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NEW DELHI: The Union cabinet today approved the promulgation
of an ordinance making it compulsory for private broadcasters
to share the feed of sporting events of national importance
(read cricket) with the public broadcaster.
The move comes in the wake of the refusal by India cricket
rights holder Nimbus to share the live feed of recently held
matches with national broadcaster Doordarshan.
Additionally, a Bill will be introduced in the coming Session
of Parliament to replace the ordinance by an Act of Parliament.
"The Sports Broadcasting Signals (Mandatory Sharing
with Prasar Bharati) Ordinance, 2007 will make it obligatory
on every content right owner and TV and Radio broadcasting
service provider to share the live telecast signals without
its advertisement, for such sporting events as may be prescribed
by the Central Government, with the public service broadcasters
on such terms and conditions as may be specified," a
posting on the government's Press Information Bureau website
says.
"This Ordinance would provide access to the largest
number of listeners and viewers, on a free to air basis, of
sporting events of national importance whether held in India
or abroad," it adds.
At a briefing this evening, information and broadcasting
minister PR Dasmunsi expressed the hope that the ordinance
would be notified before the start of the coming India-Sri
Lanka series on 8 February, newswire Press Trust of India
has reported.
Nimbus, while welcoming the approval of the ordinance, has
threatened to go to court if it would mean telecasting feed
on DD's DTH platform, PTI adds.
An expert committee has been set up in the I&B ministry
to look into the issue of encryption, an official told indiantelevision.com.
This will have to be sent to the law ministry and their approval
procured so that it becomes water tight and face little legal
and political challenge, in the court or in Parliament itself,
from opposition benches, the official said.
The Downlinking Guidelines of the government will form the
body of the ordinance, though the words will be framed in
the form of a statute.
Sources said that the wording as such is ready and Dasmunsi,
who had been incensed with Nimbus getting away with the live
telecast of the current ODI series without sharing its live
feed with DD, had been the trigger.
Dasmunsi, however, had to wait to place this with the cabinet
and seek its formal announcement. This is what the cabinet
today decided: that now there is no option but to go for the
harsh measure of promulgating an ordinance.
The government's decision will ensure viewers in non-cable
houses and radio listeners would receive live feed of Indian
team's one-day matches, wherever it plays. However, for test
matches, the government has said live feed would be required
only for those matches played in India and highlights would
do for the others.
As a sop to private broadcasters, Dasmunsi has said a technical
committee would look into the matter of encrypting the signals
being telecast by Doordarshan, which would ensure that the
feed is not pirated by broadcasters outside India.
Earlier in the day, government officials present at the inauguration
of the three-day Broadcast Engineering Society Expo 2007 in
the capital had told indiantelevision.com that the ministry
had come precariously close even earlier to issuing an ordinance
ensuring live feed for cricket events in India involving the
national team.
"I think it is because of the court case and ruling
on seven minutes delay that the legal experts suggested we
don't go against the ruling, but bring in the bill and settle
the issue for once and all, but the anger in the ministry
is huge," a senior official had revealed at the time,
naturally asking not to be quoted.
Giving a not so subtle threat to "broadcasters for not
falling in line", he suggested that this would mean that
the minister and the officials may not make it easy for whoever
has been hoping for a less 'draconian' broadcasting bill.
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