Public broadcaster Prasar Bharati on Friday sent legal notices to 16 channels, including NDTV, Aaj Tak, ESPN-Star Sports and CNBC, for "violating copyright law" while showing footage of the India-Pakistan cricket series.
As per the figures released by the public broadcaster, which has exclusive terrestrial and satellite rights for the high profile series, the dues run to about Rs 1.16 crore.
"We are not going to compromise on the set terms and conditions. I expect that with these legal notices, they stop or be ready to face legal consequences. We are dead serious about it," Prasar Bharati CEO KS Sarma told newspersons in New Delhi.
The channels on the public broadcaster's list include Ten Sports, Zee News, ETV-II, India TV, TV9, Sun News, Sahara Samay, Star News and Headlines Today.
Sarma also said that Prasar Bharati was yet to recover money from broadcasters, which used its Olympic footage.
"This is somewhere around Rs 99 lakh," he said, adding that the defaulters included NDTV, Star News, India TV, TV Today, Zee News, Asianet and the Sahara Group.
Prasar Bharati has hired TAM to monitor how much the various channels were using its footage.
"As per the Copyright Law, the aggrieved party gets unbelievable damages and compensation," Sarma added.
