ITV

Tag: Delhi High Court

  • DAS: Total number of provisional MSO licence holders rises to 596, taking total to over 825

    DAS: Total number of provisional MSO licence holders rises to 596, taking total to over 825

    NEW DELHI: 22 April: Even as the digital addressable system comes under a cloud with cases of extension getting transferred to Delhi High Court, the government has cleared 35 multi system operators for provisional licences in the first twenty days of this month and took the total to 827 including 231 which have ten-year licences.

    The last list issued as on 31 March had put the total at 792 including the 231 which have permanent (ten-year) licences.

    The Information and Broadcasting had by 12 January cancelled the licences of 26 MSOs and closed their cases.

    According to the list issued today but dated till 21 April, the areas of operation of two MSOs have been revised or amended in the past three weeks.

    Unlike the last list, two of the MSOs have got pan-India licences while the others are for specific states or districts in respective states. The new registrations are from Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Tripura, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Odisha, Chhatisgarh, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh.

    With the Home Ministry directive about doing away with security clearances for MSOs not being communicated in writing to the MIB, the pace remains slow.

    The permanent licence issued to Kal Cable of Chennai had been cancelled on 20 August, 2014 but this cancellation was set aside by Madras High Court on 5 September the same year. However, Kal Cable’s name continues to be in the cancelled list – presumably because the cases are still pending. 

    Sources denied that denial of security clearance was the reason for provisional licences and said many MSOs holding provisional licences had not completed certain formalities relating to shareholders and so on.

     

  • DAS: Total number of provisional MSO licence holders rises to 596, taking total to over 825

    DAS: Total number of provisional MSO licence holders rises to 596, taking total to over 825

    NEW DELHI: 22 April: Even as the digital addressable system comes under a cloud with cases of extension getting transferred to Delhi High Court, the government has cleared 35 multi system operators for provisional licences in the first twenty days of this month and took the total to 827 including 231 which have ten-year licences.

    The last list issued as on 31 March had put the total at 792 including the 231 which have permanent (ten-year) licences.

    The Information and Broadcasting had by 12 January cancelled the licences of 26 MSOs and closed their cases.

    According to the list issued today but dated till 21 April, the areas of operation of two MSOs have been revised or amended in the past three weeks.

    Unlike the last list, two of the MSOs have got pan-India licences while the others are for specific states or districts in respective states. The new registrations are from Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Tripura, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Odisha, Chhatisgarh, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh.

    With the Home Ministry directive about doing away with security clearances for MSOs not being communicated in writing to the MIB, the pace remains slow.

    The permanent licence issued to Kal Cable of Chennai had been cancelled on 20 August, 2014 but this cancellation was set aside by Madras High Court on 5 September the same year. However, Kal Cable’s name continues to be in the cancelled list – presumably because the cases are still pending. 

    Sources denied that denial of security clearance was the reason for provisional licences and said many MSOs holding provisional licences had not completed certain formalities relating to shareholders and so on.

     

  • Adcap case put off to 27 April, court to hear plea challenging stay order

    Adcap case put off to 27 April, court to hear plea challenging stay order

    NEW DELHI, 29 March: In a day of swift developments, the Delhi High Court listed the adcap case for 27 April when it will hear an application by intervener Home Cable Network Pvt Ltd seeking vacation of the order staying action against violating television channels.

    Early in the morning, a plea was made in a mention before Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath on behalf of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry that a proposal was being contemplated to amend the relevant provision relating to limiting ads to 12 minutes an hour. Thereupon, the Court adjourned the matter for 21 July.

    However when the matter came up in the list, counsel Vivek Sarin of Home Cable pressed his application for vacation of stay. Thereupon, counsel for Discovery Communications said it wanted to press its application to come in as intervener.

    After hearing counsel for both sides, the judges agreed on early hearing and pre-poned the matter to 27 April.

    The Court had on 11 February adjourned the hearing to today when it had agreed to take up the application by Discovery Communications to intervene on the matter.

    Earlier on 27 November last year, the Court chaired by the Chief Justice had said the matter had been pending for some time and therefore it will hear and conclude the case in the next hearing.

    On that day, the I and B Ministry had informed the Court that it was in talks with the News Broadcasters Association and other stakeholders on the issue of the advertising cap of 12 minutes per hour.

    This was the first time that the Ministry had put in an appearance in the petition filed by the News Broadcasters and others against the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and others.

    Home Cable Network Pvt. Ltd had been permitted to intervene on 5 January and the Court had agreed to consider contentions on whether pay channels should be permitted to carry commercials in view of subscription fee charged by them. Home Cable Counsel Vivek Sarin had told the court that the petitioners had not disclosed that broadcasters had given their consent to observe the 10+2 ad cap rule under the Cable Television Network Regulation Rules 1994 and the Act that followed a year later and also under the Uplink and Downlink Guidelines. He also said pay TV broadcasters should not be allowed to take ads as they charged subscription fee.

    The case, filed by 9x Media, News Broadcasters Association and others against the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and the Union Government, has so far been adjourned from time to time on the plea that the government and the broadcasters are in talks on this issue.

    (It is learnt by indiantelevision.com that this comes in the wake of a statement made by Minister Arun Jaitley in January last year that there should be no ad cap in the print or electronic media, However, no instructions have been issued in this regard by the Minister so far,).

    The Court has already directed that the order that TRAI will not take any action against any channel pending the petition will continue. In an earlier hearing, the Court had, at the regulator’s instance, directed that all channels keep a record of the advertisements run by them.

    The NBA had challenged the ad cap rule, contending that TRAI does not have jurisdiction to regulate commercial airtime on television channels. Apart from the NBA, the petitions have been filed by Sarthak Entertainment, Pioneer Channel Factory, E24 Glamoru, Sun TV Network, TV Vision, B4U Broadband, 9X Media, Kalaignar, Celebrities Management, Eanadu Television and Raj Television.

    Meanwhille, complaints against fifteen broadcasters by TRAI on the adcap issue are also pending with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in Delhi.

     

  • Adcap case put off to 27 April, court to hear plea challenging stay order

    Adcap case put off to 27 April, court to hear plea challenging stay order

    NEW DELHI, 29 March: In a day of swift developments, the Delhi High Court listed the adcap case for 27 April when it will hear an application by intervener Home Cable Network Pvt Ltd seeking vacation of the order staying action against violating television channels.

    Early in the morning, a plea was made in a mention before Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Jayant Nath on behalf of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry that a proposal was being contemplated to amend the relevant provision relating to limiting ads to 12 minutes an hour. Thereupon, the Court adjourned the matter for 21 July.

    However when the matter came up in the list, counsel Vivek Sarin of Home Cable pressed his application for vacation of stay. Thereupon, counsel for Discovery Communications said it wanted to press its application to come in as intervener.

    After hearing counsel for both sides, the judges agreed on early hearing and pre-poned the matter to 27 April.

    The Court had on 11 February adjourned the hearing to today when it had agreed to take up the application by Discovery Communications to intervene on the matter.

    Earlier on 27 November last year, the Court chaired by the Chief Justice had said the matter had been pending for some time and therefore it will hear and conclude the case in the next hearing.

    On that day, the I and B Ministry had informed the Court that it was in talks with the News Broadcasters Association and other stakeholders on the issue of the advertising cap of 12 minutes per hour.

    This was the first time that the Ministry had put in an appearance in the petition filed by the News Broadcasters and others against the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and others.

    Home Cable Network Pvt. Ltd had been permitted to intervene on 5 January and the Court had agreed to consider contentions on whether pay channels should be permitted to carry commercials in view of subscription fee charged by them. Home Cable Counsel Vivek Sarin had told the court that the petitioners had not disclosed that broadcasters had given their consent to observe the 10+2 ad cap rule under the Cable Television Network Regulation Rules 1994 and the Act that followed a year later and also under the Uplink and Downlink Guidelines. He also said pay TV broadcasters should not be allowed to take ads as they charged subscription fee.

    The case, filed by 9x Media, News Broadcasters Association and others against the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and the Union Government, has so far been adjourned from time to time on the plea that the government and the broadcasters are in talks on this issue.

    (It is learnt by indiantelevision.com that this comes in the wake of a statement made by Minister Arun Jaitley in January last year that there should be no ad cap in the print or electronic media, However, no instructions have been issued in this regard by the Minister so far,).

    The Court has already directed that the order that TRAI will not take any action against any channel pending the petition will continue. In an earlier hearing, the Court had, at the regulator’s instance, directed that all channels keep a record of the advertisements run by them.

    The NBA had challenged the ad cap rule, contending that TRAI does not have jurisdiction to regulate commercial airtime on television channels. Apart from the NBA, the petitions have been filed by Sarthak Entertainment, Pioneer Channel Factory, E24 Glamoru, Sun TV Network, TV Vision, B4U Broadband, 9X Media, Kalaignar, Celebrities Management, Eanadu Television and Raj Television.

    Meanwhille, complaints against fifteen broadcasters by TRAI on the adcap issue are also pending with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in Delhi.

     

  • Adcap violations cases against 15 TV channels put off to April

    Adcap violations cases against 15 TV channels put off to April

    NEW DELHI: Complaints against various television channels before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate relating to adcap violations by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) are now slated to come up for hearing on 2 April.

    CMM (Delhi Central) Pooran Chand directed that as the matter was pending in the Delhi High Court, the interim orders would continue.

    TRAI had filed complaints before the Magistrate’s Court against IBN Lokmat News, Zee News, TV Today Network, Sun TV Network, Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd, NDTV Lifestyle Ltd, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Odisha Television Ltd, Celebrities Management P Ltd, Eenadu Television P Ltd, Panorama Television P Ltd, MAA Television Network, Sarthak Entertainment P Ltd, and Prism TV Pvt. Ltd.

    According to information available with Indiantelevision.com, some of these cases have been pending since 2013. There have also been some instances wherein executives of various channels have been seeking exemption from personal appearance whenever the cases came up.

    In the Delhi High Court TRAI had earlier assured that no coercive action would be taken till the court’s final decision.

    However, the Delhi High Court had directed every channel, which was involved in the case before it, to maintain a register of the advertisement time consumed by them.

    The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) had challenged the adcap rule, contending that TRAI did not have jurisdiction to regulate commercial airtime on television channels. Apart from the NBA, the petitions were filed by Sarthak Entertainment, Pioneer Channel Factory, E24 Glamour, Sun TV Network, TV Vision, B4U Broadband, 9X Media, Kalaignar, Celebrities Management, Eenadu Television and Raj Television.

    Later Home Cable Network, which claims pay channels should not be permitted to carry advertisements, was impleaded. Discovery Communications has also filed for being impleaded and this application is slated to be heard on 29 March.  

  • Adcap violations cases against 15 TV channels put off to April

    Adcap violations cases against 15 TV channels put off to April

    NEW DELHI: Complaints against various television channels before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate relating to adcap violations by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) are now slated to come up for hearing on 2 April.

    CMM (Delhi Central) Pooran Chand directed that as the matter was pending in the Delhi High Court, the interim orders would continue.

    TRAI had filed complaints before the Magistrate’s Court against IBN Lokmat News, Zee News, TV Today Network, Sun TV Network, Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd, NDTV Lifestyle Ltd, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Odisha Television Ltd, Celebrities Management P Ltd, Eenadu Television P Ltd, Panorama Television P Ltd, MAA Television Network, Sarthak Entertainment P Ltd, and Prism TV Pvt. Ltd.

    According to information available with Indiantelevision.com, some of these cases have been pending since 2013. There have also been some instances wherein executives of various channels have been seeking exemption from personal appearance whenever the cases came up.

    In the Delhi High Court TRAI had earlier assured that no coercive action would be taken till the court’s final decision.

    However, the Delhi High Court had directed every channel, which was involved in the case before it, to maintain a register of the advertisement time consumed by them.

    The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) had challenged the adcap rule, contending that TRAI did not have jurisdiction to regulate commercial airtime on television channels. Apart from the NBA, the petitions were filed by Sarthak Entertainment, Pioneer Channel Factory, E24 Glamour, Sun TV Network, TV Vision, B4U Broadband, 9X Media, Kalaignar, Celebrities Management, Eenadu Television and Raj Television.

    Later Home Cable Network, which claims pay channels should not be permitted to carry advertisements, was impleaded. Discovery Communications has also filed for being impleaded and this application is slated to be heard on 29 March.  

  • Adcap case put off to 29 March; Discovery moves for intervention, Home Cable seeks early hearing

    Adcap case put off to 29 March; Discovery moves for intervention, Home Cable seeks early hearing

    NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court today adjourned the hearing of the adcap (advertising cap) challenge to 29 March, when it will also take up the application by Discovery Communications to intervene in the matter.

    While the matter was listed for today, it was put off to another date in view of pending cases before the court.

    In the last hearing on 27 November, the Court chaired by Chief Justice G Rohini said the matter had been pending for some time and therefore it will hear and conclude the case in the next hearing.

    On that day, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry had informed the Court that it was in talks with the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) and other stakeholders on the issue of the advertising cap of 12 minutes per hour. This was the first time that the Ministry had put in an appearance in the petition filed by the NBA and others against the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and others.

    On an oral plea by intervenor Home Cable Network Pvt Ltd counsel Vivek Sarin for early hearing, the Court directed him to file a written application with the relevant contentions for early hearing, saying that the court would consider it.

    Even as Discovery Communications sought to press its plea for being impleaded as an intervenor, the Court said this would also be considered at the next hearing.

    Home Cable Network was permitted to intervene on 5 January and the Court had agreed to consider contentions on whether pay channels should be permitted to carry commercials in view of subscription fee charged by them. Sarin had told the court that the petitioners had not disclosed that broadcasters had given their consent to observe the 10+2 ad cap rule under the Cable Television Network Regulation Rules 1994 and the Act that followed a year later and also under the Uplink and Downlink Guidelines.

    He also said pay TV broadcasters should not be allowed to take ads as they charged subscription fee.

    The case, filed by 9X Media, NBA and others against TRAI and the Union Government, has so far been adjourned from time to time on the plea that the government and the broadcasters are in talks on this issue.

    Indiantelevision.com has learnt that this comes in the wake of a statement made by Minister Arun Jaitley in January last year that there should be no ad cap in the print or electronic media. However, no instructions have been issued in this regard by the Minister so far.

    The Court has already directed that the order that TRAI will not take any action against any channel pending the petition will continue. In an earlier hearing, the Court had, at the regulator’s instance, directed that all channels keep a record of the advertisements run by them.

    The NBA had challenged the ad cap rule, contending that TRAI does not have jurisdiction to regulate commercial airtime on television channels.

    Apart from the NBA, the petitions have been filed by Sarthak Entertainment, Pioneer Channel Factory, E24 Glamoru, Sun TV Network, TV Vision, B4U Broadband, 9X Media, Kalaignar, Celebrities Management, Eanadu Television and Raj Television.

    Meanwhile, according to information available with this website, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in Delhi is already hearing a case on this issue against 15 broadcasters. It is further learnt that officials of these channels have obtained bail and the matter is pending before the Magistrate.

  • Adcap case put off to 29 March; Discovery moves for intervention, Home Cable seeks early hearing

    Adcap case put off to 29 March; Discovery moves for intervention, Home Cable seeks early hearing

    NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court today adjourned the hearing of the adcap (advertising cap) challenge to 29 March, when it will also take up the application by Discovery Communications to intervene in the matter.

    While the matter was listed for today, it was put off to another date in view of pending cases before the court.

    In the last hearing on 27 November, the Court chaired by Chief Justice G Rohini said the matter had been pending for some time and therefore it will hear and conclude the case in the next hearing.

    On that day, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry had informed the Court that it was in talks with the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) and other stakeholders on the issue of the advertising cap of 12 minutes per hour. This was the first time that the Ministry had put in an appearance in the petition filed by the NBA and others against the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and others.

    On an oral plea by intervenor Home Cable Network Pvt Ltd counsel Vivek Sarin for early hearing, the Court directed him to file a written application with the relevant contentions for early hearing, saying that the court would consider it.

    Even as Discovery Communications sought to press its plea for being impleaded as an intervenor, the Court said this would also be considered at the next hearing.

    Home Cable Network was permitted to intervene on 5 January and the Court had agreed to consider contentions on whether pay channels should be permitted to carry commercials in view of subscription fee charged by them. Sarin had told the court that the petitioners had not disclosed that broadcasters had given their consent to observe the 10+2 ad cap rule under the Cable Television Network Regulation Rules 1994 and the Act that followed a year later and also under the Uplink and Downlink Guidelines.

    He also said pay TV broadcasters should not be allowed to take ads as they charged subscription fee.

    The case, filed by 9X Media, NBA and others against TRAI and the Union Government, has so far been adjourned from time to time on the plea that the government and the broadcasters are in talks on this issue.

    Indiantelevision.com has learnt that this comes in the wake of a statement made by Minister Arun Jaitley in January last year that there should be no ad cap in the print or electronic media. However, no instructions have been issued in this regard by the Minister so far.

    The Court has already directed that the order that TRAI will not take any action against any channel pending the petition will continue. In an earlier hearing, the Court had, at the regulator’s instance, directed that all channels keep a record of the advertisements run by them.

    The NBA had challenged the ad cap rule, contending that TRAI does not have jurisdiction to regulate commercial airtime on television channels.

    Apart from the NBA, the petitions have been filed by Sarthak Entertainment, Pioneer Channel Factory, E24 Glamoru, Sun TV Network, TV Vision, B4U Broadband, 9X Media, Kalaignar, Celebrities Management, Eanadu Television and Raj Television.

    Meanwhile, according to information available with this website, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate in Delhi is already hearing a case on this issue against 15 broadcasters. It is further learnt that officials of these channels have obtained bail and the matter is pending before the Magistrate.

  • Sporty Solutionz’s plea admitted in Delhi High Court

    Sporty Solutionz’s plea admitted in Delhi High Court

    MUMBAI: Indian Badminton League brand owners and commercial partners, Sporty Solutionz Pvt Limited’s plea for protection of the IBL intellectual property rights has been admitted in the Delhi High Court. The case will next come up for hearing on December 10, 2015.

     

    SSPL, who had invested heavily to deliver a highly successful season 1 and create the brand IBL, had pleaded in the Hon’ble court for protection of their Intellectual Property rights.

     

    “We have pleaded to the Hon’ble Court that the IBL was created by our clients Sporty Solutionz under an agreement, under which the Intellectual Property rights for the league perpetually vested with our clients. The Hon’ble Court after hearing the arguments had directed us to serve notices to all the concerned parties, including the Maharashtra Badminton Association, who were also the signatories to the tri-partite ‘Indian Badminton League and Commercial Rights Agreement’,” says the Sporty Solutionz’s counsel, Sanjeev Kumar.

     

    The Badminton Association of India had recently announced to conduct the second edition of the league at its own. Thereafter, Sporty Solutionz’ had pleaded in the Hon’ble High Court of Delhi to protect their rights. The court while admitting the plea has asked the petitioner to serve notices to all concerned parties in this case.

     

    The first edition of the IBL was conducted between August 14 and 31, 2013, in six Indian cities – Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow, Bengaluru and Pune. The inaugural edition of the league was won by PVP Hyderabad. Thereafter, the league was not allowed to happen by the BAI in 2014 and 2015.

  • Adcap case to be heard on 27 November, Court informed matter under discussion with MIB

    Adcap case to be heard on 27 November, Court informed matter under discussion with MIB

    NEW DELHI: The challenge to the advertising cap of 12 minutes per hour by the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) and others in the Delhi High Court will be heard on 27 November.
     

    The NBA sought the adjournment on the ground that the matter was under discussion with the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry to seek certain clarifications. On 8 September,  the matter was adjourned on the same plea.
     

    According to information available with Indiantelevision.com, this comes in the wake of a statement made by I&B Minister Arun Jaitley in January this year that there should be no ad cap in the print or electronic media. However, it is also learnt that Jaitley has given no such instructions in any order in the Ministry.
      

    The order that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) will not take any action against any channel pending the petition will continue. In an earlier hearing, the Court had, at the regulator’s instance, directed that all channels keep a record of the advertisements run by them.

      
    The NBA had challenged the ad cap rule, contending that TRAI does not have jurisdiction to regulate commercial airtime on television channels.
     

    Apart from the NBA, the petition has been filed by Sarthak Entertainment, Pioneer Channel Factory, E24 Glamoru, Sun TV Network, TV Vision, B4U Broadband, 9X Media, Kalaignar, Celebrities Management, Eanadu Television and Raj Television.
     

    The news and regional broadcasters fear that the capping of commercial airtime will curtail their ad revenues. They also argue that the ad cap must be brought only after the benefits of cable TV digitisation start showing. 

     
    Meanwhile, TRAI recently released results of their records, which show that around 36 news channels apart from 105 general entertainment channels (GECs) are violating the ad cap by telecasting ads for more than 12 minutes an hour.