NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court on Monday refused to pass any order on a petition by Nimbus Communications Limited, owner of Neo Sports, seeking an interim stay on the operation of the Sports Broadcasting (Mandatory Sharing with Prasar Bharati) Ordinance, 2007 promulgated on February 2.

Live feeds

The ordinance makes it mandatory for the telecast rights holders of sporting events to share advertisement-free live signals with all platforms of Prasar Bharati on a revenue-sharing basis.

When counsel for Prasar Bharati and the Centre urged the court not to grant any stay to Nimbus, a Division Bench of Justice Vikramjeet Sen and Justice J.P. Singh said that for the moment they would not pass any order in the matter.

While counsel for Prasar Bharati said Nimbus would have to share with Doordarshan live the telecast signals of the India-Sri Lanka cricket match to be played in Goa on Wednesday, counsel for the telecaster said his client would share the signals seven minutes after the live telecast as per the interim arrangement ordered by a single-judge Bench of the court last month.

Nimbus has the exclusive right to telecast cricket matches to be played in India till March 2010.

The Bench was hearing arguments on the Nimbus' petition challenging the promulgation of the ordinance.

Prasar Bharati's appeal

The Bench is also seized of an appeal by Prasar Bharati, challenging the interim arrangement of delayed telecast of the current India-Sri Lanka cricket matches.

The Bench will hear further arguments on the petition on February 15.

Earlier, counsel for Prasar Bharati submitted that the Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) was hand in glove with Nimbus' to deny Doordarshan viewers the opportunity to watch matches.

Agreement

He submitted that when Nimbus entered into an agreement with the Board last year for telecast of the India-England cricket series here, the former shared the telecast signals live with Doordarshan.

Guidelines

The Centre had issued the uplinking and downlinking guidelines well before the Board and Nimbus signed the agreement for the telecast right, counsel said.

Also, in its tender documents circulated to bidders, the BCCI had stated that whosoever won the telecast right they would have to share the signals live with Doordarshan.

Though the BCCI is not a party to the dispute, its counsel told the court that his client supported Nimbus Communications.

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