LS takes up mandatory sharing of Sports Broadasting Signals Bill

New Delhi, Mar 8 (UNI) Ahead of the Cricket World Cup in the West Indies from March 13, the Lok Sabha today took up for consideration a bill seeking to make it mandatory for the private channels to share its feed of sporting events of national importance with public broadcaster Prasar Bharati and Doordarshan.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi said the Sports Broadcasting Signals (Mandatory Sharing with Prasar Bharati) Bill, 2007 was brought forward in the context of some private channels approaching the court questioning the guidelines issued by the government on mandatory sharing of signals in 2005.

He said the legislation would help provide access to the largest number of listners and viewers, on a free-to-air basis, of sporting events of national importance through mandatory sharing of sports broadcasting signals with Prasar Bharati.

Mr Dasmunsi said out of the 110 million households with television sets, only 60 million had access to cable television. The remaining 50 million people, mostly from rural and far-flung areas, would be deprived of viewing sporting events of national importance if they were not broadcast by Doordarshan, which is the only channel with terrestrial rights.

''The Cricket World Cup is at the door. Millions are waiting to see the matches. We felt it proper to give justice to all people,'' he said.

Ravi Shankar Prasad and Raza Singh Rawat (both BJP) agreed with the government's intention to provide opportunity to all to view sporting events of national importance.

However, they asked the government why were they worried only about the sporting needs of the common man and not their other requirements.

Congress member Navin Jindal supported the bill and said this was the only way out to ensure justice to all.

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