Ten Sports said it would abide by the Supreme Court's verdict on sharing the live feed of the ongoing India-Pakistan cricket series with Prasar Bharati, but added that it was being compelled to do so. The final ruling in the matter is expected on Wednesday.
"I have advised our distribution partners in India to follow the Supreme Court's order," Taj Entertainment Network owner Abdul Rahman Bukhatir said at a press conference.
Ten Sports had filed a special leave petition in the apex court against the Chennai High Court and Bombay High Court orders asking it to share the live feed of the series with Prasar Bharati.
However, Bukhatir said sharing the feed with Prasar Bharati would amount to a breach of intellectual property laws.
"It requires a lot of money, effort and time to acquire exclusive rights for live telecast and other driver contents on the channel. We have invested non-stop in Ten Sports in the last two years and the channel is now head and shoulders above its competitors. It, therefore, gives me great concern to see how our investments have been damaged in the recent past. Ten Sports has been unilaterally compelled to share its exclusive rights with third parties, without any pre-determined agreements or adequate compensation. I believe these developments are a fundamental blow to the system of intellectual property rights, which has developed internationally," he said.
However, Bukhatir played down the threat of the feed not being available in India.
"I will never want to see cricket lovers denied the chance to watch cricket, either on TV or in the stadium. The Indian subcontinent is the greatest cricket loving region in the world. This is why it gives me such joy to be able to bring the world's best cricket to viewers throughout this region on Ten Sports," he added.
However, virtually undeterred by the row, Ten Sports said it was interested for the rights of the matches played in India, to be auctioned by the Board of Control for Cricket in India next month.
"Certainly we are interested. We would like to get the best cricket events for our viewers," Ten Sports CEO Chris McDonald told reporters.
"But the BCCI is yet to come out with the tender documents," he said, adding that his organisation would like to see the terms of the tender first.
The BCCI is expected to auction next month the telecast rights for the cricket matches played in India for the next five years. Major TV channels, including Set Max, ESPN-Star, Sahara and Prasar Bharati, are reported to be keen to bid for these rights.
On Monday, the Supreme Court had asked Ten Sports to provide signals to Doordarshan to telecast the second one-day between India and Pakistan. Earlier, Ten Sports was also forced to provide live signals of the first match.
