The advances in information and communication technologies, due to the unification of all the nations across the globe into a global village, have mobilized broadcast of sports and allowed billions of people to partake in the major sporting events, at all levels as intermediaries, audience, sportspersons, etc. The law related to sports broadcasting is really an overlooked domain and is paramount in the protection of the rights and interests of the broadcasters.

The concept of sports property rights was strengthened by the United States Supreme Court decision in Zacchini V. Scripps-Howard Broadcasting Co. Congress. The pronouncement added a novel dimension to the sports property rights concept when it enacted the Copyright Act of 1976 at the urging of the professional sports leagues. The Congress extended federal copyright protection to live sports broadcasts, thereby vesting the owners of these telecasts with the exclusive right to “perform” them publicly.

Copyright in Sports Broadcasting

With the development of society, the concept of live streaming technology has rapidly changed the way in which sporting events are transmitted. The unauthorized retransmission of sporting events over the internet has become one of the main concerns in sports media, where broadcasters have lost billions of dollars worth of sports broadcasting contracts and broadcasting deals. The scale of this problem had caused serious harm, both to sports rights-holders and to broadcasters. Legislative reforms and governmental actions are required in order to balance the public’s ever-increasing desire for convenient ways to view digital materials against the legal rights of the owners of the material, while also aiming to maintain a forward-looking perspective in an attempt to foresee potential technological advancements that may pose considerable challenges to the traditional copyright law.

“Copyright in sports broadcasting has become a much debatable topic in this digitized world. The telecast of the live sporting events is a right that is obtained only by the broadcasters and the re-telecast of these events causes huge losses to the broadcaster’s or broadcasting organizations whose rights are bypassed by these unauthorized telecasters. Rampant piracies hinder the overall development of these broadcasting industries leading to disequilibrium in the business. Under the International Convention for the Protection of Performers, Producers of Phonograms and Broadcasting Organizations, broadcasters have exclusive rights for 20 years to authorize rebroadcasting, “fixation” (recording), reproduction and communication to the public of their broadcasts. Following are the broadcasters’ rights:

• Safeguard costly investments in telecasting sporting events.

• Recognize and reward the entrepreneurial efforts of broadcasting organizations.

• Recognize & reward their contribution to diffusion of information & culture.

Whenever any act is committed which overrides this provision, it is said to breach the established standards of protection as guaranteed under the international convention. 

Evolving Jurisprudence in India

·In the case of ICC Development (International) Ltd. & Anr. V. New Delhi Television Ltd., the High Court of Delhi, in 2012 delivered a judgment in the suit filed by ICC (Development) International Ltd and ESPN (Mauritius) Ltd, (the “Respondents”), against New Delhi Television Ltd (“NDTV”), with respect to the excessive usage of match footage by NDTV during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011. The Court did uphold the limits set by the News Access Guidelines framed by the International Cricket Council (“ICC”) for the ICC World Twenty 20 Sri Lanka 2012 and also granted an injunction restraining NDTV from using related video footage in excess of the prescribed limits. The appeal by NDTV was disposed by the Division Bench on October 11, 2012. The Division Bench, while prescribing limits for usage of match footage by television news channels, held that all television news channels should use match footage strictly in accordance with the limits prescribed by the ICC or purchase the right to use such footage, from either the ICC or the official broadcaster to whom the broadcasting and reproduction rights were assigned by the ICC.

·In the case of Star India Pvt. Ltd. V. Piyush Agarwal & Ors. [CS (OS) No. 2722/2012 & Conn, the Delhi High Court through a Single Judge (Justice Mehta) dismissed Star India’s claim and observed that it held exclusive rights to information emanating from cricket matches organized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, by virtue of being the official and exclusive licensee of the BCCI. The Court held in favor of Piyush Agarwal, Idea Cellular Limited and Onmobile Global Limited and allowed the broadcast of information already in the public domain, albeit with a lag of two minutes. However, on an appeal, the Division Bench of the Delhi High Court (comprising of Justices Pradeep Nandrajog and Manmohan Singh), on December 3, 2012, set aside the said order on grounds of serious procedural flaws. Further, the Division Bench restored the civil suits along with all the pending applications, which included the application seeking an interim injunction.

While the broadcast and related laws were not tailor-made to suit the requisites of sport, the significant increase in case law brings out the current need to coherently define the limits of such law custom made to suit the framework and the needs specific to the sport. The investments in sport have steadily increased and, by co-relation, disputes regarding legal rights have been on the rise as well.

The author’s analysis of the above judgments shows that a number of legal questions have arisen with regard to broadcasting and proprietary rights relating to sporting events in India. In these cases, the Court’s viewpoint has been limited to that of copyright law; our Courts will no doubt be called upon to adjudicate and develop the jurisprudence related to sports broadcasting & proprietary rights & related doctrines, sooner than later. 

Concluding Remarks

The competitive sports industry has become a billion-trillion dollar business and the cooperation between media, sponsors and the sports authorities has been the reason for the growing popularity of the industry. However, the emergence of various communications technologies has made it possible for wider access to the public in unlimited terms, and this has in turn led to the infringement of the broadcaster’s rights resulting in signal theft. Live sports have been easy targets for unauthorized transmission and distribution over the internet. There are provisions in various laws globally that have covered live sports broadcastings under it and guarantee protection.

The scale of this problem has caused serious harm, both to sports rights-holders and to broadcasters. Legislative reforms are required in order to balance the public’s ever-increasing desire for convenient ways to view digital materials against the legal rights of the owners of the material, while also aiming to maintain a forward-looking perspective in an attempt to foresee potential technological advancements that may pose considerable challenges to the traditional copyright law. In both of these realms – the economic and the socio-cultural – the media, and particularly television, has played a vital role in shaping the essence of contemporary sport.

On the one hand, sports organizations and television broadcasters have built a synergetic relationship that has allowed both to further their commercial interests. In this sense, the commercialization of sports has served the interests of all the main participants within the ‘sports-media-business complex’, including media conglomerates, marketing agencies, brands and sponsors, sports event organizers, sports associations and even professional athletes.

In the modern era, sports provide ample opportunities for means of recreation and moreover competitions in these fields have led people to open up, accept, understand, and integrate diverse cultures and communities. Advances in these fields have had a great impact on developing nations. Moreover, such moves have been constantly placing new demands in various sectors of public life. It’s interesting to cite that its importance has rather been a continuous experiment through which the human race showcases capability, acquiring and remodeling human capital, and thus expanding its potential.

-Swarnadeep Sengupta

KIIT School of Law