New Delhi, May 9:

India’s Supreme Court on Tuesday banned state television from showing India’s upcoming series in the West Indies in a victory for private satellite broadcasters.

The Court upheld a petition by TEN Sports that holds the rights to India’s tour of the West Indies challenging a government ruling to share the feed with Doordarshan.

TEN Sports argued that it had paid a lot of money to buy the rights for the series, which starts next week, and would suffer huge losses if it was forced to share the live telecast with Doordarshan.

The Court ruled that Doordarshan will “not take any coercive step or action for taking the live feed of the matches” from TEN Sports, the Press Trust of India reported. The Indian team leaves on Friday to play five one-day internationals and four Tests on the seven-week tour of the West Indies.

The Indian government had in October ruled that satellite TV channels screening cricket matches involving India will have to share the feed with Doordarshan. The order, applicable to both local and international TV companies, also applied to sports events like the Olympics and Asian Games.

The government ruled that 75 per cent of the revenue generated from the telecast would go to the rights holder while Doordarshan would retain 25 per cent. India’s vast audiences ensure high ratings — and massive advertising revenue — for any TV station broadcasting matches involving the national team.