No IPL footage on news channels

The third version of Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket tournament is unlikely to make headlines on TV news, with the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) deciding not to air any IPL match footage in protest against the “arbitrary” guidelines and certain “contentious” clauses regarding the footage of the Twenty20 event.

NBA, which has 34 channels as its members, said in a statement that the IPL authorities and the official broadcaster of the event — IPL/SET Max — in their meeting today, “arbitrarily” refused to abide by the 2008 norms which was endorsed by NBA.

“In view of the position unilaterally taken by IPL/SET Max, members of the NBA are unable to offer to their viewers any coverage in relation to IPL or its proposed matches,” NBA’s Secretary General Annie Joesph said in a statement.

In 2008, during the inaugural season of IPL, SET Max and IPL had formulated certain guidelines for news broadcasters.

According to sources, news broadcasters did not abide by the guidelines, following which they were revised in 2009.

“A few news broadcasters faulted on the revised guidelines too. Following this, SET Max took those broadcasters to court. The Delhi High Court passed an injunction in favour of SET Max/IPL,” added sources close to the development.

However, Joseph said, “In 2008, the IPL/SET Max had drawn up a set of norms for use of cricket footage of IPL matches, in negotiation and agreement with the NBA, which has been followed ever since. However, NBA regrets that at a meeting held on February 16, 2010, the IPL/SET Max have arbitrarily refused to abide by their commitment as contained in the 2008 norms.”

According to the guidelines, news channels can air only 30 seconds of fresh footage per news bulletin, subject to a maximum of 120 seconds of fresh footage per match in a day. News channels can’t use more than seven minutes of footage for the entire day, which means footage from a single match should not exceed 120 seconds of aggregate duration. In a regular news bulletin, the footage can’t be repeated more than three times. The footage also can’t be used for special programming created centred around any match.

Live footage at any given point of time is not permissible. News broadcasters have to relay a minimum of 30 minutes delay from the live telecast. The use of archival footage is limited for news purposes and will not be used for any non-news or commercial purpose.