Time was when watching a sports event on TV was a real pleasure, specially tennis and cricket. Close ups, replays and the best-seats-in-the-stand camera eye added to the thrill. All this, I fear, is now a thing of the past if you're tuned in to Doordarshan. Someone up there has either no idea of sports viewing or couldn't give a damn for viewer's rights. They certainly proved highly successful in ruining the recently concluded Wimbledon 2000. All through the tournament the cunning, income savvy space salesmen at DD ran the most hideous, intrusive, and unimaginative series of `creepy crawlies' across the screen. In their greed for revenue, they amazingly scheduled the ads even while a rally was in progress apart, of course, from sneaking them in just before the player served and during the replay of an interesting shot or exchange. Not to be left behind, technologically, DD adopted a perverse version of PIP, or maybe I should compare them to today's more fashionable website ad banners, to flash ad panels randomly across the screen whenever the ever alert ad clerk thought it didn't matter too much if the viewer was blocked out! Altogether, these avaricious gentlemen did a great job of ruining the pleasure of watching some really great tennis. While understanding the need for the network to generate income, one cannot condone the depths to which it has sunk. Do very much hope that the experts panel report on `improving' Prashar Bharati's ability to encourage viewership and resultant increases in ad revenues is not responsible for this aberration. While we are generally a tolerant people, who let the authorities literally get away with murder, this time let's call a halt to an approach that takes away our right to enjoy sports in a sporting manner. As an old ad hand, I certainly wonder if those brave advertisers who paid for these awful ads had any idea of the severe damage their brands may suffer because of the ill will they created among viewers. I doubt if there was anyone watching the game, other than of course the surprisingly watchful DD guy who managed to sneak in these ads with unfailing regularity, who felt kindly toward the brand which had distracted and disturbed while artfully jumping up all over the place. My feelings were those of hostility and frustration and anger .towards Nescafe, Allout, Pepsi, Sunsilk, Wagon R, Dettol, et al, their media buyers and, most of all, Doordarshan.If there are others out there who feel the same way please call, write, e-mail the advertisers, agencies, media specialists, DD, Prashar Bharati and the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, to let them know that this is just `not cricket' - the way it used to be played. Or has the match fixing culture of money at any price taken hold at DD too? Perhaps the many tennis organisations and clubs dedicated to promoting the game in India should also object to this travesty. Will our only Wimbledon champs, Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupati, take up this torch? And, most importantly, I hope that our young budding sportspersons will raise their voices, through schools and colleges, to protest against this assault not just on sports but also on sportsmanship. Arun Jaitley, are you listening?
