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Tag: I&B ministry

  • Time bands for govt ads on TV news and business channels amended

    Time bands for govt ads on TV news and business channels amended

    NEW DELHI: The government has amended the time bands for its advertisements on news and business television channels announced by it earlier in September 2012.

    In a modification to the policy Guidelines for Empanelment of Private Cable and Satellite TV channels, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has said that the three time bands will be 06.00 hrs to 11.59 hrs instead of 07.00 hrs to 11.59 hrs; 12.00 hrs to 16:59 hrs instead of 17.59 hrs, and 17.00 hrs to 22.59 hrs instead of 18.00 hrs to 22.00 hrs.

    This will apply to English, Hindi, and regional news and business channels and will be applicable from 9 May this year.

    All the spots on the channels may be displayed on dispersion basis of one third spots on each time band.

    At least three spots may be displayed in 8, 9, and 10 pm time bands.

    The rates of September 2012 offered by DAVP will apply for all audio visual spots.

    The government had earlier issued modifications on 14 May and 5 September 2012.

    In September 2012, six time bands had been laid for general entertainment channels: 7 am to 9 am, 9 am to 12 noon, 12 noon to 7 pm, 7 pm to 8 pm, 8 pm to 10 pm, and 10 pm to 11 pm.

  • DAS crosses 100% six weeks after analogue switch-off, but many homes still do not have STBs

    DAS crosses 100% six weeks after analogue switch-off, but many homes still do not have STBs

    NEW DELHI: The digitisation level in the 38 cities in fourteen states and one union territory of Phase II had touched 101 per cent including DTH homes as on 14 May, six weeks after the analogue switchoff.

    However according to the information & broadcasting ministry’s own statistics, around nineteen cities had not been fully digitised as on 7 May.

    Questioned about this anomaly, an I&B Ministry official told indiantelevision.com that the average was based on the fact that nineteen cities had crossed more than a 100 per cent seeding of set top boxes, with Hyderabad touching a figure of 206.18 per cent with cities like Ludhiana and Allahabad crossing 178 per cent and 167.04 per cent respectively.

    The official – who did not want to be named – added that this was because many of the households had more than one television and/or DTH connection, and the ministry had made a provision of 20 per cent TVs in shops and homes.

    The official clarified that a total of 1,60,13,059 total TV homes had to be digitised by making provision of 20 per cent for multiple TVs in houses and TVs in offices/shops. The total number of TV Households according to ministry statistics is 1,33,44,216.

    Coimbatore with 30.43 per cent stood at the bottom on 7 May, with Srinagar at 30.88 per cent, and Vishakhapatnam at 54.36 per cent. These figures include direct-to-home connections. It is therefore obvious fom these figures revealed by the government itself that a large proportion of TV subscribers in these 19 cities do not have either a DTH set top box or a cable TV set top box.

    Petitions challenging digitisation are currently pending in the Madras, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh high courts. These affect the cities of Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam Bhopal, Indore, and Jabalpur.

  • Surrogate advertising notification awaits govt clarification

    Surrogate advertising notification awaits govt clarification

    NEW DELHI: A notification issued on 27 February 2009 on surrogate advertising has still not been operationalised as the government has failed to work out a mechanism for differentiating between surrogate ads and genuine brand extensions of tobacco and alcohol products, parliament was told earlier this week.

    The notification came following a long pending demand from broadcasters to allow bonafide advertisements of genuine brands using the brand name/logo which is associated with tobacco products or alcohol.

    A committee of secretaries from different ministries held a meeting on 22 January this year and resolved to work out a formula, but this has not happened. Prior to that, A note was circulated to the department of consumer affairs, department of industrial policy & promotion, department of legal affairs, department of health and family welfare and the department of revenue.

    The committee had decided that information & broadcasting and health and family welfare ministry officials would decide a note for operationalisation of the notification and inform the cabinet secretariat within a month. In case the two ministries do not agree, the matter would be referred again to the committee, it had been resolved.

    Meanwhile, information & broadcasting minister Manish Tewari told parliament that the committee had also decided that issues regarding advertisements on genuine brand extension for both tobacco and alcohol products will continue to be dealt with together.

    Telecast of advertisements on private satellite/cable TV channels is regulated under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 and Rules framed thereunder. Rule 7 (2)(viii)(A) of the Advertising Code provides that no advertisement shall be permitted which-promotes directly or indirectly production, sale or consumption of cigarettes, tobacco products, wine, alcohol, liquor or other intoxicants.

    A proviso says that a product that uses a brand name or logo, which is also used for cigarettes, tobacco products, wine, alcohol, liquor or other intoxicants, may be advertised on cable service subject to the following conditions:-

    (i) the story board or visual of the advertisement must depict only the product being advertised and not the prohibited products in any form or manner;

    (ii) the advertisement must not make any direct or indirect reference to the prohibited products;

    (iii) the advertisement must not contain any nuances or phrases promoting prohibited products;

    (iv) the advertisement must not use particular colours and layout or presentations associated with prohibited products;

    (v) the advertisement must not use situations typical for promotion of prohibited products when advertising the other products;

    Provided further that:-

    (i) the advertiser shall submit an application with a copy of the proposed advertisement along with a certificate by a registered chartered accountant that the product carrying the same name as cigarettes, tobacco products, wine, alcohol, liquor or other intoxicants is distributed in reasonable quantity and is available in substantial number of outlets where other products of the same category are available and the proposed expenditure on such advertising thereon shall not be disproportionate to the actual sales turnover of the product.

    (ii) All such advertisements found to be genuine brand extensions by the ministry of information & broadcasting shall be previewed and certified by the Central Board of Film Certification as suitable for unrestricted public exhibition and are in accordance with the provisions contained in sub-clause (i) to (v) of the first proviso, prior to their telecast or transmission or retransmission.

  • Triumphant I&B sec Varma says Phase II digitisation 99% complete

    Triumphant I&B sec Varma says Phase II digitisation 99% complete

    NEW DELHI: Information & braodcasting ministry secretary Uday Kumar Varma – along with his ministerial team – has almost singlehandedly been working on aggregating and consolidating India‘s fragmented cable TV sector by pressing the digitisation accelerator and pushing the members of the ecosystem to forge ahead no matter what.

    His touch stance seems to be working if one goes by the numbers that he announced today. Speaking to indiantelevision.com, Varma stated that almost 99 per cent digitisation had been achieved in the 38 cities that were part of Phase II of Digital Addressable System (DAS) for cable television.

    Addressing a meeting of nodal officers from different states yesterday, Varma expressed satisfaction at the work being done by the additional secretary C Viswanath, joint secretary (broadcasting) Supriya Sahu and other senior officials.

    Varma also asked the nodal officers to send show cause notices to all MSOs who had still not switched off analogue signals.

    The nodal officers generally expressed satisfaction with the cooperation they received from stakeholders.

  • Allahabad HC reaffirms I&B ministry role in case of STB non-availability

    Allahabad HC reaffirms I&B ministry role in case of STB non-availability

    NEW DELHI: The Allahabad high court has clarified that that the information and broadcasting ministry has been mandated under the Cable TV Networks Rules 1994 to make interim arrangements if any subscriber complains he has not been able to get a set top box from his cable operator.

    A division bench of justice Uma Nath Singh and justice Satish Chandra while dealing with a case recently, quoted from an earlier judgment in this regard to say that the rules drawn up by the ministry were clear on this issue.

    (For the consumers, this judgment implies that they are free to approach the ministry in the event of the multi-system operator or the local cable operator not fulfilling the mandate of supplying the STB. The ministry has already set up a toll free number and complaints from consumers or LCOs relating to STBs or other aspects relating to digitisation are already being passed on to the concerned MSO, I and B minister Manish Tewari told the Parliament yesterday.)

    The court dismissed as without merit a petition by the Uttar Pradesh Cable Operators Welfare Association through its president Anil Upadhyay.

    In its petition, the association had sought extension of time as it said that there was shortage of digital set top boxes even as it fully supported digital access systems. It was stated that in UP, the STBs are not available in sufficient quantity, as it is an imported item mainly from China. There is no workshop in the state for repair of the set top boxes.

    In his arguments, additional solicitor general of India K C Kaushik said that digitisation was almost complete in UP as 100 per cent work has already been done in the Districts – Ghaziabad, Meerut, Varanasi and Allahabad – and 82 to 86 per cent work had already been done in the cities of Kanpur, Lucknow and Agra up to 14 April.

    Interestingly, the court in its judgment said ‘the set top box is not compulsory but is an option for the consumer, who wants to avail the better signals or selected channels. Further for providing better (digital) signals, there are many service providers, other than the petitioners, like DTH.‘

    While dismissing the case for extension of time, the court referred to another judgment of the Court in a related case by the Lucknow Metro Cable Operators Association wherein that court had said ‘Rule 13 (5) of the Rules contains a provision that in the event of failure of the concerned operator to supply and install a Set Top Box, the respondent (information and broadcasting ministry) may, in order to protect the interest of subscribers, take interim measure to ensure supply of signals. Under Rule 14, the ministry has been empowered to resolve dispute of various kinds including arrangements for handling complaints and redressal of grievances of the subscribers. The authority may also look into the efficacy of such arrangements and issue necessary directions to the concerned parties for compliance.‘

    That order had also pointed out that it was clear that all consumers were not aware of digitisation. ‘It is natural that everybody may not be aware whether there has been proper public awareness campaign about DAS scheme or not, and whether supply and installation of set top box has been carried out as required by Rule 13 of the Rules‘, that order had said.

  • Digitisation penetration reaches 90 per cent, says Varma

    Digitisation penetration reaches 90 per cent, says Varma

    NEW DELHI: Three weeks after the switch-off of analogue signals in a majority of the 38 cities covered under Phase II, the level of digitisation has touched ninety per cent, according to information& broadcasting ministry secretary Uday Kumar Varma.

    The I&B ministry secretary told Indiantelevision.com that a total of fifteen cities have crossed 100 per cent digitisation, while one more city has crossed 98 per cent digitisation mark. Another three cities have crossed a level of 90 per cent, he added.

    He also asserted that there is no shortage of set top boxes (STBs) in the Phase II cities.

    The government, he said, was still in the process of collating all the figures from the nodal officers and would bring a detailed report after its review.

    He also clarified that while announcing the switch-off of analogue on 31 March, the government had said that it would watch the situation for around two weeks and was now reviewing the reports coming in on the achievement so far.

    The ministry had announced earlier this month that analogue signals has been completely switched-off in the five states of Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Haryana, and the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

    Meanwhile stays continued to be in force in the cities of Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Hyderabad, and Visakhapatnam. The Karnataka and Gujarat high courts had last week quashed petitions seeking extension of DAS thereby paving way for the analogue signals to be switched-off.

    Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is expected to hear tomorrow a special leave petition by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation seeking to quash all pending cases in various high courts and also ensure there is no postponement of the date of digitization.

  • DD plans for multiplex transmitters at 630 locations for SDTV, HDTV, and mobile TV

    DD plans for multiplex transmitters at 630 locations for SDTV, HDTV, and mobile TV

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan has drawn up a long term plan to have a ‘multiplex‘ of five transmitters each at 630 locations to provide a competitive platform.

    Each of these multiplex transmitters will have two for standard television, two for high definition TV, and one for mobile TV services.

    Stating this in an action-taken report to the Parliametary Standing Committee on Information and Technology, the information and broadcasting ministry has said it is in discussion with the department of telecom for release of more spectrum.

    The I&B Ministry has asked the telecom department to give spectrum for various broadcasting services in the UHF Band V since the frequency band 700 MHz – that is, 698 to 806 MHz – has been earmarked for international mobile telecom services by the World radio Conference 2007.

    As part of digitisation of its terrestrial networks, DD is planning to set up 630 digital transmitters which comprise 230 high power and 400 low power transmitters. Projects for establishment of forty digital transmitters (SDTV) and four high definition digital transmitters have already been taken up under the Eleventh Plan.

    It is felt that in view of its long-term plans, the total spectrum requirement of DD will be met in Band-IV (470-582 MHz) and eight channels in Band-V (582-646 MHz).

    DD also has frequency assignment in 700 MHz band in two carriers: (745 MHz and 795 MHz each with a bandwidth of 20 MHz for mobile video link and Channel 54 (734-742 MHz) for digital terrestrial transmitters (DTT) in the four metro cities.

    Furthermore, the Ministry says it is estimated that at least 96 MHz of spectrum will be required for four operators to start mobile TV services.

    The Ministry has also pointed out that under NFAP (National Frequency Allocation Plan) 2008, the frequency band 585-806 MHz is predominantly for broadcasting services including mobile TV.

    However according to the draft India Remarks for NFAP 2011, it was suggested that the UHF Band V be bifurcated with 585-698 MHz going to digital broadcasting and 698-806 MHz be given for IMT applications.

    Following the note by the I&B Ministry not to bifurcate this frequency, a committee has been set up with officials of the department of telecom and I&B Ministry.

    When it was revealed that the frequency band 625-675 MHz is being given to the defence ministry, it was pointed out by I&B Ministry that this disturbs the entire band and therefore the defence ministry be asked to relocate its frequency beyond 646 MHz so that the broadcasting spectrum remains contiguous.This matter is now with the Empowered Group of Ministers on vacation of spectrum.

  • Govt gives 15 days grace for phase II cable TV digitisation

    Govt gives 15 days grace for phase II cable TV digitisation

    NEW DELHI: Ever since the ministry of information and broadcasting ministry announced that it was enforcing 31 March 2013 for Phase II cable TV digitization and switch-ff of analogue signals in 38 cities in 14 states, there have been yelps from state government chief ministers and cable TV operators, and MSOs all over.

    Media reports were that a large number of viewers in these cities are grappling with blank TV screens as cable TV operators have not been able to speedily provide the set top boxes (STBs) needed to digitize. Some state governments went so far as to ask for a six-month extension to the digitization deadline. A couple of high courts – in Karnataka and Gujarat – had already agreed to a week long postponement in late March and on 1 April

    Late last night, according to a PTI report, the government heard the protesters’ pleas and said it would go slow on enforcing the black out of analogue signals. While categorically stating that the deadline was not being extended, information & broadcasting secretary Uday Kumar Varma, said that the industry was being given “a transition time of 10 to 15 days depending on the ground level situation so that there is no inconvenience to the people.”

    Reports are that almost 25 per cent of the 16 million households in these cities missed the deadline to switchover to digitized cable TV. The ministry has hence told MSOs and cable TV operators “to switch off the signals in a phased manner and depending on the situation in various cities.”

    Says the head of a leading MSO: “It’s good to hear that the government has given us this grace period. During the day there were ghastly reports that nodal officers and SDMs in various cities were threatening cable TV operators and MSOs with arrests if they did not switch off analogue TV signals. This should come as a relief to all of them. As it is we have not been able to sign digital agreements with a majority of broadcasters for these cities. Hopefully we will be able to do something soon.”

    Sources indicate that the ground situation in various cities is varied and that the I&B ministry officials would coordinate with the local nodal officers in order to decide the timing and extent of analogue TV switch offs in order to avoid blank TV screens.

    Data available with the I&B ministry has revealed that towns which are facing a problem include: Vishakapatnam with 12.8 per cent digitization (out of 500,000 TV homes); Srinagar with 20 per cent, Coimbatore with 28.89 per cent, Jababalpur with 34.87 per cent and Kalyan Dombivili (38.59 per cent). Seven of the 38 cities had achieved 100 per cent plus digitization: Ludhiana, Hyderabad, Faridabad, Allahabad, Amritsar, Chandigarh and Jodhpur — reported 100 per cent digitisation while three others — Thane, Meerut and Jaipur — had 90 per cent plus.

    Varma’s announcement came a little after indiantelevision.com reported that cable TV operators had got a reprieve in the Andhra Pradesh high court too. Justice M V Ramanna had directed DAS to be stayed for two weeks and the case is expected to be heard on 15 April. The order came on a petition by the Greater Hyderabad Cable TV Operators Association which took the position that there was no clarity regarding the availability of STBs.

  • DAS Phase II commences as analogue TV switched off

    DAS Phase II commences as analogue TV switched off

    NEW DELHI: The second phase of Digital Addressable System (DAS) in India marched on even as the month of March 2013 came to and end as envisioned by the Information & Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry. Analogue television signals in 36 cities all over India were clipped even as stay orders were imposed by high courts in Ahmedabad and Bengaluru.

    However, I&B Ministry sources told Indiantelevision.com that the level of digitisation achieved as on 30 March was 70 per cent in phase II towns, and admitted there was a likelihood of viewers facing blank TV screens in some places.

    The sources said that these problems primarily existed in Srinagar which has just 4,300 set top boxes (STBs) installed. The situation in Coimbatore and Vishakapatnam was more serious with almost zero STB deployment on 20 March.

    They also added that the estimates had been made based on information received from multi-system operators (MSOs) and making a provision of 20 per cent for multiple TVs in households and TVs in offices/showrooms.

    While the seeding of STBs and switch-off of analogue was being overseen by nodal officers in all the cities, the sources said teams would be dispatched to all these cities in the coming days to study the impact and ensure implementation. They insisted that there were ample digital STBs available.

    However, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav in a letter to I&B Minister Manish Tewari over the weekend requested for an extension of six months in the seven cities in the state that were to switch over to digital addressable system from today: Agra, Allahabad, Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi.

    While the Gujarat High Court in Ahmedabad stayed the introduction of DAS till 9 April in Ahmedabad, the Karnataka High Court issued the stay till 1 April in Bengaluru. The Karnataka High Court will hear cases relating to both Bengaluru and Mysore on 1 April.

    Ministry sources confirmed that both High Courts had issued notices to the Union government and the I&B Ministry.

    In both case, the petitioners Cable Operators Association of Gujarat through its president Pramod Pandya andKarnataka Cable TV Operators Association president V S Patrick Raju, have said there is confusion about availability of STBs and MSOs are also helpless. Raju has also raised the issue of who owns the STB that is installed at the home of a subscriber – the customer or the LCO.

    For the second phase, the 38 specific cities and towns in fourteen states and one union territory which have been listed in the notification are – Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune, Surat, Kanpur, Jaipur, Lucknow, Nagpur, Patna, Indore, Bhopal, Thane, Ludhiana, Agra, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nashik, Vadodara, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Rajkot, Meerut, Kalyan-Dombivali, Varanasi, Amritsar, Navi Mumbai, Aurangabad, Solapur, Allahabad, Jabalpur, Srinagar, Visakhapatnam, Ranchi, Howrah, Chandigarh, Coimbatore, Mysore and Jodhpur.

    A high-level Monitoring Committee has also been set up to oversee the digitisation process in the entire country, which is expected to be achieved by the end of next year.

    In order to facilitate digitization, the Ministry has already issued provisional registration to 30 Independent MSOs to operate in Phase II cities. This would enable these MSOs to operate in their respective cities to provide digital cable TV services.

    The Ministry has set up a Task Force exclusively for Phase II cities to oversee and monitor the digitization process. A public awareness Committee has also been constituted in the Ministry for spearheading awareness campaign and all TV channels ran a scroll informing consumers about the deadline for cable TV digitization, as well as an animated commercial.

    All India Radio has also started broadcasting radio jingles on its national and regional networks to get the DAS message across. Several other initiatives like an SMS campaign, video spots and prints are on the anvil. The state governments/UTs have already nominated nodal officers in 38 cities of Phase II. The Ministry had recently conducted a workshop for them.

    Workshops have been held at some places to take stock of preparedness in Phase II cities and sensitize local MSOs, cable operators and other stakeholders.

    The Ministry had set up a Control Room during Phase I, which has continued to function to address the queries of consumers, cable operators and others. The Control Room which also has a toll free number has been receiving a number of calls from consumers of Phase II cities.

  • Trai brings ad regulation ghost back to haunt broadcasters again

    NEW DELHI: Turning the heat on broadcasters again, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has notified the Standards of Quality of Service (Duration of Advertisement in Television Channels) after watering down the amended version of the ad regulation.

    The main regulation was issued on 14 May last year that had the broadcasters up in arms. The matter finally reached Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (Tdsat) with the broadcasters getting interim relief in the form of a stay.

    The amended ad regulation has done away with contentious clauses by keeping a standardised ad duration at 12 minutes on clock hour basis for all channels as stated under the advertising code of the Cable Television Networks Rules (CTNR) 1994.

    As per the advertising code, no programme shall carry advertisements exceeding 12 minutes per hour, which may include up to 10 minutes per hour of commercial advertisements, and up to 2 minutes per hour of a channel’s self-promotional programmes.

    The advertising code among other things also states that “all advertisement should be clearly distinguishable from the programme and should not in any manner interfere with the programme use of lower part of screen to carry captions, static or moving alongside the programme”.

    The authority has also defined clock hour in the amended regulation. “The clock hour means a period of sixty minutes commencing from 00.00 of an hour and ending at 00.60 of that hour,” Trai said in the notification.

    While refusing to bow down under pressure from broadcasters, the Trai has also tried to pacify them by doing away or moderating certain clause from its earlier version in March.

    Some of the provisions that have been done away with include: (i) advertisements should be carried only during breaks in live sporting action, (ii) time gap between consecutive advertisement sessions should be of minimum 30 minutes in case of movies and 15 minutes otherwise excluding sporting events and (iii) no part screen or drop-down advertisements should be permitted etc.

    In order to minimise other breaks during certain live sporting events, in which natural breaks either occur after relatively long periods or there are no natural breaks such as F1 races, part screen advertisements should be allowed, the Trai said.

    It also said that “the “part screen” and “drop down” advertisements are integral forms of advertising and statutory rules already exist under the Cable TV Act to regulate the format and duration of advertisements that may be carried on television channels and the regulations are beyond the purview of Trai and in conflict with the provisions of rule 7 of the CTNR 1994”.

    The watered down version will also not go down well with broadcasters who are already bearing the brunt of of ad slowdown. It wouldn‘t be surprising if the matter ends up in the court again.

    The Trai contends that it is not bringing a new regulation; rather it is just implementing an existing one under the CTNR 1994 act. It also affirmed that regulating the duration of ads on television channels is the need of the hour in the interest of the consumers.

    The authority has alleged that most channels are in ‘brazen breach’ of the advertising code contained in the CTNR 1994.

    It has based its action on a report by I&B ministry’s Electronic Media Monitoring Centre (EMMC) that validated the rampant breach of permitted duration of advertisements in an hour by a large number of TV channels.

    Unperturbed by the allegations that it is overstepping the line, the Trai asserts that it has the power to define the term “quality of service” and lay down its standard and ensure its compliance.

    “Therefore, Trai has made these regulations to effectively monitor the duration of advertisement and to ensure that the broadcasters comply with the legislation in this regard,” it said in the notification.

    In order to monitor and ensure compliance of these regulations, broadcasters are now mandated to report the duration of advertisements carried in their channels to the Trai on quarterly basis in a prescribed proforma.

    The authority also warned that it would by order or direction issued from time to time, intervene for the purpose of protecting the interests of the subscribers or for ensuring compliance of the provisions of these regulations.

    The Trai amended the ad regulation following the Tdsat ruling that directed the authority to take stakeholders into confidence before implementing the ad regulation. The Trai issued a consultation paper on 27 August asking all stakeholders to give their responses which was followed by open house discussion.

    During the consultation process, the broadcasters contended that the ad regulation would result in fall in advertisement revenue. It was also mentioned that the restriction on advertisement duration would result in sharp increase in subscription charges.

    Some of the broadcasters suggested that the said regulations should be implemented after the completion of Digital Addressable System (DAS) in December 2014 or it should not be regulated on clock hour basis; instead it should be regulated on an average basis, averaged over a period of 24 hour.

    However, the Trai feels that if the ad duration is calculated on average basis the broadcasters will push more and more advertisements during prime time which attracts the highest number of eyeballs, to fetch higher rates for the commercial time slots.

    Some of the broadcasters were also of the view that sports channels merit different treatment. Live telecasts other than sports should also be treated at par with live sporting events.