Show World Cup Matches on Doordarshan, Orders Supreme Court

You don't need to subscribe to expensive sport packages to watch ICC World Cup matches on TV. According to a Supreme Court order on Tuesday, World Cup matches will be telecast free on public broadcaster channel, Doordarshan. That means the India versus Pakistan match in Adelaide on February 15 can be seen on DD. The World Cup starts February 14.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed a Delhi High Court order restraining Doordarshan from sharing the feed free with cable operators. "This arrangement that DD showing free feed had been there for the last seven years. Let it continue," a Supreme Court bench comprising Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose said in an interim order.

While the Delhi High Court had barred Doordarshan from sharing the World Cup live feed with cable operators, it had declined the plea to quash Prasar Bharti's 2000 notification making it mandatory for cable operators to carry DD National and DD News channels.

The order was passed on the plea of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, ESPN and STAR who had contended that cable TV operators were getting live feeds through DD channels free of cost, resulting in loss of revenue for them.

The Supreme Court has asked ESPN and STAR Sports to submit their suggestions and will take up the case on February 17.

(With inputs from A. Vaidyanathan)