K S Sarma, chief executive officer of Prasar Bharati, has accused Ten Sports, which has the exclusive overseas telecast rights for the India-Pakistan cricket series, of making 'unreasonable demands' and trying to make a killing by forcing Doordarshan into paying three times the money invested by Ten Sports to bag the telecast rights.
"Ten Sports has paid the Pakistan Cricket Board $8 million to secure the telecast rights, but they are asking Doordarshan to cough up $25 million to share these rights with them. I have offered to go up to $6 million. Our original offer was $4 million," Sarma told rediff.com in New Delhi on Thursday.
In a bid to sort out the matter so that viewers all over the country get to watch the matches, Sarma had a meeting with Chris McDonald, the Ten Sports chief in India, on Sunday in Mumbai and offered to carry the same advertisements which are carried by them provided they (Ten Sports) agreed to part with some of the money from the advertisement revenue.
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"This was a very lucrative offer, but they turned it down. They could have charged their clients more because our combined reach would have been much more," Sarma explained.
Sarma hopes to make $10 million from advertisements.
Chris McDonald has now flown to New Delhi to make a last ditch effort to reach some understanding with the Prasar Bharati after the Madras High court had indicated during the hearing in a public interest litigation that the government of India should consider bringing an ordinance in case there is no understanding reached between two television organisations.
Sarma told rediff.com that he is awaiting the judgement of the high court. "If the high court directs the government to come up with an ordinance and force Ten Sports to share telecast signals with Prasar Bharati, then I would not be paying anything to Ten Sports," he said.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday met Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to update him on the developments. Prasar Bharati chief executive K S Sarma also met senior PMO officials.
Officials admitted that if the telecast of the series was blacked out, it could damage the image of the ruling National Democratic Alliance government ahead of the general elections starting next month.
Officials in the information and broadcasting ministry indicated that in case Ten Sports refused to play ball, the government could bring in an Ordinance making it mandatory for the channel to share its feed with Doordarshan.
The government has pointed out to Ten Sports that a law gives PTV rights for terrestrial broadcasting within Pakistan.
"Ten Sports should not look at short-term commercial interests. It should keep in mind its long-term interests in the country," Business Standard quoted a government official as saying.
In order to avoid such crises in future, the government is considering an ordinance (depending upon the Madras high court ruling) that will make it mandatory for any channel operating in the country to share feed of events of national interest with the state broadcaster.
The government will list the events or type of events for which private broadcasters will have to share feed. This condition will be brought in either as an ordinance or as part of the registration agreement for channels operating in India.
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