Signal row may hit channels hard

Sports channels fear Rs 1,000-crore losses as un-encrypted telecast by DD may lead to piracy.

With no clarity on encryption of sports transmission signals by public broadcaster Doordarshan, sports channels fear loss of revenue to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore due to piracy during the forthcoming cricket matches India will play with England, Pakistan, South Africa and Australia.

Television signals are coded or encrypted before transmission to avoid piracy. Decoders have to be installed at the receivers' end in order to view the encrypted signals.

The encryption was demanded by sports channels like ESPN, Neo Sports, Ten Sports and Zee Sports soon after the government passed the sports Bill, (Sports Broadcasting Signals Bill), that makes it mandatory for every sports broadcaster to share signals live, and without advertisement, with Doordarshan.

A committee comprising representatives from the sports channels, Doordarshan and engineering consultants BECIL(Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd), set up to look into the encryption of signals, could not arrived at a solution.

According to industry sources, Doordarshan has expressed its inability to undertake encryption of the sports signals across its 1,400 transmitters and DD Direct (free direct-to-home service) due to technical challenges and shortage of trained manpower.

"Because of this, the committee did not suggest any solution for resolving the encryption issues," said an industry source close to the development.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting will submit a detailed report on the basis of the submissions of the committee. The final decision will be taken by the Cabinet.

According to industry sources, the un-encrypted signals of DD Direct are being received in Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Malaysia, and may result in loss of over Rs 1,000 crore for sports broadcasters as local distribution partners may cancel the contracts over piracy issues.

"Additionally, Doordarshan signals can be received by all cable operators for free, who then re-transmit, leading to piracy," said a sports channel executive.