Prasar Bharati restrained on telecast rights

In a significant judgement, the Delhi high court on Friday restrained Prasar Bharati from superimposing any logo, commercial or branded graphic, during the telecast of cricket matches on Doordarshan.

The restraint order will apply to matches for which Prasar Bharati has given marketing rights to Buddha Films Ltd, an associate of Zee Telefilms.

Restraining Prasar Bharati from displaying the graphics "www.dd.now.com" and "www.dd.sports.com", which allegedly spoils the quality of the telecast, Justice J D Kapoor directed Doordarshan to telecast only such logos, commercials and branded graphics, which are supplied or provided by Buddha films under the contract.

Buddha Films, which was given exclusive rights to market the air time of the telecast of cricket matches on Doordarshan under a Rs 450 crore [Rs 4.5 billion] contract, had challenged the superimposition of its logos by Prasar Bharati, saying it is violative of the deal.

The exclusive marketing rights to sell the air time to prospective advertisers in India and abroad was given to Buddha Films after Doordarshan, in 1999, won the contract for telecast of all cricket matches till 2004 from the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

Buddha Films's counsel Kapil Sibal and Pratibha Singh alleged that Doordarshan, during the India-South Africa and New Zealand series, had imposed its logos in violation of the contract.

However, additional Solicitor General Kirit Rawal contended that Prasar Bharati did not violate any terms of the agreement as Buddha Films were granted marketing rights in respect of the matches conducted by the BCCI, which confined to commercial time of 6000 seconds per match per day.

Stating that Prasar Bharati had also entered into an agreement with TWI/Stracon for international marketing of the cricket matches, Rawal had said as per this agreement Doordarshan had to show the superimposition of "www.dd.sports.com" or "www.dd.now.com".

Claiming that there was no commercial value attached to superimposition of the graphics and at no point of time the telecast of the match is disturbed for the viewers, Prasar Bharati said the graphic was merely an address for the official website and TWI/Stracon was engaged to develop it.

However, Sibal and Singh contended that the graphics in question are branded graphics and had commercial value attached to it as TWI/Stracon was entitled to sublicense and multimedia rights, and the revenue was to be shared between Prasar Bharati and TWI/Stracon.

Buddha Films submitted that Prasar Bharati converted the Doordarshan sports channel into a pay channel which resulted in complete loss of viewership for that channel and as such the advertising revenue for the India-Zimbabwe series plummeted considerably causing huge financial loss to it.

"In the instant case the action of displaying a website on day-to-day basis is irreversible action and at the same time not only causes financial loss but also results in irreparable injury in terms of customers and viewership," Justice Kapoor said.

"Every moment the site is displayed not only the right of the petitioner is impugned but irreparable loss or injury is also caused," the order said.

Mail Cricket Editor