News Broadcasting
HC ruling puts paid to illegal Nat West series cricket final telecast
It’s taking time but it’s happening. A legal framework for dealing with the rampant pirating of cable signals is slowly falling into place.
Thursday’s Delhi High Court ruling restraining as many as 27 cable operators and networks across the country from unauthorised telecast of today’s Nat West Series final between India and England (Sri Lanka was earlier eliminated from the cricket triangular) marks the widening of the scope as far as efforts to stop piracy is concerned.
The strictures apply to cable operators across six states – Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana.
It needs noting though that the all encompassing order issued by Justice Dr Mukundakam Sharma on Thursday was workable because a common suit was filed by Multichoice Africa, a DTH service provider in the Africa continent, Arab Digital Distribution, a DTH service provider in the Middle East and ESPN Software India. Super Sports is on the Multichoice Africa platform, Pehla Plus and Fox Sports are on the Arab Digital Distribution platform while ESPN and Star Sports are distributed by ESPN Software.
The order has nipped in the bud the common tactic resorted to by many rogue operators who used the DTH boxes meant for use outside India and continue telecast of cricket matches. During last month’s Fifa World Cup Ten Sports could do nothing despite a tough court ruling to cable ops and MSOs who were capturing either a Russian feed or one from a far eastern (Chinese?) broadcaster with English commentary being added onto the telecast.
The order is in fact on the same lines as that obtained by Ten Sports in its suit and allows for the appointment of six local commissioners to be assisted by the local police to search the premises of the cable operators and take into custody all equipment which are or could be used for the broadcast of the channels on the cable networks.
Rajeev Nayyar, an advocate in the high court who represents ESPN Star Sports in the case was quoted as saying: “Our contention was that these cable operators’ contract with ESPN Star Sports had come to an end long ago and despite that they were telecasting the triangular series. Therefore, all the three parties came together and filed a suit against them.”
News Broadcasting
Rajesh Sundaram joins NDTV Profit as senior editor, assignment
The 32-year newsroom veteran has launched channels on three continents and covered everything from 9/11 to South African television
MUMBAI: NDTV Profit has bolstered its newsroom with a hire who has done rather more than most. Rajesh Sundaram, a journalist with over three decades of editorial, managerial and consultative experience across India and international markets, joins as senior editor, assignment, tasked with sharpening the network’s newsgathering and real-time response.
Sundaram’s career reads like a tour of Indian media’s most formative moments. He began at Businessworld in 1994, moved to Zee News as bureau chief across Mumbai and Chennai, then joined NDTV in 2002 as part of its political bureau during a particularly febrile period in Indian politics. A stint as India correspondent for Al Jazeera International followed, where he covered key geopolitical developments and got his first serious taste of the global newsroom.
What sets Sundaram apart, however, is his serial channel-launching habit. At NewsX, he helped get the operation off the ground. At Headlines Today, part of the India Today Group, he served as editor. At News Nation, he helped launch the Hindi news channel and its digital ecosystem. He then crossed continents to lead the launch of ANN7 in South Africa as editor-in-chief, overseeing both television and digital. Back in India, he launched Tamil news channels News7 Tamil and Cauvery News, and later served as principal consultant for the launch of Marathi channel Lokshahi. Most recently, he helped build and lead the Press Trust of India’s video service and content studio, before stints consulting for Business Today and The Himalayan Times.
Rahul Kanwal, chief executive and editor-in-chief of NDTV, left little doubt about what Sundaram is expected to deliver. “The assignment desk is where a newsroom’s intent becomes action,” he said. “Rajesh brings a rare combination of field experience and leadership in building news operations at scale.”
Sundaram has reported from across India and the world, covering elections, civil conflicts, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the 2008 US presidential election.
At NDTV Profit, he will lead the assignment desk, driving editorial coordination and real-time response across markets and breaking developments. For a business news network sharpening its focus on speed and multi-platform delivery, it has hired a man who has built newsrooms from scratch on three continents. The assignment desk is in good hands.
