and 5 minute delay for exceptional incidents.
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Footage
may not be shown during the live broadcast of the match
from which the footage has been obtained – ICC Champions
Trophy 2009
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The
DLF IPL 2010 news access guidelines of 30 minutes of required
delay is significantly more favourable than the ICC regulation,
which requires footage from a match to be broadcast only
after its conclusion.
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Total
use of archival footage in a day
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Use
of archival clips may be permitted up to a maximum of
two (2) clips of 30 seconds each per day (i.e., not more
than 60 seconds per day) for news coverage.
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Archival
footage may be used during the IPL season provided it
does not exceed 6 minutes per half-hour show.
After
the tournament, use may be made of archival clips of
IPL up to a maximum of 2 minutes per day for news coverage
till the next IPL season.
|
Up
to an aggregate maximum of two (2) minutes of archival
event footage may be used in any news programme/bulletin
per day – PGA European Tour, London Marathon
Up
to an aggregate maximum of three (3) minutes of archival
event footage may be used in any day – Cricket
Australia
|
The
DLF IPL 2010 news access guidelines of 60 seconds of archival
footage per day is comparable with other international
sports with respect to the total archival footage that
may be used in a day.
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Consequences
of breach of guidelines
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Failure
to abide by the Guidelines may lead to cancellation of
accreditation by the IPL, apart from any other action
as per applicable law.
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In
the event of any discrepancy with regard to use of free
footage in excess of the agreed terms as above, the same
would be referred by the concerned parties to an independent
agreed auditor, with instructions to make available the
assessment report within 72 hours of the reference. No
consequences of breach specified, violations to result
in bilateral agreement between violating party and official
broadcaster.
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Failure
to abide by Guidelines will lead to cancellation of accreditation,
denial of access to stadium, reserve rights to pursue
other remedies - PGA European Tour, London Marathon, Rugby
World Cup 2007
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The
DLF IPL 2010 news access guidelines with respect to cancellation
of accreditation and reservation of rights and other remedies
is in line with other international sports with respect
to the consequences of breach of the guidelines.
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