The suggestion to amend the Sports Broadcasting Law will make sports content cheaper for paying viewers in the short run but will deprive India's sports economy of meaningful investments in the long run. This could erode the worth of competitions
In keeping with tradition, populism always emerges as an electoral force. During the run of a given political cycle, most policy decisions are undertaken through a consumer-centric lens. In this case, the ideal policy would be the one which pleases the voter and also not burden the next Government. However, the reality is such decisions often ignores long-term consequences on the exchequer or even the consumer. Consequently, freebies and lofty promises are the life-blood of electoral campaigns.
In this context, it is not surprising that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has set out a proposal which will enable the public broadcaster, Prasar Bharati, to telecast “sporting events of national importance” over other television networks.
By exercising the powers granted by the Sports Broadcasting Signals (Mandatory Sharing with Prasar Bharati) Act, 2007, Prasar Bharati’s television network, operated by Doordarshan, receives live signals from content owners that buy rights to telecast such events from sports bodies like the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). This content is then telecast to the 31 million households that subscribe to Doordarshan’s terrestrial networks and its free-dish DTH service.
This follows a 2017 judgment of the Supreme Court, which clarified that the Act only allows for Doordarshan to telecast these events on its own distribution networks, and not on private television distribution networks.
In an attempt to work around the strict guidelines drawn by the apex court, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has now set out new legislations to make the telecast of “sporting events of national importance” available for free to all of the 183 million television households in India. What better a scheme to impress the average voter than one which makes some of the most popular content on television, such as the Cricket World Cup scheduled for next year, available for free.
Though the stated objective of the proposed amendment is to maximise access to sporting events on a free-to-air basis, the manner in which the Act is currently implemented already ensures that such telecasts are made available on Doordarshan’s own distribution networks, free-to-air, to the consumer. By providing an alternative to pay television, Doordarshan effectively will ensure universal availability as well as a universal means to access.
The conceptual challenge with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s new line of thinking is that mere availability of free-to-air channels on private networks does not translate to an enhanced consumer access.
Given the implementation of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) latest tariff order to broadcast and cable operators, subscribers of private television networks will have to pay a minimum charge of up to `130 every month regardless of the type of channels they subscribe to.
The proposed amendment will, therefore, not increase access to sporting content for consumers at the bottom of the income pyramid, which should be the guiding principle of any measure to enhance access. Instead, it will make popular sports like cricket cheaper for consumers who are already willing to pay to watch television over private networks.
If not the poorest socio-economic group, who is going to benefit out of the amendment? Almost 85.7 per cent of Prasar Bharati’s receipts accrue from Government grants. The amendment may reinforce a culture of handouts by enabling Doordarshan to telecast content without undertaking any risk. Besides Prasar Bharati, private television networks will benefit from this arrangement, as they will be able to make subscription content available free-to-air without having to pay content owners any part of the proceeds.
In due course, serious monetisation challenges are likely to beset the entire sports economy in the country as private broadcasters stop investing in it. Broadcasting rights revenues contribute 91.69 per cent to the total revenues of Hockey India, 85.88 per cent to revenues of the All India Football Federation and 47.46 per cent to revenues of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Conversely, neither the Government of India nor Prasar Bharati has the resources to make up for the lack of private investment in sports and independently develop high-quality sports programming.
The budget allocated to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports formed only 0.07 per cent of the total expenditure of the Union Government in 2018-19, while Doordarshan spent only 5.6 per cent of its total programme expenses on sports events in 2016-17.
Adopting the proposed amendment will be unbecoming for a Government which prides itself on reforms that prioritise long-term welfare over short-term considerations, such as the Goods and Service Tax.
While it may make sports content cheaper for paying viewers in the short run, it will deprive India’s sports economy of meaningful investments in the long run. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting will end up throttling the value of sports as a business, as an industry and most importantly, as a career option.
(The writer is an Associate at Koan Advisory Group, New Delhi. The views expressed above are personal)
