ITV

Tag: S K Arora

  • B’cast Bill: Film censor board chief seeks clarifications

    NEW DELHI: Indian film censor board chief and veteran actress Sharmila Tagore today exhorted the government to remove overlaps in the functioning of censor board and a proposed broadcast regulator.

    She also called for “transparency” while forming the proposed Broadcast Regulatory Authority of India (Brai).

    “There has to be some sort of uniformity at some level… and identify where there are some overlaps,” Tagore, chairperson of the Central Board for Film Certification (CBFC), was quoted by the Press Trust of India as saying.

    She, along with some other government officials and industry representatives were participating in a day-long seminar on the draft ‘Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill – 2006’, which was organized by industry chamber Assocham.

    Tagore’s apprehensions stems from the fact that the censor board and the proposed Brai might end up doing similar works like certifying content for television channels.
    In the absence of a regulatory body, the government has mandated that only `U’ (or for unrestricted viewing) censor certified films promos, music videos and songs should be aired on TV music channels.

    Information and broadcasting secretary S K Arora assured the industry gathering that the government was open to suggestions and comments on the proposed Brai and the Bill.

    “The government is open to suggestions and can incorporate fresh ideas and issues we may have omitted (earlier in a draft that was readied for the Cabinet),” he said.

  • IBF, IMG meet I&B secretary Arora on Broadcast Bill

    IBF, IMG meet I&B secretary Arora on Broadcast Bill

    NEW DELHI: The Indian Broadcast Federation (IBF) and the Indian Media Group (IMG) today met the Information & Broadcast secretary S K Arora for an interaction on the Broadcast Bill 2006.

    IBF has opposed the cross-media holding restrictions and the so-called Draconian clauses in the bill. It said, the draft bill should be discussed with the industry, before having taken to the cabinet and Parliament.

    The draft bill has covered four major areas in its ambit, which would call for major corporate restructuring by media companies, foreign and domestic, operating in India. These include content, cross media ownership, subscriptions and live sports feeds (which are already part of the downlink norms).

    The bill introduces restrictions on cross media holdings in all electronic ventures capping it at a maximum 20 per cent. While print media companies have not been included in the ambit of the bill for the present, this could be later extended to them as well.

    IMG also criticised the cross-media holding restrictions, but most importantly, it has argued that, electronic media should be brought under the Press Council of India. It also demanded that the proposed Broadcast Regulatory Authority of India (Brai) should be free from any government intereference. Making its stance clearer, it said the CEO of Brai should not be a government official or a government nominee.

    Zee Telefilms chairman Subhash Chandra, after attending a meeting with Arora on behalf of IMG, said, “We are against cross-media holding restrictions. We also oppose the government’s agenda to interfere on how news should be reported on TV.”

    He added, “The regulatory norms for the electronic media, the print media and the online media should be same and similar without any discriminatory in any one of the media segment.”

  • Decision on CAS appeal after stakeholders meeting 27 March: Arora

    Decision on CAS appeal after stakeholders meeting 27 March: Arora

    MUMBAI: The uncertainty over the implementation of conditional access system (CAS) is not over yet. The government will take a call on whether it should move the Supreme Court only after a meeting with the broadcasters, multi system operators (MSOs), cable TV operators and consumers on 27 March.

    “We have invited all the stakeholders for a meeting on 27 March. We will take into consideration their views before deciding whether we should approach the court,” I&B secretary S K Arora told Indiantelevision.com.

    Early this month, the Delhi High Court had ordered the government to enforce the rollout of addressability in cable pay television (conditional access system or CAS) in India within four weeks. After reserving the judgement for several months, the court had delivered the verdict on a writ petition filed by a bunch of MSOs.

    On being queried whether one month was too short a time to implement CAS, Arora said the government’s argument in the court was that three months would be needed.

    Was the old notification on CAS good enough? “We will discuss all this in the meeting. Only then can we take a stance on whether modifications are necessary,” Arora said.

    The scheme as it was structured in 2003 ran into rough weather with some of the stakeholders opposing it, Arora added. “We need to resolve these issues. Consumers were opposing it because they felt they were forced to buy the set-top box (STB). Broadcasters came out with a pricing that wasn’t serious in intent.”

    Arora also pointed out that the government was yet to receive the Delhi High court judgment. “We believe the implementation of CAS would come into effect one month from the date of receiving the certified judgment,” he said.