Battle Between PTV & GEO for Cricket WC

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The Year 2010 was the worst year for Pakistan cricket, and now new controversy for broadcasting rights for the biggest sporting event cricket worldcup 2011. ESPNStar channel got the broadcasting rights for about $2 billion dollars from ICC. The World Cup Cricket 2011 will be the prime event for the TV channels as it will be watched in more than 200 countries worldwide.

Geo in pakistan is Claming for Exclusive Broadcast rights and Pemra has not only confirmed the exclusive rights of Geo Super to broadcast all matches of World Cup 2011 over cable network but has also cautioned cable operators that “Distribution of World Cup 2011 matches through any satellite TV channel, other than Geo Super, shall invoke strict legal action under Pemra Ordinance and rules/regulations made there under, for infringement of legal rights acquired.
“Therefore, Geo Super will be the only channel accessible through cable that will be showing the World Cup 2011 matches in Pakistan.” But PTV vowed to fight for the right to telecast live forthcoming world cup from its terrestrial network because Geo has also Reserverd the terrestrial broadcast rights and they don’t  have any terrestrial network.So now the supreme court will decide who will broadcast the upcoming cricket WorldCup in Pakistan.

 Pakistan Television Central Employees Union on Wednesday vowed to fight for the PTV right to telecast live forthcoming world cup from its network.The PTV Employees Union CBA has filed an application in the Supreme Court to become a party in the case filed by a private satellite channel against the national TV.
Addressing the general body meeting the senior leaders of the CBA announced that they would fight for the rights of the PTV and its workers and would not allow a private TV channel to deprive them of their genuine right to telecast the world cup matches live.

President of the PTV employees union Jehangir Khan said that PTV was like a home for every worker and the new PTV MD was working for the betterment of the institution, but a private group was trying to deprive PTV of its right of coverage to mega sports events starting next month.He said that the said media group had indulged in black mailing the governments during past ten years, and it was now trying to get the right of telecasting cricket world cup at the cost of PTV.General Secretary of the PTV employees union Malik Shabbir said that today the PTV, the national network was going through difficult times and all the workers of the institution play their role in this regard.

He said that in 2006,similar situation arose and the union fought its case without the support of the then PTV management but this time the management is contesting the case.He hoped that the employees of the PTV will get justice in this case. He made it clear that PTV employees union was not against the workers of any media organization but the management of one private channel was trying to rob the PTV of its genuine right.Malik Shabbir said that the PTV was custodian of two-nation theory and it was preserving national culture.
Other leaders of the PTV employees union said that the PTV employees union will not make any compromise on the rights of the PTV workers and it would fight its case at every forum and level.
UPDATE– The Pemra notification 10, 2011 has been declared null and void by the Supreme Court now Geo Super will broadcast cricket WC on cable and Ptv on terrestrial network.we don’t know whether ptv will also broadcast on its satellite network or not.