T20 World Cup: Riders for news channels

MUMBAI: News channels in India have been barred from carrying live footage of the matches to be played as part of the ICC World Twenty20 2012 in Sri Lanka, including warm-up matches.

The News Access Regulations, issued on Thursday by ICC Development (International) Ltd (IDI), the commercial arm of International Cricket Council, also restrict broadcast of fresh footage per "news day" to a maximum of 5.5 minutes during news programmes. News day is defined as the period of 24 hours from the commencement of the match concerned.

The world T20 matches will be played at Colombo, Hambantota and Pallekele from 12 September to 7 October 2012.

The broadcast of fresh footage is further subject to a maximum of two minutes per hour of broadcasting and it can be repeated for a maximum of two exhibitions per hour of broadcasting.

News broadcasters have been allowed to use fresh footage only after a minimum of 30-minute delay following the live broadcast of the footage by the official/host broadcaster. A senior official of the News Broadcasters Association told Indiantelevision.com that the matter would be taken up by the NBA over the next ?three to four days?.

Further, a news broadcaster can broadcast a maximum of six minutes of archival footage per news day during its news programmes. The use of archival footage is subject to a maximum of two minutes per hour of broadcasting and a maximum of four exhibitions per news day with not less than a two-hour interval between each exhibition.

Archival footage means any footage from a match that forms part of the World Twenty20 2012 (or previous editions of the Event) 24 hours after the completion of the match concerned and all match footage from previous cricket events owned by the ICC.

Any archival footage merged with fresh footage will be treated as fresh footage and count towards the overall permissible limits of use of footage permitted under the regulations. All fresh footage and archival footage must be used "as is", without alterations or modifications.

The use of fresh footage and archival footage is also strictly limited to use within news programmes. Use of any footage on sports segments, bulletins or features not forming part of the news programmes is not permitted.

News broadcasters are not permitted to use any footage to make their own compilation or ?mix? the footage with footage from other television events and sports events except in respect of archival footage.

No use of any footage is permitted in any circumstances for any commercial purposes. A news broadcaster can commercially exploit a news programme within which fresh footage and/or archival footage is broadcast as a whole, in the regular course, through normal advertising breaks usual in programming of news channels.

No advertising, sting, logo, graphic and/or any other commercial (morphing) activity can occur immediately before, immediately after or during the broadcast of fresh footage and/or archival footage and no association is created, suggested or implied between the use of fresh footage or archival footage and any third party brand or product.

No news programme that uses fresh footage and/or archival footage may have a ?title? or other sponsor and no advertisement may be used or repeated in the regular ad breaks during the programme in such a manner as to create, suggest or imply an association between the advertiser and the Footage or the Event.

News broadcasters may not include any advertising, sting, logo, graphic or any other commercial (morphing) activity carried out immediately before, immediately after or during any regular or real-time score updates in relation to any match, and no association may be created between such score update and any third party brand or product.

News broadcasters cannot also include any advertising, sting, logo, graphic or any other commercial (morphing) activity immediately before, immediately after or during any ?player-of-the-day?, ?event-of-the-day?, ?image-of-the-day? or similar feature relating to the event.

Courtesy bugs acknowledging IDI and ESPN Star Sports will have to be pasted by the news broadcasters, with due prominence, throughout the broadcast of any fresh and/or archival footage.

News broadcasters will also have to use the correct name of the event (being either ?ICC World Twenty20 Sri Lanka 2012? or the shorter title ?ICC World Twenty20?) and the event logo in any and all broadcasts in which the event is mentioned or referred to, whether or not including the broadcast of any clips of fresh and/or archival footage.

News broadcasters will have to pay $800 for up to every 60 seconds of footage of the ICC world Twenty20 2012 matches and $1000 for every 60 seconds of archival footage.