SC ruling creates stir in sports broadcasting

The Supreme Court's turning down STAR India's plea against sharing live feeds of sporting events with Prasar Bharati sans advertisements comes as a disappointment to the sports broadcast industry. Experts believe the ruling may eventually have a commercial impact.

Earlier, STAR Sports had moved the apex court against the Delhi High Court's October 3, 2013 judgment that had not accepted ESPN Software Pvt Ltd's plea against Prasar Bharat seeking clean feed of sporting events of national importance.

The verdict comes as a setback to STAR Sports as it will have to take out all advertisements, including sponsor logos and on-screen credits before sharing the feeds with Prasar Bharati.

A media planner involved with sports broadcasting and sponsorships cautions that there is the issue of interpretation of the verdict. "My understanding is that it applies to TV sponsors roped in for various events by broadcasters. This cannot possibly apply to on-ground sponsors since it may not come under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. For example, in case of the Olympics, an on-ground sponsor has the deal with the global governing body of the Olympics and not with the Indian media rights holder. Similarly for ICC events, the on-ground sponsors cannot be expected to be 'cleaned' from a television feed," he says on the condition of annonymity.

Harish Thawani, chairman, Neo Sports, believes that the ramifications of the ruling will go beyond the broadcasters. "From what I have read in the media, the ruling will have an impact on the event owners as well. For one, the contracts for media rights and sponsorships (in some cases) have been signed a while back and the practice will have to be implemented now. So for an ICC event, Star may tell ICC that it cannot carry the logo of a commercial partner (of ICC) citing it is the law of the land. While Star will be correct in doing so, the commercial partner will want its money's worth and will take up the matter with the ICC. A lot needs to be clarified in the matter I feel. Also, what happens in cases where the on-air and on-ground rights are sold as a package?," he says.