Court gives landmark judgement; telcos cannot offer Live match updates
All mobile operators can only offer match updates to customers, with a 15 minute delay, or by getting permission from Star India before the start of the match.
In what is a rather critical judgement, the Delhi High Court has made it clear that mobile service providers cannot provide Live cricket match updates unless they have taken prior permission from Star TV India. This is applicable for all matches for which Star India holds the rights. The judgement comes after Star India filed a petition against Cricbuzz, On Mobile and Idea Cellular.
Justice ML Mehta’s verdict includes the following points:
- A limited interim injunction restraining the defendants from disseminating contemporaneous match information in the form of ball-by-ball or minute-by-minute score updates/match alerts for a premium, without obtaining a license from the plaintiff.
- There shall be no restriction upon the defendants to report noteworthy information or news from cricket matches (as discussed in paragraph 49), as and when they arise, because stale news is no news.
- There shall be no requirement for the license if the defendants do it gratuitously or after a time lag of 15 minutes.
After hearing Star India’s petition, Justice Mehta observed that offering live score updates does not allow Star India from effectively monetising its exclusive broadcast rights. “It would be just and reasonable for the defendants to either obtain a license and gain equal rights to their subscribers, or make them wait for some time, in order to not prejudice the right of the plaintiff (Star India) to earn revenue from the match information. Those who do not obtain a license from the plaintiff, may not disseminate the score update or match alert before 15 minutes from the moment such score update or match alert is telecasted or broadcasted by the plaintiff (Star India)”, the order reads.
The directive offers two options for the mobile service providers – either give updates with a 15 minute delay over the Live match, or take prior permission from Star India. In other words, pay money and sign a contract which allows you to offer actual Live updates. With the rights for all matches played in India featuring Team India with Star TV, would the mobile operators sign up for deals with the broadcaster?
Star India had, in 2012, paid Rs. 38.51 billion for exclusive media rights to cricket matches organised by the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) between 2012 and 2018. This included all international cricket matches played in India, as well as domestic competitions including the Ranji Trophy and the Irani Cup. The Star deal also includes coverage rights for Internet and mobile, for 96 matches.