The Hindu Business Line : Catch first match live on DD<br>Decision on other matches later; SC to hear case on Monday

CRICKET fans across the country can rejoice - but only for a day. The opening one-day international (ODI) between India and Pakistan will be available on Doordashan (DD) while a decision on telecast of the remaining matches will be taken next week.

After a day of parleys and hectic legal activity, Ten Sports agreed to share the live cricket rights with the national broadcaster, Prasar Bharati, and all cable operators.

The channel will now appear on DD along with its logo and advertisements.

A three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court headed by Mr Chief Justice V.N. Khare heard the matter at his residence and recorded the undertaking of Ten Sports to provide the telecast feed to Doordarshan for Friday's match only. The Court will hear the case on Monday.

While Mr Kapil Sibal appeared on behalf of Ten Sports, Mr P.H. Parekh, a counsel on behalf of the sports channel, said that the Madras High Court judgment was illegal because the channel had acquired the rights through a global tender.

The terms could be changed either by the law of the land or if the rights holder goes back on the contract.

The Madras High Court today directed Ten Sports to permit DD to telecast the Indo-Pak series along with the logo and the ads, and the channel filed an appeal in the Supreme Court seeking stay of the High Court order.

Prasar Bharati also filed a caveat in the Supreme Court to make it a party in case Ten Sports approached the apex court challenging the judgment. Mr K.S. Sarma, CEO, Prasar Bharati, said that according to the Madras High Court Order, the matches would be aired on DD along with the Ten Sports logo and advertisements.

"DD is also going to seek compensation from Ten Sports later. We have already tied up advertisements of over Rs 100 crore and we want to be compensated for the opportunity loss," he added. Ten Sports estimates a Rs 20-crore revenue loss and a hit on viewership numbers.

The channel said that it would have to explain to its advertisers the circumstances behind sharing the rights as the contracts with them were on the "exclusivity" clause.

Mr Sarma said that the national broadcaster could start carrying the signals once Ten Sports gives it the decoder boxes. "Once we get the decoder boxes, it will not take us long to start transmission."

Earlier in the day, the CEO of Ten Sports, Mr Chris McDonald, told newspersons: "We offered to show the matches on DD's low-power transmitters (LPTs) in non-cable areas free of cost. But Prasar Bharati did not agree to this proposal."

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