ITV

Category: Regulators

  • I&B ministry urges home ministry to reopen movie theatres from August

    I&B ministry urges home ministry to reopen movie theatres from August

    MUMBAI: Due to the Covid2019 pandemic, cinema halls across India were shut from March. While several businesses started operational work in Unlock phases 1.0 and 2.0, movie theatres are still waiting for the government's nod.

    Now, as India is approaching  Unlock 3.0, the information and broadcasting ministry (I&B) has passed a recommendation to the home ministry to allow movie theatres across the country to reopen from August.   

    I&B secretary Amit Khare highlighted this issue at a closed-door meeting with the CII media committee on 25 July. However, he also said that the final decision will be taken up by his counterpart in the ministry of home affairs Ajay Bhalla.  

    Khare, during the interaction, recommended that the cinema halls all over India may be allowed to reopen as early as 1 August  or at the latest around 31 August.

    In the meeting he also suggested an alternative formula to practice social distancing norms and other SOPs. As per his recommendations, in theatres the  seats of first and second row to be kept vacant. Theatres will have alternate seats in the first row and follow the same procedure throughout.

    Khare said that his ministry's recommendation takes into consideration the two metre social distancing norm, but tweaks it gently to two yards instead.

    Movie theatre owners present in the meeting showed objection to this idea and pointed out this idea is unwise and running theatres at 25 per cent capacity is worse than keeping cinema halls shut.

    The attendees at the meeting included media CEOs like NP Singh of Sony, Sam Balsara (Madison), Megha Tata, (Discovery), Gaurav Gandhi (Amazon Prime), Manish Maheshwari (Twitter), S Sivakumar (Bennett Coleman and Co Ltd), and K Madhavan, (Star & Disney) who is also the chairman of CII media committee.

  • TRAI directs broadcasters to implement NTO 2.0 by 10 August

    TRAI directs broadcasters to implement NTO 2.0 by 10 August

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has directed all broadcasters to comply with the provisions of the New Tariff Amendment Order (NTO 2.0) by 10 August. Broadcasters must publish details including maximum retail price per month of channels and maximum retail price per month of bouquets of channels, composition of bouquets and also amended reference interconnected offer (RIO) and other on their website.

    The regulatory body said, “In order to promote orderly growth of the sector and to balance the interests of service providers and to safeguard the interest of the consumers, it is necessary to give effect to Tariff Amendment Order 2020 and interconnection amendment regulations 2020 without any further delay.”

    The regulatory body on 1 January, had notified the NTO 2.0 and the interconnection amendment regulations 2020. “TRAI has issued direction to all broadcasters to ensure compliance of various provision of the Telecommunication (broadcasting and cable) services dated 1 January 2020 and telecommunications (broadcasting and cable) services interconnection regulations, dated 1 January 2020.”

    TRAI has also expressed discontent over one broadcaster allegedly discontinuing its low priced bouquets from 1 August and pushing higher-priced bouquets, in violation of NTO 1.0. It has also stated that the broadcaster has not informed TRAI about such change.

    The authority has also claimed that distribution platform operators (DPOs) have complained that some of the broadcasters are not willing to sign RIOs according to NTO 2.0. Hence, many DPOs are not willing to enter into such agreements creating an overall regulatory vacuum in the industry. Moreover, it has been also stated that some broadcasters are extending old agreements with few DPOs. 

    The industry watchdog has stated that non-implementation of the NTO 2.0 is leading to chaos in the sector and jeopardising the business processes which has been harmonised after NTO 1.0 came into effect. According to it, delay and uncertainty in the implementation of NTO 2.0 will again bring back non-transparency and discriminatory practices in the sector.

    Notably, major broadcasters moved to court after NTO 2.0 was notified. While the cases are subjudice, the ongoing pandemic has delayed the judgements. Hence, an ambiguity is prevailing in the industry. And the latest notification might irk broadcasters more.

  • Delhi govt slapped with CCRGA notice over political messaging

    Delhi govt slapped with CCRGA notice over political messaging

    NEW DELHI: A Supreme Court-mandated committee on content regulation in government advertising (CCRGA)  issued a notice to the government in Delhi (AAP) over an advertisement which had appeared last week. The committee had taken sou-moto cognisance of concerns raised on social media that its purpose was only "political messaging." Several questions has been raised on the necessity of issuing the advertisement in Mumbai newspapers. 

    The one-page advertisement was published by the department of education and directorate of information & publicity, government of NCT of Delhi.

    It was heavily criticised on social media with many claiming that it was just political messaging and there was no point in spending huge sums of money to publish the ad in other states.

    "Historic! Delhi government schools class 12 results — 98 per cent," said the Delhi government advertisement, which was published in several newspapers on 16 July.

    CCRGA demanded a reply to various issues, like cost to the exchequer, within 60 days upon receiving the notice.

    "The committee had taken suo-motu cognisance of the points raised in the social media on the Delhi government advertisement — questions had been raised on the necessity of the Delhi government to issue advertisements in Mumbai newspapers and had pointed that the purpose of the ad was only for political messaging," a statement issued by the ministry of information and broadcasting said.

    "The one-page advertisement was published by the department of education and directorate of information and publicity, government of NCT of Delhi," the statement said.

    The committee is allowed to address complaints from the general public on violation of the supreme court guidelines and make suitable recommendations, the statement said.

    The committee can also take suo-motu cognisance of any violation or deviation of the supreme court guidelines and recommend corrective actions, it added.

    Presently the CCRGA is chaired by Om Prakash Rawat, former chief election commissioner of India, and its members are Ramesh Narayan of Asian Federation of Advertising Associations and Past President, IAA and Ashok Kumar Tandon, Member, Prasar Bharati board.

  • I&B ministry looks at decriminalising minor offences under Cable TV act

    I&B ministry looks at decriminalising minor offences under Cable TV act

    KOLKATA: The ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) is looking at decriminalising minor offences under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995. As part of the ongoing exercise to reform governance, MIB has taken a decision to delete the entire provision of Section 16, Section 17 and Section 18 under the act. It has also sought comments of the general public and all the concerned stakeholders by 24 July.

    Section 16 under chapter IV of the act lays down jail term up to five years for contravention of provisions of the act which includes proper registration of a cable TV network, transmission of programmes through addressable systems, use of standard equipment, not interfering with any telecommunication system. The act also includes programme code and advertising code. Hence, deletion of section 16 will bring an end to unnecessary jail terms, legal challenges for operators. 

    Under the proposed amendment, the punishment will limit to seizing the equipment of the operator if the fault is at the level of cable operators. Any contravention of program code and advertising code will lead to cancellation of channel permission, forcible run of apology scroll. Treatment of Violations under Section 5 (Programme Code) and Section 6

    (Advertisement Code) under Section 16 shall now be shifted to under Section 11 as its sub-Section (1).

    The ministry is proposing deletion of Section 17 and Section 18 completely.  It comes under the broad exercise of the current central government which has planned to undertake a wide-ranging review of existing laws and decriminalize many” minor” offences. Earlier in June, the finance ministry on Wednesday proposed to decriminalise minor offences. 

  • Govt-appointed committee recommends new regulator for non-personal data; ‘data business’ classification

    Govt-appointed committee recommends new regulator for non-personal data; ‘data business’ classification

    KOLKATA: Regulators across the world have kept their eyes on people's data. The Indian government is also outlining the route to control the flow of data. An expert committee appointed by the government has recommended a new regulatory authority for non-personal data along with creating a new “data business” classification. The committee is chaired by Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan and includes industry, government and academic experts.

    What is non-personal data?

    Non-personal data is without any personally identifiable information. The committee has further broken down that into data that never related to an identified or identifiable natural person and data which were initially personal data, but were later made anonymous as non-personal data. The committee has defined three categories of non-personal data – public non-personal data , community non-personal data and private non-personal data.  

    The committee has also defined a new concept of ‘sensitivity of non-personal data’, as even non-personal data could be sensitive from the following perspectives – 

    1) It relates to national security or strategic interests

     2) It is business sensitive or confidential information

    3) It is anonymised data, that bears a risk of re-identification 

    The report has stated that the non-personal data authority will ensure that data is shared for sovereign, social welfare, economic welfare and regulatory and competition purposes and thus spurring innovation in the country  

    The authority will also play an enforcing role ensuring all stakeholders follow the rules and regulations laid, provide data appropriately when data requests are made, undertaking exante evaluations of the risk of re-identification of anonymised personal data and so on.

    As per the committee, the regulatory authority will need specialised knowledge (of data governance, technology, latest research and innovation in the space of non-personal data, etc.) and will have to keep pace with the rapidly evolving technological landscape. “Unlike the DPA which is focussed on prevention of personal harm, this authority will focus on unlocking value in non personal data for India,” it states.

    The laws, regulations and rules of the Indian state apply to all the data collected in/from India or by Indian entities. It has suggested to create a new category of the business called ‘data business’ that ’collects, process, store, or otherwise manages data and meets certain data threshold criteria as organisations are deriving new or additional economic value from data. It has also added that is a horizontal classification and not an independent industry sector. Many existing businesses in various sectors, collecting data beyond a threshold level, will get categorised as a data business. 

    “Just like the economic rights to natural resources arising from a community are considered to primarily belong to it, the value of social resources of community non-personal data should primarily accrue to it (instead of the default whereby data custodians take up the entire value of such data),” the report adds.

    It has also suggested to create a data-sharing framework such that community data is available for social/public/economic value creation. However, it has also added that adequate measures would have to be developed in order to ensure that any data-sharing framework does not dilute the protections afforded by the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2019. Data sharing may be requested for sovereign purpose , core public interest purpose, economic purpose.

    “It is reported that Google and Facebook together control about 60 per cent of the internet advertising market in the USA. It is also estimated that Amazon had a 37 per cent share of the online ecommerce market in the USA in 2019. This is reflected in the very large market capitalisation of these corporations,” the report mentions while talking about data imbalance. It has cited the example of social media, search, mapbased services, online retail, ride-hailing platforms, digital healthcare, credit rating as data-based businesses.

  • Difficult to balance consumer interest with stakeholder objectives: TRAI’s RS Sharma

    Difficult to balance consumer interest with stakeholder objectives: TRAI’s RS Sharma

    NEW DELHI: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India chief RS Sharma, on Thursday, demystified myths and impressions about the regulation of the sector in a panel discussion at FICCI FRAMES 2020.

    He said that it is immensely difficult for regulators to strike a balance between consumer interest and objectives of other stakeholders. Sharma commented when Media Partner Asia executive director and co-founder Vivek Couto asked about heavy-handed TV regulations.

    "The objective of TRAI is to ensure the interest of consumers, stakeholders, distributors and creators and ensure there is a growth of the sector. Since 2004 to 2017, there were price caps. If you put these price caps, it disincentivises the producers. Why should I keep any control on pricing? The industry thinks the regulator is heavy-handed and the regulator thinks they are light touch. The basic approach TRAI has had in regulating this sector is that we have adopted a light-touch approach and allowed market forces to operate in this space. We believe that the market is the best determinant and accelerator for the adoption of new technologies and satisfying consumers, so long as there is fair play, transparency, non-discrimination. Then, we don’t need to intervene.”

    Sharma emphasised that for regulators consumers’ choice will always have major importance.

    Speaking about the evolution of the sector and change in consumption patterns of viewers, he pointed out that proliferation of cheap data that will drive OTT services.

    According to the new tariff order (NTO), consumers could choose the TV channels they want to watch and pay only for them at maximum retail prices (MRPs) set by broadcasters, instead of the pre-set bouquets offered earlier. It was said that the NTO will make channels cheaper but it seems prices of like-to-like option went up. Sharma argued that the amendments to NTO and the TRAI channel selector app were introduced to make things transparent for consumers.

    “As technology moves forward, with 5G, there will be more disruption and change in watching habits. Emerging trends will necessitate a new framework. Regulation should ensure that technological developments are not throttled or scuttled. They should be allowed to grow and take place," he said.

    Meanwhile, the ministry of information & broadcasting additional secretary Atul Kumar Tiwari spoke on the contentious subject of regulatory structure for OTT platforms. He said, "We invited them to come back to us with some kind of self-regulatory mechanism. We would like to have a light-touch regulation but there has to be some kind of regulation on the streaming content."

  • 26% FDI cap should apply to news aggregators too: I&B secy Amit Khare

    26% FDI cap should apply to news aggregators too: I&B secy Amit Khare

    NEW DELHI: News aggregators could be seeing some trouble in paradise. The ministry of information & broadcasting secretary Amit Khare, in a discussion at FICCI Frames 2020, said that FDI (foreign direct investment) rules should be applicable to print media as well as news aggregators.

    “I would not like to announce it here; that is not my role. But there is very serious thinking that a level playing field should be there between digital platforms and print media. But the announcement will come after the decision is finally taken by the government,” Khare shared during the discussion.

    “26 per cent FDI cap should be applicable to the aggregators as well as print media,” he stated.

    Khare was responding to a query that questioned why regulations applied to newspapers were not applicable to news aggregators who pick up their content to sell news.

    Popular apps including DailyHunt and Inshorts are among the biggest players in the Indian news aggregator space. DailyHunt has more than 100 million downloads on Google Play Store while Inshorts has over 10 million.

  • Bombay high court grants interim relief to HUL in brand name row with Emami

    Bombay high court grants interim relief to HUL in brand name row with Emami

    NEW DELHI: Hindustan Unilever heaved a sigh of relief as the Bombay high court gave an interim relief in the case with Emami involving HUL's rebranding of its skin cream for men Glow & Handsome. Reportedly, Emami had claimed that it already has a cream named Glow and Handsome.

    Last week, HUL rebranded its best-selling range of products Fair & Lovely to Glow & Lovely. the men's fairness range was also renamed from Fair & Lovely to Glow & Handsome. Following this, Emami had responded with a legal action against the brand for copying its brand name Glow & Handsome.

    The court has asked Emami to give seven days’ prior notice before striking a legal battle on the trademark.

    According to reports, justice BP Colabwalla has ordered the notice after hearing an application filed by HUL under the Trade Marks Act seeking an injunction against Emami from issuing “groundless threats” in view of the use of its trademark Glow and Handsome.

    HUL in its petition also sought at least seven days clear notice before Emami can initiate any legal proceedings against the company. HUL called Emami's threats of legal action 'groundless.'

    The court observed, "Prima facie it does appear that having filed its trademark application in September 2018 and subsequently on 25 June 2020 for the mark ‘GLOW & HANDSOME’, the Plaintiff (HUL)is the prior adopter of the said mark".

    The court also directed Emami to give HUL seven days prior written notice before initiating legal proceedings against it and posted the matter for further hearing on July 27.

    “The statements made by the defendant (Emami) do amount to a threat, however, whether they are unlawful or groundless, that is something that will have to be decided after hearing both the sides,” the court further said as reported by a leading daily.

    Follow Tellychakkar for the consumer facing news & entertainment

  • I&B ministry to announce SOPs for M&E industry

    I&B ministry to announce SOPs for M&E industry

    NEW DELHI: Information and broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar today announced that the government will soon come up with new bring standard operating procedures for shooting in a post-pandemic world and will provide incentives for production across TV, film, animation, gaming and co-production. The completed details will be announced soon, the minister said at the FICCI FRAMES first virtual conference for the media and entertainment industry.

    Javadekar also said that the government will help the M&E industry in every phase and will play the role of partners. He mentioned that the government has to harness the soft power of India for the progress of the country.

    He added that the ministry recently provided facilities to foreign filmmakers to shoot in India through a single-window clearance has helped around 80 producers. He mentioned that India is a cost-effective option for many. Netflix biggie Extraction and Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film Tenet were shot in India.

    Javadekar, in his address, said, "The importance of the media and entertainment sector cannot be stressed enough. The content we produce through TV,  films or digital originals, is consumed by 150 countries. The sector generates millions of jobs and significant revenues. Despite the impact of Covid2019, it is growing at a good pace. Our share in the global market is small but can grow phenomenally. Given India's cost advantage of 40-60 per cent for producing the same quality of content as advanced countries, we can achieve stupendous results if we work together. There is a need for more entrepreneurs, founders and leaders in the media and entertainment sector to steer the industry forward with more innovations, origination and ownership. The government of India stands shoulder to shoulder with the industry in achieving all this."

    Follow Tellychakkar for the consumer facing news & entertainment

  • Prasar Bharati gets 4 new board members

    Prasar Bharati gets 4 new board members

    NEW DELHI: Prasar Bharati, in the process to fill nine vacant positions in its 13-member board, has announced the name of four new part-time members: music composer Salim Merchant, BJP spokesperson Shaina NC, Dainik Jagran editor-in-chief Sanjay Gupta and media professional Alok Agrawal. 

    Another addition to the new board is senior journalist Ashok Tandon who was also the media advisor to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. His tenure got over the last year and he is the only former member of the board to join the new team. 

    Sources close to the development also shared that a discussion on the appointent of the chairman also took part in Monday’s meeting. The post has been vacant since A Surya Prakash retired in February last year. 

    Prasar Bharati, a statutory autonomous body under the ministry of information & broadcasting, was set up to oversee the functioning of Doordarshan and All India Radio. The board decides all matters related to general administration of the broadcaster, and is headed by the chairman who is picked by a committee headed by the vice president of India and comprising I&B secretary and Press Council of India chairman.