IPL faces channel blackout

New Delhi: After sorting out almost all the issues with the print media, the Indian Premier League (IPL) on Tuesday night faced a boycott of its coverage by major television channels from midnight.

The decision of the channels coming under the umbrella organisation of News Broadcasters Association was conveyed by Secretary General Annie Joseph to IPL Chairman Lalit Modi.

The television channels were protesting against exclusive use rights given to Sony Network and IPL's refusal to discuss the issue with them.

The association has written a letter conveying its views to Modi.

"At the end of this day, therefore, our members are left with a partial and unsatisfactory response to our attempts to ensure a balanced approach between their rights to fair use and the rights and interests of IPL, and establish a relationship based on mutuality of interests and equity in law," the letter read.

The News Broadcasters Association's decision came after the IPL announced that it has reached an agreement with the Indian Newspaper Society on the conditions for media accreditation. It also made public the revised guidelines which dropped several of its controversial conditions like the newspapers and agencies having to upload all the photographs taken by them on the IPL website within 24 hours of the match, failing which the accreditation of the media house would be cancelled.

The other stiff conditions included intellectual property rights for media coverage and the number of photos that can be used by the newspapers and news agencies on their website.

However, the IPL did not relent on the condition that news agencies cannot give their IPL match photographs to cricket-dedicated websites.

Asked about the ongoing controversy, BCCI president Sharad Pawar said, "I have told Modi that I don't want to hear any complaint from either the print and electronic media and he has promised (to take care of the issue."