Nimbus no to DD

NEW DELHI: Talks between Nimbus and Prasar Bharati have broken down, with the former refusing the share telecast feed with the public broadcaster for the upcoming India-West Indies cricket series.

Nimbus, who holds the rights to the BCCI matches, will now be the only broadcaster to telecast the matches starting January 21, followed by the series with Sri Lanka in February. Neither Doordarshan nor All India Radio will be allowed to beam the matches.

Officials confirmed the breaking down of dialogue, with Nimbus CEO Harish Thawani saying that the exclusive rights-holder can’t be forced to share the feed with the public broadcaster, if the conditions put up were unacceptable to the rights holders. A court battle cannot be ruled out between the two on this issue.

However, the government is believed to be readying an ordinance for compulsory sharing of sporting events of national importance with the Prasar Bharati. Downlinking guidelines prescribe mandatory sharing of telecast feed of sporting events of national importance. But, these guidelines do not have much legal teeth, which explains the move to introduce an ordinance.

A Broadcast Bill is also being readied for the upcoming budget session of  the Parliament.