ITV

Category: Budget 2016

  • Encourage greater indigenous STB production with tax holiday in budget for DAS to succeed

    Encourage greater indigenous STB production with tax holiday in budget for DAS to succeed

    NEW DELHI: With the Government hoping to achieve complete digitisation of the cable television sector by the end of this calendar year, it is imperative that the Union Budget for 2016-17 being presented on Monday has important concessions for the industry.

    Perhaps the most important step would be to give infrastructure status to the Broadcast, Cable and direct-to-home (DTH) sector so that it gets all the benefits and incentives available for infrastructure industry including the availability of finance at a concessional rate.

    Though the government claims more than 90 per cent seeding of set top boxes (STBs) in all urban areas covered under Phase III of digital addressable system (DAS) – a figure disputed by most private stakeholders, it is important that the budget should give some concessions that benefit the sector particularly as far as set top boxes go.

    While the Make in India or Digital India initiatives have failed to encourage many indigenous manufacturers of STBs, it is necessary not merely to give some tax concessions under these two schemes but also a tax holiday for some years for those who venture to beat the sale of Chinese STBs and encourage Indian STBs.

    Earlier, the Entertainment Wing of FICCI had said in a pre-budget memorandum to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley that the sector should be allowed tax concessions under Section 80-IA of the Income Tax Act.

    As the digitisation process and the deployment of STBs are heavy capital oriented sectors needing large investments, FICCI had said they should be allowed to set off accumulated losses and unabsorbed depreciation allowances to be carried forward as per Section 72 A of the Act.

    One way of giving greater encouragement to indigenous STBs is to give the broadcast industry the same benefits that the manufacturing sector gets.

    FICCI had in fact also said that the rate of taxes, which range from 30 – 70 per cent, especially the entertainment tax imposed by the states, over and above the service tax are punitive in nature. It is important that the overall taxation level is brought down for the sector as a whole.

    State Entertainment tax legislations levy high taxes on the subscription earned by cable operators and DTH operators. The non-availability of credit of central taxes against the state taxes and vice versa increases the tax burden on the entertainment industry.

    In addition to this, the Central Government has levied service tax at 14 per cent on the transfer of copyrights, which is already being taxed as ‘goods’ under the various state VAT legislations.

    There is therefore need to rationalise taxes or rush through the Goods and Service Tax (GST) Bill to bring parity and clear snags in taxation.

    With so many cases pending before TDSAT and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) constantly being impleaded in such matters, the Government should provide a clarification that the payments made towards carriage fees are not in the nature of royalty or fees for technical services and TDS is required to be made on such payments as per section 194C of the Act.

    The Indian media and entertainment industry grew from Rs 918 billion in 2013 to Rs 1026 billion in 2014, registering an overall growth of 11.7 per cent. The industry is estimated to achieve a growth rate of 13 per cent in 2015 to touch Rs 1159 billion. The sector is projected to grow at a healthy CAGR of 13.9 per cent to reach Rs 1964 billion by 2019.

    The benefits of Phase I and II of DAS rollout, and continued Phase III rollout are expected to contribute significantly to strong continued growth in the TV sector revenues and its ability to invest in and monetise content. The sector is expected to grow at a CAGR of 15.5 per cent over the period 2015-2019.

  • Encourage greater indigenous STB production with tax holiday in budget for DAS to succeed

    Encourage greater indigenous STB production with tax holiday in budget for DAS to succeed

    NEW DELHI: With the Government hoping to achieve complete digitisation of the cable television sector by the end of this calendar year, it is imperative that the Union Budget for 2016-17 being presented on Monday has important concessions for the industry.

    Perhaps the most important step would be to give infrastructure status to the Broadcast, Cable and direct-to-home (DTH) sector so that it gets all the benefits and incentives available for infrastructure industry including the availability of finance at a concessional rate.

    Though the government claims more than 90 per cent seeding of set top boxes (STBs) in all urban areas covered under Phase III of digital addressable system (DAS) – a figure disputed by most private stakeholders, it is important that the budget should give some concessions that benefit the sector particularly as far as set top boxes go.

    While the Make in India or Digital India initiatives have failed to encourage many indigenous manufacturers of STBs, it is necessary not merely to give some tax concessions under these two schemes but also a tax holiday for some years for those who venture to beat the sale of Chinese STBs and encourage Indian STBs.

    Earlier, the Entertainment Wing of FICCI had said in a pre-budget memorandum to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley that the sector should be allowed tax concessions under Section 80-IA of the Income Tax Act.

    As the digitisation process and the deployment of STBs are heavy capital oriented sectors needing large investments, FICCI had said they should be allowed to set off accumulated losses and unabsorbed depreciation allowances to be carried forward as per Section 72 A of the Act.

    One way of giving greater encouragement to indigenous STBs is to give the broadcast industry the same benefits that the manufacturing sector gets.

    FICCI had in fact also said that the rate of taxes, which range from 30 – 70 per cent, especially the entertainment tax imposed by the states, over and above the service tax are punitive in nature. It is important that the overall taxation level is brought down for the sector as a whole.

    State Entertainment tax legislations levy high taxes on the subscription earned by cable operators and DTH operators. The non-availability of credit of central taxes against the state taxes and vice versa increases the tax burden on the entertainment industry.

    In addition to this, the Central Government has levied service tax at 14 per cent on the transfer of copyrights, which is already being taxed as ‘goods’ under the various state VAT legislations.

    There is therefore need to rationalise taxes or rush through the Goods and Service Tax (GST) Bill to bring parity and clear snags in taxation.

    With so many cases pending before TDSAT and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) constantly being impleaded in such matters, the Government should provide a clarification that the payments made towards carriage fees are not in the nature of royalty or fees for technical services and TDS is required to be made on such payments as per section 194C of the Act.

    The Indian media and entertainment industry grew from Rs 918 billion in 2013 to Rs 1026 billion in 2014, registering an overall growth of 11.7 per cent. The industry is estimated to achieve a growth rate of 13 per cent in 2015 to touch Rs 1159 billion. The sector is projected to grow at a healthy CAGR of 13.9 per cent to reach Rs 1964 billion by 2019.

    The benefits of Phase I and II of DAS rollout, and continued Phase III rollout are expected to contribute significantly to strong continued growth in the TV sector revenues and its ability to invest in and monetise content. The sector is expected to grow at a CAGR of 15.5 per cent over the period 2015-2019.

  • News broadcasters’ expectations from the Union Budget 2016

    News broadcasters’ expectations from the Union Budget 2016

    MUMBAI: As another budget looms ahead of us, expectations are high riding especially amongst the Indian news broadcasters. The budget will be presented by the Finance Minister on 29 February, 2016 and almost every segment has a set of expectations. To get a better perspective of what news broadcasters’ aspirations are from this year’s allotment, Indiantelevision.com spoke to a few stalwarts from the industry.

    Times Network MD and CEO MK Anand says, “Digitisation in general and the rollout of Digital Addressable System (DAS) in the Phase III and IV markets will be perhaps the biggest game changer for Media & Entertainment. We’re looking at addressability and millions of undeclared TV households coming into the radar and huge corrections in the subscription ad revenues anomalies in India. Between Phases III and IV, we are talking around 110 million TV homes. So my biggest budget wish for the industry is that the operators in the distribution chain be empowered, financially, to be able to afford or access, and offer the mandated technically superior digital setups to take their analog TV homes digital. This will become easier if the government accords infrastructure status to the broadcast industry. The cable industry is expected to invest some Rs 40,000 – 45,000 crore on STBs. The government can really help accelerate and optimise the roll-out of DAS to a great extent with this one step.”

    As the press is often considered to be the fourth pillar of democracy in India, it is constantly observed that the fraternity has not been benefited much by the budget.

    Shedding some light on it, News Broadcasters Association honorary treasurer and News24 chairperson cum managing director Anurradha Prasad says, “First, according to me the government should include media industry in the infrastructure sector. Second, the fruits of digitisation should now come to media. It should positively come into news broadcasting. Media is the fourth pillar of democracy and it’s high time that it gets treated differently.”

    However Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar is of the opinion that their requirements are being met by the Ministry’s budget. “We don’t seek much from the national budget,” he adds.

    CNN-IBN managing editor Radhakrishnan Nair says, “There is an opportunity available as the global oil prices have come down majorly, so we are sitting on a lot of money. We have not reduced excise on the fuel prices for consumers. There is a lot of tax money that the government has got in. One major thing is that GST, which has not yet been implemented. The budget should look towards the tax structure in which we will make ourselves ready for GST whenever it comes. There could be a possible increase in the taxes or some excise adjustments for different commodities but this year’s budget will not be a great people’s budget or a populist budget. It will be a budget that will try to reserve money for the economy and the government. I do not expect too many freebies rather I am expecting many improvements in the agriculture sector as the sector is facing a lot of stress due to various reasons. I would also like a lot of things for the benefit of the start-ups as they are young and willing to start their own businesses. So I expect a lot of tax allowances or policy allowances in this year’s budget.”

    With the budget round the corner, we journalists are often worried about different ways to cover it with a unique peg to the story. Speaking as a true journalist, NDTV Group CEO Vikram Chandra scorns, “I am not expecting anything from the budget. I am more worried about how I will cover it.”

  • News broadcasters’ expectations from the Union Budget 2016

    News broadcasters’ expectations from the Union Budget 2016

    MUMBAI: As another budget looms ahead of us, expectations are high riding especially amongst the Indian news broadcasters. The budget will be presented by the Finance Minister on 29 February, 2016 and almost every segment has a set of expectations. To get a better perspective of what news broadcasters’ aspirations are from this year’s allotment, Indiantelevision.com spoke to a few stalwarts from the industry.

    Times Network MD and CEO MK Anand says, “Digitisation in general and the rollout of Digital Addressable System (DAS) in the Phase III and IV markets will be perhaps the biggest game changer for Media & Entertainment. We’re looking at addressability and millions of undeclared TV households coming into the radar and huge corrections in the subscription ad revenues anomalies in India. Between Phases III and IV, we are talking around 110 million TV homes. So my biggest budget wish for the industry is that the operators in the distribution chain be empowered, financially, to be able to afford or access, and offer the mandated technically superior digital setups to take their analog TV homes digital. This will become easier if the government accords infrastructure status to the broadcast industry. The cable industry is expected to invest some Rs 40,000 – 45,000 crore on STBs. The government can really help accelerate and optimise the roll-out of DAS to a great extent with this one step.”

    As the press is often considered to be the fourth pillar of democracy in India, it is constantly observed that the fraternity has not been benefited much by the budget.

    Shedding some light on it, News Broadcasters Association honorary treasurer and News24 chairperson cum managing director Anurradha Prasad says, “First, according to me the government should include media industry in the infrastructure sector. Second, the fruits of digitisation should now come to media. It should positively come into news broadcasting. Media is the fourth pillar of democracy and it’s high time that it gets treated differently.”

    However Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar is of the opinion that their requirements are being met by the Ministry’s budget. “We don’t seek much from the national budget,” he adds.

    CNN-IBN managing editor Radhakrishnan Nair says, “There is an opportunity available as the global oil prices have come down majorly, so we are sitting on a lot of money. We have not reduced excise on the fuel prices for consumers. There is a lot of tax money that the government has got in. One major thing is that GST, which has not yet been implemented. The budget should look towards the tax structure in which we will make ourselves ready for GST whenever it comes. There could be a possible increase in the taxes or some excise adjustments for different commodities but this year’s budget will not be a great people’s budget or a populist budget. It will be a budget that will try to reserve money for the economy and the government. I do not expect too many freebies rather I am expecting many improvements in the agriculture sector as the sector is facing a lot of stress due to various reasons. I would also like a lot of things for the benefit of the start-ups as they are young and willing to start their own businesses. So I expect a lot of tax allowances or policy allowances in this year’s budget.”

    With the budget round the corner, we journalists are often worried about different ways to cover it with a unique peg to the story. Speaking as a true journalist, NDTV Group CEO Vikram Chandra scorns, “I am not expecting anything from the budget. I am more worried about how I will cover it.”

  • Indian Railways target four-fold increase in advertising revenue: Railway Budget 16-17

    Indian Railways target four-fold increase in advertising revenue: Railway Budget 16-17

    MUMBAI: Aiming to tap newer areas for generating revenue, Railway minister Suresh Prabhu expressed his intention to heavily explore the potential of Indian Railways in generating more advertising revenue, with a target to multiply earnings by almost four times.

    While presenting the Railway Budget 2016 – 2017, Prabhu said, “We have vast physical infrastructure that facilitates exploitation through advertising. We intend to give special focus to exploring advertising potential on trains, stations and land adjacent to tracks of big stations.”

    “We will use customer interfacing assets to earn advertising revenue. Evolve models for revenue potential in 20 stations over the next three months to target ad revenue and improve earnings from advertising by more than four times than the current ad revenue,” added Prabhu.

    To further optimise the service’s potential for advertising revenues, Prabhu also announced the introduction of display screens. “We are soon introducing 20,000 high tech display screens across 2000 stations as rail display network for real time information to passengers and also unlock advertising potential,” Prabhu asserted.

    “Railway has typically focused on increasing revenues on tariff hikes,” Prabhu had stated at the beginning of his budget address at the Rajya Sabha.

    Stressing the need to increase Indian Railways’ revenue through non-tariff resources and methods at the beginning of his address at the Rajya Sabha, Prabhu also shared his plans to capitalise on the heavy digital traffic on the IRCTC website by engaging in e-commerce activities. “Railway has typically focused on increasing revenues on tariff hikes. IRCTC also has potential to exploit e commerce activities due to the large number of hits,” Prabhu shared.

    The minister also announced a special concession for journalists on ticket tariff. “For our journalist friends we will allow e-booking of tickets on concessional passes,” said Prabhu, later adding in jest, “Hoping that they will cover it better.”

  • Indian Railways target four-fold increase in advertising revenue: Railway Budget 16-17

    Indian Railways target four-fold increase in advertising revenue: Railway Budget 16-17

    MUMBAI: Aiming to tap newer areas for generating revenue, Railway minister Suresh Prabhu expressed his intention to heavily explore the potential of Indian Railways in generating more advertising revenue, with a target to multiply earnings by almost four times.

    While presenting the Railway Budget 2016 – 2017, Prabhu said, “We have vast physical infrastructure that facilitates exploitation through advertising. We intend to give special focus to exploring advertising potential on trains, stations and land adjacent to tracks of big stations.”

    “We will use customer interfacing assets to earn advertising revenue. Evolve models for revenue potential in 20 stations over the next three months to target ad revenue and improve earnings from advertising by more than four times than the current ad revenue,” added Prabhu.

    To further optimise the service’s potential for advertising revenues, Prabhu also announced the introduction of display screens. “We are soon introducing 20,000 high tech display screens across 2000 stations as rail display network for real time information to passengers and also unlock advertising potential,” Prabhu asserted.

    “Railway has typically focused on increasing revenues on tariff hikes,” Prabhu had stated at the beginning of his budget address at the Rajya Sabha.

    Stressing the need to increase Indian Railways’ revenue through non-tariff resources and methods at the beginning of his address at the Rajya Sabha, Prabhu also shared his plans to capitalise on the heavy digital traffic on the IRCTC website by engaging in e-commerce activities. “Railway has typically focused on increasing revenues on tariff hikes. IRCTC also has potential to exploit e commerce activities due to the large number of hits,” Prabhu shared.

    The minister also announced a special concession for journalists on ticket tariff. “For our journalist friends we will allow e-booking of tickets on concessional passes,” said Prabhu, later adding in jest, “Hoping that they will cover it better.”