Concerned that the Davis Cup tie against Italy may also go uncovered by Doordarshan (DD), national tennis federation AITA has initiated legal proceedings against the broadcaster for not honouring the agreement on telecasting matches.
India are set to host formidable Italy on February 1 and 2 on grass court of South Club in Kolkata and the All India Tennis Association (AITA) is fearing that DD may not provide the coverage unless the judiciary intervenes.
AITA has an agreement with Doordarshan since 1997 and it is renewed every five years. The latest renewal was done in January 2017 and the agreement is valid till January 2022. As per the agreement, DD has the exclusive rights to cover the Davis Cup matches in India and international tournaments, including Challengers and Futures.
"In the last one year DD has not been honouring the agreement and has failed to telecast major international events causing a great loss of reputation to the AITA in front of ATP, WTA and ITF," AITA Secretary General Hironmoy Chatterjee said in a release.
This year's Fenesta National Championship was also not covered by Doordarshan.
"As per our agreement with DD, AITA cannot approach any other broadcasters. At the same time DD is not confirming whether they are telecasting the (Italy) tie or not. ITF is in continuous correspondence with AITA and is deeply concerned about the status of 'live' telecast of the event.
"Having failed to receive any positive response from DD in the last 2 months, AITA has initiated legal proceedings before the Hon'ble High Court against DD asking for specific performance on telecast of Davis Cup tie," added the release.
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