DD to telecast India-WI series with 7-min delay

The Delhi High Court today ruled that India-West Indies one-day series can be telecast on Doordarshan after a seven minute delay.

The court passed the interim order on a petition filed by Nimbus Communication suggesting deferred telecast as an interim arrangement to end the fighting between the two broadcasters that had deprived millions of non-cable viewers of the action.

"I am of the view that it would be delayed telecast of seven minutes, which is the minimal delay and would not affect the public in any way in watching cricket," Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said while passing the order fixing February 8 as the next date of the hearing.

The direction will ensure that the entire series, which ends on January 31, is telecast on DD as well.

In its petition, Nimbus - which bagged the four-year BCCI telecast rights last year for $612 million - had challenged the centre's uplinking guidelines that make it mandatory on private broadcasters to share the feed of sporting events of national interest with DD.

Appearing on behalf of Nimbus, senior advocate Harish Salve offered a proposal of two-over delayed telecast of the match, which Prasar Bharti refused to accept.

Salve, further contended that the guidelines "passed by the government without any authority of law" violated its intellectual property rights and was tantamount to forceful acquisition of the rights.

Counsel Dushyant Dave, appearing for Prasar Bharti, contended the government's uplinking policy had been in operation for the last two years, and pointed out that Nimbus had accepted it and agreed to share feed with DD during the India-England series in 2006. Thus, its petition challenging the guidelines was not sustainable, Dave said.