Indian Sports Channels Ordered to Share Live Feeds

NEW DELHI, February 2: The Indian government has ordered the
country’s commercial broadcasters to share with pubcaster Doordarshan coverage
of any sports that are “in the national interest.”

The ordinance in the cricket-mad nation comes a month before
the start of the ICC Cricket World Cup in March. This year’s event will be
broadcast in India on SET MAX and Doordarshan.

The order mandates that private broadcasters share coverage
of any events “of national interest,” including cricket football, hockey and
tennis, according to local reports. Exempt from the ordinance are international
cricket matches. The decision has upset media companies like Nimbus
Communications, which shelled out $612 million last year in a competitive
auction for the rights to air all international cricket matches played in India
until 2010.