INTRODUCTION
There was a time when Doordarshan was the sole broadcaster of sporting events, primarily cricket, and would levy a fee of Rs. 5 lakhs on the BCCI for each live telecast of a BCCI event. Fast forward to 2021, sports broadcasters are continuously competing with one another and engaging in bidding wars or auctions to gain broadcasting rights for a particular sports event.[1] This article is the basic legal framework and present scenario regarding sports broadcasting in India. Read on!
BASIC LEGAL FRAMEWORK
THE SPORTS BROADCASTING SIGNALS (MANDATORY SHARING WITH PRASAR BHARATI) ACT, 2007
The broadcasting of sports events in India is regulated by the Sports Broadcasting Signals (Mandatory Sharing with Prasar Bharati) Act, 2007[2]. The aim of the Act is to provide access to ‘sporting events of national importance’ to the public on a free-to-air basis. This is done through mandatory sharing of sports broadcasting signals with Prasar Bharati, which is an Indian public broadcaster comprising the Doordarshan Television Network and All India Radio.
Mandatory sharing of certain sports broadcasting signals
As per Section 3 of the Act, a broadcaster or content rights holder or owner has to share with the Prasar Bharti, the live broadcasting signal of events of ‘national importance’, that are being planned to broadcast on any cable, direct-to-home network, or radio. It is only after fulfillment of this condition that the concerned provider could carry the live broadcasting simultaneously as planned. This is being done so that the Prasar Bharti could re-transmit the same on its terrestrial networks. It is to be noted that this sharing with Prasar Bharti has to be done by the provider without any advertisements.
As far as sporting events of national importance are concerned, there is no specific mention of the list under the Act or rules related to it. Such a list is determined and notified by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting in consultation with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and Prasar Bharati.[3] With all these conditions in place, Doordarshan sometimes receives more television audience and viewership as compared to the official rights holder. This can be witnessed particularly in one-day international matches of the Indian men’s cricket team.[4]
Revenue sharing
Another condition under Section 3 of the Act is related to the advertisement revenue sharing between the broadcaster and the Prasar Bharati. According to this condition, the sharing ratio shall not be less than 75:25 in the case of television coverage and 50:50 in the case of radio coverage. It is pertinent to note that the revenue which is received by the Prasar Bharti has to be utilized for broadcasting other sporting events in the percentage specified by the Central Government.
THE TELECOM REGULATORY AUTHORITY OF INDIA ACT, 1997
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Act, 1997[5] was established for regulating the telecommunication services, adjudicating disputes, disposing of appeals, protecting the interests of service providers and consumers of the telecom sector, and promoting and ensuring the orderly growth of the telecom sector. In January 2004, the Government included ‘broadcasting and cable services’ within the purview of the TRAI Act. With that, Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) got the original as well as appellate jurisdiction over broadcasting, among other spheres under the TRAI Act.
TELEVISION BROADCASTING
Apart from broadcasting sports events on Doordarshan, the Indian sports broadcasting market was overtaken by the Star-Sony duopoly. Star India purchased the rights to broadcast the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2017 for Rs 16,348 crore, taking away the rights from Sony, which had held the rights since 2008.[6] 380 million people watched the IPL 2021 until match 35. However, the recent entry of Reliance Industries-backed Viacom18, which operates 46 channels is all set to make this duopoly into a three-player market.[7] The venture has recently acquired multi-year partnerships for Abu Dhabi T10 Cricket League, and Spanish La Liga, a football League.[8]
RADIO BROADCASTING
As far as audio broadcasting of sports events is concerned, All India Radio (AIR), India’s public terrestrial radio broadcaster has the monopoly to provide live commentary on international and national sporting events under the current regulatory framework.[9] The prohibition on private radio stations from broadcasting live sports commentary on their terrestrial radio channel is resulting in AIR being slow to adapt to evolving consumption patterns and public expectations.[10]
BROADCASTING THROUGH TEXT MESSAGES
Apart from broadcasting sports events through television and radio, broadcasting through text messages is another way of providing sports lovers with match information. In other words, it includes sending match updates, live score cards, and score alerts via Short Messaging Service (SMS) or Mobile Value Added Services (MVAS).
The issue here is whether ‘sending text messages’ may be claimed as an exclusive right on match information becoming available in the public domain after the first broadcast of the audio/visual recording. This issue was resolved in Star India Pvt. Ltd v. Piyush Agarwal & Others[11], a 2013 judgment of the Delhi High Court.
As per the facts of the case, there was an agreement between Star India (the plaintiff) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which gave Star India the right to broadcast matches organized by the BCCI. Star Sports also had the right over all the information pertaining to the matches including the right to create and broadcast text messages (SMS). BBCI was providing value-added services via SMS related to cricket matches aired by Star India. Star India alleged that BBCI was infringing on its exclusive rights by providing such SMS service and claimed before the court, the exclusive right to provide value-added services by SMS for 72 hours after a live broadcast.
The court determined that agreement between the parties could not result in the creation of a legal right, and that news in the public domain could not be monopolised. Furthermore, it was determined that the concept of fair dealing and public policy would be violated if the plaintiff had a 72-hour monopoly on news resulting from an event that was already in the public domain. The decision was appealed by the plaintiff. However, the appeal is still pending.
STREAMING ON OTT PLATFORMS
When it comes to the consumption of content on OTT platforms, sports was on the top of the list in 2020.[12] When the spread of Covid-19 was prevailing all over the world and everyone was stuck at home, companies such as Hotstar, SonyLiv, and Amazon brought out a new business model.
Disney+ Hotstar grew its subscribers base on a wide level, all the credits for which goes to the live streaming of IPL 2020. The opening match of the league’s 2020 edition witnessed millions of peak concurrent viewers.[13] Furthermore, IPL 14’s views reached 6.7 million in the first half. This OTT platform also broadcasted the 2021 T20 men’s World Cup, which attracted 12 million people at its peak during the India-Pakistan match.[14] While cricket has been vital to the platform’s success, Star India has given it access to a number of local and niche sports rights.
SonyLIV, another OTT platform hosted many international cricket tours of the Indian team and marquee events like FIFA. The platform has also earned exclusive rights for streaming WWE for its Indian viewers. Amazon Prime Video entered the world of live sports broadcasting by purchasing the India territory rights to New Zealand Cricket for the years 2025-2026.[15]
Several platforms have already begun negotiating with tournament organizers for future events. It would be fascinating to see how intensively these players pursue sporting rights over the next five to ten years, and how long sports broadcasting in India will remain the domain of traditional broadcasters.[16] Interestingly, a PIL[17] was filed in 2020 claiming that, while increased usage of smartphones and low-cost internet data have enabled easy streaming of events, hefty membership fees charged by OTT players’ for allowing access to key sporting events prohibit millions of citizens from watching such events. In this regard, the Madras High Court has asked the government to determine if there is a need for an amendment to the Sports Broadcasting Signals (Mandatory Sharing with Prasar Bharati) Act, 2007, which may allow streaming of sporting events of national importance on Doordarshan’s OTT platforms.
CONCLUSION
No doubt, the sports broadcasting industry is exponentially growing. However, there still exist some difficulties before the broadcasters such as the threat of signal piracy and being in an unfavorable position under the 2007 Sports Act.[18] Where on one hand, the government has been asked to deliberate upon an amendment under the 2007 Act for streaming of sports events on Doordarshan’s OTT platforms, on the other hand, the Act is plainly discriminatory towards private television broadcasters who spend billions of rupees to acquire exclusive broadcasting rights.[19] The amendment, if brought into effect, might further reduce the profit of private OTT platforms.
[1] R. Seshank Shekar & Nihal Zachariah, An Overview Of The Indian Sports Broadcasting Landscape, LAWINSPORT (Mar. 13, 2019), https://www.lawinsport.com/topics/item/an-overview-of-the-indian-sports-broadcasting-landscape.
[2] The Sports Broadcasting Signals (Mandatory Sharing With Prasar Bharati) Act, 2007, No. 11, Acts of Parliament, 2007 (India).
[3] Supra note 1.
[4] Ibid.
[5] The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Act, 1997, Act No. 24, Acts of Parliament, 1997.
[6] Sohinee, Sony vs Star: Who is dominating the sports broadcasting game in India?, THE BRIDGE (Jun. 25, 2021, 2:26 PM), https://thebridge.in/tokyo-2020/sony-star-who-dominate-game-sports-broadcasting-india-22356.
[7] Javed Farooqui, Viacom18’s entry into sports broadcasting will make it a three-horse race, EXCHANGE4MEDIA (Sep. 15, 2021, 8:55 AM), https://www.exchange4media.com/media-tv-news/viacom18s-entry-into-sports-broadcasting-will-make-it-a-three-horse-race-115642.html.
[8] Gaurav Laghate, Viacom18 acquires exclusive media rights for Abu Dhabi T10, ET (Aug 18, 2021, 06:33 PM), https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/media/viacom18-acquires-exclusive-media-rights-for-abu-dhabi-t10/articleshow/85429720.cms
[9] Supra note 4.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Star India Pvt. Ltd v. Piyush Agarwal & Others 2013 (54) PTC 222 (DEL).
[12] Maryam Farooqui, T20 World Cup 2021: India-Pakistan most viewed match, reaches 167 million viewers on TV, MONEYCONTROL (Nov. 08, 2021, 09:44 PM), https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/trends/sports-trends/t20-world-cup-2021-india-pakistan-most-viewed-match-reaches-167-million-viewers-on-tv-7691621.html.
[13] Gargi Sarkar, Live sports see greater push from OTT platforms in India, INDIANTELEVISION (Feb 16, 2021, 08:32 AM), https://www.indiantelevision.com/iworld/over-the-top-services/live-sports-see-greater-push-from-ott-platforms-in-india-210216.
[14] Chengappa, Sports was the most consumed content on OTT platforms in 2020, THE BRIDGE (Feb. 17, 202, 12:03 PM), https://thebridge.in/news/sports-was-most-consumed-content-ott-platforms-2020/?infinitescroll=1
[15] Supra note 13.
[16] Ibid.
[17] Angad Makkar, Madras HC directs govt to decide upon a possible amendment to the Sports Act, 2007, IPRMENTLAW (Feb. 8, 2020), https://iprmentlaw.com/2020/02/08/madras-hc-directs-govt-to-decide-upon-a-possible-amendment-to-the-sports-act-2007/.
[18] Sushil Joon, Sports Broadcasting Rights in India, CSLP, https://cslpnujs.wordpress.com/2020/08/19/sports-broadcasting-rights-in-india/.
[19] Ibid.
YLCC would like to thank Aditi Aggarwal for her valuable insights in this article.
