ITV

Tag: I&B

  • DAS Phase II: Analogue signals switched-off in 5 states

    DAS Phase II: Analogue signals switched-off in 5 states

    NEW DELHI: Analogue signals have been completely switched-off in five states of Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh, according to information provided by nodal officers to the Information & Broadcasting (I&B) ministry.

    The ministry said it is in constant touch with the Nodal Officers and MSOs to ensure that the cities in remaining states also speed up the process of digitisation.

    However, analogue signal continues un-interrupted in the eight cities of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Gujarat that are covered under DAS Phase II as the respective High Courts have passed orders against switching off analogue signals.

    In addition, stay continues in Chennai which was part of the DAS Phase I covering four metros which also included Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata.

    Sharing the latest figures about DAS implementation in 38 cities covered under Phase II, the ministry claims that over 85 per cent digitisation have been achieved so far.

    Out of the 38 cities, fifteen cities have achieved nearly 100 per cent digitisation, 24 cities in all have achieved more than 75 per cent digitisation, and 34 cities have achieved more than 50 per cent digitisation.

    The review by I&B ministry also reveals that as against a target of 16 million STBs, 13.6 million have already been installed by the MSOs and DTH operators.

    Of these, the total number of installed Cable TV STBs is 9.15 million while DTH operators have installed a total of 4.45 million STBs. In the last one month alone about four million STBs have been installed in the Phase II cities.

    The I&B ministry has meanwhile cautioned multi-system operators (MSOs) to implement digitisation in a ‘sensitive manner‘ so as to avoid causing inconvenience to consumers.

    The ministry stated that the objective of the entire exercise is to implement the process in a seamless, sustained yet sensitive manner that causes least amount of disruption to the consumer.

    Wherever necessary the process has been implemented in a circumspect way so as to ensure that consumers can get access to STBs, I&B ministry said.

    Separately, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has also been convening the meeting of broadcasters, MSOs and cable operators to sort out issues pertaining to agreements and service conditions.

    The ministry said that digitisation would usher in a new era in broadcasting sector reforms by bringing more transparency in the subscriber base and would lead to several benefits for stakeholders including government.

    It would bring in enhanced revenue by way of improved tax recovery for government, enhanced TV viewing experience due to digital picture quality and multiple choices of channels to subscribers and improved subscription revenue for broadcasters and cable industry.

    The ministry has also assured cable operators that digital addressable system (DAS) will provide them an opportunity to provide competitive services to their subscribers and help them retain their business in the wake of competition from DTH and other platforms.

  • I&B secretary calls for creating indigenous TV ratings system

    MUMBAI: Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Secretary Uday Kumar Varma has called for development of an indigenous television ratings system for the India broadcasting sector.

    During the keynote speech at BES Expo in New Delhi, Varma said the current ratings system lacks accuracy and is inadequate for a huge country like India.

    TAM Media Research, a joint-venture between Nielsen and Kantar Media, is India‘s sole TV audience measurement agency. It has been under fire from broadcasters who have called for a more corrective, accurate and transparent ratings system under the aegis of Broadcasters Audience Research Council (Barc).

    “Why is it that we have to import a system which each one of us know is far from accurate and perfect,” Varma told the gathering at BES Expo in the presence of I&B minister Manish Tewari and National Knowledge Commission chairman Sam Pitroda.

    Varma added, “I do know that since it is not a direct concern of the government we are not paying attention to this but it is time that we pay attention to this particular dimension — why is it that in a country like ours with a population of billion plus, we are not able to develop our own indigenous and unique system of TV viewing system.”

    Varma is having the support of Multi Screen Media CEO and Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) president Man Jit Singh. Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Singh expressed concurrence with Varma’s views of the need to have an indigenous ratings system.

    “I agree with Mr Varma’s observation that we should have an indigenous ratings system. In fact, Barc is an indigenous ratings system. The sampling, equipments, and technology will be indigenous. The measurement meters can be sourced from any country,” says Singh.

    It is pertinent to note here that Broadcasters Audience Research Council (Barc), a joint venture of IBF, Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), and Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA), has started the process of creating a new measurement system. It issued a global Request for Information (RFI) on state-of-the-art ratings systems last month and would be following it up with a Request for Proposal.

    Making a case for government intervention in TV viewership measurement, Varma said TRP impacts the government since it has a presence in television broadcasting through public broadcaster Doordarshan which is not getting a fair deal from the existing set-up.

    “Ordinarily, the government should not be concerned about it (TV viewership measurement) because it is a service for which there is a demand and there is somebody who is supplying it,” he said.

    “So if the broadcasting was only in the private sector, we need not be worried except on the ground of public interest. If TRP becomes a reason for deterioration of content I think there is a legitimate ground for the government to intervene.”

    He also said that government intervention becomes inevitable if the ratings system becomes a cause for degradation in content that comes on television.

    “In this case we not only have this ground but also the fact that we have a substantial public broadcaster who may not be getting a fair deal from the existing measurement system of television viewing It is certainly a concern where the government has to intervene,” Varma averred.

    Varma also wondered how 8,000 homes can capture viewership trends for a country of the size of India with a billion plus population and close to 150 million television homes.

    “The issue is that how is it that the whole measurement system is being created by just a set of 8,000 or 9,000 peoplemeters. As a lay man, I am quite concerned about it. Is this really the only possible technology to measure the TV viewing of the people?” he questioned.

    Varma said the issue of TV viewership measurement requires urgent attention and it was imperative to look for alternative.

    “I really do not know whether there have been any discussions on this count anywhere but this extremely important issue needs our attention. Is peoplemeters the instrument to measure TV viewing or are there alternatives available.”

  • I&B sees need to regulate local cable TV channels, seeks Trai’s views

    I&B sees need to regulate local cable TV channels, seeks Trai’s views

    MUMBAI: Alarmed by the mushrooming of cable channels, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) has sought the recommendations of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) regarding issues relating to transmission of local channels or ground based channels operated at the level of cable TV operator/MSOs.

    In its reference to Trai, the MIB has sought to know whether there was a need to put in place a comprehensive set of provisions for local channels which would cover issues related to registration mechanism, including eligibility requirements, fee, terms and conditions to be provided for such channels, including the definition of local or ground based channels and their area of operation.

    In the reference to Trai, MIB has also sought its views with regard to the issue of transmission of local channels at local cable operator level in Digital Addressable System (DAS) regime.

    Trai in its recommendations dated 25 July, 2008 had recommended that Local Channel Operators (LCOs) shall be permitted to transmit their ground based channels.

    However, in the current DAS regime only digital addressable signals can be carried out on the cable network which is generated at the MSO head end.

    The Ministry in its reference has also requested Trai to state whether there was a case for putting a cap on the total number of ground based channels operated by a single MSO/cable operator.

    Trai has also been requested to examine whether there was a need to prescribe separate eligibility criteria for cable operators transmitting local news and current affairs channels at their level.

    Specific recommendations have been sought with regard to eligibility criteria, terms and conditions including foreign investment levels, net worth criteria and requirement of security clearance etc. for such channels.
     
    The need for putting in place a regulatory framework for local channels being operated at the level of cable TV operators has been engaging attention of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for quite some time.

    This has assumed a greater significance in view of the digitisation of cable TV sector being implemented in the entire country in a phased time bound manner. Presently, Cable TV operators/MSOs are transmitting local news, videos and other locally developed content as separate televisions channels in addition to satellite TV channels obtained from broadcasters.

    These channels, popularly known as local channels, are presently not subject to a regulatory framework unlike private satellite TV channels permitted under the uplinking/downlinking guidelines of the Ministry. As a result, local channels continue to mushroom all over the country without having registration /license.

    Since the area/jurisdiction within which the programme generated at the level of cable operators can be transmitted has not been defined in the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, it is possible for Local Cable Operators (LCOs)/Multi System Operators (MSOs) operating at the local levels to broadcast local channels over a larger geographical area i.e at Regional/State/National level by transmitting the same content over their entire network.

    Instances have been brought to the notice of the Ministry that some cable operators are also venturing into transmission of local channels over wider geographical area which includes inter-state and intra state transmission by sharing the same content with others on their network. In such a scenario, local channels are basically operating as State/Regional/National channels like permitted private satellite TV channels without getting any permission.

    The intent of allowing cable operators to generate and transmit local programme is to keep the local people informed of relevant local issues. However this intent is not fulfilled when LCOs and MSOs start networking of the content to cover a larger geographical area. Given the present state of technological advancement, the tendency to network content at a larger geographical area has gained strength, the MIB said in a statement.

  • Govt serious on tracking down illegal channels, teleport ops to submit monthly reports to I&B

    Govt serious on tracking down illegal channels, teleport ops to submit monthly reports to I&B

    NEW DELHI: The Indian government is getting serious on tracking down illegal transmission of television channels. In an attempt to step up monitoring of the channels being downlinked to the viewers, all teleports operating in the country have been directed by the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry to submit every month the list of channels being uplinked by them.

    The teleports have to report the details of the channels they uplink latest by the 15th of every month. The directive for all teleports comes into effect with immediate effect, and the first list of channels uplinked or downlinked has to be submitted by 15 January.

    I&B Ministry sources told Indiantelevision.com that the monthly reporting to it will bring greater transparency and also help check uplinking of unlicensed or illegal channels.

    A teleport or a telecommunications port is a satellite ground station connecting a satellite network with a terrestrial network.

    According to the ministry directive, the teleports are to supply information about the name of the teleport operator, the STV licence number, the satellite being used, the names of all TV channels, names of the companies which own the TV channels, date of start of uplink, and current operational status.

    The teleports were hitherto sending this information every month to the Network Operations Control Centre (NOCC) under the Communications ministry.

    "It is less than a year that we started reporting to the NOCC. Now the I&B ministry also wants us to report to them. The government feels that this is a better way to filter out those unlicensed channels who get distributed in India. We have no problems providing such details," said a senior executive at Essel Shyam Communication, a leading teleport operator in India.

  • Film Federation of India withdraws decision to boycott IFFI 2012

    Film Federation of India withdraws decision to boycott IFFI 2012

    NEW DELHI: The Film Federation of India, the apex body of the film industry, has decided to cooperate in the organisation of the International Film Festival of India in Goa in November following assurances by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry that there was no intention to keep out FFI from the organisation of the Festival.

    In fact, I&B Joint Secretary (Films) Raghavendra Singh met delegations of the FFI twice in this regard and has also assured them that he will meet them in Mumbai on 5 November for sorting out any thorny issues.

    Early in September, the FFI had decided to boycott all activities of the IFFI to protest its being by-passed and not being called to any meeting of the Steering and other Committees.

    FFI president Vinod Lamba told indiantelevision.com that they were told of the Industry Coordination Committee meeting as late as August-end by which time some major discussions that are normally taken at this meeting had already been taken by the Directorate of Film Festivals and the IFFI Secretariat.

    FFI has always been an essential component of the Steering Committee and its members actively involved in various other committees and sub-committees such as Theatre, Technical, Hospitality and others. But this has not happened in recent years. “FFI can only assume that either the committees have been discontinued or FFI has been kept out of them,” Lamba said.

    The IFFI by its very tenets is a festival held jointly by the Government and the Indian Film Industry, and the Film Federation of India being the apex body of the industry has been “playing their part with total sincerity and efficiency”.

    In 2011, the time honoured tradition of the Vote of Thanks being delivered by the FFI President at the IFFI opening had been done away with at the level of the DFF with no proper and timely information being conveyed formally to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry or FFI, Lamba said.

    “While this callous misadventure may appear to have been nipped in the bud and status quo restored, the deliberate mishandling of affairs at the Inauguration event itself conveyed a greater affront to the persona and position of the FFI President, prompting the then Minister (Mrs Ambika Soni) herself to rush on stage to take corrective action,” Lamba added.

  • I&B frowns on news channels showing adult film content

    I&B frowns on news channels showing adult film content

    NEW DELHI: The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has asked news and current affairs channels not to show as part of news any clips from feature films that violate the Programme Code prescribed under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) 1995.

    In an advisory issued by the Ministry, it took note of the fact that certain news channels were showing film clips not suitable for unrestricted public exhibition.

    It has been pointed out by the Ministry that Rule Six of the Cable Rules 1994 are clear that no programme or film scenes that are not suitable for unrestricted exhibition or have been certified by the Central Board of Film Certification as suitable for unrestricted exhibition will be shown.

    Furthermore, the Programme Code also makes this amply clear, the Ministry said in the advisory issued under Section 20 of the Act.

  • I&B calls AAAI, ISA for meet on 4 Sept over TV ratings issue

    NEW DELHI: The pressure on TAM Media Research, India‘s sole television ratings provider, is just not easing. The Information & Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry has decided to act in response to the NDTV lawsuit against the corrupt television ratings and the demand by News Broadcasters Association (NBA) for its intervention.

    After reportedly asking television ratings provider TAM Media Research and its 50 per cent owner Nielsen to submit a report on the status of the plans to make the ratings system robust, the ministry has convened a meeting with the Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI) and Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) on Tuesday, 4 September.

    The meeting with AAAI and ISA is being held amid raging controversy over the credibility of television viewership ratings, after NDTV (New Delhi Television Ltd) filed a lawsuit in New York against TAM, its owners Nielsen and WPP and their officials.

    The meeting is also happening in the backdrop of a delay in operationalising the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), which is to be jointly set up by Indian Broadcasting Foundation, AAAI and ISA.

    Sources close to the I&B ministry have confirmed to Indiantelevision.com that the meeting has been scheduled on Tuesday.

    According to a media report, the government has given to TAM 10 days and Nielsen two weeks to reply. The report said the government has also sought information from TAM and Nielsen on generation of viewership data from towns with less than 1 lakh of population and from north-east states and Jammu & Kashmir.

    “This has gone too far,” said the CEO of a media agency, suggesting that the meeting is a fallout of the war of words between WPP and NDTV.

    Leo Burnett chairman of India Subcontinent Arvind Sharma declined to talk on the meeting but referring to the media report said, “I can‘t blame the government for being concerned over what all is happening in media. The long term solution is that via the three players – AAAI, ISA and IBF – creation of BARC should be speeded up. One has to understand that there has to be a reliable, transparent medium. What government wants is similar to what we want and there isn‘t any contradiction.”

    Sharma said TAM has been giving AAAI and ISA progress reports since their meeting on 16 August. During the meeting, TAM had outlined a six-point action plan that included appointment of a security officer and a security agency, expansion in the number of homes with peoplemeters in the six top metros, an industry review of the viewership research processes, independent audit of outlier homes, faster rotation of the peoplemeter homes and setting up of an internal audit team.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Star India CEO Uday Shankar said: “I am glad that I&B Ministry has asked TAM to explain but how do we know that how many boxes are functional? There is no system of public audit. How do we know that the data which is collected has no uncertainty in that?”

    Shankar further said, “TAM is clouded in secrecy and according to me anything that isn‘t transparent and is under secrecy is subject to distortion and corruption.”

  • Al Jazeera, France 24 get I&B nod to beam in India

    Al Jazeera, France 24 get I&B nod to beam in India

     MUMBAI: Al Jazeera and France 24 have finally got approval to beam their English language channels in India.

    The Information and Broadcasting Ministry granted the downlink licence last week, paving the way for the cable and satellite companies in India to add these channels to their lineup.

    For Al Jazeera, it has been a four-year wait. The India feed will allow Indian audiences to view the channel that is known for a slant to news that is different from the western style of presentation.

    “This is an exciting breakthrough that has been in the works for several years, and we are extremely pleased that Al Jazeera English‘s groundbreaking news and programming will soon be available in India,” Al Jazeera English MD Al Anstey said.

    Al Jazeera had applied for government approval way back in 2006.  
         
      “We know there is a great demand for our content. Through our dedicated resources in India, Al Jazeera is already presenting important stories from India to our global audience in more than 100 countries,” said Anstey.

    The company is expecting to reach to over 115 million households in India. “With the prospect of reaching an estimated 115 million households in India, this important market will be significant as we continue to expand our global reach,” India region distribution head Diana Hosker said.

    Al Jazeera English currently has a bureau in New Delhi, headed by Anmol Saxena.

    Saxena said, “With India‘s increasing engagement in world affairs and strong interest in international events, we are certain that Al Jazeera English will have a substantial following throughout the country.”

    Al Jazeera English was launched in 2006 and today has 65 news bureaus around the world. The channel has over 1,000 employees worldwide, representing more than 50 nationalities. The channel is currently available in over 100 countries, reaching more than 220 million households around the world.

    As for France 24, it will broadcast in English in India. Primarily broadcast in Europe from December 2006, France 24 is broadcast across the world round-the-clock with the same content in French, English and Arabic.
     
     

  • I&B officials to meet news broadcasters on 10 December

    I&B officials to meet news broadcasters on 10 December

    NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting officials will be meeting news broadcasters tomorrow in the afternoon to discuss the way the television media has covered the Mumbai terror attack.

    Speaking to indiantelevision.com, a senior official of the I&B Ministry said, “We will be meeting representatives from the television news channels tomorrow to discuss about how the Mumbai terror attack was covered by them.”

    Earlier the Ministry had issued issued advisories and an oral warning to the Indian Broadcasting Federation (IBF) expressing concern over some parts of the coverage. The MIB asked all the private news channels to exercise restraint while airing news related to Mumbai terror attacks and the subsequent developments.

    The advisories were sent to the channels to ask them to be a bit more considerate in their coverage of the incident, despite all of them showing a lot responsibility.

    The Ministry had issued show cause notices to India TV for airing a telephonic conversation with two terrorists involved in the terror attack and to Aaj Tak for creating public panic.

    Meanwhile, the ministry is also working towards tightening laws governing cable television broadcast, for which it is planning to introduce changes in Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995.

  • I&B issues notice to Aaj Tak on Mumbai terror coverage

    I&B issues notice to Aaj Tak on Mumbai terror coverage

    NEW DELHI: Even as news broadcasters are still to react on advisories issued earlier this week on the continual coverage of the terrorist attack in Mumbai, notice has now been sent to the Aaj Tak to the effect that the channel’s coverage was creating public panic.

    According to the notice, which is presently being considered by the management of Aaj Tak, the channel has been accused of acting in a manner that may affect ’the integrity of the country’. Sources in the channel confirmed receipt of the notice, but refused to say anything else.

    News broadcasters seem divided on their reaction to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry’s advisory to all news channels not to carry on with the coverage of the Mumbai attacks by showing the same clips which were now several days old and which only created panic.

    As of now, the News Broadcasters Association have failed to send any reply to the Ministry’s advisory and a meeting slated for this purpose yesterday did not take place. While some channels feel that this is necessary to report fresh news breaks, others feel a confrontation with the Government on this issue should be avoided.

    In its advisory, the Ministry said: “Repeated visuals and stories pertaining to the attack, which would make the perpetrators feel their attack was a ‘success’, should, therefore, now be avoided.”

    It further said if the ‘unbalanced reporting’ by TV channels continued, “it may be treated as coverage against the interest of the nation in the circumstances and attract appropriate action as per rules and as per terms and conditions of the permission granted for uplinking and downlinking of TV channels in India.”

    The advisory said that television news channels were devoting almost 100 per cent news coverage time to “replay the attack, general criticism, display of shocked public reaction, eyewitness accounts, multimedia reconstruction of the attack, display of blood and gore’ and appeared to be ignoring all other news of national and international significance.”

    Meanwhile, Rajat Sharma of India TV told indiantelevision.com he was not free to discuss the reply sent by his channel early this month to a notice received from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry late last month.

    The Ministry is understood to have objected to the telecast soon after the attack commenced of the telephonic conversation with two terrorists hiding in the Nariman House and Oberoi-Trident.