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Tag: IBF

  • MIB directs private TV channels to spread Covid awareness

    MIB directs private TV channels to spread Covid awareness

    NEW DELHI: After showing strong signs of flattening the curve, India is again struggling to bring Covid2019 to heel. On 6 April, the country recorded more than 1,15,000 positive cases; a strong indication that the pandemic has returned with a vengeance. 

    Amid the second wave of Covid cases, the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) has written a letter to all private channels, the News Broadcasters Association (NBA), and the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) urging them to disseminate messages for Covid-appropriate behaviour and vaccination of the eligible age groups to generate greater awareness among people. 

    The ministry's advisory sent to private channels cited a meeting under the leadership of prime minister Narendra Modi on 4 April taking stock of the current pandemic situation in India. During the meeting, it was also decided to focus on a five-fold strategy of testing, tracing, treatment, Covid-appropriate behaviour and vaccine roll-out to curb the spread of coronavirus. 

    "It is, therefore, imperative that all stakeholders take forward the communication strategy with a renewed emphasis on Dawai Bhi, Kadai Bhi (medicines and preventive measures)," said the MIB in its letter. 

    The ministry also lauded the leadership role played by private media houses in spreading messages in the public interesinterest.

    ​​​​"Private TV channels have always been at the forefront of spreading important messages in the larger public interest. It is, therefore, requested that private channels may appropriately disseminate messages for Covid-appropriate behaviour and vaccination of the eligible age group so as to create greater awareness among the citizens of the country," stated the advisory. 

  • IBF appointes Star & Disney India’s K. Madhavan as president

    IBF appointes Star & Disney India’s K. Madhavan as president

    Mumbai: At the twenty-first annual general meeting (AGM) of the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), held on 25 September 2020, the Board has elected Star & Disney India’s MD K. Madhavan as the foundation’s new president.

    Madhavan will succeed NP Singh, India MD &   CEO, Sony Pictures Networks, who held the position for two years.

    The IBF Board has also elected the following office bearers of IBF:-

    Vice President-IBF

    ·         India TV chairman Rajat Sharma

    ·         Turner International MD (south Asia) Siddharth Jain

    ·         Viacom18 MD Rahul Joshi

    Treasurer-IBF

    ·         Prasar Bharti CEO Shashi S Vempati 

    K. Madhavan said, “It is my honor to lead IBF at a time when the Indian broadcasting sector is going through a tumultuous time, battling the pandemic and instability in the regulatory space. IBF has played an instrumental role in advocating the interests of the sector, and my predecessors have contributed immensely in evolving the foundation’s stature and purpose. I take on this role with a great sense of responsibility and commitment to champion the cause of the broadcasting sector.”

    N.P Singh said, “I am pleased that someone of the caliber of K. Madhavan is taking over the reins and will lead the foundation. I welcome his selection wholeheartedly. His in-depth knowledge and insights into the sector will help guide the foundation members through these challenging times. I wish him the best in this new endeavor.”

    K. Madhavan has been an active member of IBF since 2012 and is also the chair of CII’s national committee on media and entertainment for the ongoing year. He started his journey with Star in 2009 and took over as the managing director of the network in January 2020.

    The other Directors on the IBF Board are as under:

    ·         TV Today chairman Aroon Purie

    ·         Sony Pictures Networks MD & CEO & director Bangla EnEntertainment N P Singh

    ·         Eenadu TV director I Venkat

    ·         Zee Media Corp MD & CEO Punit Goenka

    ·         Zee Entertainment CEO-domestic broadcast business – Punit Misra

    ·         Sony Pictures Networks president (network sales & international business) Rohit Gupta

    ·         The Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific  president &  chairman, Star and Disney India Uday Shankar

    ·         Discovery Communications India managing director (south Asia) Megha Tata  (co-opted director)

    ·        Malayalam Communications Ltd  managing director & chief editor John Brittas (co-opted director)

  • Bombay HC orders conflicting parties to present submissions on the validity of sec11 of TRAI Act by 31 August

    Bombay HC orders conflicting parties to present submissions on the validity of sec11 of TRAI Act by 31 August

    KOLKATA: Amid the ongoing tussle between the Broadcasters and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India( TRAI) regarding the amended new tariff order (NTO 2.0), the Bombay High Court’s division bench comprising of Justice A A Sayed, Justice Anuja Prabbhudesai heard the case on Thursday. The bench has ordered the parties to submit additional submissions on the validity of section 11 of the TRAI Act by 31 August. 

    The bench will hear the matter finally on 2, 7 and 8 September and will pronounce judgment following the hearings. As per today’s order, regulations will remain in force but no coercive steps can be taken by the regulator. It also added the Indian government is at liberty to file an affidavit on the validity of section 11 if needed. 

    Meanwhile, TRAI in a recent notification directed all broadcasters to comply with the provision of NTO 2.0 by 26 August, substituting the earlier timeline of 10 August as the final judgement on the case was expected on 24 August. The confusion regarding the implementation appears to persist as again the pronouncement of verdict has been postponed to next month. 

    Earlier this year,  the power to issue tariff orders by TRAI was challenged by broadcasters when they filed a writ petition on NTO 2.0 against the authority. “Violation of the mandatory principles of Section 11(4) of the TRAI Act and thus acting in a matter that is inconsistent with the TRAI Act, 1997” – was mentioned as one of the broad grounds of the challenge.

  • Cable operators seek discounted tariffs from pay channels

    Cable operators seek discounted tariffs from pay channels

    MUMBAI: Maharashtra Cable Operators' Foundation (MCOF) has requested Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) to urge its members – the pay channels – to offer discounted pay tariffs, if not waiving them altogether, for a period of four months from 20 April to 20 August.

    The MCOF has primarily cited two reasons for making this request. First, there has been no original content for the past two months. Second is the subscribers’ inability to pay for the channels.

    In a letter addressed to IBF president NP Singh, the MCOF stated that the request is specifically regarding IBF members that operate pay channels with monthly tariff ranging from Rs 10 to Rs 19 for SD feed and variable extra for HD feed.  

    “Our subscribers have been pointing out that all the channels have been recycling programmes for close to two months. Further, no one is in a position to assure as to when fresh programmes will be aired. Same is the case with sports and movie channels, which will be slower in offering fresh content as compared to GECs and other genres,” said the letter.

    MCOF further stated: “The subscribers therefore will either discontinue these channels on their own, or we as the last-mile link will be compelled to do so since MSOs are pressuring us to pay upfront when our subscribers are unable to pay. We therefore believe that it would be in everyone's interests that pay channels offer steeply discounted pay tariffs, if not waive it altogether for a period of four months.”

    The situation, said the MCOF, may be reviewed in mid-July and a suitable call be taken in respect of “GECs as a class distinct from sports and movie channels.” The cable federation expressed hope that this “ethical action” will not only create goodwill with subscribers but also retain customers for the channels to ensure that advertising income does not go down much.

    “We hope that you will appreciate the fact we too will be sacrificing our marketing fee and yet are willing to do so in the interests of the entire value chain. We hope to receive an early revert in mutual interests,” concluded the letter.  

  • MCOF seeks government relief for last-mile cable operators

    MCOF seeks government relief for last-mile cable operators

    MUMBAI: In the wake of the Covid2019 crisis, Maharashtra Cable Operators Foundation (MCOF) has written a letter to the union minister of information and broadcasting Prakash Javadekar submitting its propositions for long-term relief and transformation of the last-mile cable operators. 

    “Like all other businesses, we too are impacted adversely due to lockdown and economic slowdown. In fact, the impact on us is more severe, since our services including broadband have been classified, and as essential services have to be kept operational. Though we are sure that everyone knows the costs and risks of this, the financial squeeze out of failure to collect our legitimate dues may not be known to many,” MCOF president Arvind Prabhoo stated. 

    He also mentioned that they anticipate a cutting down of spend on both services for a couple of forthcoming quarters and a need to restructure the business that involves two sets of much stronger players: broadcasters and MSOs. 

    Here are the excerpts from the charter: 

    ·  The basic service tier of 200 channels priced at Rs 130 has been requested to be exempted from GST

    ·  LCOs  to be registered with the MIB and accorded recognition as a class distinct from MSO with role-specific duties and rights

    ·  LCOs be treated at par with telcos and allocated part of USOF grants for their Internet-related projects

    ·  The fibre networks belonging to LCOS be evaluated and accorded HCPA (Horizontal Connectivity Provider Agency) status for e-governance and telecom expansion purposes.

    ·  Future-oriented training modules be designed and imparted to cable network executives under the National Skilling Mission.  

    MCOF’s letter to IBF

    Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) also recently wrote a letter to the Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar seeking an economic relief and rehabilitation package. While IBF has made 18 requests, Maharashtra Cable Operators Foundation (MCOF) also sought specific benefits for the last-mile operators.

    “It is very unfortunate that the media business has grown without interactions, leaving aside integration across the value chain. Current business and resource emergencies provide all of us a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to rectify all past mistakes and redraw roadmaps for mutual benefits. It is with these views and a sincere desire to ensure not only survival but also growth for all that we are writing this letter to you,” Prabhoo stated. 

    He added that they believe with in view of the power of the media, there is a considerable possibility of most of the 18 point charter of propositions being accepted.

    “We write as the players from the most critical last-mile deliveries which are no less important than the content itself. We do hope that IBF has not taken “I, me, and myself” approach but has considered needs of the entire value chain,”

    He added that they are sure that they too are suffering no less than broadcasters and also rendering services at high costs and risks. Hence, the association has asked to know specific benefits that they may expect to trickle down to them and enable them to keep the services flowing. 

    “We need not impress upon you the fact that without roots no tree can survive and all benefits you may extract would become infructuous if the 60 per cent+ market serviced by LCOS disappears. We have held back submitting our requests cum demands to minimise conflicts and cut short response time for the authorities,” the letter added.

    However, the association is yet to hear from the MIB or IBF. 

  • IBF seeks economic relief, rehabilitation package for the broadcast sector

    IBF seeks economic relief, rehabilitation package for the broadcast sector

    MUMBAI:  The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) has sought government’s support to deal with the economic crises in the television broadcast sector as a fallout of the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.
     
    In its letter to information and broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar, IBF has made the following requests:
     
    1.      Regulatory moratorium for the sector for at least next 18 months.
    2.      Phased resumption of production activities.
    3.      Extension of moratorium period for GST payment.
    4.      Mandating digital payments of subscription and advertising dues to broadcasters.
    5.      Advisory to DPOs in respect of release of payment of subscription fees for the period upto Feb 29 2020
    6.      Waiver of processing fee and temporary live uplinking fee for live sporting events for a period of one year from the resumption of normal business activities.
    7.      Increase in time period of one year to two years for operationalization of new channels which have been granted permission.
    8.      Suspension of requirement of Performance Bank Guarantees in respect of channels sought to be launched for a period of one year.
    9.      Waiver of Carriage Fee due to Prasar Bharati for three months (April, May and June) for FTA channels on Prasar Bharati’s Free Dish Platform.
    10.  Deferment of payment due to Prasar Bharati for Free Dish carriage by 31 March 2020 be deferred until July 2020.
    11.  All pending refunds even exceeding Rs 5 lakh should be urgently processed.
    12.  The 1st instalment of advance tax (due on 15 June 2020) should be done away with and taxpayers be allowed to pay the 2nd instalment (due on 15 September 2020) directly without any interest liability
    13.  The due date for deposit of TDS for the months of March and April 2020 should be extended to 31 May 2020 without any interest liability.
    14.  Extension /waiver of permission for FX payments for foreign satellite transponder hiring.
    15.  Lower rate of TDS from 10 per cent to two per cent on subscription revenues
    16.  Payment of stamp duty on agreements should be deferred upto expiry of ninety (90) days’ from the date of lifting of nation-wide lockdown.
    17.  Allow discharge of GST reverse charge obligation through GST input credit rather than paying in cash.
    18.  Extend all existing stay of income tax demand for next 6 months without any new hearing.
    IBF president N P Singh said: “The outbreak of the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown have posed several challenges for the Television Broadcast Sector.  With complete cessation of production of television shows, cancellations of live sporting events and scheduled advertisements, advertisement bookings nosediving by 50 per cent; delays in payments by advertising agencies/advertisers and distribution platform operators, the Broadcast sector is facing the brunt of the slowdown”.
     
    “Moreover, while we welcome the compliance and statutory relaxations granted by the Government in its latest notification of 15 April, the Broadcast Sector is seeking a stimulus package  from the Government in the form of economic relief and regulatory flexibility so that all Broadcasters especially the smaller businesses can be helped to get back on track. IBF has also requested the government for reduction in GST rate on Digital services (B2C), automatic refund of input credit and immediate processing and issuance of Lower withholding order (LTDS)”.
     
    IBF suggests that the broadcasting business has been hit both on the demand and supply side which has not only led to cash flow problems but has also resulted in existential crisis for many of IBF’s members. IBF members’ cash flow difficulties are further compounded because payments from Bureau of Outreach & Communication (BOC) and other State Government Advertising Agencies/Advertisers running in several hundreds of crores have not been received and IBF has sought MIB’s intervention in expediting these payments. 
     
    The government has notified “Print and Electronic Media including broadcasting, DTH and cable services” as one of the “Essential Services” during the lockdown period.  However, with employees unable to go to work because of commute restrictions and production schedules halted for programming across the sector, providing uninterrupted entertainment and news to the viewers is posing a challenge to broadcasters. 
     
    “IBF has submitted a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on prevention/safety measures for organized, safe and sustainable re-start of Content Production, Media Operations, Transmission and General Office Operations in the TV Broadcast Sector to the PMO, Niti Aayog and MIB” said Singh.  He added “the SOP will help the sector to move quickly towards normalcy and we certainly hope that the Government would consider it favourably”. 
     
    The directions of the ministry of home affairs (MHA) has not percolated to the district-level officers, as a result, the employees involved in the day-to-today operations of the broadcasting industry are facing problems in commuting to their work place. This needs to be urgently looked at by the respective state governments to ease out the operations after strictly following the Standard Operating Procedures as envisaged in the IBF submission to the government and also other stringent measures undertaken by the central and state governments, said the release. 

  • IBF will resist any move to undercut ad revenue from govt & PSUs

    IBF will resist any move to undercut ad revenue from govt & PSUs

    MUMBAI: The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), the apex body of broadcasters, has said that it will resist any move by the government to undercut ad revenue from PSUs. This comes after Congress chairperson Sonia Gandhi gave a call to the prime minister to put an end to all advertisements by the various state governments and PSUs for a period of two years.

    In a release, the IBF said that it stands indomitably with the government of India in its fight against the COVID -19 outbreak. Broadcasters, voluntarily seizing the initiative, have been advising, educating and informing the public of the various measures taken by the government of India to fight the pandemic and urging them to stay home and safe.

    “Like other sectors which have been economically impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak, the media and broadcasting industry cannot claim immunity. In these testing times, any decision by the government to curtail budgetary allocation to advertisements carried out by various channels in lieu of government advertising will sound the death knell for the sector and particularly so, for the regional and smaller channels whose overwhelming dependence on government ads cannot be both overstated and undermined. With the closure of cinemas, the complete cessation of production of films and television shows, cancellations of live sporting events and scheduled advertisements and delays in payments by advertising agencies and distribution platform operators, the M&E sector is already facing the brunt of the slowdown. Advertisement bookings have nosedived by 50 per cent,” said the release.

    IBF further says that in such a scenario, it will resist any such move by the government to undercut revenue for government advertising as many of its member channels will lose substantial revenues and will be compelled to shut down resulting in massive job losses. “At this critical moment when the nation stands united to deal with the aftermath of COVID-19 outbreak, we request all parties to give a thought for the media sector which is known for its neutrality and objectivity.  A lot of government ads relate to social messages concerning health, education, etc.  TV still remains the primary mode of disseminating these messages to the citizens of India and stopping these ads is not in public interest,” it added.

  • Sony Pal, Star Utsav, Zee Anmol, Colors Rishtey free to viewers for two months

    Sony Pal, Star Utsav, Zee Anmol, Colors Rishtey free to viewers for two months

    MUMBAI:  Four leading broadcasters have come forward to waive off all tariffs and charges for a period of two months, informed the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF). Sony Pal, Star Utsav, Zee Anmol and Colors Rishtey will be available to all the viewers.

    IBF says, "While the constituents of the IBF face significant uncertainties, given the impact on advertising revenue for the industry due to the COVID-19 outbreak, we stand together to support the government’s effort to help people in these difficult times. As there is a state of lockdown in the country and the government has urged the people to maintain 'social distancing' and stay at home, four major broadcasting networks have come forward and decided to waive off all tariffs and charges for four channels for a period of two months." 

    Sony-run Sony Pal, Star India-run Star Utsav, Zee TV-operated Zee Anmol and Viacom18’s Colors Rishtey will be available to all viewers across the country for a period of two months free of charge on all DTH and cable networks.The broadcasting fraternity feels that this will provide people who are restricted to their homes, wholesome entertainment and invigorating content and will help provide relief during the period of lockdown.  

  • Sun TV’s petition against NTO 2.0 adjourned for three weeks

    Sun TV’s petition against NTO 2.0 adjourned for three weeks

    MUMBAI: While Sun TV Network had challenged the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) recent amendments to the New Tariff Order (NTO 2.0) in the Madras High Court in January , the ongoing matter has been adjourned by three weeks.

    The matter has been adjourned automatically by the Chief Justice as only urgent matters will be taken up under the current circumstances.

    “There was absolutely no material available either scientifically or legally assessed that could support the introduction of the tariff,” the petition said. The broadcaster also said that the regulatory body had amended NTO without consulting the broadcasters.

    The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) also filed a writ petition against the regulatory body seeking a stay on the implementation of the recent amendments to the New Tariff Order in the Bombay High Court. However, the verdict is still awaited.

     

  • Bombay High Court reserves judgement in new tariff order amendment case

    Bombay High Court reserves judgement in new tariff order amendment case

    MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has reserved the judgment in the case of the new tariff order amendments (NTO 2.0) as the hearing got over on Thursday. While the ambiguity still continues in the ecosystem, the court is expected to pronounce the judgment in a couple of days.

    According to sources close to the development, Telecom regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) cited the judgment by Justice Nariman of Supreme Court delivered in 2018 and judgment of Delhi HC from 2007 to support that it has full right to regulate broadcasters. It alleged that regulating bouquet formation and discounts is important because broadcasters use the same to push unwanted channels to consumers and are only interested in increasing their advertisement revenue.

    On the other hand, broadcasters argued that bouquets help to make large number of channels cheaper for consumers and also attempted to prove that due to competition from streaming services and telcos, regulation for broadcast TV ought to be reduced. As LCOs filed an independent writ petition asking for stay, they also argued that any attempt by TRAI to bring down NCF will kill their business.

    Meanwhile, Kerela HC hearing a matter from MSOs protesting against an effort to reduce NCF has also reserved its order and will pronounce it soon.

    As none of the high courts pronounced any clear order on interim relief, the amended regime came into play from 1 March. Among the DPOs, Tata Sky, Airtel, Dish TV, Siti Cable and IMCL have implemented NTO 2.0 and reduced their NCF.