New Delhi, January 10
Viewers of Doordarshan across the country will not be able to watch the action of the much-awaited India-Pakistan Test series from Friday next live as Prasar Bharti in its proposal submitted to the Supreme Court today settled with the international channel Ten Sports for showing only 90-minute highlights of the cricket matches after the day’s play.

The government also did not press for compliance of its recent order by Ten Sports, making it mandatory for all private channels to share the signals of national and international sports events involving India with DD, for the three Test series starting on January 13 and ending on February 2. However, the issue relating to telecast of one-day matches of the cricket series by DD remained unresolved.

A Bench of Mr Justice Ashok Bhan and Mr Justice Tarun Chatterjee, which was hearing a petition of Ten Sports, challenging the government order, was informed by Solicitor-General G E Vahanvati, appearing for the Centre, and Ten Sports counsel Harish Salve that efforts would be made by both parties to resolve the issue of telecast of one day matches of the series, to start after the test matches were over on February 2.

To a suggestion of the Bench that both parties should resolve the issue relating to the sharing of the telecast of the one-day matches amicably as well, Salve said: “I think we will work it out.”

The Court, however, accepted the petition of Ten Sports for hearing and issued notice to the Union Government, Information and Broadcasting Ministry and Prasar Bharti, directing them to file replies. Ten Sports had questioned the constitutional validity of the Centre’s guidelines on compulsory sharing of the feeds by sports channels with DD of all sports events involving India by terming it as arbitrary and violative of its private rights.

While fixing further hearing in the matter for January 30, the Court directed that the process of filing of replies and rejoinders by the parties be completed by January 27.

The Prasar Bharti’s proposal to pay Rs 25 crore to Ten Sports to compensate it for ad revenue loss due to sharing of the feed, was not acceptable to the Dubai-based TV channel, whose counsel said that Rs 25 crore would be the loss only on account of the ads to be collected from the cable distributors and its actual loss would be much more once the signals were made available to DD, which was a free to air channel as many of its prospective advertisers would back out.

Ten Sports counsel yesterday had indicated that its client could negotiate sharing of the feed with DD only on the condition that it carries all its ads and compensates it adequately considering the reach of the national network. But Prasar Bharti had insisted that it would not carry the ads of Ten Sports once Rs 25 crore payment was made to it for the ad revenue loss on sharing of the signals with DD.