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International news agencies threaten to boycott IPL over 'restrictive' conditions | The Indian Premier League organiser's attempts to impose stringent media-accreditation guidelines could result in international news agencies boycotting the Twenty20 tournament for the second time in three years. Already, non-rights-holding TV networks in
India have vowed not to provide any coverage of the tournament, due to begin on
March 12, in protest against what they consider as contentious clauses regarding
the use of match footage. Now, the News Media Coalition, the umbrella body that
includes global news and photograph agencies Reuters, AP, AFP and Getty Images,
is calling on the IPL executive to find a solution to widespread concerns about
press freedom. "Without changes, international news agencies are bound to consider
not attending this year's event to provide editorial coverage," the coalition's
executive director, Andrew Moger, said. "Newspapers in India and abroad are also
known to be reconsidering their plans for coverage based on these arrangements,"
The Age quoted Moger, as saying. "As many publishers the world over rely upon
news agencies for news material, the stance taken by the IPL can only serve to
limit news and free promotional value of their event and brand," he said. The
first IPL season two years ago was boycotted by international news agencies over
certain contentious clauses in the media-accreditation guidelines, including a
bar on supplying photographs to cricket-specific websites. This year's
media-coverage
guidelines for broadcasters have reduced the duration of match footage that news
channels can carry to 30 seconds per bulletin and seven minutes a day. Last year,
broadcasters could use two minutes of fresh footage every half an hour, providing
they did not exceed 5.5 minutes per match. In 2010 repeats will be allowed three
times a day, reduced from four previously, and while match footage could earlier
be telecast with a five-minute delay from the end of the live telecast, it has
been expanded to a half-hour delay. |
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