With the Cricket World Cup around a month away, the rights for Cricket broadcasting have seen in the news. DD telecast the Cricket, under court orders, with a seven minute lag during the recently concluded India-West Indies cricket series, for which Nimbus owned Neo Sports has the rights. I guess that wasn’t good enough for Prasar Bharti - Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting got an ordinance passed to allow DD and All India Radio to telecast Cricket for free, using the argument that the money will be used to subsidize the telecast of less popular sports like kabaddi, womens hockey etc. [Source: The Indian Express]
Frankly, I think good quality of programming is essential for any sport, and DD has never been good enough. Here’s a maverick solution: why not do away with exclusive rights and let everyone have the feed for a minimum support price. Then, quality of programming and distribution will take over…But can such a model sustain the telecast?
Anyway, this is not the end of it - expect more in the days leading up to the World Cup, for which Sony Entertainment Television has rights.