IANS 
       
NEW DELHI, Feb 18: The Delhi High Court has been informed that private sports channel SetMax, in collaboration with Nimbus Communications, has signed an agreement with public broadcaster Prasar Bharti to provide live feed of the cricket World Cup matches.

Appearing before a bench of Justices Vikramajit Sen and JP Singh, Additional Solicitor General PP Malhotra said an agreement had been signed between Prasar Bharti and SetMax to provide live feed of all the World Cup matches to be played in the West Indies from March 14.

Nimbus Communications, the owner of the NEO Sports channel, will provide the live feed to SetMax, counsel for Prasar Bharti Rajiv Sharma said.

The cases pending before the High Court will not come in the way of broadcasting the matches live in non-cable homes in India, he added.

Even though the Sports Broadcasting Ordinance did not specify the sharing of mandatory live feeds of the sports events held abroad, the agreement with SetMax will enable Doordarshan show the matches live.

Nimbus which had bought the rights to telecast matches held in India for four years for Rs27 billion, had filed a petition in court challenging the Sports Broadcasting (Mandatory Sharing with Prasar Bharti) Ordinance, contending that it is 'bad in law'.

"The ordinance transgresses the constitutional limits and apart from violating the petitioner's fundamental rights, it also interferes with the power of the court to review the circular enforcing the private channels to share the feed," Nimbus maintained.

The High Court has issued notice to the government and Prasar Bharti asking them to file replies to the Nimbus petition.

In its reply, the government said that before granting the licence to telecast matches in India, it had been made clear to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that whoever was given the right to telecast the matches would have to share the live feed with Doordarshan and All India Radio.