Abstract

Cricket is the most popular sport in India, far more popular than other sports like hockey, football and tennis, with some people even considering cricket at par with their religion. With the Indian population standing today over a billion, of whom the majority are ardent supporters of the Indian cricket team, it makes for a lucrative business proposition to be involved with the multi-million dollar industry of cricket in India. Thus begins the whole saga of the private broadcasters race to get a pie of the industry and at the top is the Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI), the sole association regulating cricket and this multi-million dollar industry. In this article I will attempt to discuss the current problems being faced in sports broadcasting in India, with the main emphasis being on the current broadcasting row where the parties involved include the BCCI, Nimbus sports broadcast, promoted by Nimbus communications, ESPN Star sports, Prasar Bharati, being the national broadcaster, Zee networks and Ten Sports. The role of the government through the passing of the Sports Broadcasting Signal Bill (hereafter referred to as the ‘The Bill) in the Lok Sabha (National Parliament) on the 8th of March, 2007, will also be enunciated with its impact on the ‘broadcasters’, the BCCI and the “common man” (aam aadmi). It will also be discussed whether the government is justified in putting into ambit all cricket games to be of national importance without any specific criteria classifying them, in order to remove the ambiguity involved with it, or whether they should follow a more systematic approach. The provisions of the European Council’s Television Without Frontier Directive will also be discussed, while comparing it to the Bill. Verf.-Referat