In search of a long-term solution to the tussle over cricket/sports telecast rights, the Centre is considering converting DD-Sports into a fully terrestrial channel. That means Prasar Bharati wants to take Doordarshan’s sports channel back in time when broadcast was through the air and no signal was bounced off a satellite.

The system was discontinued because the earth’s curvature interfered with the signals. To avoid this land transmitters used to relay signals around curvature problems.

I&B Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi seems to have hit upon this idea to ensure that the spillage from DD-I’s free-to-air live feed of sporting events of “national importance” is not stolen. Prasar Bharati has to go in for expensive encryption, if satellite feed remains.

Prasar Bharati CEO B S Lalli has been given the task of setting up a committee to go into the financial and technical feasibility of the project. Once set up, it is expected to submit a report within a time-frame.

This would not only help save the DD-I “opportunity cost”, which means the loss of revenue when primetime programmes/news and even social sector messages (like ads on polio and AIDS) have to be sacrificed to block off airtime to telecast live sporting events, but also the technical cost of encrypting signals of 1,400 terrestrial transmitters besides the decoding of 70,000 cable network routers to stop pilferage of live feed of sporting events in neighbouring territories.

Admitting that the Prasar Bharati has been asked to consider the feasibility of a fully terrestrial DD-Sports channel, Dasmunsi said, “The committee of experts would see whether there would be any huge revenue loss by shifting DD-Sports (a satellite channel) into a terrestrial one. It has to be sound enough to go past the CAG’s scrutiny.”