In Brief
The Supreme Court held that broadcasters holding exclusive cricket rights must share live signals with Prasar Bharati (India's public broadcaster) under the Sports Broadcasting Signals Act, 2007, but only for transmission via Prasar Bharati's own terrestrial and DTH networks. Cable operators cannot retransmit these signals to their paying subscribers without separate payment. The Court rejected arguments that the Cable Television Networks Act, 1995 — which requires cable operators to carry certain designated Doordarshan channels — expanded the mandatory sharing obligation. The Court emphasised that expropriatory legislation must be strictly construed and confined to its express language, and that two statutes operating in different contexts should not be read to control each other absent clear legislative intent.",
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