Broadcasting contracts bagged by television broadcasters after the uplinking policy becomes applicable will have to be shared with Prasar Bharati. This is likely to be stipulated by the proposed uplinking policy.
This is a departure from the earlier government stand, which favoured mandatory sharing of content of events acquired by broadcasters with retrospective effect.
If the proposal comes into effect, the broadcasting rights of Cricket World Cup 2007, which Sony Entertainment Television has, will not have to be shared with the public broadcaster as these rights were acquired by the private broadcaster earlier.
This will also give sports broadcasters, who have been fearing loss of revenue and legal wrangles if they shared the broadcast feed with Prasar Bharati, a reprieve.
According to information and broadcasting ministry sources, the move has been taken as contracts bagged by broadcasting companies in the past are bound by certain legal obligations and are exclusive in nature.
However, the government is likely to legislate that television channels unwilling to share broadcast feed with Prasar Bharati would not be allowed to beam into the country.
This would mean that a sports broadcaster, holding the broadcast right for the Cricket World Cup, will not be allowed to operate that particular channel in India if it refuses to share the sports feed with Prasar Bharati.
When implemented, the move leaves private broadcasters with no other option but to share the broadcast feed with Prasar Bharati or stop the beaming of the channel in the country.
However, the sharing of broadcast feed will be done on the basis of certain commercial considerations. The group of ministers on broadcasting policies, headed by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, also had its second meeting on Tuesday to firm up views on the policy. Government sources said the GoM would prepare a note on the policy, which would be presented before the Cabinet soon.
Various options being evaluated by the government are the extent of revenue share, who will market the event and the modalities for Prasar Bharati acquiring the rights from the private broadcasters. The GoM will leave these options to the Cabinet.
The concept of content sharing has not been accepted well by the broadcasting industry, which thinks that a move like this will bring down the overall value of sports broadcasting business.
Private broadcasters think that not just advertising revenue, but the subscription revenue will also be impacted severely as a result of this move. They also fear that this move would lead to a series of legal wrangles.
Bailed out!
-
Now, contracts bagged only after the uplinking policy comes into effect have to be shared
-
Broadcasting rights of Cricket World Cup 2007, which Sony has, will no longer have to be shared with the public broadcaster
- Move may come as a reprieve to broadcasters fearing revenue losses if they shared the feed with Prasar Bharati
