The Hindu Business Line : Cable operators threaten to black out Indo-Pak matches

WITH just two days to go before the historic cricket series between India and Pakistan commences, the uncertainty surrounding its broadcast in India continues.

Officials of Prasar Bharati, the national broadcaster, are making their last-ditch efforts to get the telecast rights of the matches for Doordarshan by holding discussions with officials of Ten Sports and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). But the verdict of the Madras High Court, which is expected on Wednesday, could be crucial.

The court admitted a petition, which contended that the public would be put to grave hardship and would lose access to a major sporting event that was aimed at improving the relationship between India and Pakistan.

However, the spat between the cable operators and Ten Sports, which holds the exclusive rights to the matches, continued today. Cable operators said that since they were not in a position to pay higher subscription fees due to higher declaration demands by Ten Sports, the signals are being blocked.

A number of cable operators today united against the increase in subscriber base which many pay channels have demanded. "Not only Ten Sports, most pay channel broadcasters have asked for four-five times the present subscription payments and they want this agreement for the next one year. We cannot sustain such payments," said Ms Roop Sharma, President, Cable Operators' Federation of India (Cofi).

The Cable Operators United Front (COUF) has decided to blackout the India-Pakistan cricket matches. "The increase of charges is an opportunistic move by Ten Sports to encash the popularity of cricket matches in India. The demand of Ten Sports to increase the total charges from cable operators is five times more than today's outflow (amounting to a 500 per cent increase)," said a statement.

Meanwhile, cable operators are suggesting that signals could be taken from PTV II, which has the rights to the matches for Pakistan. "If PTV II uplinks via satellite, cable operators in India may be able to downlink the channel. But if they broadcast the matches terrestrially, then this option will not work," said cable operators.