PCB shoots itself in the foot again…
** PTV in a fix over telecast of Kiwis series **
By Imran Naeem Ahmad
ISLAMABAD, Nov 22: With the New Zealand cricket tour about to begin, confusion continues to prevail over the telecasting rights of the series featuring five one-day Internationals.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced last month that it had sold the rights to a Dubai-based satellite channel Geo, a move that has apparently hurt the state-run Pakistan Television (PTV).
The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) says that it had neither been consulted nor had it granted permission to the satellite channel in question to uplink the event.
In any case even if the uplinking facility is offered to the private channel, PEMRA said, since it is not a terrestrial set up, the Dubai-based channel cannot cover more than 10 per cent of domestic viewers.
Saleem Gul of PEMRA when asked said that the private channel had not yet applied for uplinking license. He said earlier when Ten Sports were given the world rights to telecast the South African series, PEMRA gave the channel a temporary license for uplinking which too had expired.
According to the PCB sources, both the PTV and the Dubai-based channel do not have the required facilities as per International Cricket Council’s regulations to show live pictures. Only three companies in the world are said to have proper equipment.
** Another UAE-based channel TEN Sports that had the telecasting rights for South Africa tour had filed a bid for $75,000 for the New Zealand ODI series while Dubai-based channel put in a bid for $0.5m and won the contract. (how much the General made, anyone care to guess) **
Insiders say that only a network having terrestrial rights, in this instance PTV, can show the matches to domestic viewers and not a satellite channel.
The PTV is perhaps following in the footsteps of Doordarshan that went to court in a similar row involving the telecast of their home series against New Zealand. The court ruled that the foremost right to air the matches in the domestic market was that of the national network.
** The PCB however finds itself in a cache 22 situation - if PTV and Geo are both unable to show the matches then what would it do to get the matches telecast here and abroad. **
The New Zealand cricketers arrive in Pakistan on Nov 27 and©play the first match of the tour in Faisalabad on Nov 29.
An official of the Dubai-based channel when contacted said that everything had been taken care of and that there was nothing to worry.
But when pressed for his version of the developing situation he said at present his organization was ‘playing it all close to chest’ but assured that the NZ ODIs will be telecast without any hitch.
Earlier, when TEN Sports were given the rights to telecast the South African matches, the PTV approached the PCB and told them that this was unfair and got the board to give them the domestic rights.
“But when we went into the market for sponsors we found that even Ten Sports were prospecting for the same in our market,” said Anwer Mehmood the federal information secretary who appeared to be greatly disappointed with the way the PCB had handled the situation.
“Ten Sports then went and sold the telecast to ARY a satellite channel with domestic viewers and the ARY showed the matches on their music channel,” Anwer said.
Source: http://www.dawn.com/2003/11/23/spt1.htm
Let them bark