Nimbus Communications Alleges Victimisation By Doordarshan

The Mumbai-based Nimbus Communications has become the first private firm to file a petition with the newly-formed Prasar Bharti board.

The company alleges that it is being victimised by Doordarshan for its cross-channel business. The Prasar Bharti board will take up the case today.

DD has been alleging that Nimbus had left unpaid dues to Mandi House after the revision of minimum guarantee money of Superhit Muqabla to Rs 51 lakh per week from about Rs 41 lakh per week, reason enough to yank the programme off the air. Nimbus is maintaining that the issue was just an arithmetic error.

Senior Mandi House officials admit that the Nimbus issue is pitchforked to the forefront because DD feels Nimbus let it down by getting associated with Home TV, a satellite channel. However, Home TV sources have clarified that Nimbus role in the channel is limited to devising a business plan for a fee for the ailing channel.

Faced with the cancellation of its running programmes, Nimbus moved the Mumbai High Court which granted certain interim relief in August including a stay on discontinuance of Superhit Muqabla. Since there is an arbitration clause in the DD-Nimbus agreement, the matter finally was referred to the arbitration bench of Mumbai High Court which is to deliver its verdict today if the case still existed.

However, media analysts point out, Since there is no policy on cross-channel business activities in Mandi House, DD cannot penalise Nimbus. Chief executive of Star TV India and former DD director-general R Basu had tried in vain to prohibit such cross-channel activities.

The battle between Mandi House and Nimbus which produces for DD the popular Superhit Muqabla every Sunday on DD Metro has been going on for quite some time, but it took a serious turn from June 1997 when DD began regularly writing to Nimbus saying that dues have not been paid and the Superhit Muqabla will be taken off air.

DD in its affidavit to the court has said, The petitioner has agreed to the revised minimum guarantee of Rs 51 lakh per week per episode... therefore, the contention of the petitioners that there is an arithmetic error in calculating the amount of Rs 51 lakh is absolutely incorrect.

Nimbus in its affidavit had contended that the upward revision of the minimum guarantee of Superhit Muqabla was accepted in late 1996 with the proviso that the arrangement would be valid for a minimum period of two years starting from November 15, 1996 without any further upward revision of MG.

This is a fact Doordarshan has been denying saying Mandi House never gives extensions for two years.