Share with DD: Supreme Court to channels

The Supreme Court on Friday held that private broadcasters have to share live signals of sporting events of national importance like cricket matches played in India with official broadcaster Prasar Bharati.A Bench of Justices A.K. Sikri and Prafulla C. Pant dismissed an appeal filed by Star Sports India Ltd challenging the Sports Act, 2007, which mandated such a provision and which was earlier upheld by the Delhi High Court.

The Bench said “the purpose of the Act is to provide access to the largest number of listeners and viewers, on a free to air basis, of sporting events of national importance. This task is given to Prasar Bharati. Notwithstanding more popularity which the private channels have gained over a period of time, the coverage of Prasar Bharati is far more reaching insofar as Indian population is concerned. Further the radio as well as television broadcasting of Prasar Bharati is free of cost.”The bench said “It is for this reason that the law in the form of Sports Act is enacted in order to ensure that such sporting events of national importance are made available to every citizen of this country, irrespective of his/her financial conditions.”

The Bench accepted Prasar Bharati’s stand that under the Sports Act, no contents right owner, contents right holder and television or radio broadcasting service provider can carry a live broadcast of sporting events of national importance unless it simultaneously shares the live broadcasting signals without advertisements with it.The bench said “Section 3 of the Act aims to provide access to largest number of listeners and viewers on free to air channels. Prasar Bharati was supposed to telecast these matches for the benefit of general masses, who otherwise do not receive signals of private channels like the appellant or are not having financial capacity to pay for these channels. Thus, it was a larger public interest which was sought to be served.”