Indian public-service broadcaster Doordarshan has been permitted to share broadcast signals of the 2015 Cricket World Cup with cable television operators on a temporary basis following a ruling from the country’s Supreme Court today (Tuesday).
The NDTV Sports website said the Supreme Court stayed an order from the Delhi High Court barring Doordarshan from sharing the signals. The Supreme Court has asked ESPN and Star Sports, the global rights-holders of the World Cup, to submit their suggestions and will take up the case on February 17.
The Supreme Court bench, comprising Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose, said in the interim order: “This arrangement of DD showing the free feed had been there for the last seven years. Let it continue.”
ESPN and Star Sports, along with the Board of Control for Cricket in India, had claimed that cable television operators were receiving live feeds through Doordarshan channels free of cost, resulting in a loss of revenue for them.
The World Cup gets underway on Saturday and is being hosted by Australia and New Zealand. The Supreme Court’s stay order takes in India’s opening game against Pakistan in Adelaide on Sunday, with the national team next due to face South Africa on February 22.