AIFF’s I-League broadcast tender notice challenged in Delhi High Court

A tender notice floated by the All India Football Federation for the live telecast of I-League football has been challenged in the Delhi High Court by the broadcaster who enjoyed the telecast rights in the previous season.

Kaleidoscope Production and Services LLP (KPS Studios) has maintained that it enjoys the I-League telecast rights at all the venues for three seasons and has pressed charges against the national federation for dishonouring the agreement.

KPS Studios maintains that the AIFF should be restrained from inviting any new broadcaster by issuing a tender notice (Notice Inviting Tender). It held that the agreement of three seasons is still valid and is “impermissible for AIFF to engage a new service provider.”

This case was filed against the tender notice issued by the AIFF inviting fresh bids for I-League broadcasting rights on September 9, 2023.

The national federation later withdrew the notice on October 4 and issued a fresh tender on the same date including new provisions for the broadcasting rights of I-League 2023-24 matches.

“We are acting under the advice of our legal cell and taking decisions as per the agreement which we understand was for only one season,” said the AIFF secretary general Shaji Prabhakaran without going into further details as the case is sub judice.

KPS Studios, which was taken on board as the I-League broadcaster by the newly elected AIFF executive committee under the presidency of Kalyan Chaubey last year, has challenged the new tender notice issued on October 4 and the Delhi HC has allowed KPS to file a fresh appeal. The Hindu