MUMBAI: On 25 April 2018, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) issued a notice mandating all TV channels broadcasting live sports of “national importance” to display a ticker with immediate effect. The ticker would have to state that the match was also available on DD Free Dish.

The order requires channels to run the scroll—‘This match/game can also be viewed on DD Sports channel on DD Free Dish DTH and DD’s terrestrial network on the free-to-air basis’—in appropriate colour, font and size making it prominently visible every 15 minutes.

The MIB had earlier this year tried to get Indian Premier League (IPL) matches under the ambit of games of “national importance.” The sports ministry, however, had rejected the proposal after which, Star India agreed to share one IPL match every week with DD with one hour’s delay.

Games of national importance constitute India playing global sporting events and the finals of top tournaments. The Sports Broadcasting Signals (Mandatory Sharing with Prasar Bharati) Act, 2007, made it compulsory for private broadcasters to provide access to sporting events of “national importance” to the largest number of listeners and viewers on a free-to-air basis.

DD National then started getting live feed of Indian cricket matches, the Olympics and other important events and Prasar Bharati shared advertising revenues with the rights holder.

The private broadcasters went to court and on August 22 last year, the Supreme Court asked Prasar Bharati to air the events only on terrestrial networks or on DD Free-Dish and not on channels like DD 1, which is notified as a must-carry channel for all pay TV (cable and DTH) operators according to the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995.

In March last year, the MIB notified the Commonwealth Games, Asian Games, summer and special Olympics, Paralympics and certain tennis, hockey and football events as sporting events of national importance. In October 2016, the ministry declared that all official one-day internationals, Twenty20 and Test matches played by the Indian men’s cricket team, semi-finals and finals of the men’s World Cup and International Cricket Council Championship Trophy as cricketing events of national importance.