The Hindu Business Line : Cricket rights: Prasar Bharati appeals to TRAI

WITH just a couple of weeks left for the Indian cricket team to tour Pakistan, the national broadcaster Prasar Bharati, on behalf of Doordarshan, has stepped up efforts to acquire terrestrial broadcasting rights for the series.

The Prasar Bharati CEO, Mr K.S. Sarma, on Thursday met Mr Pradip Baijal, the Chairman of the broadcast regulator, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), and said the broadcaster was willing to pay $4 million for the rights to the three test and five one-day international matches.

Prasar Bharati sources said Mr Sarma made a case for Doordarshan by stating that while Ten Sports has given the terrestrial rights to PTV free (as mandated under the Pakistan law), the Indian national broadcaster was willing to pay for the rights. Ten Sports is believed to have paid about $10 million for the exclusive cable-and-satellite rights for the series.

TRAI is likely to meet officials of Ten Sports and Prasar Bharati shortly to sort out the issue.

Earlier, Prasar Bharati had written to TRAI stating that in several Western countries, such as the UK, specified sporting events are to be made available on free terrestrial mode. "In the absence of a definitive broadcasting law, Prasar Bharati feels that TRAI has the responsibility and the powers to frame guidelines to ensure that public interest is upheld," said the sources.

The national broadcaster has already acquired the live radio rights from Ten Sports for $40,000 while it has negotiated for a one-hour daily highlights package of the cricket matches for $200,000. Prasar Bharati is expecting to generate ad revenues of at least Rs 2.5 crore to Rs 3 crore for the live cricket aired on All India Radio.

The total revenue at stake for the series is estimated to be at over Rs 200 crore. Some of the top corporates such as Samsung, which is the title sponsor, is believed to have paid Rs 15 crore, while others such as LG and Hero Honda, the associate sponsors, have spent Rs 8 crore each. The ad rates also zoomed to a whopping $10,000 (Rs 4.5 lakh) for a 10-second spot.