Nitish Banka

    • BCCI Monopolizing Cricket

    Cricket is a game which is so closely associated with billion people in India. A person with an age group 5 yrs-90 yrs watches cricket, loves cricket. Cricket is the sentiment of India. The BCCI is an authority which regulates cricket in India. It conducts cricket in India as well as thorough the world. BCCI has exclusive rights over marketing, broadcasting and sponsorship etc. Cricket is broadcast throughout India as BCCI gives its broadcasting rights to various channels.The BCCI takes premium from these channels in lieu of the broadcasting rights.There are some other companies who by using mobile and internet technology broadcasts the live score to those people who cannot watch live tv.

    Now here lies the dispute what BCCI is doing is extending its broadcasting rights to these new entrants who are broadcasting the live scores on the internet and mobiles using their own independent techniques and technology, these new entrants are Cricbuzz,yahoo cricket. For extending its rights the BCCI moved the HC. HC ordered these new entrants to delay score by 15 mins and deposit a premium amount with court. This is an interim order. Now question arises when BCCI holds exclusive broadcasting rights and nobody is infringing its rights further cricket is a live event and no copyright subsists on live event.Is this reasonable to extend its broadcasting rights to the above mentioned new entrants.The new entrants are just using their right to free speech without violating exclusive BCCI broadcasting rights. The bigger question is by extending broadcasting rights is BCCI monopolizing cricket and monopolizing the sentiments of billions of people?