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Tag: News Broadcasters Association

  • MIB to collect data on satellite capacity needs, digital chatter

    MIB to collect data on satellite capacity needs, digital chatter

    NEW DELHI: The Indian government has not only embarked upon data collation of the satellite capacity needs of TV channels in India but is also preparing to get real-time insights on digital chatter.

    In a letter sent earlier in January to Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd or BECIL, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has asked the sister government organisation to collect data on capacity requirements by TV channels on Indian satellites as also the life of foreign satellites catering to Indian customers.

    Pointing out that the data was needed on an urgent basis, the MIB has directed the BECIL to consult industry associations such as the IBF and the News Broadcasters Association, apart from DTH and HITS players, on information relating to “total estimated requirement” of the broadcasting sector on Indian satellites and “end of life period of foreign satellites”.

    Though MIB hasn’t spelt out the need to collate such data, nudged by the Department of Space and ISRO, the ministry, in the recent past, has been obliquely hinting TV channels to shift to Indian satellites before various government permissions being sought could be given.

    Most foreign satellite companies operating in India, however, have been conveying to the government and regulator TRAI (one such meeting happened in New Delhi about a week back when TRAI called for feedback on NTP 2018) that ISRO has been doing a great job in flying high India’s flag in the space but the dream of Digital India, as envisaged by PM Modi, could get a major fillip if foreign satellites, too, could be used to provide broadband and other related services to Indians.

    Meanwhile, the BECIL has also floated a tender seeking vendors to set up a ‘Social Media Communication Hub’ that would help the MIB keep a tab on trending news and act as the eyes and ears to get insights into digital chatter mostly involving the federal government’s flagship schemes.

    “The tool should have the capability to crawl [the] worldwide web and social media to monitor and analyze various trends emerging, as well as to gauge the sentiments amongst netizens. The tool should be comprehensive with the capability to generate reports and do customizations as per the requirements of [the] Ministry of Information and Broadcasting,” the tender floated by the BECIL stated.

    The platform or the hub sought to be set up should facilitate creating a 360-degree view of the people who were creating the buzz across various topics with an ability to analyse as well as visualise large volumes of data across diverse digital platforms in real time.

    The broad features that are required for this social media monitoring tool, as enumerated by the BECIL, are following:

    — Listening and responding capabilities: The platform is expected to not only listen to the standard digital channels listed below but also enable easy extension to integrate proprietary data sources such as the mobile insights platform.

    — The tool should be able to interface with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, Play Store, emails, news blogs, forums and complaint websites for the purposes of monitoring.

    — Real-time integration for Facebook and Twitter needs to be demonstrated. Also, the platform will need to demonstrate the ability to configure data collection, insights and response for the platform.

    — The platform should have support for Indian languages such as Hindi, Urdu, Telegu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bengali, Punjabi, Tamil, along with English.

    “This software tool should be able to perform like [a] search engine, which will work both as web crawler and social media crawler, and would be able to search various hash-tags [and] keywords across the social media platforms,” the tender document stated, adding that the tool/software should be able to identify fake news with particular focus on such conversations on social media and specialised websites.

    For this hub, MIB is looking at a 20-member strong team (scalable later) of SM analytics and domain experts in social media analysis with experience in handling tools such as Oracle CRM and Brandwatch to be stationed on the premises of the ministry.

    Also Read :

    MIB, DoS nudge TV channel to use Indian satellites

    MIB reverts to earlier norms of seeking nod from ISRO on uplink/downlink of TV channels

    MIB bumps up TV channel processing fee

    MIB categorises all non-Hindi and non-Eng TV channels as regional

  • Zee, Star, NBA oppose converged regulator for broadcast and telecoms

    Zee, Star, NBA oppose converged regulator for broadcast and telecoms

    MUMBAI: Two of India’s biggest broadcasters Star India and Zee Network and industry association News Broadcasters Association (NBA) have opposed the TRAI’s proposal to have a converged regulator, a concept being debated as part of a consultation paper floated by the regulatory body. 

    In its lengthy submission to the TRAI’s paper on formulation of National Telecoms Policy 2018, Star, while suggesting a “separate regulator” for broadcasting sector was unfeasible, has said, “With a converged regulator for ICT and broadcasting there is always the risk of ‘false equivalence’ being drawn between the two sectors.”

    Pointing out that convergence was an aid to make content available to consumers and increasing the opportunities for content producers/rights holders to maximise monetisation opportunities involving intellectual property rights over content, Star highlighted, “Creative eco-system being an entirely separate unique value chain from ICT, should always be treated with a view to uphold and protect IPs.”

    Echoing similar sentiments, Zee said the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) was the nodal ministry for all broadcasting related issues and it would be “inappropriate” for the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to propose a converged regulator in its policy document without making the MIB a part of the process.

    “It may also be pointed out that setting up a convergent regulator would also require a convergence bill (to be okayed by Parliament) outlining the very scope of convergent regulations and various issues associated with it,” Zee explained its stance.

    Subhash Chandra-controlled Zee network has gone ahead and questioned the TRAI’s various consultation papers on broadcasting industry-related issues that include the one on NTP 2018 and another one on uplinking and downlinking.
    “It is astounding that there is no correlation between the two consultation papers,” Zee has submitted, “If the comments (from the industry) provided against one consultation paper are accepted, these would be counter to the comments/ recommendations against the other consultation paper.”

    Both Star and Zee in their submissions have cited in the defence of their stance views of Parliament’s Standing Committee on Information Technology on broadcast regulation articulated in its latest report tabled few weeks back.
    In its report, the parliamentary panel observed that the broadcast sector has developed so much that it would be advisable for the government to explore a separate regulator and till that happens, powers of TRAI could be explored to be expanded as an interim measure.

    By trying to bring in the “convergence issue”, wherein broadcasting and telecom were “treated under the same umbrella” in a converged manner, the TRAI “would be acting contrary” to the views articulated by the parliamentary panel that had pushed for separate regulators for telecoms and broadcast sectors, both Star and Zee pointed out.

    NBA, which is an apex industry body comprising most of the TV (and digital) news ventures as its members, also joined in the issue with Star and Zee to observe the regulatory authority dealing with content issues must be different from the body dealing with other issues in the broadcasting sector.

    The TRAI regulates the carriage side of the broadcast industry that includes issues such as tariff, inter-connect and quality of service. It also holds sway over matters like OTT, broadband and net neutrality that straddle both segments of broadcast and telecoms services.

    Also Read :

    MIB reverts to earlier norms of seeking nod from ISRO on uplink/downlink of TV channels

    Government toying easing downlink norms

    The Communication Convergence Bill, 2001

  • Cross-media holding: Indian policymakers push for regulations

    Cross-media holding: Indian policymakers push for regulations

    NEW DELHI: A section of policymakers in India is not in favour of market forces taking care of monopolistic trends in the increasingly converging print and electronic media. It has recommended government intervention—a thought-process that can have wide-ranging implications on activities of broadcasting companies, MSOs and even LCOs if put into action.

    Stating that it cannot “ignore the concerns expressed by the industry,” parliament’s Standing Committee on Information Technology in its 44th report last week observed that issues related to vertical monopolies and cross-media holdings have “serious implications for the print and electronic media in India and cannot be simply left to the market forces…  (and) need suitable intervention of government from time to time.”

    In its submission before the committee, comprising members of parliament (MPs) from the upper and lower houses, TRAI made it clear that it had twice in the last six years submitted wide-ranging suggestions on media holdings and vertical monopoly that were not yet accepted by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) though it would be “desirable” to implement the recommendations on a “priority basis”.

    MIB, however, told the parliamentary panel that it was not in favour of “too much control to restrict” the areas of operation of media entities and regulations should aim at preventing exploitation by any particular entity while leaving the remaining dynamics to the market forces.

    Among the many suggestions made by the TRAI to calculate market dominance via a complex formula, the regulator had strongly advocated barring federal and state governments and organisations controlled by it from entering into the business of broadcasting and distribution of TV services while suggesting exit options for such organisations. Political parties, too, were isolated by the regulator from entering directly into the broadcasting and distribution business.

    In India, quite a few broadcasting and distribution platforms, especially MSOs and LCOs, are directly or indirectly owned and controlled by political parties/politicians/MPs/state government(s). Tamil Nadu government-owned MSO Arasu—also discussed by the committee in its report—is one such example.

    The committee directed the government to update it on the action taken on recommendations made by TRAI on issues of vertical monopolies and cross-media holdings.

    Interestingly, the News Broadcasters Association or the NBA had strongly pleaded before the committee that vertical monopoly or integration of distribution platforms and broadcasting companies was “not healthy” for either the cable or the broadcasting sectors. Reason: such integration and interplay made room for “bias” and, more importantly, removed the concept of a level playing field. The NBA had also clarified its apprehensions saying vertical integration would affect consumer choice too.

    “NBA has submitted that cross media ownership is not a healthy trend in media industry and has the potential of creating serious conflict of interest situation, which can stifle both the content side and business side of media companies,” the parliamentary panel in its report said.

    ALSO READ:

    DTH licensing recommendations: TRAI restricts vertically integrated broadcasters from owning more than one DPO

    TRAI managed to give broadcasting as much importance as telecom in 2014

    Parliamentary panel pushes for TRAI’s empowerment

    Parliamentary panel raps MIB on knuckles for DAS implementation

    Column-Policy Cross-Connections

  • Smriti Irani tweets industry body advisory urging restraint by TV news channels

    Smriti Irani tweets industry body advisory urging restraint by TV news channels

    NEW DELHI: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Smriti Irani yesterday in tweets amplified advisories issued by news industry associations, which had cautioned TV news channels to exercise restraint while reporting on the violence unleashed in the states of Haryana, Punjab, parts of Uttar Pradesh and Delhi in the aftermath of self-styled godman Ram Rahim being convicted of rape charges by a local court on Friday.

    At around 20.59 Irani tweeted: “Drawing attention of news channels to Clause B of Fundamental Std. of NBSA refraining channels from causing panic, distress &undue fear.”

    As social media exploded questioning the minister’s tweet and intentions — some even supported her assertions, though, saying the media was reporting falsely on incidents of mob violence — she followed up her first tweet with another one stating: “Kindly note this advisory has been given by the offices of the National Broadcasters Association.” In another message she also condemned the attack on media and damage to property.

    News Broadcasters Association (NBA)’s self-regulatory body News Broadcasting Standards Authority or NBSA had actually re-circulated among member-news channels the organisation’s ethics and codes that overall harp about restraint.

    On reporting news involving armed conflicts, communal violence, public disorder and internal disturbances, the NBSA guidelines urge TV news channels that telecast of such incidents should be tested on the “touchstone of public interest”.

    Broadcast Editors Association (BEA), an apex body of editors of national and regional television news channels in India, too issued an advisory on Friday cautioning TV news channels to “keep a careful eye on the content and views that can inflame people.”

    “All editors should take utmost care while playing violence visuals of the coverage of Baba Ram Rahim case. Please verify the facts before putting them on air because lots of rumours are floating around,” the BEA statement said.

    While NBA did issue a statement condemning the violence and attacks on the media (OB vans were damaged and some media people were assaulted), it urged “the chief ministers of Haryana and Punjab to take action urgently to bring the situation under control in order that the media/press are able to perform their duties without fear.”

    For the records, NBSA does have extensive code of ethics and broadcasting standards. In the section Principles of Self-regulation, the code states: “Television news has greater reach, and more immediate impact than other forms of media, and this makes it all the more necessary that channels exercise restraint to ensure that any report or visuals broadcast do not induce, glorify, incite, or positively depict violence and its perpetrators, regardless of ideology or context. Specific care must be taken not to broadcast visuals that can be prejudicial or inflammatory…”.

    Meanwhile, a Punjabi language news channel reporter received injuries in attacks allegedly by followers of the Dera Sacha Sauda chief Ram Rahim in Haryana while the video journalist accompanying him has gone missing after the assault. 

    Rakesh Kumar, a reporter with PTC News, said he and his video journalist Shipendar Happy were attacked near the Dera headquarters when they went there to report after Dera head Gurmeet Ram Rahim’s conviction in a rape case. “They thrashed us brutally leaving me with a fracture in my right hand. My cameraman Happy is still missing. They also torched our vehicle and equipment,” Rakesh told news agency PTI.

    ALSO READ:

    NBSA hauls up news channels; fines them, demands apology

    BCCC gets more complaints on harm than sex, obscenity & nudity on TV

  • COMMENT: KNIVES, ARNAB, & THE OLD GUARD OF ENGLISH NEWS

    COMMENT: KNIVES, ARNAB, & THE OLD GUARD OF ENGLISH NEWS

    MUMBAI: The knives are out. The blades are being flashed around. And those involved in the street fight are drawing blood and bleeding as well. Only difference is that the street fighters are not the ruffian kind, rather they are gents who you watch on the TV screen or dressed up to the T in well pressed suits in boardrooms.

    What has got these reasonably well-behaved folks from the English news channel space all het up?

    Well, a possible shakeup in the pecking order courtesy a newcomer who likes a round – some say bouts – of fisticuffs – both on air and in the marketplace. Team Republic TV led by editor-owner Arnab Goswami is clear that it wants to own the English new genre – or create a new one combining both Hindi and English – by hook or by crook. After all, all’s fair in love and business isn’t it?

    So far he and his CEO Vikas Khanchandani have used tricks which older players have resorted to in the past – multiple LCN distribution on cable TV networks and allegedly pinching content which was recorded when he was in another channel’s employment.

    The courts will decide whether Arnab and team are thieves or not; we are not insinuating anything. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India will clean up the multiple LCN mess by coming down hard on the errant distribution platform owners who have fallen prey to the smell of money – lots of it.

    But the affair Republic TV has thrown up a lot of deeper issues which could be thought about.

    When all members of a gymkhana or club have agreed upon a code of conduct, and a new entrant does not adhere to it, then should he not be told to fall in line when the infringement is brought to the establishment’s chairperson’s notice? Could the chairperson give the older members a patient hearing and heed what they have to say?

    Older players are an aggrieved lot. Yes, they admit that they have been bad boys in the past. But then they have mended their way, signed a truce and decided to follow the straight and narrow path. Should their old behavior be brought up to excuse that of the new entrant?

    And when they decide to protest by not coming to the club, should they be further threatened that they will be banned for longer if they do continue with their picketing?

    Of course the chairperson is BARC; the policeman/security is TRAI and the members are the NBA. No second guesses for who the new entrant is – Republic TV.

    Would BARC have responded the same way had it been the general entertainment channels which would have raised a hue and cry? Remember what happened to TAM!) After all the entertainment broadcasters contribute about four to five times more to BARC’s purse then do the news channels.

    Could broadcasting licence issuance by the ministry of information and broadcasting be linked to well-behaved and well-accepted distribution practices? If some one does not adhere to them, could the licence be suspended?

    Should news channels be measured alongside entertainment channels? This modus operandi has forced them to resort to entertainment or outshout-and-out-abuse-your-guest kind of programming (read entertainment again) which seems to appeal to TV soap viewers wanting to have big names of society and public life being squashed like flies on TV. Some have called this the dumbing down or bimbo-isation of news television.

    Is there a need for a new viewership currency or data points – which are more specific to the news genre – other than what BARC churns out? Could media agencies and brands resort to qualitative checks of content before signing cheques for ads on TV news channels? The most watched read/watched genre of content on the internet begins with a P. Do all major advertisers place their consumer messaging in that environment?

    Could distribution platforms have stricter penalties if they fall for green dollars, violating codes set up by regulators? The DTH guys would not dare to go for multiple LCN placement because what they do immediately comes to the public’s and regulator’s eyes – they are accountable for their quality of service. Fear of punishment can be a big deterrent.

    From an editorial perspective, questions are being asked as to how far will Arnab go? And then will the other channels show restraint or will they beat the same path? So far, it appears that some of them played follow-the- newcomer on the multiple LCN issue. Of course, they all did a volte face when the policeman/security guard waved around his night stick.

    Whatever be the case, it is quite sure that the NBA English news members will kiss and make up with BARC, the TRAI and each other. Sooner then later. (BARC and NBA are scheduled to meet today to pencil out points that will help them resolve the crisis.)

    Who knows Arnab may also find some sense in the NBA and its code of conduct and eat his own words and also house his channel under its protective roof? There was a time when another bespectacled news journalist was labelled the villain of TV news; today he is part of the establishment.

    After all, they all need each other. This is despite some media blogs and websites which have sketched the industry’s execs as shaking hands while holding a dagger behind each others’ backs.

    Industry old timers are betting that ratings released after week 22 will give a true reflection of what’s going on with English news TV viewership. The three to four weeks’ data prior to that is simply something to be kept aside as an aberration as it will continue to show Republic TV as the numero uno. After that it could well go into a free fall and the older players will continue with their leadership position, is their prediction.

    Republic TV executives are clucking that this is wishful thinking. Indian viewers have been waiting for the Arnab school of journalism like the Jews did for manna from heaven in the good old Bible, is what they have voiced. And that their channel will continue to top the charts for the foreseeable future.

    Only time will tell which prediction turns out be true.

    Until then, we will keep channel surfing with hope in our hearts that we will get to watch some real news.

  • BARC-NBA face-off: Experts feel ad agencies, TV channels will take individual call; resolution best option

    MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: Now that English TV news channels have boycotted BARC India’s audience data and the measurement company hit back by saying it is not its job to sort out issues like usage of multiple LCNs by TV channels with an aim to increase viewership, what next? The twists and turns continue coming thick and fast in this soap opera, though the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has kept itself aloof unwilling to wade into the matter yet.

    Will this boycott continue for long? Or, is it just a passing protest where players concerned will kiss and make up after some time? Will BARC India continue to measure viewership of the protesting TV channels and not release the data? Can no data also result in lessening advertising revenue — in the long run? Will the government (not petitioned yet) and the regulator TRAI, which has already been asked to look into the issue by some stakeholders, intervene and on what ground?

    As some more dirty linen is expected to be washed in public over the next few days — an independent analytics company Chrome Data & Analytics Media has stated many Indian TV channels use the multiple LCNs route to spike viewership — questions swirl in the Indian media landscape.

    For the uninitiated, multiple LCNs is a technical term used by media industry to describe a situation where a TV channel, most of the time, pays cable distribution networks to place the particular channel — assigned a unique number in the EPG — under more than one genre aimed at increasing viewership numbers.     

    Dentsu Aegis Network South Asia chairman and CEO Ashish Bhasin is of the opinion that in the long run if there is no audience data of TV channels, it could “impact” advertisers’ decisions.

    “Ultimately any advertiser would want to know the return on investment and the only way to measure that, is to see the amount of money being spent by advertisers vs. how much viewership they were getting. If that (data) is not available, advertisers would get reluctant at some stage, “Bhasin explained, adding if the impasse was temporary, advertising revenue for TV channels may not get affected.

    According to IPG Mediabrands India CEO Shashi Sinha, absence of viewership data and its effects on advertising revenue of the protesting TV channels will largely depend on the way advertisers view the situation.

    “Each advertiser will make its own call. I can’t predict what will happen to the industry, but it’s an individual call (of advertisers and clients). They will go with their own metric. Some will say no data, no advertising, while some may happily advertise (in the absence of audience data),” Sinha pointed out, highlighting the fluid nature of the advertising industry.

    A veteran television news executive, who did not want to be named, said that the pull-out by the English news channels from BARC India is unlikely to affect the advertisers. “Even an advertiser knows that the whole TRP system was flawed despite a new regime aiming to keep the data robust and transparent. Viewership of 180-plus million TV households is difficult to measure on the basis of a few thousands of boxes for a country as big as India,” the TV exec argued.

    Echoing similar sentiments on the importance of audience data — or the lack of it — a chief executive of one of the TV channels that has decided to boycott BARC India said their move may actually clarify some issues.

    Pointing out that they expected ratings of Republic TV to be high for the next two weeks and hoping TRAI would crack down soon on the issue of multiple LCNs, the CEO, who didn’t want to be named, said, “If advertisers don’t really give a hoot whether we are part of ratings or not, then it’s great for us. Then we will know that BARC’s measurement is not that important for the entire TV industry. So, it’s actually a good thing that we have taken the decision to stay out of BARC as it allow us to measure whether BARC data is important to advertisers and agencies or not.”  

    However, not everybody believes that taking on BARC and boycotting the measurement company, a joint industry initiative, is a good idea.

    “I don’t think it is right for anyone, whether a GEC or a news channel, to say that we will not participate in the ratings system. As BARC was founded by all the constituents of the industry, it is BARC’s job to make sure ratings are available all the time to everybody. If anybody has issues with BARC reporting, then it should be taken up with BARC and the issue should be mutually corrected. Pulling out (of BARC) is not a solution,” Bhasin expressed his views.
    Another industry veteran Paritosh Joshi, who had been actively involved during the period BARC was being set up two years back, also did not agree that absence of credible data can benefit any player or the industry in general.

    Reacting to an observation made on Facebook on an indiantelevision.com report detailing the decision of a  few English TV news channels to boycott BARC, Joshi observed, “What the recalcitrant measurement subjects need to introspect on are the following two issues: how many times have they used multiple frequencies? How long will their advertising proposition survive without a credible, agnostic measure? Many of them (the boycotting TV news channels) also have print businesses and (they) can’t be oblivious to the havoc wreaked upon revenues by the absence of a readership measure for an indefinitely long period.”

    Even as the industry debates the pros and cons of such a data boycott, regulator TRAI is still to come out officially stating its views on this developing story, if a TV lingo is used, though it has been petitioned on the issue of rampant usage of LCNs or frequencies by TV channels not only by the News Broadcasters’ Association, but by an individual TV company too. TV Today Network has accused rival Times Now of  alleged distribution malpractices.

    What about the government that had actually officially blessed formation of BARC India to replace TAM India, which was a joint venture between AC Nielsen and WPP-owned Kantar Media? A source in the MIB, while keeping a distance from the developments of the past few days, said the matter involved TV news channels and BARC India and the government had nothing to say on the issue. Yet.

    Keep tuned in for more on this ratings soap opera, which has all the hallmarks of a serial that many an Indian GECs air on their networks.

    ALSO READ:

    Republic TV has 51.9% viewership in debut  week: BARC gives data to paid subs despite NBA’s request

    Indian English news channels boycott BARC’s viewership monitoring

    News channel controversy: BARC India fires riposte to NBA

    “Dual LCNs is not the best thing to do” — Chrome Data CEO Pankaj Krishna

    “The NBA is a toothless group,” says Republic TV’s Arnab Goswami

  • Indian English news channels boycott BARC’s viewership monitoring

    MUMBAI: In a coordinated move, the English TV channel news members of the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) have decided to pull out of Indian viewership ratings monitor Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC). As of 7 pm today – India Today, Times Now, News X, CNN News19, and NDTV 24×7 – have stopped inserting the BARC water mark in their TV signals from their studios.

    This follows BARC CEO Partho Dasgupta’s decision to publish Republic TV’s viewership data today despite the NBA urging it to refrain from doing so on account of the members’ belief that it had allegedly resorted to massive multi LCN placement of the channel on various MSOs/DPOs and cable TV networks nationally.

    The latest viewership data showed that Republic TV had gone on to capture more than 52 per cent of the viewership.

    The five channels have stated that they have written to BARC in the past about the alleged abuse and tampering of its monitoring methodology and have received a standard response which has been almost indifference to their concerns. And the snub by the ratings agency this morning was the last straw, hence they decided to pull out of the watermarking.

    Sources state that the five channels would like an assurance from BARC that it will only report the data after Republic TV stops allegedly messing around by placing itself in multiple genres and LCNs.

    Additionally, they would like an assurance from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) that the MSOs and DPOs have totally cleaned up their acts and placed Republic TV only in one genre and LCN.

    As the five will not be part of the monitoring from BARC, its next week’s report could end up showing that Republic TV has maximum viewership of the Indian English news genre with international news channels such as BBC, CNN and Al jazeera also picking up. (Updated on 19 May 2017 at 3 pm)

    Indiantelevision.com placed a call to the BARC spokesperson but received no response at the time of writing.

    Questions that arise from this fracas around the ratings and the news channels boycott: How long will this faceoff continue? Will BARC blink first? What currency will advertisers use to decide on which shows and channels to advertise on in the English news genres? Why does it seem like déjà vu? Did the industry err by backing BARC and pulling the shutters down on TAM’s viewership ratings? Will the TRAI or MIB now step in to ensure that some sanity comes into the news channel business (many dread this)? Or will BARC step back and heed the request of the members of the NBA?

  • MIB report: 50% digital STBs seeded during DAS’ first three phases

    NEW DELHI: If the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) is to be believed, then first three phases of on going rollout of digital addressable system have already accounted for 50 per cent of digitisation as out of targeted 140 million set-top-box requirement, 70 million have been installed. Evolving ground realities may be different, however.

    The catch in the MIB’s annual report for 2016-17, put on the ministry’s website Thursday, is that the government has taken the Census 2011 as the base for calculating the total number of TV households in India, which has been pegged at 117 million. Adding an incremental 20 per cent for multiple TV homes and TV sets at offices and other places like restaurants, etc, MIB states total requirement for boxes was 140 million — a figure that may be different from ground realities.

    “Total STBs required by adding 20 per cent provision for multiple TV (sets) in houses and TVs in offices/shops is 14 crore (140 million),” MIB’s annual report says, while adding that in digitisation’s first three out of the total four phases, “7 crore (70 million) STBs have already been installed.”

    However, in an evolving world while BARC’s latest data, unveiled February 2017, estimates the Indian TV households at 183 million, the MIB annual report itself quotes, at another place, a FICCI-KPMG report of 2016 as India being “the world’s second largest TV market after China” having “175 million TV households…”

    The MIB report goes on elaborate that the first two phases of digitisation achieved 30 million seeding of boxes, while estimating the requirement for boxes for ongoing Phase IV, which comprises small towns and villages in rural hinterlands of India, to be 70 million.

    But amidst these confounding and confusing numbers being bandied around by the government, it admits that digitisation, pushed by MIB and regulator TRAI since 2012, has increased tax collections both for the State and the Central governments.

    Pointing out that cable TV digitisation has brought transparency in the whole eco-system, making it difficult for MSOs and LCOs to under-declare subscriber base and evade taxes, the MIB report highlights, entertainment tax collection in states increased from Rs. 157 crore (Rs. 1570 million)  in 2012-13 to Rs. 358 crore (Rs. 3580 million) in 2015-16.

    Further, the government also admits that digital cable TV networks were vital infrastructure for penetration of broadband through which e-government services could be deployed. Listing out the benefits of digitisation, the MIB report says, “(Though) no formal impact assessment of the cable TV digitisation has been carried out, data has been collected from different stakeholders, which indicates…major benefits from digitisation have started accruing.”

    The benefits are not restricted to government in the form of tax revenues, but also increased choice to consumers, including HD channels. “From the data received from the MSOs, it is observed that in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, on an average, 300 SD and 20 HD channels are being carried by each MSO. Subscribers have choice to choose from these large numbers of channels…not possible in an analog regime,” MIB clarifies.

    Action Taken Report on Complaints Against TV Channels

    During the period 1 April 2016 to 21 December 2016, MIB issued advisories, warnings and orders to TV channels on receiving complaints from various sections of the population.

    There was one general advisory given to news &current affairs TV channels regarding telecast of incidents related to Cauvery water dispute with due caution and restraint; nine specific advisories to adhere to the Programme & Advertising Codes; four warnings directing the TV channel to strictly comply with programme and advertising norms and three orders to TV channels to go off air for varying number of days.

    According to the MIB, the News Broadcasters Association (NBA), as part of its self-regulation mechanism, has formulated a Code of Ethics and Broadcasting Standards. The News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA) received and considered 1,451 complaints from 2014 to July, 2016 and passed 26 orders. It also issued one guideline and nine advisories.

    The Broadcast Content Complaints Council (BCCC), according to MIB, received 16,257 complaints from 16 April, 2014 to 20th June, 2016. During the period April, 2015 to July, 2016 industry-formed advertising regulator ASCI received and considered 2,020 complaints against advertisements, upholding 1,271 of them.

    Transponder Capacity Constraints

    While enumerating the highlights, achievements and also hurdles in the Indian broadcast and cable sector, MIB holds out some hope for all those Indian users of  satellite services that capacity crunch could get addressed

    “There is some constraint with regard to availability of transponder capacities, but it is expected that with greater demand will also come the supply,” MIB says without divulging how the growing demand for satellite capacity would be met.

    User s of satellite services in India, including teleports, DTH ops and Vsat players, have been severely constrained by lack of KU-band transponders as India’s space agency ISRO has not been able to fill the demand-supply gap despite several launches, while steadfastly refusing to ease norms for renting capacity on foreign satellites.

  • New digital player Go News voluntarily submits to NBA self-regulation

    MUMBAI: ‘Nayi Nazar, Asli Khabar, Mobile Par’ (new outlook, real news, on mobile phones). The tagline in itself exemplifies the vision of Pankaj Pachauri’s news venture Go News.

    Catchy tagline apart, it could well turn out to be the first digital news provider to voluntarily come under News Broadcasters Association (NBA)’s self-regulatory code. Reason: it wants to be a responsible news broadcaster following journalism ethics and breaking the `noisy’ norm presently prevalent on most TV news channels.

    The app-based service, which is planned to be available on hand-held devices, is yet to get a formal approval from NBA for a membership of the Association.  

    “We have applied for NBA membership. Go News (probably) is the first digital news venture to voluntarily apply for it because our aim is to become a responsible broadcaster,” Pachauri told Indiantelevision.com.

    Positioned to be a digital news channel with new method of delivery and thrust on news, the mobile-only news platform (to begin with) is racing against the clock to go live by the second week of March 2017. The channel will initially host news and short format videos in Hindi language.

    However, as growth and reach does come with servicing consumers of different languages, next in line for Go News is an English feed, followed by an Indian language.  Six months down the line, the app plans to provide news feed in three languages.

    Pachauri, a former NDTV news anchor and media advisor to the former PM Manmohan Singh, spearheads the new venture that currently boasts of a team consisting of 40 professionals, including 10 anchors and six reporters. Professional boosts come from the likes of former BBC and NDTV anchor Darain Shahidi, a former colleague of Pachauri.

    Pointing out that people are getting away from television news as the number of viewers decline, both for English and Hindi genre, Pachauri said, “English audience is annoyed with the way news is treated on TV channels…and they are walking away. The news space is crowded and loud, and journalism is dying.”

    So, in an effort to bring back in vogue traditional and good journalism, Go News plans to do things differently and make an effort to provide video news of international quality. But haven’t we heard that before too from other stars like Arnab Goswami and Barkha Dutt?

    Go News is a tech-heavy platform, which would be compatible with smart televisions and smart mobile phones and would aim at providing news for the “smart citizens.” Pachauri explained, “We want to break the grammar of TV news by giving people the liberty to choose a time, day and platform to consume news.” The app would also allow consumers offline viewing and as also no-pay downloaded content.

    Apart from reporting on urban cities, sports, business, politics, which are the usual stuff, the channel will report on and from the rural pockets of India and will collaborate with people from the hinterlands — for news. “The experts and teachers can talk about several issues and events on the digital platform,” Pachauri added.

    Targeted at the 25-49 years age group, the channel has no advertiser or sponsor on board — yet. That means no immediate revenues. Does that frighten Pachauri and his band of ethical journalists as several of them must have chipped in with funding of this not-for-profit news venture?  Seems not.

    “No annoying ads, no annoying anchors and no annoying attitude. We have received many enquiries (for advertisements and sponsorships) but, for now, we are not looking at the business side. If we do good journalism, business will follow,” Pachauri said.

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  • NDTV gets additional time in SEBI case

    NDTV gets additional time in SEBI case

    MUMBAI: Prannoy Roy and family-controlled NDTV India can heave a sigh of relief. The channel had got a notice by the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in June 2016 for alleged violation of takeover norms with respect to timely disclosure of some share transactions of its promoters.

    With regards to their petition to the Delhi High Court, the date of the hearing which was 29 November 2016 has been adjourned to 17 January 2017. The change in date was announced on the BSE today.

    “The company and its promoters have, on 13 June 2016, received Show Cause Notices (SCNs) issued by Sebi with regard to certain non-compliance related to delay/non-filing of disclosures in the previous years under Sebi Takeover Regulations,” NDTV said in a regulatory filing to BSE.

    The company further said it is “of the opinion that the alleged non-compliance referred in SCN are technical/ procedural in nature,” and it is seeking legal advice to take appropriate action in the said matter.

    NDTV was recently directed by the government to go off air for 24 hours from 9 November 2016 as a penalty for breaching telecast norms related to security issues. The channel was accused of airing images and revealing information regarding defence locations while covering the Pathankot terrorist attack a few months back.

    In an another development, the News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA), the self-regulatory body of news channels under the News Broadcasters’ Association ( NBA) late last month asked NDTV, the English news channel, to air an apology for showing an incorrect map of India. The letter from NBA to NDTV stated the complaint was studied and the channel was directed to run an apology (full screen) prior to 9 pm on 5 November.