Tag: MIB

Broadcast expenditure 4x that of MIB’s information, film & secretariat sectors

NEW DELHI: Expenditure on the broadcasting sector alone in the past three years up to March 2015 has been more than three to four times the total expenditure on the other sectors covered by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB): secretariat, film and information.

An audit of the Ministry’s accounts has revealed that during 2014-15, a total of Rs 2467.4 crore (including Rs 2004.41 crore as non-plan expenditure) as was set aside for broadcasting alone, while the expenditure on the information sector was Rs 466.4 crore (including Rs 269.84 non-plan); Rs 176.33 crore (including Rs 97.16 crore non-plan) on film and Rs 48.4 crore (including Rs 46.35 crore non-plan) on secretariat expenses.

During 2013-14, expenditure on broadcasting was Rs 2157.19 crore (including Rs 1733.38 crore non-plan) as against Rs 474.73 crore (including Rs 247.83 crore non-plan) on information; Rs 153.99 crore (of which Rs 90.32 crore was non-plan) on film; and Rs 42.31 crore (including Rs 41.47 crore non-plan) on Secretariat expenses.

The expenditure on broadcasting in 2012-13 was Rs 2069.09 crore (of which Rs 1654.33 crore was non-plan), as against Rs 381.22 crore (including Rs 234.75 crore non-plan); Rs 133.02 crore (including Rs 83.72 crore as non-plan); and Rs 41.93 crore (including Rs 40.36 crore non-plan) on Secretarial expenses.

February 23, 2016
MIB grants provisional licence to 13 MSOs in February taking total to 695

NEW DELHI: With 13 more multi-system operators (MSOs) getting provisional licences in the week between 2 – 8 February, 2016, the total number of MSOs operating in the country has risen to 695 including 231, which have permanent (10-year) licences.

According to list released on 2 February, the number of provisional licences was 451, which went up to 464 by 8 February.

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

According to the list issued today, the areas of operation of some of the MSOs have been revised or amended.

Of the new licensees, only one provisional MSO is from the northeast – Mizoram – while the rest are from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Chhatisgarh.

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 many MSOs holding provisional licences had not completed certain formalities relating to shareholders and so on.

February 12, 2016
MIB grants provisional licence to 13 MSOs in February taking total to 695

NEW DELHI: With 13 more multi-system operators (MSOs) getting provisional licences in the week between 2 – 8 February, 2016, the total number of MSOs operating in the country has risen to 695 including 231, which have permanent (10-year) licences.

According to list released on 2 February, the number of provisional licences was 451, which went up to 464 by 8 February.

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

According to the list issued today, the areas of operation of some of the MSOs have been revised or amended.

Of the new licensees, only one provisional MSO is from the northeast – Mizoram – while the rest are from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Chhatisgarh.

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 many MSOs holding provisional licences had not completed certain formalities relating to shareholders and so on.

February 12, 2016
MIB cancels permission of 126 TV channels; total permitted channels touch 857

NEW DELHI: While the total number of satellite television channels uplinking from or downlinking into India has risen to 857, the permission to as many as 126 channels have been cancelled.

Thus, the government had given permission to a total of 983 channels, which included those whose permissions were cancelled later. Of the 29 channel permitted after 30 November, 19 were cleared in December 2015 and 1o in January 2016.

Of the permitted channels, 399 are news and current affairs channels, while 458 are general entertainment channels (GECs).

Twenty channels including seven news channels have been permitted to uplink from India but not downlink within the country, as on 31 January, 2016.

A total of 749 channels including 372 GECs are allowed to uplink and downlink in the country while 88 including 73 GECs are uplinked from overseas but allowed to downlink into TV homes in the country.

The largest gainer after the last list of 30 November, 2015 was Star India, which launched 10 channels, while Viacom 18 launched seven. Sony and the Times Group launched four each, Zee launched two channels, and one channel each was launched by Travel XP Celebrities Management and Vijay TV.

While Star India and Zee (Ten Sports) launched sports channels (which fall in the category of GECs), some others launched High Definition channels.

February 10, 2016
MIB cancels permission of 126 TV channels; total permitted channels touch 857

NEW DELHI: While the total number of satellite television channels uplinking from or downlinking into India has risen to 857, the permission to as many as 126 channels have been cancelled.

Thus, the government had given permission to a total of 983 channels, which included those whose permissions were cancelled later. Of the 29 channel permitted after 30 November, 19 were cleared in December 2015 and 1o in January 2016.

Of the permitted channels, 399 are news and current affairs channels, while 458 are general entertainment channels (GECs).

Twenty channels including seven news channels have been permitted to uplink from India but not downlink within the country, as on 31 January, 2016.

A total of 749 channels including 372 GECs are allowed to uplink and downlink in the country while 88 including 73 GECs are uplinked from overseas but allowed to downlink into TV homes in the country.

The largest gainer after the last list of 30 November, 2015 was Star India, which launched 10 channels, while Viacom 18 launched seven. Sony and the Times Group launched four each, Zee launched two channels, and one channel each was launched by Travel XP Celebrities Management and Vijay TV.

While Star India and Zee (Ten Sports) launched sports channels (which fall in the category of GECs), some others launched High Definition channels.

February 10, 2016
2014-15: MIB earns Rs 836.52 crore from DTH; revenue from FM drops to Rs 80.3 crore

MUMBAI: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) earned revenue of Rs 836.52 crore from the direct-to-home (DTH) sector for the year 2014-15. This was a considerable increase from the Rs 395.43 crore that the MIB earned from the sector in the previous year (2013-14). For the year 2012-13, the revenue from the sector stood at Rs 308.66 crore.

Apart from Doordarshan’s free-to- air DD Direct Plus, there are six private DTH players in India namely Dish TV, Tata Sky, Sun Direct TV, Reliance Big TV, Airtel Digital TV and Videocon d2h.

On the other hand, the revenue that the MIB earned from the auction of FM Radio dropped considerably in 2014-15 to Rs 80.30 crore from Rs 102.21 crore in 2013-14. In 2012-13, the revenue from the sector stood at Rs 61.27 crore.

The FM Phase-I Policy, which was approved by the Government in July, 1999, met with the limited success and saw a total number of 21 channels are operational in 12 cities under this scheme.

On the other hand, the improved FM Phase-II Policy was notified in July, 2005 after considering the recommendations of Dr.Amit Mitra Committee and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). FM Policy Phase-II has been well received by all stake holders. It has resulted in huge growth in FM radio industry. However, many cities still remained uncovered by the private FM radio broadcasting.

With the huge success of Phase II, FM Phase III Policy extended FM radio services to about 227 new cities, in addition to the present 86 cities, with a total of 839 new FM radio channels in 294 cities, Phase-III policy will result in coverage of all cities with a population of one lakh and above with private FM radio channels. The government has earned revenue by auction of FM channels to the private service providers.

February 4, 2016
2014-15: MIB earns Rs 836.52 crore from DTH; revenue from FM drops to Rs 80.3 crore

MUMBAI: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) earned revenue of Rs 836.52 crore from the direct-to-home (DTH) sector for the year 2014-15. This was a considerable increase from the Rs 395.43 crore that the MIB earned from the sector in the previous year (2013-14). For the year 2012-13, the revenue from the sector stood at Rs 308.66 crore.

Apart from Doordarshan’s free-to- air DD Direct Plus, there are six private DTH players in India namely Dish TV, Tata Sky, Sun Direct TV, Reliance Big TV, Airtel Digital TV and Videocon d2h.

On the other hand, the revenue that the MIB earned from the auction of FM Radio dropped considerably in 2014-15 to Rs 80.30 crore from Rs 102.21 crore in 2013-14. In 2012-13, the revenue from the sector stood at Rs 61.27 crore.

The FM Phase-I Policy, which was approved by the Government in July, 1999, met with the limited success and saw a total number of 21 channels are operational in 12 cities under this scheme.

On the other hand, the improved FM Phase-II Policy was notified in July, 2005 after considering the recommendations of Dr.Amit Mitra Committee and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). FM Policy Phase-II has been well received by all stake holders. It has resulted in huge growth in FM radio industry. However, many cities still remained uncovered by the private FM radio broadcasting.

With the huge success of Phase II, FM Phase III Policy extended FM radio services to about 227 new cities, in addition to the present 86 cities, with a total of 839 new FM radio channels in 294 cities, Phase-III policy will result in coverage of all cities with a population of one lakh and above with private FM radio channels. The government has earned revenue by auction of FM channels to the private service providers.

February 4, 2016
MIB to not press for DAS Phase III execution till High Courts rule on pending cases

NEW DELHI: Faced by various High Courts extending the deadline of implementation of Phase III of Digital Addressable System (DAS), the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has told the Punjab and Haryana High Court that “it will not press for requirement of having a set top box (STB) as of now.”

In view of this, Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain dismissed as infructuous a petition by cable operator Parbobh Rattan seeking extension the ground that there was shortage of STBs.

Counsel Vivek Singla told the Court that “the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India has decided not to press the requirement of having a STB as for now till the decision of the cases, which are pending before various other Honourable High Courts.”

Earlier, Assistant Solicitor General Chetan Mittal was informed through a letter by an under secretary, Anil Kumar, that legal opinion was clear that the interpretation of the Bombay High Court was clear that the earlier orders of the Hyderabad High Court relating to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana applied to the entire country.

This was stated in the letter asking Mittal to defend the petition before the Punjab and Haryana High Court and telling him that there was very little time for filing a counter-affidavit on the issue.

The Ministry also sent Mittal a detailed note on the issue, apart from orders by the Hyderabad and Bombay High Courts.

The Bombay High Court had relied on the Supreme Court order in the Kusum Ingots and Allous Ltd case where the apex Court had said that a High Court could give an order similar to that given by other High Courts if the circumstances were similar.

In this case, all the cases relate to shortage in seeding of STBs.

However, Ministry Secretary Sunil Arora had told Indiantelevision.com earlier that the Centre would be moving the Supreme Court shortly. Ministry sources said that the petition in the apex Court was likely to be an appeal against one High Court with an application that all other matters may also be heard simultaneously.

The matter has already been stayed by other High Courts including Sikkim, Odisha, Chhattisgarh for the entire state, and for individual local cable operators in Karnataka and Kerala.

January 18, 2016
MIB grants permanent license to Uttar Pradesh MSO

NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has granted a permanent (ten-year) license to the Uttar Pradesh based multi system operator (MSO) Eminent Cable Network. With this the number of MSOs, who have got permanent licences has gone up to 231.

This also takes the total number of MSOs to get a license to 655 including 424, who have got provisional registration in all urban areas in the country.

The MIB by 12 January cancelled the licences of 26 MSOs and closed their cases. It had initially cancelled the licences of 30, but restored those of four of whom one – Tanuku Communication Network from Andhra Pradesh – was given a provisional registration and another – Eminent Cable Network from UP – is the latest entrant to the permanent licensees.

As was reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, of the provisional licensees, a total of 12 MSOs were given provisional licences on 12 January and another 30 on 1 January, 2016.

The other two licensees whose permanent licences had been cancelled but have been restored are Skynet Digital Services and Silverline Entertainment, both for most parts of Uttar Pradesh.

An earlier list had put the figure at 382 provisional licensees on 31 December, 2015 the day the analogue signals were to be switched off, showing 45 new MSOs had been added in the last fortnight of 2015.

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 new licensees covering 11 states include one MSOs in the northeast for Tripura, but it also includes two MSOs in Tamil Nadu and one in Chhattisgarh where DAS Phase III remains stayed.

The other states covered include Haryana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Padesh, and Kerala.

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.

The number of MSOs was 612 on 31 December, 567 in mid-December, 553 by 24 November and 470 earlier in November, but this increase was merely in those who have provisional licences.

Sources said many MSOs holding provisional licences had not completed certain formalities relating to shareholders and so on.

January 15, 2016
MIB grants provisional licences to 12 MSOs as DAS Phase III gets going

NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has granted provisional licences to another 12 multi system operators (MSOs) after 1 January, 2016 in a bid to help expedite the implementation of Phase III of digital addressable system (DAS) in all urban areas in the country.

The number of MSOs that have received provisional licences has now gone up to 424, from 412 on 1 January, which had proved lucky for 30 MSOs as they got their provisional licences in a single day. In fact, once again, all the 12 MSOs got their licences on a single day – 12 January. So far, January has seen as many as 42 MSOs getting provisional licences.

An earlier list had put the figure at 382 provisional licensees on 31 December, 2015 the day the analogue signals were to be switched off, showing 45 new MSOs had been added in the last fortnight of 2015.

Adding to the 230 who have 10-year permanent licences, the total number of registered MSOs now goes up to 654.

While the MIB website did not display the number of permanent licensees, indicating that the number remains at 230 as it has remained since 20 November.

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 new licensees covering 11 states include one MSOs in the northeast for Tripura, but it also includes two MSOs in Tamil Nadu and one in Chhattisgarh where DAS Phase III remains stayed.

The other states covered include states like Haryana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Padesh, and Kerala.

The number of MSOs was 612 on 31 December, 567 in mid-December, 553 by 24 November and 470 earlier in November, but this increase was merely in those who have provisional licences.

Sources said many MSOs holding provisional licences had not completed certain formalities relating to shareholders and so on.

January 14, 2016