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NEW
DELHI: It turned out to be a nail-biting finish. The news
channels have reached a settlement with the organisers of
the Indian Premier League (IPL) to cover the event that kick-starts
today, avoiding a skirmish that would have resulted in a total
blackout and ultimately damaged viewership and commercial
interests of all stakeholders.
Under
the contours of the agreement with the News Broadcasters Association,
it has been made clear that the usage of footage by the news
channels will be without payment to the official broadcaster
Max or the IPL, but this is subject to certain conditions.
News
and current affairs broadcasters will be allowed a 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 match play, and not more than 1.5 minutes of deferred
in-stadium entertainment footage).
However,
this is subject to a maximum of not more than 5.5 minutes
of footage per match being broadcast per day. In-stadium entertainment
footage means any entertainment footage of performances at
the match venue held ten minutes before the commencement of
play and ten minutes after the conclusion of the match or
after the match and till the presentation ceremony is concluded,
whichever is later.
It
has also been laid down by the organisers that this shall
be broadcast only after the conclusion of the ‘Extraaa
Innings’ programme by Sony Max. The presentation ceremony
is not to be considered part of the in-stadium entertainment.
It
has been made clear that news channels only mean those registered
with the Information and Broadcasting Ministry in the Downlinking
Guidelines, and ‘Day’ means a period of 24 hours
from the commencement of a match and ‘Fresh footage’
means footage used for the first time.
News
channels can use an aggregate of two minutes of footage per
half an hour of broadcast, subject to not more than 5.5 minutes
of fresh footage per match. A maximum of two repeats of footage
initially broadcast by the news broadcaster would be permitted
in each hour of broadcast.
News
broadcasters may use a maximum of six minutes of footage per
half hour in their programmes during the 2010 DLF IPL season.
However, this is on condition that such footage is used in
not more than six such programmes in a day with not less than
a two-hour interval between any two programmes.
News
broadcasters must carry the name of the league and the logo,
viz., DLF IPL in all their broadcast mentions.
According
to the guidelines issued by the IPL organisers, ‘"the
use of live footage is not permitted at any time and under
any circumstances. There will be a minimum of a 10 minute
delay from the live telecast by the official broadcaster before
telecast of any match play footage by a news broadcaster.".
However, it has been agreed that news broadcasters will be
allowed to telecast an "exceptional event occurring during
the course of a match with a minimum of a five minute delay
from the conclusion" of the live telecast of such event.
“Exceptional
Event” has been explained as a "newsworthy event
of an extraordinary nature and shall not include events such
as the scoring of boundaries, the dismissal of a batsman,
the fall of wickets, the scoring of a half-century, the taking
of catches or the achievement of personal cricketing landmarks
by players unless they are world records". Live telecast
includes the period from the first ball to the last ball of
any match and will extend to the post-match presentation ceremony.
The
use of all footage by a news broadcaster is limited for news,
current affairs and programmes and will not be used for any
commercial purpose, the guidelines say.
Thus,
a news broadcaster may "commercially exploit a news,
current affairs and programme in its entirety in the regular
course through normal ad breaks, as long as no ad, sting,
logo, graphic or any other commercial (morphing) activity
is carried out immediately before, immediately after or during
a clip using footage from any Match, and no association is
created between such clip and any third party brand or product."
Archival
match play footage from previous DLF IPL seasons and for matches
of the 2010 DLF IPL that have concluded not less than 72 hours
prior to broadcast may be used during the 2010 DLF IPL season,
provided it does not exceed six minutes per half-hour news
bulletin.
Upon
the completion of the 2010 DLF IPL season, archival clips
of IPL match play footage can be used by the news broadcaster
up to a maximum of two minutes per day for news, and current
affairs purposes till the next DLF IPL season.
The
organisers have stipulated that courtesy bugs acknowledging
the DLF IPL and the official broadcaster will be pasted by
the news broadcaster throughout the use of content on-air.
Both the logos of the DLF IPL and the official broadcaster
should be seen "as is" or referred to with due prominence.
If either of the logos is covered by the news broadcaster's
logo or overlays, there must be a source credit or a courtesy
line extended at the bottom of the screen displayed in the
same font size as the news broadcaster’s own logo or
overlay.
The
head of a news channel who did not want to be identified told
indiantelevision.com that the organisers of the IPL and the
official broadcaster Sony Max had earlier insisted on payment
for every bit used in news channels.
Later,
the organisers relented to free use during news bulletins
subject to three minutes when it was pointed out that this
may fall under the category of ‘paid news’ against
which the channels as well as the government were battling.
However,
the organisersers said any use in programmes linked to the matches
would have to be paid for. This led to an impasse and a directive
from the NBA for a total blackout on 8 March, not only of
the news about IPL but also coverage of any programmers of
its sponsors.
Usage
of footage by the news broadcasters will be monitored by TAM
Media Research. and any violation will be brought to the attention
of the NBA by the DLF IPL or the official broadcaster without
affecting the right of IPL - or that of the official broadcaster
to take action against the news broadcaster which is in default.
KPMG
or Deloitte & Touche or any other independent auditor
nominated by the BCCI-IPL can adjudicate on any dispute and
give its verdict within 48 hours.
News
Broadcasters are allowed live video streaming of their news
channels on their official nominated websites as long as the
content being streamed on the website is the exact replica
of the programme run on the broadcaster’s news channel
and is displayed simultaneously with its television news broadcast.
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