ITV

Tag: LCO

  • Delay in Phase III monetisation likely to disturb profitability of MSOs: ICRA

    Delay in Phase III monetisation likely to disturb profitability of MSOs: ICRA

    MUMBAI: In the cable TV space, in the current fiscal the revenue growth of multiple system operators (MSOs) will remain sensitive to regulatory changes, says ICRA. While lifting of stay orders and consequent discontinuation of analog signals in Phase III markets will remain a key subscription revenue growth driver, any extension with respect to Phase IV deadline (beyond December 31, 2016) will impact the activation revenues.

    With an estimated population of over 60 million households in Phase IV markets, cable TV players do not anticipate any extension in Phase IV deadline. However, the implementation is expected to be along the experience of Phase III, with analog signals being discontinued in a phased manner. Of the analog population in Phase III and Phase IV markets, residual analog subscriber base amongst the top three MSOs stood at ~9.5 million subscribers only (as on March 31, 2016), against a total analog population of over 6 0 million in the country, indicating healthy growth opportunities for DTH operators and regional MSOs. In this direction, DTH operators have introduced lower priced vanilla STBs and channel packages to tap the opportunity in Phase IV markets; however, DD Free Dish is also expected to emerge as a key player in Phase IV, given the price sensitive nature of subscribers.

    “Over the last few years, market leaders in the cable TV space have adopted an inorganic growth strategy for entering new geographies and increasing their subscriber universe, consolidation in the cable TV space is expected to continue as MSOs look at further strengthening their market position in their respective geographies,” says ICRA Ratings SR GVP Subrata Ray.

    While the overall placement revenues are expected to remain buoyant, driven by new channel launches and the inclusion of tier II and tier III markets in audience measurement metrics; some correction on account of the change in the nature of content deals (net of placement revenues) with larger broadcasting networks is anticipated. While the subject of discontinuation of analog signals in Phase III markets remains under litigation, monetisation of the Phase III markets is expected to get deferred by nearly a year before the benefits of the healthy STB seeding, achieved in Phase III markets, start percolating.

    “In view of the potential delays in Phase III monetisation, ability of the MSOs to improve cost efficiencies and ARPUs from Phase I and Phase II markets remains crucial to support the profitability metrics in the current fiscal,” says Ray.

    During this transition phase, the cash accruals of MSOs are expected to improve gradually as incremental capex requirements are likely to remain low.

    “The capex outlay of MSOs over the medium term will be driven towards achieving higher broadband penetration in identified markets; investments in LCO management and improving penetration of value-added services such as HD channels and Video-on-Demand in digitised markets. In addition, replacement capex for STBs seeded in Phase I and Phase II markets will also drive the investment requirements of MSOs over the medium term,” adds Ray.

  • MSOs to display details of nodal officers on their websites and inform linked LCOs

    MSOs to display details of nodal officers on their websites and inform linked LCOs

    NEW DELHI: All multi system operators have been directed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to display details of their nodal officers on their website, to ensure smoother coordination..

    In a letter, TRAI also asked the MSOs to inform their linked local cable operators for ease of business and to reduce disputes.

    The Telecommunication (Broadcasting and cable services) Interconnection (Digital Addressable Cable Television Systems) Regulations 2012 requires that no Multi System Operator shall make available signals of TV channels to any linked local cable operator without entering into a written interconnection agreement. Further it also requires that each & every transaction between the MSO & its linked LCOs must be in writing.

    The Communications and Information Technlogy Ministry saud in a press note that it had been brought to the notice of TRAI that the authorized representatives or nodal persons of MSOs are either inaccessible. Furthermore, they sometimes issue hand written transaction notes to LCOs without any specific authorization and company seal / stamp which is not in line with the regulations in this regard.

    These practices also give rise to disputes as LCOs are not sure whether the contact person is authorized by respective MSO or not.

    All MSOs have been directed to declare their nodal officers, who must be easily accessible to LCOs, physically as well as through Email/ mobile, so that they can interact with each other and resolve their issues in time bound manner.

  • MSOs to display details of nodal officers on their websites and inform linked LCOs

    MSOs to display details of nodal officers on their websites and inform linked LCOs

    NEW DELHI: All multi system operators have been directed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to display details of their nodal officers on their website, to ensure smoother coordination..

    In a letter, TRAI also asked the MSOs to inform their linked local cable operators for ease of business and to reduce disputes.

    The Telecommunication (Broadcasting and cable services) Interconnection (Digital Addressable Cable Television Systems) Regulations 2012 requires that no Multi System Operator shall make available signals of TV channels to any linked local cable operator without entering into a written interconnection agreement. Further it also requires that each & every transaction between the MSO & its linked LCOs must be in writing.

    The Communications and Information Technlogy Ministry saud in a press note that it had been brought to the notice of TRAI that the authorized representatives or nodal persons of MSOs are either inaccessible. Furthermore, they sometimes issue hand written transaction notes to LCOs without any specific authorization and company seal / stamp which is not in line with the regulations in this regard.

    These practices also give rise to disputes as LCOs are not sure whether the contact person is authorized by respective MSO or not.

    All MSOs have been directed to declare their nodal officers, who must be easily accessible to LCOs, physically as well as through Email/ mobile, so that they can interact with each other and resolve their issues in time bound manner.

  • DAS: No. of MSOs rises to 877, one permanent licensee made provisional

    DAS: No. of MSOs rises to 877, one permanent licensee made provisional

    NEW DELHI: Even as the total number of multi-system operators has risen to 877 including 647 getting provisional licences as the country approaches the deadline for the final phase of the digital addressable system, the number of permanent licensees (up to ten years) has fallen by one to 230.

    Star Broadband Services (India) Pvt Ltd, which earlier had a permanent licence for distributing signals in Delhi, has now been given a provisional licence on its application for pan India distribution. Thus, the number of MSOs has risen by 37 since the last list of 29 April had put the number at 840.

    The Information and Broadcasting Ministry had cancelled the licences of 26 MSOs and closed their cases by 12 January. Ministry sources told indiantelevision.com that the latest reduction in the permanent list could not be deemed as a cancellation since the MSO had come on the provisional list.

    According to the latest list, the area of operation of two MSOs has been revised after 29 April. Unlike the last list, two MSOs – Whitefield Communication and Star Broadband Services – have been given pan-India licences. The new registrations include the states of, or specific districts in, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhatisgarh, Punjab, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh.

    In an indication of the emphasis on reaching signals in border areas, three MSOs in Jammu and Kashmir and one in Tripura have also received provisional licences since the last list.

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

    Hathway CCN Entertainment (India) Pvt. Ltd which is a joint venture with Hathway and Siti Cable is among the new recipients, for Chhatisgarh. Hathway CCN recently set up a digital headend to offer a wide array of digital services and channels. The MSO is offering 48 HD channels for its digital cable TV subscribers in the state. Siti’s newly acquired company Bargachh Digital Communication, in which it has 51 percent stake, has also received registration for six districts of Andhra Pradesh.

  • DAS: No. of MSOs rises to 877, one permanent licensee made provisional

    DAS: No. of MSOs rises to 877, one permanent licensee made provisional

    NEW DELHI: Even as the total number of multi-system operators has risen to 877 including 647 getting provisional licences as the country approaches the deadline for the final phase of the digital addressable system, the number of permanent licensees (up to ten years) has fallen by one to 230.

    Star Broadband Services (India) Pvt Ltd, which earlier had a permanent licence for distributing signals in Delhi, has now been given a provisional licence on its application for pan India distribution. Thus, the number of MSOs has risen by 37 since the last list of 29 April had put the number at 840.

    The Information and Broadcasting Ministry had cancelled the licences of 26 MSOs and closed their cases by 12 January. Ministry sources told indiantelevision.com that the latest reduction in the permanent list could not be deemed as a cancellation since the MSO had come on the provisional list.

    According to the latest list, the area of operation of two MSOs has been revised after 29 April. Unlike the last list, two MSOs – Whitefield Communication and Star Broadband Services – have been given pan-India licences. The new registrations include the states of, or specific districts in, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhatisgarh, Punjab, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh.

    In an indication of the emphasis on reaching signals in border areas, three MSOs in Jammu and Kashmir and one in Tripura have also received provisional licences since the last list.

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

    Hathway CCN Entertainment (India) Pvt. Ltd which is a joint venture with Hathway and Siti Cable is among the new recipients, for Chhatisgarh. Hathway CCN recently set up a digital headend to offer a wide array of digital services and channels. The MSO is offering 48 HD channels for its digital cable TV subscribers in the state. Siti’s newly acquired company Bargachh Digital Communication, in which it has 51 percent stake, has also received registration for six districts of Andhra Pradesh.

  • TDSAT nixes payment demands without written agreement

    TDSAT nixes payment demands without written agreement

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom and Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal has said that a proceeding for recovery of money due for supply of TV signals is not maintainable   under  section   14A  of  the  Telecom Regulatory Authority Act 1997 in the absence of a written interconnect agreement between the parties.

    Dismissing two petitions, chairman justice Aftab Alam and member B B Srivastava turned down the argument that trading in TV signals or giving TV signals for retransmission is not per se illegal in terms of section 70 of the Indian Contract Act 1872 notwithstanding the provisions in the Digital Addressable System regulations mandating an agreement in writing.

    One petition had been filed by multisystem operator Manthan Broadband Services Ltd against local cable operator Rajarhat Cable Broadband Service, while the other is by UCN Cable Network India Pvt. Ltd against Raj Cable Network.

    The Manthan case is that Rajarhat has a large amount as dues of subscription fees  but is shifting  to  another MSO without clearing arrears amounting to Rs 67,70,433 as dues of subscription charges up to 31 March 2015 and another sum of Rs 3,35,96,000 for the set top boxes (STBs) given to it by the petitioner, apart from interest @ 18 percent per annum from the date of filing of the petition till the date of payment. Manthan also wanted Rajarhat to be restrained from receiving signals from another MSO till all dues are cleared. The area comes under DAS.

    UCN Cable Network filed for recovery of Rs 28,09,195 as dues of subscription fees and cost of STBs from Raj Cable Network and to restrain it from going to another MSO till the dues are cleared. The only difference in this case is that UCN had an interconnect agreement with Raj Cable in the form of a memo of understanding)  that came to end on 31 August 2012, but the supply of signals continued beyond the term of the agreement and the dues claimed by the petitioner are computed up to September 2015. But the petition was filed on 5 November 2015 and the tribunal says this is ‘plainly barred by limitation and any claim for recovery of dues beyond that period is liable to rejection as being not based on any interconnect agreement.’ The area of operation relate to transmission in analogue mode.

    Both the Interconnect Regulations 2004 and the DAS Interconnect Regulations 2012 contain almost identical provisions prohibiting distribution of TV signals for re-transmission without entering into an agreement in writing.

    In view of this, the tribunal said it had in a number of cases taken the view that a distributor of TV channels acting in blatant disregard and deliberate disobedience of the regulations framed by TRAI in exercise of its powers under the TRAI Act cannot seek for recovery of its dues.

    However, various counsellors had sought to argue on the basis of the Indian Contract Act and some Supreme Court judgments that the distributor was entitled to compensation.

    However the tribunal said that the Interconnection Regulations 2004 were issued by TRAI on 10 December 2004 in order to cover arrangements for interconnection and revenue sharing among service providers in the broadcasting sector. On 17 March 2009 a notification was issued incorporating clause 4A in the body of the Regulations which clearly says ‘It shall be mandatory for the broadcasters of pay channels and distributors of TV channels to reduce the terms and conditions of all their interconnection agreements to writing’ and ‘No broadcaster of pay channels or distributor of TV channels such  as multi-system operator or headend  in the sky operator shall make available signals of TV channels to any distributor of TV channels without entering into a written interconnection agreement.’

    The tribunal also said clause 5(16) of the DAS Interconnect Regulations 2012 (corresponding to clause 8 of the Interconnect Regulations 2004) allowed, after expiry of an agreement, three months’ time to the parties to negotiate the terms of the fresh agreement (which on being executed would relate back to the date of expiry of the previous agreement). The provision was widely misused, especially under DAS transmission, and supply of TV signals would be continued, in many cases for long periods of over a year after the existing agreement came to end.

    The regulator clearly viewed it as an abuse of the regulation and by notification issued on 7 January 2016 amended clause 5(16) of the DAS Regulations 2012 with effect from 1 April 2016. Under this, no supply of signals can be made for a single day unless a fresh agreement is executed to replace the previous agreement on its expiry.

    The tribunal also said cases coming to it showed a clear pattern. ‘When a major MSO wishes to enter a market, it poaches upon the LCOs, affiliated with other MSOs operating in the area from before by offering them much lower rates. As the LCOs shift to the new entrant in large numbers, conflicts arise between the LCOs and the MSO from which they earlier received signals. The new entrant gives its own STBs to the LCOs shifting to it for having the boxes seeded at the subscribers’ places.  After LCOs in substantial numbers come under it and a large number of its boxes are seeded, the new entrant starts increasing its rates and then there is another round of conflict between the new entrant and its poached LCOs. All the arrangement is oral and without any inter-connect agreement. Hence, when the matter comes to the tribunal, it is the word of one side against the word of the other side. In the past months, a large number of such cases have come to the tribunal.  It is obvious that such practices based on oral arrangements, besides being in violation of the regulation, vitiate the market and disrupt the orderly growth of the sector.”

     

  • TDSAT nixes payment demands without written agreement

    TDSAT nixes payment demands without written agreement

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom and Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal has said that a proceeding for recovery of money due for supply of TV signals is not maintainable   under  section   14A  of  the  Telecom Regulatory Authority Act 1997 in the absence of a written interconnect agreement between the parties.

    Dismissing two petitions, chairman justice Aftab Alam and member B B Srivastava turned down the argument that trading in TV signals or giving TV signals for retransmission is not per se illegal in terms of section 70 of the Indian Contract Act 1872 notwithstanding the provisions in the Digital Addressable System regulations mandating an agreement in writing.

    One petition had been filed by multisystem operator Manthan Broadband Services Ltd against local cable operator Rajarhat Cable Broadband Service, while the other is by UCN Cable Network India Pvt. Ltd against Raj Cable Network.

    The Manthan case is that Rajarhat has a large amount as dues of subscription fees  but is shifting  to  another MSO without clearing arrears amounting to Rs 67,70,433 as dues of subscription charges up to 31 March 2015 and another sum of Rs 3,35,96,000 for the set top boxes (STBs) given to it by the petitioner, apart from interest @ 18 percent per annum from the date of filing of the petition till the date of payment. Manthan also wanted Rajarhat to be restrained from receiving signals from another MSO till all dues are cleared. The area comes under DAS.

    UCN Cable Network filed for recovery of Rs 28,09,195 as dues of subscription fees and cost of STBs from Raj Cable Network and to restrain it from going to another MSO till the dues are cleared. The only difference in this case is that UCN had an interconnect agreement with Raj Cable in the form of a memo of understanding)  that came to end on 31 August 2012, but the supply of signals continued beyond the term of the agreement and the dues claimed by the petitioner are computed up to September 2015. But the petition was filed on 5 November 2015 and the tribunal says this is ‘plainly barred by limitation and any claim for recovery of dues beyond that period is liable to rejection as being not based on any interconnect agreement.’ The area of operation relate to transmission in analogue mode.

    Both the Interconnect Regulations 2004 and the DAS Interconnect Regulations 2012 contain almost identical provisions prohibiting distribution of TV signals for re-transmission without entering into an agreement in writing.

    In view of this, the tribunal said it had in a number of cases taken the view that a distributor of TV channels acting in blatant disregard and deliberate disobedience of the regulations framed by TRAI in exercise of its powers under the TRAI Act cannot seek for recovery of its dues.

    However, various counsellors had sought to argue on the basis of the Indian Contract Act and some Supreme Court judgments that the distributor was entitled to compensation.

    However the tribunal said that the Interconnection Regulations 2004 were issued by TRAI on 10 December 2004 in order to cover arrangements for interconnection and revenue sharing among service providers in the broadcasting sector. On 17 March 2009 a notification was issued incorporating clause 4A in the body of the Regulations which clearly says ‘It shall be mandatory for the broadcasters of pay channels and distributors of TV channels to reduce the terms and conditions of all their interconnection agreements to writing’ and ‘No broadcaster of pay channels or distributor of TV channels such  as multi-system operator or headend  in the sky operator shall make available signals of TV channels to any distributor of TV channels without entering into a written interconnection agreement.’

    The tribunal also said clause 5(16) of the DAS Interconnect Regulations 2012 (corresponding to clause 8 of the Interconnect Regulations 2004) allowed, after expiry of an agreement, three months’ time to the parties to negotiate the terms of the fresh agreement (which on being executed would relate back to the date of expiry of the previous agreement). The provision was widely misused, especially under DAS transmission, and supply of TV signals would be continued, in many cases for long periods of over a year after the existing agreement came to end.

    The regulator clearly viewed it as an abuse of the regulation and by notification issued on 7 January 2016 amended clause 5(16) of the DAS Regulations 2012 with effect from 1 April 2016. Under this, no supply of signals can be made for a single day unless a fresh agreement is executed to replace the previous agreement on its expiry.

    The tribunal also said cases coming to it showed a clear pattern. ‘When a major MSO wishes to enter a market, it poaches upon the LCOs, affiliated with other MSOs operating in the area from before by offering them much lower rates. As the LCOs shift to the new entrant in large numbers, conflicts arise between the LCOs and the MSO from which they earlier received signals. The new entrant gives its own STBs to the LCOs shifting to it for having the boxes seeded at the subscribers’ places.  After LCOs in substantial numbers come under it and a large number of its boxes are seeded, the new entrant starts increasing its rates and then there is another round of conflict between the new entrant and its poached LCOs. All the arrangement is oral and without any inter-connect agreement. Hence, when the matter comes to the tribunal, it is the word of one side against the word of the other side. In the past months, a large number of such cases have come to the tribunal.  It is obvious that such practices based on oral arrangements, besides being in violation of the regulation, vitiate the market and disrupt the orderly growth of the sector.”

     

  • Political, bureaucratic wrangles likely road-blocks for the new I&B secretary

    Political, bureaucratic wrangles likely road-blocks for the new I&B secretary

    NEW DELHI: The biggest challenges for the bureaucrats in the country can be summed up in just a few words: being unprepared, and forced to make compromises.

    Thus, a person taking charge as the head of the bureaucracy in any ministry has to put aside his or her own personal views and get down to translating the decisions of the government and the minister/ministers into action, apart from the fact that he or she may be completely new to the field. And this task becomes even more onerous when there are deadlines to be met in short periods of time.

    Ajay Mittal is taking over the reins of the administrative machinery in the Information and Broadcasting ministry from Sunil Arora who had barely eight months to grapple with problems. Arora joined the Ministry on 31 August last year just as the ministry was making preparations for the Digital Addressable System Phase III and was in the midst of the Phase III auctions of FM radio.

    Mittal, is a senior Indian administrative service (IAS) officer of the 1982 batch from the Himachal Pradesh cadre. Born on 24 February 1958, Mittal is a law graduate and also has a Masters degree in rural development. His first posting was as principal secretary to the then chief minister of Himachal Pradesh and in the information and public relations wing in the state. Mittal was empanelled as secretary in December last year when he was additional chief secretary at Transport, Social Justice & Empowerment Department, Shimla.

    Now, Mittal has to deal with not only the onerous task of overseeing the implementation of the last phase in DAS which will cover all remaining urban and all rural areas of the country by December-end, but bringing the government out of the morass of legal cases which stayed the implementation of DAS Phase III in many states and have now been transferred to the Delhi high court.

    DAS Phase III

    Even though the deadlines for the last two phases of DAS were changed, the stakeholders were clearly unprepared as they all claimed shortage of compatible set top boxes – a claim which even the ministry could not deny. Expectedly, several high courts stayed implementation for varying periods  
    And although the ministry has succeeded in getting all the cases transferred to the Delhi high court, the fact remains that the ministry had itself admitted in a letter to its counsel in Chandigarh that it understood the stay to be pan-India, until the Supreme Court said nothing in the directive of the Bombay high court implied this.

    With the shortage of compatible set top boxes and little headway despite the incentives offered under the Make in India scheme, the ministry has to find ways to encourage indigenous production. Even at present, a large number of LCOs work with poor quality STBs made in China or other countries.

    Added to that is the fact that a large number of broadcasters, multi system operators, and local cable operators have still to work out their agreements – an issue further complicated by the directives of the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Arbitration Tribunal which wants the tariffs to looked at anew.
     
    In fact, many MSOs or LCOs have also not been able to get the Consumer Application Forms from their clients despite major publicity by the broadcasters.

    It is also a fact that analogue transmission continues in many parts of cities and towns that have gone digital and the government has failed to get the stay of DAS in Chennai vacated.

    The Home ministry had many months earlier made it clear that it was prepared to do away with security clearance for Indian-owned multi-system operators, the I and B Ministry has not yet got the go-ahead, with the result that MSOs are only getting provisional licences and the number of those with ten-year permanent licences remains at 231. The new secretary will have to push the Home ministry if he wants DAS to succeed.

    TRAI

    Although these are issues that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is dealing with, all decisions relating to the broadcasting sector can only be effective if there is proper coordination between the regulator and the ministry. This effectively means there has to be a quick response to any issues that either of the two raises to the other, if deadlines have to be met.

    Other issues pending before TRAI relating to broadcasting include the need to reconsider the foreign direct investment norms for media, shortage of spectrum, a growing demand by states seeking permissions to start their own television channels despite the TRAI having opined against it twice since 2008, and the imperative to work on the tariff issues for commercial and non-commercial set-ups following directives of the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal.

    Although broadcasting duties were handed over to TRAI just over a decade earlier, it is also clear that the ministry will have to consider whether there is need to form a broadcasting-specific body since TRAI is primarily a body set up for the telecom sector. If the Government decides to continue with TRAI handling both portfolios, the regulator will be under pressure from the I and B Ministry to strengthen its broadcasting team and also ensure greater coordination among officers in both broadcasting and telecom.    

    With convergence of technologies becoming a reality, and with issues of spectrum already bringing telecom and broadcasting together, the National Democratic Alliance Government has again begun to talk about convergence and this is bound to gather pace over the next two years.

    Spectrum

    The Defence Ministry has in principle agreed to hand over some spectrum and swap some other spectrum, and TRAI has also worked on the process of auctioning the available spectrum and given out reserve prices, the whole process is caught up in bureaucratic wrangles as it involves the Telecom ministry. If the I and B ministry wants to continue with its policy of ensuring there are no caps on the number of television, FM radio channels, or direct-to-home (DTH) Headed in the sky (HITS) platforms in the country, the issue of spectrum will need early solution.

    FM Radio Auctions

    When the last secretary Sunil Arora took over, the government was in the midst of the first stage of auctions of the FM Radio e-auction which only covered cities which already have FM but there were some vacancies. Learning from the experiences where there were no bids in 13 of the 69 cities, the government has now decided to revise the guidelines for the e-auction. The new secretary may have to find ways of either lowering the reserve price for those cities or finding other incentives before the next stage of e-auction.

    The fact that the cumulative winnings from the channels auctioned so far has exceeded the reserve price by more 100 per cent is undoubtedly a matter of great satisfaction, but some cities failing to attract bidders is an irritant.

    Ad Cap

    The Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995 was clear that the advertising cap should be twelve minutes an hour, but television channels went to court because many – particularly the news channels most of which are free to air – said they had no other source of income unlike the pay channels. But the ministry is already doing a rethink as admitted by the ministry as well as the News Broadcasters Association.

    This rethink is probably because the I and B minister had said early this last year that he was opposed to ad caps on the print or electronic media, and because the free-to-air channels (most of which are news channels) have already expressed their opposition to this. TRAI had failed to get permission to take action against television channels violating its diktat of a total of 12 minutes of commercial and promotional advertisements every hour, though all broadcasters were asked to keep records of this by the Delhi High Court.

    Spread of FM Radio vs DRM

    The Digital Radio Mondiale Consortium feels that All India Radio has done the most in terms of digitization of radio. AIR has in fact spent crores of rupees on the digitized Digital Radio Mondiale. But Prasar Bharati feels that Frequency Modulation which is an analogue technology should be promoted until the nation is ready for digital radio sets.

    The ministry can resolve this issue only if it can ensure adequate manufacture at affordable process of DRM sets under the Make in India programme. Until then, this continues to be a thorn in the already dicey relations between the public service broadcaster and the ministry. The fact remains that there are just one or two manufacturers of DRM sets and these have also been successfully demonstrated in moving cars, but they remain unaffordable.

    Community Radio

    More than a decade has elapsed since the introduction of community radio, but the number of operational stations is still very low. To boost this sector, the government introduced a new scheme last year for funding community radio and has also been giving away awards, but bureaucratic wrangles continue to hold up the smooth implementation of this scheme.

    Prasar Bharati and the Ministry

    On paper, the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Act 1990 is clear that the pubcaster is autonomous. However, in reality this appears to the contrary.

    On the one hand, a group of ministers had decided as a measure to help the pubcaster that persons employed as on 5 October 2007 will get the salary and pension from government funds. For employees who joined after that date, Prasar Bharati was left to fend for itself.

    In any case, Prasar Bharati is listed as an autonomous company under the ministry.

    This means – and it appears so even from the manner in which questions relating to the pubcaster are answered in parliament – that there is dispute on what real autonomy is. Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar – a former bureaucrat himself – feels the government does not give him full freedom and there is interference at every level and has said so either in speeches or in articles by him or others in the pubcaster.

    Journalists on the parliamentary beat are often flabbergasted by the fact that when it suits the government, a reply will say that the pubcaster is an autonomous body, and yet there has been the intervention of the government even in appointments in Prasar Bharati.

    While there is generally full autonomy as far as content goes, there are allegedly checks and balances placed by the government in administrative matters.

    In a new development that has in principle been accepted by the government, Prasar Bharati, which has been losing revenue and viewership, has decided to auction prime time slots – perhaps inspired by the success of the e-auctions of slots on the country’s only free-to-air direct-to-home platform DD Freedish, or the FM auctions.

    Freedish

    Even though the auctions have been extremely successful and the pubcaster not only got two or three times the reserve price per slot, but even managed to get at least two pay channels to come as FTA, it has still not been able to switch over from MPEG2 to MPEG4 to enable it to increase the number to 112 as promised over the last three to four years.

    Foreign Direct Investment

    The TRAI had given its recommendations for an increased FDI in many sectors of the media in a report in July 2013. Although there was some change by the government earlier this year, it has still not implemented the FDI report of TRAI in full.

    Security Clearance

    While the Home ministry has decided it is doing away with security clearance for MSOs, it has not taken a decision as far television channels are concerned. And while the issue relating to foreign ownership can be understood, the denial of security clearance to Sun TV and its affiliated MSOs continues to flummox everyone in the media. It is generally felt that an accused is not guilty till proved, but the Home ministry – and the I and B ministry – appear to have decided that the Maran brothers should be denied security clearance despite the fact that the cases against them have no relation to the security of the country, and are in fact an incursion n the freedom of the media. Even the Supreme Court while permitting Sun group companies to take part in the FM auction said so.

    Paid News

    It is now almost five years since the issue of paid news became the talk of the town. The Press Council of India set up a committee which even gave recommendations, and a Parliamentary Panel and the Election Commission also wanted some steps to be taken to stop this. But there has been no tangible action so far.

    Film Industry

    The film industry has been raising similar issues year after year. As far as taxation issues were concerned, it was hoped that the Goods and Services Tax when implemented will help. But the way the matter is stuck in parliament forces the industry to just wait and watch.

    Entertainment tax is another issue on which there has been no unanimity and states have different taxes. A proposal about a decade earlier for bringing cinema into the Concurrent List of the Constitution might have solved the problem, but most states opposed the idea. Perhaps the only positive move has been that service tax or cess on entertainment tax has been done away with.

    In a country producing around one thousand feature films every year apart from the large number of films from overseas, the country still suffers from an acute shortage of theatres, with the number less than 11,000. With the high rates of ticketing charged by the multiplexes, the average cinegoer is denied of the pleasure of seeing a film in a cinema hall.

    All attempts to curb video piracy appear to have failed because the film industry and the government have failed to work together to curb the menace, which means huge losses for the makers of bold films unless there are big stars to lure the audiences.

    The Film Museum has been in the planning and making for more than a decade, but it does not appear that the Museum planned for 2013 to coincide with a centenary of cinema will seek the light of day for at least a couple of more years.

    The Centre of Excellence in Animation and Visual Effects

    For almost ten years, minister after minister has promised to set up a Centre of Excellence in Animation and Visual Effects, and Hyderabad and Bangalore have even claimed that they have the right ambience for such a centre.

    But indications are coming that it will be established in the Film City in Goregaon in Mumbai, a decision that may not be digestible to studios of animation and VFX in cities like Hyderabad and Bangalore.

    Clearly, the new secretary has a difficult task ahead, moving on a road that is not without political or bureaucratic potholes that can hold up even his best intentions.

     

  • Political, bureaucratic wrangles likely road-blocks for the new I&B secretary

    Political, bureaucratic wrangles likely road-blocks for the new I&B secretary

    NEW DELHI: The biggest challenges for the bureaucrats in the country can be summed up in just a few words: being unprepared, and forced to make compromises.

    Thus, a person taking charge as the head of the bureaucracy in any ministry has to put aside his or her own personal views and get down to translating the decisions of the government and the minister/ministers into action, apart from the fact that he or she may be completely new to the field. And this task becomes even more onerous when there are deadlines to be met in short periods of time.

    Ajay Mittal is taking over the reins of the administrative machinery in the Information and Broadcasting ministry from Sunil Arora who had barely eight months to grapple with problems. Arora joined the Ministry on 31 August last year just as the ministry was making preparations for the Digital Addressable System Phase III and was in the midst of the Phase III auctions of FM radio.

    Mittal, is a senior Indian administrative service (IAS) officer of the 1982 batch from the Himachal Pradesh cadre. Born on 24 February 1958, Mittal is a law graduate and also has a Masters degree in rural development. His first posting was as principal secretary to the then chief minister of Himachal Pradesh and in the information and public relations wing in the state. Mittal was empanelled as secretary in December last year when he was additional chief secretary at Transport, Social Justice & Empowerment Department, Shimla.

    Now, Mittal has to deal with not only the onerous task of overseeing the implementation of the last phase in DAS which will cover all remaining urban and all rural areas of the country by December-end, but bringing the government out of the morass of legal cases which stayed the implementation of DAS Phase III in many states and have now been transferred to the Delhi high court.

    DAS Phase III

    Even though the deadlines for the last two phases of DAS were changed, the stakeholders were clearly unprepared as they all claimed shortage of compatible set top boxes – a claim which even the ministry could not deny. Expectedly, several high courts stayed implementation for varying periods  
    And although the ministry has succeeded in getting all the cases transferred to the Delhi high court, the fact remains that the ministry had itself admitted in a letter to its counsel in Chandigarh that it understood the stay to be pan-India, until the Supreme Court said nothing in the directive of the Bombay high court implied this.

    With the shortage of compatible set top boxes and little headway despite the incentives offered under the Make in India scheme, the ministry has to find ways to encourage indigenous production. Even at present, a large number of LCOs work with poor quality STBs made in China or other countries.

    Added to that is the fact that a large number of broadcasters, multi system operators, and local cable operators have still to work out their agreements – an issue further complicated by the directives of the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Arbitration Tribunal which wants the tariffs to looked at anew.
     
    In fact, many MSOs or LCOs have also not been able to get the Consumer Application Forms from their clients despite major publicity by the broadcasters.

    It is also a fact that analogue transmission continues in many parts of cities and towns that have gone digital and the government has failed to get the stay of DAS in Chennai vacated.

    The Home ministry had many months earlier made it clear that it was prepared to do away with security clearance for Indian-owned multi-system operators, the I and B Ministry has not yet got the go-ahead, with the result that MSOs are only getting provisional licences and the number of those with ten-year permanent licences remains at 231. The new secretary will have to push the Home ministry if he wants DAS to succeed.

    TRAI

    Although these are issues that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India is dealing with, all decisions relating to the broadcasting sector can only be effective if there is proper coordination between the regulator and the ministry. This effectively means there has to be a quick response to any issues that either of the two raises to the other, if deadlines have to be met.

    Other issues pending before TRAI relating to broadcasting include the need to reconsider the foreign direct investment norms for media, shortage of spectrum, a growing demand by states seeking permissions to start their own television channels despite the TRAI having opined against it twice since 2008, and the imperative to work on the tariff issues for commercial and non-commercial set-ups following directives of the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal.

    Although broadcasting duties were handed over to TRAI just over a decade earlier, it is also clear that the ministry will have to consider whether there is need to form a broadcasting-specific body since TRAI is primarily a body set up for the telecom sector. If the Government decides to continue with TRAI handling both portfolios, the regulator will be under pressure from the I and B Ministry to strengthen its broadcasting team and also ensure greater coordination among officers in both broadcasting and telecom.    

    With convergence of technologies becoming a reality, and with issues of spectrum already bringing telecom and broadcasting together, the National Democratic Alliance Government has again begun to talk about convergence and this is bound to gather pace over the next two years.

    Spectrum

    The Defence Ministry has in principle agreed to hand over some spectrum and swap some other spectrum, and TRAI has also worked on the process of auctioning the available spectrum and given out reserve prices, the whole process is caught up in bureaucratic wrangles as it involves the Telecom ministry. If the I and B ministry wants to continue with its policy of ensuring there are no caps on the number of television, FM radio channels, or direct-to-home (DTH) Headed in the sky (HITS) platforms in the country, the issue of spectrum will need early solution.

    FM Radio Auctions

    When the last secretary Sunil Arora took over, the government was in the midst of the first stage of auctions of the FM Radio e-auction which only covered cities which already have FM but there were some vacancies. Learning from the experiences where there were no bids in 13 of the 69 cities, the government has now decided to revise the guidelines for the e-auction. The new secretary may have to find ways of either lowering the reserve price for those cities or finding other incentives before the next stage of e-auction.

    The fact that the cumulative winnings from the channels auctioned so far has exceeded the reserve price by more 100 per cent is undoubtedly a matter of great satisfaction, but some cities failing to attract bidders is an irritant.

    Ad Cap

    The Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995 was clear that the advertising cap should be twelve minutes an hour, but television channels went to court because many – particularly the news channels most of which are free to air – said they had no other source of income unlike the pay channels. But the ministry is already doing a rethink as admitted by the ministry as well as the News Broadcasters Association.

    This rethink is probably because the I and B minister had said early this last year that he was opposed to ad caps on the print or electronic media, and because the free-to-air channels (most of which are news channels) have already expressed their opposition to this. TRAI had failed to get permission to take action against television channels violating its diktat of a total of 12 minutes of commercial and promotional advertisements every hour, though all broadcasters were asked to keep records of this by the Delhi High Court.

    Spread of FM Radio vs DRM

    The Digital Radio Mondiale Consortium feels that All India Radio has done the most in terms of digitization of radio. AIR has in fact spent crores of rupees on the digitized Digital Radio Mondiale. But Prasar Bharati feels that Frequency Modulation which is an analogue technology should be promoted until the nation is ready for digital radio sets.

    The ministry can resolve this issue only if it can ensure adequate manufacture at affordable process of DRM sets under the Make in India programme. Until then, this continues to be a thorn in the already dicey relations between the public service broadcaster and the ministry. The fact remains that there are just one or two manufacturers of DRM sets and these have also been successfully demonstrated in moving cars, but they remain unaffordable.

    Community Radio

    More than a decade has elapsed since the introduction of community radio, but the number of operational stations is still very low. To boost this sector, the government introduced a new scheme last year for funding community radio and has also been giving away awards, but bureaucratic wrangles continue to hold up the smooth implementation of this scheme.

    Prasar Bharati and the Ministry

    On paper, the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Act 1990 is clear that the pubcaster is autonomous. However, in reality this appears to the contrary.

    On the one hand, a group of ministers had decided as a measure to help the pubcaster that persons employed as on 5 October 2007 will get the salary and pension from government funds. For employees who joined after that date, Prasar Bharati was left to fend for itself.

    In any case, Prasar Bharati is listed as an autonomous company under the ministry.

    This means – and it appears so even from the manner in which questions relating to the pubcaster are answered in parliament – that there is dispute on what real autonomy is. Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar – a former bureaucrat himself – feels the government does not give him full freedom and there is interference at every level and has said so either in speeches or in articles by him or others in the pubcaster.

    Journalists on the parliamentary beat are often flabbergasted by the fact that when it suits the government, a reply will say that the pubcaster is an autonomous body, and yet there has been the intervention of the government even in appointments in Prasar Bharati.

    While there is generally full autonomy as far as content goes, there are allegedly checks and balances placed by the government in administrative matters.

    In a new development that has in principle been accepted by the government, Prasar Bharati, which has been losing revenue and viewership, has decided to auction prime time slots – perhaps inspired by the success of the e-auctions of slots on the country’s only free-to-air direct-to-home platform DD Freedish, or the FM auctions.

    Freedish

    Even though the auctions have been extremely successful and the pubcaster not only got two or three times the reserve price per slot, but even managed to get at least two pay channels to come as FTA, it has still not been able to switch over from MPEG2 to MPEG4 to enable it to increase the number to 112 as promised over the last three to four years.

    Foreign Direct Investment

    The TRAI had given its recommendations for an increased FDI in many sectors of the media in a report in July 2013. Although there was some change by the government earlier this year, it has still not implemented the FDI report of TRAI in full.

    Security Clearance

    While the Home ministry has decided it is doing away with security clearance for MSOs, it has not taken a decision as far television channels are concerned. And while the issue relating to foreign ownership can be understood, the denial of security clearance to Sun TV and its affiliated MSOs continues to flummox everyone in the media. It is generally felt that an accused is not guilty till proved, but the Home ministry – and the I and B ministry – appear to have decided that the Maran brothers should be denied security clearance despite the fact that the cases against them have no relation to the security of the country, and are in fact an incursion n the freedom of the media. Even the Supreme Court while permitting Sun group companies to take part in the FM auction said so.

    Paid News

    It is now almost five years since the issue of paid news became the talk of the town. The Press Council of India set up a committee which even gave recommendations, and a Parliamentary Panel and the Election Commission also wanted some steps to be taken to stop this. But there has been no tangible action so far.

    Film Industry

    The film industry has been raising similar issues year after year. As far as taxation issues were concerned, it was hoped that the Goods and Services Tax when implemented will help. But the way the matter is stuck in parliament forces the industry to just wait and watch.

    Entertainment tax is another issue on which there has been no unanimity and states have different taxes. A proposal about a decade earlier for bringing cinema into the Concurrent List of the Constitution might have solved the problem, but most states opposed the idea. Perhaps the only positive move has been that service tax or cess on entertainment tax has been done away with.

    In a country producing around one thousand feature films every year apart from the large number of films from overseas, the country still suffers from an acute shortage of theatres, with the number less than 11,000. With the high rates of ticketing charged by the multiplexes, the average cinegoer is denied of the pleasure of seeing a film in a cinema hall.

    All attempts to curb video piracy appear to have failed because the film industry and the government have failed to work together to curb the menace, which means huge losses for the makers of bold films unless there are big stars to lure the audiences.

    The Film Museum has been in the planning and making for more than a decade, but it does not appear that the Museum planned for 2013 to coincide with a centenary of cinema will seek the light of day for at least a couple of more years.

    The Centre of Excellence in Animation and Visual Effects

    For almost ten years, minister after minister has promised to set up a Centre of Excellence in Animation and Visual Effects, and Hyderabad and Bangalore have even claimed that they have the right ambience for such a centre.

    But indications are coming that it will be established in the Film City in Goregaon in Mumbai, a decision that may not be digestible to studios of animation and VFX in cities like Hyderabad and Bangalore.

    Clearly, the new secretary has a difficult task ahead, moving on a road that is not without political or bureaucratic potholes that can hold up even his best intentions.

     

  • Hathway CCN to launch 48 HD channels in Chhattisgarh

    Hathway CCN to launch 48 HD channels in Chhattisgarh

    MUMBAI: Hathway CCN will be setting up a digital head-end in the state of Chhattisgarh and becoming one of the first MSOs in the country to launch and offer 48 HD channels to digital cable subscribers across the entire state.

    Hathway CCN, which has major, dominant operations across Chhattisgarh, will be offering a wide array of digital services and channels through the new head-end which would provide high-quality and best in class experience to its cable subscribers.

    Speaking on the launch of the new digital head-end,  Hathway CCN director Abhishek Agrawal  said, “This is the first amongst the many digital head-ends which will be installed across Chhattisgarh and the re-distribution of 48 HD channels is yet another progressive step taken by us to express our commitment and dedication to offering the best entertainment to our consumers. As an organization, we are continuously working and reinventing our services to match the growing demands of our subscribers.”

    At a time, when MSOs across the country are working aggressively towards completion of the digitization mandates, such initiatives are a welcome move across stakeholders, subscribers, LCOs, broadcasters and will strengthen and boost consumer confidence as they seek cutting-edge entertainment experience from digital cable.

    Agrawal further added, “We understand the dynamics of committing to such services, especially, when we serve multiple locations from one head-end, but this is the need of the hour to remain competitive and grow. Next in line, would be our value added and high speed broadband services which will provide a potent combination of entertainment services to our consumers.”

    As the cable industry moves towards the end of the digitization phase, providing strong, digital quality entertainment to subscribers would be the big move that will make the industry take the next leap.