Ten Sports has said its estimated loss of Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion) from sharing the feed of the recently concluded India-Pakistan cricket series with Doordarshan was reasonable because it had to pay Rs 280 crore (Rs 2.80 billion) to the Pakistan Cricket Board to acquire exclusive telecast rights for the series, senior company officials told Business Standard.
"Ten Sports had secured the rights for telecast of cricket matches being played in Pakistan for a period of five years on payment of Rs 280 crore. To state that Ten Sports' desire to make a legitimate return on its investment is unjustified or illegal would be ludicrous," a Ten Sports executive said.
Arguing that the channel's subscription revenue model had suffered a blow, the Ten Sports officials said the company was at a disadvantage vis-a-vis others which offer a bouquet of channels.
"For such companies, it is possible to subsidise losses suffered by particular channels from revenues generated from other channels. Ten Sports is a single channel company and that too in the niche activity of sports," the officials said.
Ten Sports had projected to penetrate all 45 million cable & satellite homes in the country during the Indian cricket team's tour. However, the numbers fell well short of the projections once it was decided that it would have to share the feed with Prasar Bharti for its Doordarshan network.
It is worth noting that Prasar Bharti, the state broadcaster, and Ten Sports went to the courts over the issue. Prasar Bharti said that the series was a historic one and the vast majority of the country's people who do not have access to satellite television could not be deprived of the telecast.
The Supreme Court had passed an interim order allowing Prasar Bharti to show the matches after depositing with it a sum of Rs 50 crore (Rs 500 million). The matter, which listed for a hearing on May 3, has been postponed.
On its part, Cable Distribution Network, a Modi Enterprises company which distributes Ten Sports in India, had claimed damages worth Rs 208 crore (Rs 2.08 billion) for sharing the telecast with the state broadcaster.
The company had said that the damages reflect the loss in subscription revenue arising from the live telecast also being available on Prasar Bharti's free-to-air Doordarshan channel.
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