The move to obtain the high-definition (HD) feed of Fifa World Cup from rights holder ESPN Star Sports by Tata Sky on non-discriminatory basis has met a dead end after the Delhi High Court dismissed its writ petition on Thursday stating Tata Sky was not ready with the infrastructure to provide HD channels. Tata Sky, the leading direct-to-home (DTH) operator wanted the intervention of the Delhi High Court as sports broadcaster ESPN Star Sports, the telecast rights holder for Fifa World Cup was offering the HD feed on a lump-sump basis to rival DTH operators as opposed to per subscriber tariff basis as per the laid down laws.
Tata Sky, which is yet to launch the HD service on its DTH platform went to the Delhi High Court after rival DTH operator Dish TV struck a deal with ESPN to telecast the Fifa World Cup in HD for its 7.4 million subscribers. Other DTH firms like Sun Direct and Airtel Digital TV are also in talks with ESPN to obtain the HD feed of Fifa World Cup that kicks off on Saturday in South Africa. Riding on the HD channel offerings, the DTH players expect to see at least 10-15% increase in their subscriber base during the FIFA World cup period of June-July.
This is significant as the HD is said to be the biggest differentiator for the 25 million DTH market. Sports broadcaster ESPN has lined up the HD feed for both Fifa World Cup and the Wimbeldon tennis tournament for which it is already negotiating with DTH operators like Dish TV, Digital TV, Big TV and Sun Direct, the four DTH operators out of six who have launched the HD service on their respective DTH platforms. According to industry sources, ESPN is charging a hefty fees for the HD feed of Fifa World Cup from DTH operators on a lump-sump basis said to be in the range of over Rs 8-10 crore for the month long global sporting extravaganza.
Objecting to this move, Tata Sky argued before the Delhi High Court that such a move is not in accordance with the laid down provisions and the supply of signals on HD feed or otherwise has to be on a non-discriminatory basis with open tariff details on a per subscriber basis, as laid down by the relevant laws. However, the court refused to intervene in the matter stating that Tata Sky is not ready with the HD infrastructure and there is no urgency as a related matter is slated to be heard by TDSAT.
According to industry sources, Tata Sky, which has been planning the launch of its own HD services in next few days wanted the HD channels on a non-discriminatory basis. However in its submissions to the Delhi High Court, it has talked about launching the HD service before the Commonwealth Games to be held in October later this year. However, according to sources, the I&B ministry is yet to grant formal permission for the downlinking of the HD feed of ESPN for the Fifa World Cup.