Doordarshan to telecast fourth ODI live

The final one-day international between India and Sri Lanka, at Visakhapatnam, on Saturday will be telecast live on Doordarshan following a Delhi High Court directive to rights-holder Nimbus Communication to provide live feed.

The information and broadcasting ministry had in a showcause notice issued on February 13, asked Nimbus to comply by a government ordinance which made it mandatory for all private broacasters to share live feed of "all games of national importance" with Doordarshan or risk cancellation of its license. Nimbus was asked to file its reply by the evening of February 14.

Nimbus appealed to the Delhi High Court, agreeing to share live feed if the government withdrew the threat of punitive action. The government agreed to this demand, promising the court not to take any action till March 9, the next date of hearing.

The court also issued notices to the government and Prasar Bharati, the parent public broadcaster, on a petition filed by Nimbus challenging the ordinance itself. Under the Ordinance, which was promulgated with retrospective effect, the Neo Sports channel - owned by Nimbus - can face cancellation of licence for violation of the Uplink and Downlink Guidelines issued in November 2005 and / or a fine up to Rs 10 million.