World Cup rights issue: MBC hires law firm to obtain documents from Broadcasting Commission

Maldives Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) has requested former Attorney General Azima Shakoor’s law firm, Avant Garde Lawyers, to obtain the documents related to the communications between Maldives Broadcasting Commission and Media Net regarding Media Net’s broadcast of the matches of the World Cup 2014.

Spokesperson at MBC Abdulla Rameez told Sun Online today that Broadcasting Commission has been requested in writing on two occasions to provide these documents, but to no avail.

Rameez said, “We held the right to broadcast the World Cup matches, in which case, it would not have been possible for another group to broadcast those matches without permission from Broadcasting Commission. TVM, for example, requested for and obtained this permission prior to broadcasting the matches. We should therefore be provided the documents related to the communications between the commission and Media Net regarding this broadcast.”

Director General of the Broadcasting Commission Mohamed Nasih told Sun Online today that MBC had requested for documents related to an issue which is presently under investigation by the commission, and that MBC has been informed that the documents will be provided as soon as the investigation is completed.

Nasih confirmed that TVM, operated by MBC, obtained the commission’s permission prior to broadcasting the matches. However, when asked if Media Net had obtained permission, he refused to comment, saying that the question was directly related to the case which is under investigation.

India’s Seven Three Sports, which provided Maldives the rights to broadcast the matches of the World Cup, has said that the rights were issued only to TVM and VTV. A recently-established broadcasters lobby group has claimed these two channels suffered losses and lost sponsor confidence, after the matches were also broadcasted by other channels in the Maldives.