A status quo order delivered by a Dhaka court has thrown live transmission of the 2014 Fifa World Cup in the country into uncertainty.
The order was delivered by the Dhaka District Court on Tuesday as the consortium Total Sports Marketing (TSM) and Seven3Sports, an appointed agency of Sony Television which has won the transmission right for this region, were locked in a legal tangle over the transmission, barrister Aneek R Haque, lawyer of the consortium, told the Dhaka Tribune.
The TSM, which has Gazi TV as its partner, signed a $1.41 million primary deal with Seven3Sports on March 25 and half the money was paid immediately. Seven3Sports also gave the nod to start promotional activities in the first half of April.
In an email, Abhishek Saklani, a senior executive at Seven3Sports, told the TSM: “Please go ahead and float your sales or marketing packages in the Bangladeshi market.”
Meanwhile, Seven3Sports sent another email to Gazi TV and the TSM, saying the deal was terminated based on mutual consent. However, Gazi TV and TSM said it was a false claim.
Gazi TV and TSM officials went to court and on Thursday the court issued a ruling, asking why the defendants shall not be restrained from termination of the agreement and entering into any agreement with any third party relating to broadcast of the 2014 Fifa World Cup in Bangladesh territory. The respondents were given 25 days to respond.
The TSM declined to comment as it is a sub-judice issue.
The consortium sources said they would involve Bangladesh Football Federation in the process and would approach Fifa authorities as well if necessary.
Another source said every state-owned TV channel reserves priority to broadcast Fifa World Cup with a concessional rate and BTV could have it as private channels are locked in legal battle.