The Lok Sabha on Thursday approved a bill making it mandatory for private broadcasters to share live feed of national sports events with Doordarshan and All India Radio on free-to-air basis.
The bill will replace the ordinance issued by the government in February after Nimbus Communications, which holds rights of telecasting all international cricket matches in India till 2010, had declined to share telecast signals with Prasar Bharati.
Replying to a debate on the bill, Information and Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi said, "Government has brought this legislation in public interest to show live cricket matches to all viewers across the country."
He said though 70 per cent of advertising revenue in cricket is generated by India, Indian viewers are deprived of watching matches even when played by its national team.
Australia and the United Kingdom, which contribute only 5-10 per cent of total advertising revenue in international cricket, have more stringent laws regarding telecast of matches, he said.
The Sports Broadcasting Signals (Mandatory Sharing with Prasar Bharati) Bill, 2007 also empowers the government to specify a percentage of the revenue received by Prasar Bharati from cricket matches to be utilised by the national broadcaster for telecasting other sporting events.
Dasmunsi said this revenue would be spent by Prasar Bharati in consultation with the Ministry of Sports and other Sports Councils.
The minister said all private telecasters would have to share the live telecast feed of sporting events of national importance with Prasar Bharati without advertisements for re-transmitting on its terrestrial networks and DTH.
