ITV

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  • Broadcasters to move court against fringe benefit tax

    NEW DELHI: Broadcasters in India are contemplating moving the court against the fringe benefit tax (FBT) levied by the government from this year on taxpayers.
     
     
    The contention of broadcasters is likely to be that it’s unconstitutional and breaches certain fundamental rights.

    According to a senior executive of television company having operations in India, the proposal on seeking legal redressal is being studied by a sub-committee of the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), which is an apex body of broadcasting companies.

    The details of the proposed case against the Central government are not clear as things are still being worked out and legal consultations taking place.
     
     
    The much-debated FBT legislation seeks to levy tax on any privilege, service, facility, amenity provided by the employer to the employee. There are various categories of expenditure on which the levy is charged.

    A 30 per cent FBT has to be paid by the employer on a defined base. However, the tax liability for some sectors — pharma, construction, computer software — is lower because of a reduction in the base for valuation of expenses.

    News channels, for example, are likely to contend that FBT should not be levied on allowances given to editorial professionals for news gathering purpose as the money is being used for discharging legitimate professional duties.

    Broadcasters might also plead that if the FBT is to be levied on TV companies, then it should be brought at par with sectors like computer software that pay lower tax.

    An admission of a case relating to FBT in one of the courts in the state of Andhra Pradesh has encouraged broadcasting companies to explore knocking the judiciary’s doors.

    Earlier this month, The Economic Times a legal battle over the controversial fringe benefit tax has begun with the Andhra Pradesh High Court granting interim relief to a taxpayer who filed a writ petition challenging the validity of the levy.

    The interim order says that the revenue department shall receive an advance tax of 5 per cent (against 20 per cent) from the petitioner and further action should be subject to the outcome of the petition. The petitioner is a private sector company in the publication business.

    The HC, however, has made it clear that the interim relief is only to the petitioner and shall not extend to other tax payers.

    The revenue department is nevertheless worried about the possible spate of legal wrangles over the FBT legislation. It has sounded out its legal cells to appoint counsels to argue cases where taxpayers already have or plan to challenge the FBT legislation, ET reported.

    The AP court is understood to have issued a notice to the Central government to reply to the writ petition. The petitioner challenged the FBT legislation on the grounds of legislative competence and discrimination in classification.

    The contention was that the classification for the purpose of levying a confessional tax to certain categories of taxpayers is discriminatory and should be extended to the newspaper industry, the newspaper report stated.

  • Reuters employees in the US steps up protest action against management

    MUMBAI: Reuters US’ employees who are represented by the Newspaper Guild of New York have launched a strict work-to-rule campaign and a five-day national byline strike on Friday. This action comes as a round of negotiations begin today to reach a contract after nearly three years of talks. The effort to get an acceptable pact has mobilised Guild members in the editorial, technical and administration departments into a show of support for the Guild’s bargaining committee, which is scheduled to resume stalled contract talks today with the management of Reuters America.

    Guild members are holding lunch time demonstrations at Reuters offices in
    several cities, including the company’s North American headquarters in Times Square New York. They sport their traditional red t-shirts and perform only required work tasks. The Guild already has tentatively agreed to some reductions in health care coverage. It is also battling what it calls Reuters management’s attacks on retiree medical care and on active employees’ employment security. This took place after company managers sent US based reporting and picture-editing work offshore to low-wage countries.

    New York Guild president Barry Lipton said, “It is particularly meaningful that in this time of big news stories our editorial members are withholding their bylines and credits in a show of support. These actions should send management the message that this is not a time of business as usual. Our members are demanding a fair contract.”

    The Guild and its parent union, the Communications Workers of America
    (CWA) have placed an advertisement in Monday’s edition of The New York Times. This calls attention to Reuters sending U.S.-based work to lower wage countries and the pitfalls of trying to cover American news from thousands of miles away. The Times’ advertisement includes an e-mail address telltom@nyguild.org, for those who want to tell Reuters CEO Tom Glocer what they think of his reckless experiment in “remote control journalism” Lipton said.

  • Ficci against sports law favouring DD

    NEW DELHI: The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) has warned against framing a law making it mandatory for sharing feed of listed sports events with pubcaster Doordarshan, saying it would amount to “competitive inequality.”
     
     

    “Ficci submits that mandatory sports licensing should not be enacted because of the inherent competitive inequality the system has created between Doordarshan and its competing television broadcasters and also because of other associated anti-competitive effects,” the apex chamber of commerce has
    said in an advocacy note.

    The note, which was circulated after some private broadcasters met a minister examining the proposed legislation on 22 August, adds: “We (Ficci) believe that the costs of these anti-competitive effects outweigh any alleged benefits to the community arising from having the system in place.”
     
     

    The Indian government is proposing amendments in uplink laws and putting in place guidelines relating to downlink of TV channels in India. Both these laws have a clause that states that any private broadcaster would have to share with DD on a mandatory basis feed of listed sporting events held within and outside India.

    The controversial clause has brought together private sports broadcasters who otherwise squabble on sports rights. Ficci, which is said to have some lobbying clout with the government, is actively providing its platform for the industry to air its viewpoints.

    Pointing out that most private broadcasters rely on two sources of revenue, advertising and subscription, Ficci has said subscription income is important for survival of sports channels as “high costs of (sporting) rights cannot be covered by advertising revenues alone.”

    “Such a move will financially cripple the sports broadcasting industry in India, since in the absence of addressability no cable operator will come forward to pay any subscription fee for sports channels once all the key content is shared,” Ficci’s note, circulated after a government-industry meet on 22 August, states.

    The incremental ad revenue from sharing the feed with Doordarshan will not be able to cover even 10-15 per cent of the loss that will be suffered by “undermining of the pay business model,” Ficci has said in the note that has been given to defense minister Pranab Mukherjee who’s heading a group of ministers examining proposed amendments in broadcasting laws.

    According to Ficci, “The proposed regulation, thus, will be a drain on the capital investment and programming development will slow and the quality and variety of programming for viewers will suffer.”

    Sounding a warning note, the apex chamber of commerce has said that restrictions on sports events under the proposed legislation could lead tomorrow to extension to any variety of events deemed to be of `national interest,’ thereby “casting a pall of uncertainty” over the entire private broadcasting sector, curtailing the enthusiasm for investment and stunting overall media industry’s growth.

    Since the proof of the pudding lies in eating, Ficci has countered arguments put forward by DD and the I&B ministry that such laws exist in other western nations also.

    “It appears that the regulation, under consideration in the case of India, is aimed at requiring the private broadcasters to share sports broadcasting rights with the government-owned Doordarshan, which would in turn be free to distribute to end users via its terrestrial free to air stations or its DTH
    platform.

    “This approach of mandating private broadcasters sharing (content) with DD, which has both a terrestrial and DTH service, is not consistent with international regulatory norms,” Ficci has counter-punched.

    The detailed Ficci note, which has been accessed by Indiantelevision.com, also states that such a legislation would have adverse impact on development of sports in general and on various sports federations that are cash strapped and unable to pump in money in their respective fields.

    In this connection it’s worth mentioning that ESPN Star Sports has joined hands with the Indian Hockey Federation to develop domestic hockey over a period of 10 years and to make the game attractive to audiences of all types.

    “While formulating policies/guidelines, various aspects such as competition/anti-trust legislation, monopolistic practices, free competition, a level playing field, adequate compensation, and mechanism for identifying events of national importance, manner of designating such events, duration of validity of such a list of designated events and other factors must be addressed,” Ficci has said in conclusion.

  • Private broadcasters lobby against sharing of cricket telecast rights with DD

    NEW DELHI: In a bid to apprise policy-makers of the ground reality of sports broadcasting, some private broadcasters have submitted a representation to group of ministers (GoM), headed by the defence minister Pranab Mukherjee.

    GoM is entrusted to study a proposed legislation relating to telecast of sporting events of national importance.
     
     

    At the meeting, the private broadcasters stated that mandating sharing of terrestrial feed with pubcaster Doordarshan of all events involving India would upset business calculations and would not create a level-playing field for everybody.

    As the proposed legislation stands, the dice would be loaded heavily in favour of Prasar Bharati, which manages DD and All India Radio, a private broadcaster said after the meeting with Mukherjee earlier this week.

    In a note to the GoM, the information and broadcasting ministry has proposed, as part of a revised uplink and downlink policies, listed sports events in India or abroad in the national interest could not be telecast on an exclusive basis by any private broadcaster in India and the feed has to be shared with Prasar Bharati.
     
     

    In its support, the ministry has also said that similar laws exist in countries like the UK, Australia. European Union too is contemplating a legislation on these lines, the ministry has said, quoting from representation made by Prasar Bharati.

    First, the private broadcasters conveyed to Mukherjee — the GoM is likely to meet some time after the present session of Parliament gets adjourned this week — that there was no need to have such a law as most broadcasters would and could come to informal understanding with Prasar Bharati.

    Second, and more importantly, Mukherjee was told that if at all such a law is mandated, then it should not be with retrospective effect (meaning, telecast rights obtained before the passage of the proposed law) and should exclude sporting events held outside India.

    The industry-government interaction was facilitated by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), which, too, has come out against mandating such a law forcing sharing of feed with Prasar Bharati.

    The meeting, held earlier this week in Delhi, was attended by ESPN India MD RC Venkateish, Star India CEO Peter Mukerjea, Ten Sports India head Sharmistha Rijhwani and Ficci secretary-general Amit Mitra, amongst others.

    What’s more, Prasar Bharati wants that such shared telecast be also made available for its DTH platform for which subscribers don’t pay any monthly subscription fee.

    If this was not enough, a section of the government, the ministry of youth affairs and sports, had suggested that “a portion of revenue accruals by the agency (read, mostly satellite sports broadcasters) that gets broadcasting/telecasting rights (of listed events) should be remitted to the national Sports Development Fund.”

    Thankfully, the nodal ministry for media laws, I&B ministry, struck down this suggestion due to lack of statutory back up, though this observation has been included in the note prepared for the GoM.

    The Supreme Court late last month poured cold water on pubcaster Doordarshan’s efforts to arm-twist the terrestrial feed from Ten Sports for the recently-concluded cricket tri-series in Sri Lanka.

    The SC ruling deflated a till-then smug Prasar Bharati that had issued statements cautioning rights holder Ten Sports against “hoarding” terrestrial rights.

  • Casbaa files signal piracy suit against Hong Kong bar

    MUMBAI: The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (Casbaa) is continuing its efforts to stamp out satellite signal piracy in Hong Kong. In its latest move, it has taken legal action against a bar that is airing unlicensed TV broadcasters.
     

    Under Hong Kong law, bars and clubs may only broadcast pay TV channels under an appropriate subscription from a Hong Kong licensed pay TV operator. Casbaa, however, says that many venues pick up illegal signals from operators outside of the country, including UBC in Thailand and Dream in the Philippines. In October 2004, it was estimated that the gross cost associated with pay-TV signal piracy in Hong Kong amounted to HK$200 million over a 12-month period.

    Casbaa and its members have been seeking to raise the consciousness of bars and clubs in Hong Kong that screening pay TV services without legal subscriptions is against the law. Casbaa chairman Marcel Fenez said, “It is with regret that we are now taking this step. Although we have reached out to the food and beverage industry in particular to raise awareness of the illegal nature of unauthorised distribution of pay TV signals in public venues we find that these laws are still not taken seriously by many bars and clubs. Some bars refuse to cease these activities despite being warned several times; we have no choice but to take the matter to the courts.”
     
     

    In parallel with the lawsuit Casbaa is issuing a further series of advisory letters to bars and clubs, as well as to private members clubs, noting that pay TV television signal theft is not to be tolerated. This issue will be raised with club managements and, if necessary, action will be taken against those that continue to infringe.

    Casbaa has also stated that it is pleased that some progress is being made. The majority of bar owners approached have given undertakings to cease screening illegal TV broadcasts.

    “We commend those clubs and bars that screen only legitimate pay television broadcasts. And we continue to encourage bar-goers to contribute to Hong Kong’s economy by giving their patronage to businesses airing legal, Hong Kong-licensed TV services. We want people to enjoy their evenings out in bars and pubs, and to do so in a way that ensures adequate remuneration to Hong Kong’s service providers, international channel programmers, and the sports leagues who stage the games” Fenez added.

    Under Hong Kong law bars and clubs may only display pay-TV channels, such as ESPN or STAR Sports, under an appropriate subscription from a Hong Kong licensed pay-TV operator such as now Broadband Television. Other pay-TV operators such as UBC of Thailand, MultiChoice of South Africa and Dream of the Philippines are not authourised to offer subscriptions in Hong Kong.

    In Hong Kong, besides PCCW (now Broadband TV), the licensed pay-TV operators are Hong Kong Cable Television (i-Cable) and Galaxy Satellite Broadcasting (SuperSUN), all of whom are members of Casbaa.

    “We are all committed to improving this alarming situation so the community is ultimately served with a wider choice and better programming. If vast sums continue to be stolen from the value chain, investment will fall and programming standards will decline” said Fenez.

  • MPAA files lawsuits against six BitTorrent sites

    MUMBAI: Six BitTorrent sites hosting links to others with illegal copies of TV shows have been targeted in lawsuits by the Motion Picture Association of America.

    It is a shift in focus for the MPAA. Since it started legal action against file-sharers in December, its targets have been film indexing sites.
     

    A recent survey said that TV programme downloads had risen by 150 per cent in a year.

    About 70 per cent were using BitTorrent sites, according to the Envisional research. Of the total downloaders, 18 per cent were within the UK, according to the survey.

    In March this year, TV downloading made headlines with the appearance of the long-awaited new series of ‘Doctor Who’ on the net before it was even broadcast.

    The MPAA claimed that it was very worried about the issue.

    According to the MPAA, every television series depends on other markets-syndication – international sales – to earn back the huge investment required to produce the comedies and dramas in those markets, and are substantially hurt when that content is stolen.

    This is the first time that the MPAA has specifically gone after TV-oriented networks in this way, which it says are used by thousands daily.

    It has, however, targeted BitTorrent sites before and has filed 100 lawsuits against operators of BitTorrent server sites since December.

    BITTORRENT SITES HIT

    Shuntv.net
    Zonatracker.com
    Btefnet.net
    Scifi-classics.net
    Cddvdheaven.co.uk
    Bragginrights.biz

    Copies of popular US shows, such as Desperate Housewives and 24, regularly appear hours after they are first aired on networks in the US, and are downloaded by fans around the world eager to see the latest episodes.

    Because TV programmes are usually shorter than films, they are processed – or digitised – quickly.
     
     

    People with increasingly faster broadband connections can download episodes in very little time. But the MPAA says its action to hit those running servers which link to copyrighted material has slowed this.

    The percent of working servers has dropped by more than 40 per cent since it started action, said the MPAA.

    With BitTorrent software, server sites do not host the files being shared. Instead, they host links, called ‘trackers’ which tell people where to go to get the files.

    More than 90 per cent of the sites that the MPAA has sued so far have been shut down entirely.

    The sites which have been closed, such as LokiTorrent, UK Torrent and s0nicfreak, now carry warning messages from the MPAA that read: ‘You Can Click But You Cannot Hide.’

    The MPAA plans to encourage legitimate download sites instead. Several TV companies are experimenting with legal peer-to-peer based downloads, including the BBC.

  • Cricket: Zee moves SC against HC order

    NEW DELHI: The Subhash Chandra-promoted Zee Telefilms today filed an appeal in the Supreme Court challenging a Madras high court order that upheld Indian cricket board’s decision to cancel the tender process for awarding telecast rights for domestic cricket till 2008.
     

    In its petition, filed through counsel Maninder Singh, Zee said it had emerged as the highest bidder for the telecast rights of cricket matches played in India under the aegis of the cricket board between 2004-08 and, hence, should have been awarded the contract, a Press Trust of India report said.
     
     

    A division Bench of the Madras high court on 2 May had set aside a single judge’s order, which held that the cancellation of tender process by the cricket board was “improper.” The single Bench had directed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to call for fresh tenders and permitted Zee Telefilms and ESPN to participate in the fresh tender process.

    However, a division bench, comprising chief justice Markandeya Katju and Justice Ibrahim Khalifullah, took exception to the single judge’s remarks that the cancellation was vitiated by arbitrariness and unfair action of the BCCI and its former chief Jagmohan Dalmia, in particular.

    The judges held “these remarks against the BCCI and Dalmia are unjustified, uncalled for and unsustainable.”

    The apex court is already besieged with a clutch of cricket-related cases, which also includes one where Indian pubcaster Doordarshan and Dubai-based Ten Sports have locked horns over an Indo-Pakistan cricket series played in Pakistan in 2004.

  • Airtel campaign pits Sachin against SRK

    MUMBAI: Mobile service provider Airtel is conducting a marketing campaign that involves two superstars Sachin Tendulkar and Bollywood badshah Shahrukh Khan.
     
     
    The first of its kind showdown campaign kicked off a few days ago. It covers all 21 circles of Airtel. This campaign will give an opportunity to Airtel’s existing and new (postpaid and prepaid) customers of all ages, backgrounds and regions to come together, join the team play with their favorite superstar, Sachin or Shahrukh.

    A customer needs to use his Airtel mobile phone and dial 646 or send an SMS “sd” to the same number to select their choice of star. Depending upon an Airtel customer’s mobile usage, rewards in the form of “Tickets” are earned by them. A lucky draw of 150 winners would then be taken out of these tickets. The more the number of tickets earned by an Airtel customer greater are his chance to be a part of the winner list.

    The Airtel Showdown will last till 30 April 2005. Every Airtel circle will announce 100 lucky winners every fortnight from each of the 21 circles and the selection will be at random on the basis of a computer based lucky draw. There will be three fortnightly draws resulting in a total of 300 lucky winners for the regional finals in each circle. From these 300 winners in every circle, each circle will select at least six winners on an average at the end of six weeks on the basis of a lucky draw resulting in a total of approximately 150 finalists divided equally into Team Shahrukh and Team Sachin.

     
     
    The 150 finalists will be taken to Mumbai for the grand finale to team up with Sachin and Shahrukh. At the finals these 150 winners would be split into two teams and they will participate in fun filled games under the captaincy of the stars.

     
     
    The Airtel Showdown campaign has been backed by extensive internal research findings. Research data clearly suggests that primarily Bollywood and cricket drives the Indian consumer segment and forms the most popular inspirational icons of self-expression for people of all age groups across the country.

    Qualitative and quantitative studies have shown that Shahrukh Khan’s core values of being a self made actor with his success and glamour and Sachin Tendulkar’s dedication, innocence and performance today are seen as a driver of self-identification amongst the masses. All the core values of the two superstars have emerged as a clear brand fit for Airtel, which stands for leadership, trust and innovation leading to a clear connect between Airtel and it’s customers. What makes these values even more relevant is its “All India” appeal, quite like the “All India” footprint of Airtel mobile service.

    Bharti Cellular chief marketing officer and director Atul Bindal said, “Our research has shown that the most popular, inspirational icons for the Indian consumer happens to the two Airtel brand ambassadors – Sachin and Shahrukh. This motivated us to devise Airtel Showdown an innovative marketing programme. The whole construct of the initiative seeks to bring our customers, now spanning across all the 21 circles to come closer to brand “Airtel – the largest GSM network in the country.”

  • Zee seeks SEBI intervention against Padmalaya promoters

    MUMBAI: Zee Telefilms Ltd (ZTL) has requested market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to investigate into the fraudulent acts of founder-promoters of the Padmalaya companies.

    “We have written to SEBI, informing the regulator of the wrong filings of shareholding pattern by Padmalaya Telefilms Ltd (PTL) to defraud its shareholders. We want SEBI to intervene,” says a source in Zee.

    PTL, Zee says, has filed wrong shareholding pattern of the company on quarterly basis. The filings were “totally incorrect and were not representing the correct shareholding position of the company on the date or for the period of filing.”

    Zee has accused the promoter shareholders of misappropriating a substantial amount of shares that its subsidiary Padmalaya Enterprises Private Ltd. (PEPL) held in PTL, a listed company. Padmalaya companies’ managing director GA Seshagiri Rao, along with his relatives, had allegedly pledged PEPL’s shares in PTL to raise loans without the knowledge of the board.

    ZTL, which has a 64 per cent stake in PEPL, is unhappy. As a result of the misappropriation, PEPL’s holding in PTL has dropped from 50.3 per cent to about 20 per cent. Zee’s indirect interest in PTL has, thus, fallen from 33 per cent to around 13 per cent.

    Zee is also planning to initiate legal action against some of those who have lend money to the promoter shareholders against the PTL shares, the source says. The recipient of the PTL shares held by PEPL has ignored to file any declaration of their holding even though their stake or the size of the transaction was more than two per cent of PTL’s total issued and paid up capital.

    Explaining to SEBI, Zee has said that it was offered a strategic stake in PTL by Rao and his relatives in March 2002. Zee entered into an arrangement which resulted in constitution of PEPL (a dormant company till then) as the holding company of PTL. ZTL funded PEPL to enable it to subscribe to the PTL shares issued on preferential basis and to acquire PTL shares in the open offer. PEPL acquired 20,00,000 shares on preferential basis and 19,25,031 shares under open offer. The promoter shareholders transferred their stake of 22.50 lakh shares of PTL to PEPL and Rao continued to occupy the position of managing director of PTL and PEPL.

    But in August 2004, Zee came to know from informal sources in the market that there were irregularities in the functioning of PEPL and PTL. ZTL appointed M/s Guru and Ram, Chartered Accountants, Chennai, to look into the matter which submitted the final report on 9 December, 2004.

    “Keeping the Board of PEPL and ZTL in the dark, the promoter shareholders fraudulently with dishonest intentions, misappropriated 6,264,631 equity shares of PTL held by PEPL to provide security for raising loans in the name of Rao, brother GSR Krishna Murthy and their related entities/companies, primarily Padmalaya Studios Private Limited and Padmalaya Vision Ltd,” Zee informed SEBI.