ITV

Tag: Ministry of Information and Broadcasting

  • MIB directs erring MSOs to immediately furnish seeding data

    MIB directs erring MSOs to immediately furnish seeding data

    Mumbai: The ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) has directed erring Multi System Operators (MSOs) to immediately enter/update their seeding data on the ministry’s MIS (Management Information System).

    As per the official advisory dated 21 February, despite repeated reminders, many MSOs are not entering/updating their seeding data, i.e the number of active set-top boxes on their network, on the ministry’s MIS. The information regarding the number of cable TV subscribers is considered essential for policy decisions/regulatory issues etc, it said.

    It was further stated that failure to submit/update seeding data on MIS will be considered a violation of Rule 10A of the Cable Television Networks Rules 1994 and may result in cancellation/suspension of MSO registration granted

    Rule 10A of the Cable Television Networks Rules 1994, binds, inter-alia, every MSO to give such information as may be sought for by, inter-alia, the central government within such period and such form as may be specified.

  • Malayalam channel MediaOne goes off air as MIB revokes permission

    Malayalam channel MediaOne goes off air as MIB revokes permission

    Mumbai: The ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) on Monday revoked the permission granted to Madhyamam Broadcasting Ltd to uplink and downlink the Malayalam news channel MediaOne citing security concerns.

    The MIB granted permission to the MediaOne channel to be aired on 30 September 2011 which was valid up till 29 September 2021. According to the ministry order, clause 9.2 of the uplinking guidelines stipulates that security clearance of a company and its directors is a prerequisite condition for grant of permission for TV channels which is up for renewal every ten years.

    Madhyamam Broadcasting Ltd which had applied for renewal of permission on 3 May 2021 was denied security clearance by the ministry of home affairs. In response to a show-cause notice sent by MIB, the company mentioned that they are “unaware of the grounds for denial of security clearance.”

    On its social media handles, MediaOne has put out a statement attributed to its editor Pramod Raman. It reads, “MediaOne telecast has once again been disallowed by the ministry of information and broadcasting, government of India, citing security reasons. The government has not been forthcoming with the details.”

    It added “MediaOne is taking urgent legal steps for the restoration of the channel and hope to get back to the viewers as soon as we can. For the time being, we are suspending our telecast confident that justice will prevail.”

    According to media reports, the company has moved to the Kerala high court to secure a stay order. This is the second time that the channel has been barred from airing. In March 2020, Asianet News and MediaOne TV had been barred for 48 hours by MIB citing security concerns.

  • Prasar Bharati invites applications for 57 e-auction of vacant MPEG-4 slots

    Prasar Bharati invites applications for 57 e-auction of vacant MPEG-4 slots

    Mumbai: Public broadcaster Prasar Bharati has invited applications for vacant MPEG-4 slots of the DD Free Dish DTH platform from the period 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023.

    The 57 e-auction process will be tentatively held from 10 February and the last day to submit applications is 8 February.

    The bidding for vacant MPEG-4 slots will be open to all genre language TV channels with a reserve price set at Rs 50 lakh per year. Only satellite TV channels licensed by the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) would be allowed to participate in the e-auction. Broadcasters may either participate directly or through their authorised distribution partners. International public broadcasters who are licensed by MIB may participate in the auction process as well, stated the public broadcaster.

    The channels participating in the e-auction process must pay a mandatory non-refundable processing fee of Rs 25,000 and a participation fee of Rs 10 lakhs that should be paid via demand draft. The unsuccessful bidders will receive a refund of the participation fees three weeks after the declaration of e-auction results. The successful bidders will have to make payments in ten monthly installments with each installment amounting to one-tenth of the difference between bid amount and participation fee.

    In case of failure to pay the amount within the stipulated deadline, the public broadcaster said it will charge a 14.5 per cent interest per annum. If the channel does not deposit the required amount, then the participation fee along with any installment already deposited will be forfeited and the channel will be discontinued from the DD Free Dish platform.

  • TV9 withdraws from NBDA over news ratings issue

    TV9 withdraws from NBDA over news ratings issue

    Mumbai: News broadcaster TV9 Network has announced its decision to withdraw its membership of News Broadcasters and Digital Association (NBDA) over the latter’s stance on the issue of resuming TV news ratings.

    Just a day after the government gave its go-ahead to Barc India to release the ratings, NBDA called upon the TV rating agency to take “some additional measures” before releasing the data. This included steps to make the systems more transparent, robust, and reliable, as well as to ensure that there is no manual intervention at any step in the rating process.

    In his letter to the association on Friday, Das said, “We, TV9 network, a full member of NBDA, do not subscribe to this view of NBDA Board. This seems to be a viewpoint of select members of the association and certainly not that of the entire NBDA.” He also wrote an open letter expressing his disappointment over the association’s alleged attempts to stall the ratings by raising doubts over the credibility of the Barc data.

    On Wednesday, the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry directed Barc India to immediately resume news ratings which had been hanging fire since October 2020. The decision to resume ratings came at the back of sustained efforts of several news channels, working with various stakeholders for over one year.

    “As a full member of NBDA, we have tried to reason with NBDA repeatedly but to no avail. I am not sure whether the association actually wants the ratings to resume at all. The latest communication only makes a bad situation for the news industry worse” he wrote further, “. On the contrary, NBDA has been expressing views in public, on the most critical issue pertaining to the news genre, which I am completely in disagreement with. Therefore, I am left with no option but to withdraw from NBDA with immediate effect.”

    According to Das, the stalling of ratings has “imperiled the news genre viability from a revenue perspective”, which he termed as an “unfair trade practice”. “The news genre is being put to disadvantage as more and more advertisers threaten to walk out. Here again, genuine interests of the news TV industry are being compromised,” he wrote.

    TV9 Network is also a member of the News Broadcasters Federation, another representative body of broadcasters that had been imploring the government to resume TRPs for news channels for over a year.

    Also read : News genre ratings: Broadcasters question ‘curious delay’; NBDA calls for additional measures

  • News genre ratings: Broadcasters question ‘curious delay’; NBDA calls for additional measures

    News genre ratings: Broadcasters question ‘curious delay’; NBDA calls for additional measures

    Mumbai: Day after the government gave its long-awaited approval to Broadcast Audience Research Council (Barc) India to release ratings for news channels, the News Broadcasters and Digital Association (NBDA) called upon the TV rating agency to take “some additional measures” before any ratings are released.

    In a statement released on Thursday, the association said that while it recognises that a number of reforms are being undertaken at Barc, there is “still room to make systems more transparent, robust and reliable”. The association, which had earlier termed the Barc ratings “unreliable”, further noted that Barc should also evaluate ways to enhance data security and ensure that there is no manual intervention at any step in the ratings process.

    “We hope before any ratings are released, these measures are in place,” stated NBDA, even as another industry association- News Broadcasters Federation (NBF) cried foul over the “unnecessary delay” in executing the orders. 

    “The audience viewership data is with Barc and withholding it despite clear instruction from the ministry, is not necessary. It should comply and release the ratings of news channels without any further delay. If there are news channels that don’t want ratings, they can be voluntarily exempted,” said NBF in a statement, highlighting that it was “disappointed.”

    The representative body of news broadcasters exhorted Barc to put an end to the severe challenge that the news genre was facing as advertising was deeply hurt in absence of any ratings, leading to a loss in revenue. 

    When will the news ratings finally be released?

    The statements come amid Barc India’s continued silence over the release of TRPs for news channels which have been in limbo since October 2020. While the I&B ministry has asked the TV measurement body to “release the news ratings with immediate effect” along with last three months’ data in a monthly format, it is yet to announce when it will publish the same.

    Queries sent to Barc India did not elicit any response till the filing of the report.

    On Wednesday, the I&B ministry directed the rating agency to resume news genre ratings on TV effective immediately on a four-week rolling average concept to ensure fair and equitable representation of true trends.

    Furthermore, the government also assured broadcasters that Barc has undertaken revision in its processes, protocols, oversight mechanism and initiated changes in governance structure, and revamped and tightened the access protocols for data. “Barc has indicated that in view of the changes undertaken by it, they are reaching out to related constituencies to explain the new proposals and are in readiness to actually commence the release as per the new protocols,” it stated further.

    NBDA says it stands vindicated

    Meanwhile, the NBDA also stated that it stands vindicated as the ministry has recognised the need for improvement, acknowledged the deficiencies, and the need to urgently increase sample size and systemic corrections. “The association will continue to work with all stakeholders on refining the Outlier Policy to eliminate statistical anomalies and increasing the sample size to strengthen the credibility of data,” it added further.

    The ministry’s go-ahead comes just weeks ahead of an intense election season in five states, including an electoral battle for India’s most populous state. However, with broadcasters continuing to spar over the issue, it remains to be seen how long the state of suspension will continue.

    The overhaul in the television rating system in India kick-started in October 2020 when Mumbai Police claimed in a press briefing that they probed a case of manipulation of TRPs and found some incriminating evidence. The police said the accused were allegedly bribing the households to keep a particular channel running, leading to several arrests, and FIRs against three news channels. The controversy which quickly turned into a political football for the broadcasters, with allegations and counter-allegation forcing Barc India to temporarily suspend the publishing of weekly data for news channels in October 2020, which hangs fire till date.

  • Barc to resume news genre ratings with immediate effect: MIB

    Barc to resume news genre ratings with immediate effect: MIB

    Mumbai: The ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) has asked Broadcast Audience Research Council (Barc) India to resume TV audience measurement ratings for the news genre with immediate effect and also release three months of data for the genre in a monthly format.

    As per the revised system, the reporting of news and niche genres shall be on a four-week rolling average concept. “This is to ensure fair, equitable representation of true trends,” said MIB in a statement on Wednesday. 

    The ministry has also set up a ‘working group’ under the chairmanship of the Prasar Bharati CEO for the consideration of leveraging the Return Path Data (RPD) capabilities for the use of TRP services, as also recommended by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) and the TRP committee report. The committee shall submit its report in four months’ time.

    In a statement, the I&B ministry said, “In the spirit of the TRP committee report and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI’s) recommendation dated 28.04.2020, M/s Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) has undertaken revision in its processes, protocols, oversight mechanism and initiated changes in governance structure etc.  The reconstitution of the board and the technical committee to allow for the induction of independent members have also been initiated by BARC.  A permanent oversight committee has also been formed. The access protocols for data have been revamped and tightened.”

    According to MIB, Barc has indicated that in view of changes undertaken by it, they are reaching out to related constituencies to explain the new proposals and are in readiness to actually commence the release as per the new protocols.

  • I&B ministry lays down guidelines for infrastructure sharing by MSOs

    I&B ministry lays down guidelines for infrastructure sharing by MSOs

    Mumbai: The ministry of information and broadcasting (I&B) has given its go-ahead to the multi-system operators (MSOs) to share infrastructure with other MSOs on a voluntary basis. As per the guidelines released by the ministry, the responsibility for compliance with guidelines and other regulations will lie with each MSO independently.

    According to the guidelines, each MSO will have to ensure encryption of signals and addressability of subscribers in all circumstances, and provide access of all the systems and the networks, used to provide broadcasting distribution network services, to the concerned broadcasters for audit as per the regulations and the authorised officers of the government and their representatives whenever demanded.

    The sharing of head-end used for cable TV services & transport streams transmitting signals of TV channels, among MSOs is permitted on a voluntary basis, said the ministry.

    Any MSO willing to share its transport stream of TV channels with another MSO should ensure that the latter has valid written interconnection agreements with concerned broadcasters for distribution of pay TV channels to the subscribers. They may share the common hardware for their SMS applications. But, the details of such arrangements should be reported to the MIB, the Trai, and the concerned broadcasters, 30 days in advance.

    As per the guidelines:

    ·Each MSO shall be accountable for ensuring the integrity and security of the CAS and the SMS data pertaining to such distributor.

    ·Each MSO shall maintain the backup of transaction logs and data of the CAS and the SMS, on a near real-time basis, for at least the past two years, at any point in time, on a secondary storage device.

    ·Each MSO shall undertake to provide access of the CAS and the SMS, used to provide broadcasting distribution network services, to the concerned broadcasters for the purpose of audit as per the regulations and the authorised officers of the government and their representatives whenever demanded.

    ·Each MSO sharing its infrastructure and transport streams of TV channels with other MSO, should set up systems and processes which ensure that the broadcasters are able to exercise their right of disconnection of signals in case of default of payment or due to any other reason, in terms of the interconnection agreement entered into between the broadcaster and the distributor and the relevant regulations in place.

    Under the new guidelines, the new applicant and existing licensee will jointly submit a detailed proposal for infrastructure sharing giving details of the infrastructure proposed to be shared and in the manner, infrastructure is proposed to be shared as well as roles and responsibilities of each to MIB. “The adherence and compliance to all the provisions of the rules and guidelines issued by MIB for grant of license to the MSO operator will be the responsibility of the existing operator and the new applicant proposing to share the infrastructure to the extent as may be required / applicable individually,” it added.

  • M&E industry must ensure self-classification under IT Rules 2021 happens in right spirit: Vikram Sahay

    M&E industry must ensure self-classification under IT Rules 2021 happens in right spirit: Vikram Sahay

    Mumbai: It is the responsibility of everyone in the media and entertainment (M&E) industry to ensure self-classification of content happens in the “right spirit” under the Digital Media Ethics Code, said the ministry of information and broadcasting joint secretary Vikram Sahay on Tuesday.

    Sahay was addressing the Pixels digital entertainment conference organised by the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI).

    “Consumers are curious whether the self-classification rule will be able to maintain the level of seriousness and discipline in content creation,” said Sahay. “We are of the view that the content creators and producers are mature enough and have accepted it in the right spirit. There should not be any cause of grievances on account of the fact that it is self-classification rather than pre-certification.”

    “We are in consultation with IAMAI for quite long, essentially in the area of content regulation and IAMAI has played a very important role in putting all the OTT players together and trying to develop a commonality of ideas and interests and that has helped us in trying to come out with Digital Media Ethics Code which was notified in February this year,” he further added.

    The Digital Media Ethics Code was notified in the month of February this year. The rules prescribed a framework to empower consumers to make informed viewing choices and also put in place a tiered grievance redressal mechanism.

    Sahay observed that the digital entertainment sector has witnessed phenomenal growth and has been a source of direct and indirect employment.

    The virtual conference Pixels deliberates upon the business and technology side of the digital entertainment sector with respect to OTT platforms, production houses, and content distributors.

  • India’s OCC providers expected to generate $2.6 billion in revenue by 2025

    India’s OCC providers expected to generate $2.6 billion in revenue by 2025

    Mumbai: The revenue generated by India’s online broadcast and video sector increased by 159 per cent between 2012 and 2019.to reach $483 million. This is expected to touch $2.6 billion by 2025, according to a new report.

    A white paper by Frontier Economics in partnership with Creative First, FICCI, Producers Guild of India and Motion Pictures Association Asia Pacific found that online curated content (OCC) providers’ investment in content and production was not only a significant engine of growth within the media and entertainment industry but also the wider economy. According to it, 60 per cent of production costs are spent outside the specific M&E sector in the general economy to support media companies’ investments, for example on catering, hospitality, construction and legal services.

    The proportion of the Indian population using the internet has almost tripled since the entry of OCC providers in 2012, mainly due to the government’s initiative, but in part due to demand for OCC services drawing people to increase their internet usage; 34 per cent of Indians now use the internet (compared to 12.5 per cent in 2012)

    The research found that the geographic distribution of OCC investment in original titles is broadly proportional to each country’s number of global OCC subscribers, and as subscriber numbers continue to grow in India, so will investment in local and regional content.

    Globally, OCC providers are expected to pump $61 billion into original and licensed content by 2024. They collectively invested $24.7 billion in content in 2020. In 2019, The Walt Disney Company, NBCU, WarnerMedia, and ViacomCBS collectively poured $45 billion into content spending and creation globally (excluding sports).

    The study also showed that 56 per cent of hours watched on Indian OCC services was local content. It also found via a survey that 70 per cent of Indians consider it important that their OTT platforms provide local content.

    Investments in content have a disproportionately large contribution to the GDP as it provides skilled, well-paid employment stimulates economic growth, and supports a country’s exports. Since producing top-quality content is costly and content creation is a risky investment, policies like tax rebates or subsidies mitigate the risk and have been found to significantly increase investments in content, according to Frontier Economics.

    According to it, India’s existing policy framework has encouraged investments in the M&E sector and created a virtuous cycle of content creation and skill development. However, it pointed out that policies that discourage or constrain foreign investment and market entry can disrupt this virtuous cycle. “Protectionist policies intended to shield local companies from international competition could result in local industries that are inward-looking, less innovative and less able to produce high-quality content that is in demand internationally,” it said.

    “A light touch regulation has been our intention, the government being an enabler, rather than bring any brakes to the system of decision making, investment and employment opportunities,” said the ministry of information and broadcasting joint secretary Vikram Sahay on Friday.

    He added “Policy is always an evolving process with time, experience, and learnings. The government has always worked with the industry and other stakeholders, and we look forward to your suggestions and views. The industry has taken the Digital Media Ethics Code positively and has incorporated the spirit of the ethics code diligently in its decision-making process. The grievances received by the Government have drastically come down and it shows that the regulatory mechanism with the self-certification process is working well.”

  • MIB took action against 139 cases of obscene/violent TV content since 2018: Anurag Thakur

    MIB took action against 139 cases of obscene/violent TV content since 2018: Anurag Thakur

    Mumbai: Since 2018, the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) has taken action against 139 cases on content related to obscenity and violence on TV, I&B minister Anurag Thakur told the Parliament on Tuesday during the winter session.

    “For Television, all TV Channels are required to adhere to the Programme Code under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, including that programmes should not contain anything obscene, defamatory, deliberate, false and suggestive innuendos and half-truths,” said the minister, adding that, “the government takes action in appropriate cases where violation of the codes are found. It also issues advisory from time to time to the media to adhere to the laid down codes.”

    For digital news publishers, the government had notified the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 under the IT Act, 2000 on 25 February which inter alia provides for a Code of Ethics for adherence by digital news publishers.