ITV

Category: Regulators

  • Sunil Arora appointed new I&B Ministry secretary

    Sunil Arora appointed new I&B Ministry secretary

    MUMBAI: The Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry has found a new secretary in senior IAS officer Sunil Arora. He will be succeeding Bimal Julka whose tenure will end on Monday, 31 August, 2015.

     

    Arora’s appointment comes at a time when the I&B Ministry is in the midst of several important activities including the Phase III FM radio e-auctions and digitisation of phase III and IV. Arora is a 1980 batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre and currently secretary Ministry of Skill Development and  Entrepreneurship.

     

    Arora, earlier has also functioned as Air India CMD.

  • Security clearance axed, provisional MSOs to get 10-year licences in due course

    Security clearance axed, provisional MSOs to get 10-year licences in due course

    NEW DELHI: The Home Ministry has officially informed the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry that it will not insist on security clearance for multi system operators (MSOs) for digital addressable television for cable television.

     

    Confirming the same to Indiantelevision.com, a senior I&B Ministry source also informed that the practice of giving provisional licences to some MSOs will continue.

     

    A new list on 20 August said that a total of 372 MSOs had been issued licences, of which 146 were provisional licences. The rest 226 had ten-year licences.

     

    Explaining the rationale behind this, the source said that the aim was to check the veracity of MSOs, which had been given provisional licence.

     

    The source added that every one of these MSOs would get ten-year licences like the others if nothing adverse was found against them.

  • Day 25 of FM Phase III: Guwahati tots Rs 4.07 crore; up 976% than reserve price

    Day 25 of FM Phase III: Guwahati tots Rs 4.07 crore; up 976% than reserve price

    NEW DELHI: On the 25th day of the e-auction for the first batch of FM Phase III cities, the surprise came from the North East where one channel in Guwahati fetched a price of Rs 4.07 crore as against its reserve price of just Rs 37 lakh, registering an increase of a whopping 976 per cent.

     

    It may be recalled that a few days earlier, Bhubaneswar also set a record with a single channel getting the most competitive bidding increment-wise by going up nine times the reserve price.

     

    On the other hand, after Varanasi (at Rs 12.29 crore today), it now looks like Jodhpur’s turn to enter the Rs 10 crore club in the e-auction as it showed an increase to Rs 9.22 crore. Even as the hope for revenue continues to rest on cities racing to the Rs 10 crore mark, the cumulative winning price at the end of the 100th round on the 25th day went up to Rs 1147 crore.

     

    However, there has been no increase for almost a week in the number of provisional winning channels and cities – 94 channels in 56 cities – though the total bids surpassed the cumulative reserve price by Rs 688.3 crore or 150 per cent against the aggregate reserve price of about Rs 459 crore.

     

    The cumulative provisional winning price has thus risen over the total reserve price of the first batch of 135 FM channels in 69 existing cities – Rs 550.18 crore – by Rs 597 crore or 108.5 per cent.  

     

    Kohlapur has now been static for a few days with Rs 9.44 crore and others waiting to enter the Rs 10 crore club appear to be Kanpur, Rajkot, Amritsar and Aurangabad, which have all got above Rs 6 crore. 

     

    Bid continue to elude 13 cities namely Asansol, Gulbarga, Mangalore, Mysore, Puducherry, Rajahmundry, Siliguri, Tiruchy, Tirunveli, Tirupati, Tuticorin, Vijaywada and Warangal even now.

     

    The demand in most cities fell by up to three per cent and by four per cent below the excess demand at the price in the 100th round in Hyderabad.

     

    The Percentage Price Increment applicable for the Next Clock Round rose to five each in Shillong and Varanasi but was just one in Guwahati and Jodhpur. There was no change in the other cities.

     

    The winning price has risen by more than 100 per cent above their respective reserve prices in Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Aurangabad, Bengaluru, Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kolhapur, Mumbai, Nasik, Patna, Pune, Rourkela and Varanasi, all of which got provisional winning bidders at prices more than double the respective reserve prices.

     

    The provisional winning price in the top three cities reflected no change: Delhi at Rs 169.16 crore (for just one channel), Mumbai at Rs 122.81 crore (for two channels) and Bengaluru at Rs 109.25 crore.

     

    Chennai at Rs 53.38 crore, Ahmedabad at Rs 42.68 crore, Pune at Rs 42.03 crore, Jaipur at Rs 28.34 crore, Chandigarh at Rs 19.04 crore, Hyderabad at Rs 18 crore, Patna at Rs 17.89 crore, Cochin at Rs 15.04 crore, Nasik at Rs 14.66 crore and Lucknow at Rs 14 crore remained static.

     

    Auction will now resume on Monday, 31 August.

  • Day 24: Varanasi pips Kohlapur to enter Rs 10 crore club in FM Phase III auction

    Day 24: Varanasi pips Kohlapur to enter Rs 10 crore club in FM Phase III auction

    NEW DELHI: Even as Varanasi became the next city to enter the Rs 10 crore club, hope continued to centre around 10 cities that have crossed the Rs 6 crore figure in bids.

     

    While Varanasi marched into Rs 10 crore club with Rs 10.11 crore, Kohlapur was close behind with Rs 9.44 crore though cities like Kanpur, Rajkot, Amritsar and Aurangabad do not seem to be far behind.  

     

    On the 24th day in the e-auction for the first batch of FM Phase III cities, the cumulative provisional winning price showed a marginal rise to Rs 1143 crore at the end of the 96th round.

     

    The number of provisional winning channels and cities remained the same as yesterday: 94 channels in 56 cities, but the total bids surpassed the cumulative reserve price by Rs 684.1 crore or 149.1 per cent against the aggregate reserve price of about Rs 459 crore. 

     

    The cumulative provisional winning price has thus risen over the total reserve price of the first batch of 135 FM channels in 69 existing cities – Rs 550.18 crore – by Rs 592.8 crore or 107.7 per cent.

     

    The cumulative winning price is exclusive of the migration fee, which will take the total revenue even higher. Information and Broadcasting Ministry source also reiterated that the notice inviting auction was clear that the e-auction will continue as long as bids are received for any of the 135 channels. This included the 13 cities for which no bids have come.

     

    The Auction Activity Requirement rose to 100 per cent after the 59th round on 14 August, after being 90 per cent after the 37th round on 7 August.

     

    The 13 cities bids for which no bids have been received are: Asansol, Gulbarga, Mangalore, Mysore, Puducherry, Rajahmundry, Siliguri, Tiruchy, Tirunveli, Tirupati, Tuticorin, Vijaywada and Warangal.

     

    The demand in most cities fell by up to three per cent and by four per cent below the excess demand at the price in the 96th round in Hyderabad.

     

    The Percentage Price Increment applicable for the Next Clock Round rose to five each in Jodhpur and Varanasi but was just one in Guwahati and Shillong. There was no change in the other cities.

     

    The winning price has gone up by more than 100 per cent above their respective reserve prices: Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Aurangabad, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kolhapur, Mumbai, Nasik, Patna, Pune, Rourkela and Varanasi, which got provisional winning bidders at prices more than double the respective reserve prices. A single channel in Bhubaneswar created a new record by getting the most competitive bidding increment-wise by going up nine times the reserve price.

     

    The provisional winning price in the top three cities reflected no change: Delhi at Rs 169.16 crore (for just one channel), Mumbai at Rs 122.81 crore (for two channels) and Bengaluru at Rs 109.25 crore.

     

    Chennai at Rs 53.38 crore, Ahmedabad at Rs 42.68 crore, Pune at Rs 42.03 crore, Jaipur at Rs 28.34 crore, Chandigarh at Rs 19.04 crore, Hyderabad at Rs 18 crore, Patna at Rs 17.89 crore, Cochin at Rs 15.04 crore, Nasik at Rs 14.66 crore and Lucknow at Rs 14 crore remained static.

  • TDSAT asks Karnataka LCOs & Siti Cable to resolve dispute over payment & STB quality

    TDSAT asks Karnataka LCOs & Siti Cable to resolve dispute over payment & STB quality

    NEW DELHI: Karnataka State Digital Cable TV Operators Welfare Association and Siti Cable Networks have been asked to resolve their disputes relating to accounts as well as quality of set top boxes (STBS) before a mediation centre by 30 September.

     

    Telecom Disputes Settlement and Arbitration Tribunal (TDSAT) chairman Aftab Alam and member Kuldip Singh however said status quo would be maintained till this exercise is completed.

     

    Furthermore, the Tribunal said any one of the two parties were free to mention the matter before the Tribunal in case it is not satisfied with the mediation.

     

    The Karnataka Association represents 269 cable operators and its counsel Nittin Bhatia claimed that the STBs were of very poor quality and it was adversely affecting the viewing quality of the signals supplied by Siti Cable.

     

    He said that all the cable operators who were part of the petition were willing and prepared to make payment of the monthly subscription fees at the rate of Rs 60 per month. He also stated that the cable operators were also willing to have a reconciliation of accounts and if any dues are found against them at the rate of Rs 60 per month, they would clear all the dues without delay.

     

    Cable operators represented in the petition were also willing to introduce package-based transmission as directed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), as in that case the cable operators would also be entitled to certain benefits.

     

    Siti Cable counsel Upender Thakur said there was a dispute regarding the number of cable operators involved. He also said large sums are due against the cable operators and in any event Siti Cable is bound to follow TRAI’s direction to introduce package-based transmission of channels. 

     

    The Tribunal said the parties should first try to resolve their disputes through mediation. It asked the mediator to try to conclude the matter expeditiously. 

  • Day 23: Ten cities in FM Phase III inching towards Rs 10 crore mark

    Day 23: Ten cities in FM Phase III inching towards Rs 10 crore mark

    NEW DELHI: Around ten cities that have so far got bids of Rs 6 crore or more are expected to raise the cumulative winnings, going by indications on the twenty-third day in the e-auction for the first batch of FM Phase III cities. The cumulative provisional winning price showed a marginal rise to Rs 1139.3 crore at the end of the 92nd round.

     

    The number of provisional winning channels and cities remained the same as yesterday: 94 channels in 56 cities, but the total bids surpassed the cumulative reserve price by Rs 680.5 crore or 148.3 per cent against the aggregate reserve price of about Rs 459 crore.

     

    The cumulative provisional winning price has thus risen over the total reserve price of the first batch of 135 FM channels in 69 existing cities – Rs 550.18 crore – by Rs 589.2 crore or 107.1 per cent. 

     

    As per Information and Broadcasting Ministry sources, the e-auction will continue as long as bids are received for any of the 135 channels, including the 13 cities for which no bids have come.

     

    The Auction Activity Requirement rose to 100 per cent after the 59th round on 14 August, after being 90 per cent after the 37th round on 7 August.

     

    The winning price has gone up by more than 100 per cent above their respective reserve prices: Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Aurangabad, Bengaluru, Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kolhapur, Mumbai, Nasik, Patna, Pune, Rourkela and Varanasi, which got provisional winning bidders at prices more than double the respective reserve prices. 

     

    A single channel in Bhubaneshwar created a new record by getting the most competitive bidding increment-wise by going up nine times the reserve price.

     

    However, there were still no bids for thirteen cities namely Asansol, Gulbarga, Mangalore, Mysore, Puducherry, Rajahmundry, Siliguri, Tiruchy, Tirunveli, Tirupati, Tuticorin, Vijaywada and Warangal.

     

    The demand in most cities fell by up to three per cent and by four per cent below the excess demand at the price in the 92nd round in Hyderabad.

     

    The Percentage Price Increment applicable for the Next Clock Round rose to five each in Guwahati, Jodhpur and Varanasi but was just one in Shillong.

     

    Provisional winning price in the top three cities reflected no change: Delhi at Rs 169.16 crore (for just one channel); Mumbai at Rs 122.81 crore (for two channels); and Bengaluru at Rs 109.25 crore.

     

    Kohlapur, which appeared to be the next to enter the Rs 10-crore club remained static for the third day with Rs 9.44 crore though cities like Kanpur, Rajkot, Amritsar and Aurangabad do not seem to be far behind.

     

    Chennai at Rs 53.38 crore, Ahmedabad at Rs 42.68 crore, Pune at Rs 42.03 crore, Jaipur at Rs 28.34 crore, Chandigarh at Rs 19.04 crore, Hyderabad at Rs 18 crore, Patna at Rs 17.89 crore, Cochin at Rs 15.04 crore, Nasik at Rs 14.66 crore and Lucknow at Rs 14 crore remained static.

  • DAS Phase III: 372 MSOs granted registration of which 146 are provisional

    DAS Phase III: 372 MSOs granted registration of which 146 are provisional

    NEW DELHI: Clearly, the pressure of the approaching deadline for the third phase of Digital Addressable System (DAS) is beginning to show its signs in the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry, with a second list of registered multi system operators (MSOs) being issued within one month.

     

    A total of 372 MSOs were issued registration today, which included 226 who have ten-year registration and 146 who have provisional licences.

     

    With indications coming from the Home Ministry that MSOs may no longer insist on security clearance, the hope of the 146 becoming permanent have brightened.

     

    According to the list issued on 14 August, the Ministry had registered a total of 349 MSOs of which 126 were provisional.

     

    The total figure is impressive considering that 74 new MSOs have been permitted to operate since 12 July, though a majority of them have provisional licences.

     

    While a majority of MSOs including Kal Cables have had their licences cancelled following the Home Ministry denying security clearance, some have been cancelled for non-operation. These include four cancelled in 2015.

     

    Eleven MSOs who had earlier been granted permanent licences were permitted to change their areas of operation.

     

    Provisional licences given after 12 July total 66 including one for Assam and another for Mizoram. Provisional licence had been issued prior to 12 July to one MSO in Kashmir. 

  • Day 22: Hope for more FM Phase III bids lie with under-Rs 10 crore cities

    Day 22: Hope for more FM Phase III bids lie with under-Rs 10 crore cities

    NEW DELHI: With no takers for thirteen cities, the hope for more bids shifted to cities, which have so far managed less than Rs 10 crore on the twenty-second day in the e-auction for the first batch of FM Phase III cities even as the cumulative provisional winning price showed a marginal rise to Rs 1136.6 crore at the end of the 88th round.

     

    The number of provisional winning channels and cities remained the same as yesterday: 94 channels in 56 cities, but the total bids surpassed the cumulative reserve price by Rs 677.7 crore or 147.7 per cent against the aggregate reserve price of about Rs 459 crore.

     

    The cumulative provisional winning price has thus risen over the total reserve price of the first batch of 135 FM channels in 69 existing cities – Rs 550.18 crore – by Rs 586.4 crore or 106.5 per cent. Information and Broadcasting Ministry sources told Indiantelevision.com today that the cumulative winning price is exclusive of the migration fee, which will take the total revenue even higher.

     

    The Auction Activity Requirement rose to 100 per cent after the 59th round on 14 August, after being 90 per cent after the 37th round on 7 August.

     

    Sources said that in the notice inviting auction, it was clear that the e-auction will continue as long as bids are received for any of the 135 channels. This included the 13 cities for which no bids have come namely Asansol, Gulbarga, Mangalore, Mysore, Puducherry, Rajahmundry, Siliguri, Tiruchy, Tirunveli, Tirupati, Tuticorin, Vijaywada and Warangal.

     

    The winning price has gone up by more than 100 per cent above their respective reserve prices: Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Aurangabad, Bengaluru, Bhubaneshwar, Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kolhapur, Mumbai, Nasik, Patna, Pune, Rourkela and Varanasi, which got provisional winning bidders at prices more than double the respective reserve prices. A single channel in Bhubaneshwar created a new record by getting the most competitive bidding increment-wise by going up nine times the reserve price.

     

    The demand in most cities fell by up to three per cent and by four per cent below the excess demand at the price in the 88th round in Hyderabad.

     

    The Percentage Price Increment applicable for the Next Clock Round rose to five each in Jodhpur and Varanasi but was just one in Gauhati. There was no change in the other cities.

     

    The provisional winning price in the top three cities reflected no change: Delhi at Rs 169.16 crore (for just one channel); Mumbai at Rs 122.81 crore (for two channels); and Bengaluru at Rs 109.25 crore.

     

    Kohlapur, which appeared to be the next to enter the Rs 10-crore club remained static for the third day with Rs 9.44 crore though cities like Kanpur, Rajkot, Amritsar and Aurangabad do not seem to be far behind. 

     

    Chennai at Rs 53.38 crore, Ahmedabad at Rs 42.68 crore, Pune at Rs 42.03 crore, Jaipur at Rs 28.34 crore, Chandigarh at Rs 19.04 crore, Hyderabad at Rs 18 crore, Patna at Rs 17.89 crore, Cochin at Rs 15.04 crore and Lucknow at Rs 14 crore remained static.

  • Female artists should be groomed to take up non-conventional roles: M&E experts

    Female artists should be groomed to take up non-conventional roles: M&E experts

    NEW DELHI: The advancement in technology has made it possible to essay any kind of role in the media and entertainment industry but there is need for proper grooming and training of females in various non-conventional roles in the industry.

     

    This was the general view at a discussion on “An equal space: Gender parity in media and entertainment sector” held here by the National Commission for Women (NCW) in partnership with the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and ASSOCHAM.

     

    The participants felt that technology and digitisation has changed the scenario – for example, equipments were now lightweight as compared to the earlier times and women are entering into various roles like make-up artists, stuntwomen etc.

     

    In his inaugural address, Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar said that the world had lost a lot by not giving women equal opportunities and not recognising their talent.

     

    The Minister emphasised that women have qualities like compassion, conviction, consistency and courage which are their unique strengths. There is no difference between men and women in terms of capabilities and men need to be sensitised regarding their attitude towards women, he added. 

     

    NCW chairperson Lalitha Kumara Mangalam said even today, an invisible barrier exists in the media and entertainment industry where women do not get equal opportunities. She said various factors like lack of training and lack of family support are responsible for this situation. “The percentage of women working in this sector is also very low. Even today people do not find this sector as a good place to work,” she added. 

     

    Filmmaker Ramesh Sippy opined that women should be portrayed as empowered characters in the films to send the right message to society. “Female artistes should be encouraged to participate in non-conventional roles in films, which help to eliminate misconception of the entertainment industry being projected as biased,” he added. 

     

    The inaugural session was followed by technical sessions. Deliberations were held on various issues such as equal opportunity for women in media and entertainment, enabling and empowering women at M&E workplace and skill and capacity building.

     

    It was noted that the news industry has much more presence of women as compared to their male counterparts, the participants opined but a lot needs to be done to encourage women to join this sector and establish themselves into the system. 

     

    Personalities related to the M&E industry like actor and director Rajat Kapoor, actresses Divya Dutta and Rajeshwari Sachdev also participated in the seminar. Senior Advocate and Additional Solicitor General of India Pinky Anand, Indian Institute of Mass Communications DG Sunit Tandon, former I&B Ministry director (Films) Nirupama Kotru, National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) MD Nina Lath Gupta, and senior journalist Rahul Kanwal, amongst others were panelists in the discussion. 

  • TDSAT pulls up MSO for demanding advance subscription as pre-condition to give signals to LCO

    TDSAT pulls up MSO for demanding advance subscription as pre-condition to give signals to LCO

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Arbitration Tribunal (TDSAT) has asked Sun Distribution Services to show cause as to why action should not be taken against it for denying signals to local cable operator (LCO) Prabhu Cable Network despite the Tribunal’s orders.

     

    Listing the matter for 2 September, TDSAT chairman Aftab Alam and members Kuldip Singh and B B Srivastava said action was liable under Section 20 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Act.

     

    On 6 July as well as on 4 August, TDSAT had asked Sun to give the signals but the company had failed to do so.

     

    The stand taken by Sun is that the areas covered by the LCO are presently in a non-digital addressable system (DAS) area and would come under the DAS ambit from 1 January, 2016. In view of this, the present arrangement would continue only for four and half months and Sun agreed to give signals on condition that the LCO pay the subscription fee up to 31 December in advance at the time of execution of the agreement. 

     

    The Tribunal felt that “asking for subscription fee for four and a half months as the condition for giving signals clearly amounts to flouting the orders of the Tribunal.”

     

    “Besides the condition being wholly unreasonable, it is also in contravention of the Interconnect Regulations,” the Tribunal added.