ITV

Tag: TV channel

  • Assamese news channel Pratidin Time banned for one day once again

    Assamese news channel Pratidin Time banned for one day once again

    MUMBAI: The Indian government continues with its caning of TV news channels. After NDTV India, it is now the turn of Pratidin Time or News Time Assam to be told to go off air on the powers-that-be’s favourite date 9 November for gross and multiple programming code violations. Pratidin Time has been accused of revealing the identity of a minor victim, showing images of mutilated bodies, and making derogatory statements about women in shows.

    The violation that has been gravely objected to is the one relating to a minor boy for which the day-long ban is being issued. The ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) issued an order dated 2 November saying that the channel revealed the identity of a minor who was brutally tortured while working as a domestic servant, thus compromising his privacy and dignity and  exposing him to harm and stigma.

    A high level inter-ministerial committee (IMC) took the decision to compel the channel to turn off its signals for a day after hearing its defence.

    The MIB says that Pratidin Time has time and again being showing images of bodies of dead victims. It has also not being complying with earlier MIB orders which asked it to  apologize for airing a show which appeared to be derogatory towards women.

    The MIB in its current order has stated that Pratidin Time that all the three cases will be covered under the one day ban. It has further explained that under the Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Act, it “orders to prohibit the transmission or retransmission of News Time Assam TV channel for one day on any platform throughout India with effect from 00:01 hours on 9th November, 2016 till 00:01 hours on 10th November, 2016.”

    This is not the first time that Pratidin Time (News Time Assam) has been asked to pull the plug. It, along with another channel DY 365, was asked to go off air on 30 July 2014 in another case.

    http://www.indiantelevision.com/television/tv-channels/news-broadcasting/dy-365-news-time-assam-tv-transmission-banned-for-one-day-for-showing-programmes-denigrating-women-140725

    Then in August 2015 it was slammed on social media as well when it carried a clip on its YouTube channel, criticizing “scantily clad women” calling them a summer time nuisance that went against local culture in Assam. The uproar that followed forced it to pull down its video, but petitions have been filed against it, asking it to to report responsibly.

    Launched on 25 December 2010 as News Time Assam by the Kolkata based Brand Value Communications under the Rose Valley Grop, it was acquired by the Pratidim group in 2015 and rebranded as Pratidin Time.

  • “My life is all about ‘Leap of faith'” – Srinivasan Swamy

    “My life is all about ‘Leap of faith’” – Srinivasan Swamy

    Indiantelevision.com is delighted to share RK Swamy and BBDO boss Srinivasan Swamy’s AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award acceptance speech. Read on to partake of his fine wit.

     Sri Gurubhyo Namah: Salutations/pranams to all my Gurus.

    There are many Gurus in this room who taught me numerous things about our profession, relationships with people, and nuances of our business. Similarly, I have learnt considerably from my colleagues, past and present, in many of our group Companies; from my colleagues from the various industry Associations and Chambers of Commerce, I have been involved in; from my many clients and friends who have encouraged me to make mistakes and learn from them; from my wife and other family members who allowed me to pursue my dreams but always shown me the right path. This Award – AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award, is therefore dedicated to each and every one of them, for if I stand today receiving it, you have all made this possible.

    I am a great believer of fate. What is destined for one will happen. But that didn’t stop me in taking on many challenges. I am confident by nature, sometimes foolishly if I may add, but my life has been all about ‘leap of faith’. Every task I have taken on, I try to do full justice. My personal benchmark is to do better than all my predecessors and I have unfailingly delivered on this, to the best of my knowledge!

    Many of you may not realize this, but I have served in the AAAI Executive Committee for 18 continuous years. That is half my working life, considering I have been in this profession for 36 years. I think only Nagesh Alai has served longer than I have at AAAI.

    When I was elected into the Executive Committee of AAAI in 1998, I was an unwelcome addition. Our Agency had filed filed a case against AAAI when it proposed at an AGM that all its members should submit their Annual Report along with Client list, to determine the membership fee to be paid. Rightly or wrongly, we felt that AAAI may misuse what we felt was competitive information. The Court ruled in our favour and therefore, as mentioned earlier, I was seen as an intruder at the Executive Committee.

    Hardly two years later, in 2000, AAAI decided to move a resolution to get it members to apply for accreditation with Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) much on the lines of what we had with INS. Our Agency felt that this was a wrong move, since AAAI members had a bilateral and equal relationship as an agency with every TV channel. Why would AAAI want its members to subject themselves individually to a collective body called IBF, was beyond our comprehension. Communications to AAAI on our objection to the proposal was ignored and therefore we collected adequate proxies and defeated this resolution on the floor of the house. Subsequently we got the next President to see merit in our proposition and finally got AAAI to sign an Agreement with IBF which provided an equal status with them. .

    However, both these episodes clearly implanted in the minds of many industry people that we are difficult people and we don’t toe the line on industry matters. This was so strongly entrenched, that when someone suggested in 2009 that I should join the IAA Mancom, the concern was whether I would be a difficult person to have in the Committee! Frankly, neither AAAI nor IAA, or any industry body for that matter, have found in me a unreasonable person, even if

    I have to say so myself! It would be impossible to have been Chairman/President of various Associations, Chambers of Commerce, Charitable Trusts and Registered Societies, if I were not an affable person.

    As mentioned earlier, the IBF-AAAI Agreement came about in 2000 and we were on an equal footing with IBF. In about a year, I was made the Chairman of this Joint Industry Body. For an agency person, this job was akin to running with the hares and hunting with the hounds. For 7 years when I was heading this joint working committee comprising heads of many agencies and channels, we had a great time. We combined work and had fun in different parts of the world – Australia, Germany, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and of course in many Indian locations. My faith was, if we bonded well as friends, we could be fair to each other. I am told, that was the golden era of IBF-AAAI relationship.

    When I become President of AAAI in 2004, I did what I thought was an obvious thing to do. An industry association is for all members and if anyone wanted to serve the industry they should be allowed to. So based on interest levels of members, I expanded the Executive Committee with many invited members – and made what was an exclusive club, a place anyone can participate and contribute for the industry. In hindsight it appears a normal thing to do, but at that time it was a leap of faith. Of course having invited members in the Executive Committee is the norm from then onwards. We also did many new things at that time. We celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of the association very well, we changed the logo to be in line with current trends, renamed AAAI Premnarayen Award to AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award, helped start the Confederation of Asian Advertising Agency Associations and of course our own Goafest.

    Before Goafest, AAAI had something called AAA Awards. It was an Award which no one had serious respect for. Abbys from Ad Club was seen as the most coveted and it attracted over 1500 people on their Awards night when AAAI would struggle to get 200 to 300. And the President of the day stood there all by himself and ditched out these Awards to the winners. After my first and only AAA Awards night in 2005 as President, I decided that this would be my last. AAAI represents the industry. Its members send entries and if we can’t make our Award the most coveted one, then we are doing something wrong. A small group started to think through what we can do to differentiate us and make it the most coveted. Thus was born Goafest – an advertising festival, combined with industry conclave, knowledge seminars, fun events and of course Awards. To be fair, I did invite Ad Club to join us to be part of Goafest from the first year, but they rebuked it, for their own reasons.

    In our own AAAI Executive Committee, there were doubting thomases as to whether we will get our members to participate and the whole episode will lead to financial mess for AAAI. We were looking at about Rs.2 Cr commitment and AAAI had never taken projects or events of this scale. And to top it, AAAI did not even have the financial resources to pay advances for event companies and travel agents. My faith in our idea egged me on, and my company lent substantial money to AAAI to start on the execution of the event. Fortunately there was enough goodwill when I went and met Vineet Jain in Delhi, Aveek Sarkar in Kolkata, Peter Mukerjea at Star, Subhash Chandra in Zee etc. The very first year of Goafest in 2006 had over 1200 delegates for the two-day event. Fortunately for me, we did cover our costs and made a small contribution to AAAI coffers as well. My leap of faith, paid off.

    After 2 years, Ad Club decided to team up with AAAI and now Goafest is firmly established as a destination to go to, for Creative, Media, Digital, Publisher and Broadcaster Awards.

    In 2014, Goafest was on a slide for a variety of reasons and many felt that Goafest should be skipped for a year. I felt that once it gets stopped and the momentum lost, it will be difficult to rebuilt the festival. Again with a leap of faith, I took on the Chairmanship when asked by the then President and did all that was necessary to do a festival, including broad-basing the appeal for a wider audience. Incidentally, that year turned out to be most profitable year until then for Goafest.

    I wish to give just two more instances that I was a part of, in two other Associations.

    All India Management Association conducts National Management Convention and this is the high point in any President’s Calendar. 2009 was the worst year economically in India after the economic melt down in 2008 in the western world. As President, I was to conduct this Convention. I chose Chennai, my home town, and we delivered a Convention with some of the best speakers and raked in record surplus as well, which hitherto is unsurpassed in AIMA.

    Similarly, it was just a leap of faith that I felt Kochi would be good destination for IAA Silver Jubilee Summit. Many in the IAA Mancom warned me that it may be difficult to get delegates to come there. But our speaker line up was so good that we had over 600 delegates from outside Kerala and 600 were from Kerala including some 300 students. This was the biggest event ever for IAA in India.

    My leap of faith is equally true in the businesses I lead. From a stand alone advertising agency about 15 years ago, we are amongst the most diversified marketing services group in the country today. Our cumulative revenue we believe will place us at No.3 or No.4 in India. We have about 25 business verticals across 4 of our companies in India and two in the US – R K SWAMY BBDO, Hansa Vision, Hansa Research and Hansa Customer Equity in India and Hansa Marketing Services and Hansa GCR in the US. Again the reason for this success is easy to comprehend. We identify a candidate with the right skill and more importantly the right attitude and empower him/her to take the business forward. I believe in total delegation and my task is to see that any hindrance posed by finance people based on budget constraints is removed for the person to perform and to take on new challenges and risks to grow faster. This has served us well.

    When we started BBDO India in 2007 as our second agency it was another, major leap of faith. We were told that we were cutting the ground under our own feet. The last 9 years have proved that our two-brand strategy has worked well and our overall market share and market presence have improved.

    Moving on to some other aspects, I thought I would reflect briefly on my relationship with my father, R K Swamy. I worked with him from 1978 to 2003 – 25 years. He is one of the coolest bosses one can have. He is thorough in whatever he does, but at the same time he empowers people. He is generous with his praise and quite happy to review and offer comments on anything you put in front of him. You do learn a lot by observing and I think some of his qualities have rubbed off on me, though not once he has told me what I should do.

    He was President/Chairman of all industry bodies in India other than only IAA that was not in his orbit then. May be instinctively I followed his path. He has said a few times to me that any amount of time we spend on industry matters in fine since it the hand that feeds us.

    He passed away in June 2003. If he is observing the institution he created now, I am sure he will be more than happy as to where we have taken it. In this context, I am reminded of a couplet in Tirukural:

    Eendra Pozhudhin Perithuvakkum Thanmakanai Chaandron Enak ketta Thaai.

    Loosely translated it says – the mother who hears her son being called a ‘wise-man’ will rejoice more than when she did, at the time of his birth.

    I am sure, in the same vein, my father will be mightily pleased that his son has this recognition today, as much as my mother.

    Before closing, I want to thank a few people:

    Ramesh Narayan has been a terrific support for me in IAA without whose help and constant prodding, IAA would not be what you know it to be. I am also grateful to him for all the kind words he spoke about me.

    My wife Sudha, She is a very bright lady, a MBA and had a thriving career. But she gave up much of this to support my children, me and my parents. She is here to share my happiness with me today, as she has always done in the past.

    And of course the President and the Executive Committee of AAAI for having considered me for this honour. Thank you all for what you did. But let me warn you all – this lifetime achievement award doesn’t mean retirement for me. I am not going away anywhere yet – I have a long journey ahead.

    Thank you!

  • “My life is all about ‘Leap of faith'” – Srinivasan Swamy

    “My life is all about ‘Leap of faith’” – Srinivasan Swamy

    Indiantelevision.com is delighted to share RK Swamy and BBDO boss Srinivasan Swamy’s AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award acceptance speech. Read on to partake of his fine wit.

     Sri Gurubhyo Namah: Salutations/pranams to all my Gurus.

    There are many Gurus in this room who taught me numerous things about our profession, relationships with people, and nuances of our business. Similarly, I have learnt considerably from my colleagues, past and present, in many of our group Companies; from my colleagues from the various industry Associations and Chambers of Commerce, I have been involved in; from my many clients and friends who have encouraged me to make mistakes and learn from them; from my wife and other family members who allowed me to pursue my dreams but always shown me the right path. This Award – AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award, is therefore dedicated to each and every one of them, for if I stand today receiving it, you have all made this possible.

    I am a great believer of fate. What is destined for one will happen. But that didn’t stop me in taking on many challenges. I am confident by nature, sometimes foolishly if I may add, but my life has been all about ‘leap of faith’. Every task I have taken on, I try to do full justice. My personal benchmark is to do better than all my predecessors and I have unfailingly delivered on this, to the best of my knowledge!

    Many of you may not realize this, but I have served in the AAAI Executive Committee for 18 continuous years. That is half my working life, considering I have been in this profession for 36 years. I think only Nagesh Alai has served longer than I have at AAAI.

    When I was elected into the Executive Committee of AAAI in 1998, I was an unwelcome addition. Our Agency had filed filed a case against AAAI when it proposed at an AGM that all its members should submit their Annual Report along with Client list, to determine the membership fee to be paid. Rightly or wrongly, we felt that AAAI may misuse what we felt was competitive information. The Court ruled in our favour and therefore, as mentioned earlier, I was seen as an intruder at the Executive Committee.

    Hardly two years later, in 2000, AAAI decided to move a resolution to get it members to apply for accreditation with Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) much on the lines of what we had with INS. Our Agency felt that this was a wrong move, since AAAI members had a bilateral and equal relationship as an agency with every TV channel. Why would AAAI want its members to subject themselves individually to a collective body called IBF, was beyond our comprehension. Communications to AAAI on our objection to the proposal was ignored and therefore we collected adequate proxies and defeated this resolution on the floor of the house. Subsequently we got the next President to see merit in our proposition and finally got AAAI to sign an Agreement with IBF which provided an equal status with them. .

    However, both these episodes clearly implanted in the minds of many industry people that we are difficult people and we don’t toe the line on industry matters. This was so strongly entrenched, that when someone suggested in 2009 that I should join the IAA Mancom, the concern was whether I would be a difficult person to have in the Committee! Frankly, neither AAAI nor IAA, or any industry body for that matter, have found in me a unreasonable person, even if

    I have to say so myself! It would be impossible to have been Chairman/President of various Associations, Chambers of Commerce, Charitable Trusts and Registered Societies, if I were not an affable person.

    As mentioned earlier, the IBF-AAAI Agreement came about in 2000 and we were on an equal footing with IBF. In about a year, I was made the Chairman of this Joint Industry Body. For an agency person, this job was akin to running with the hares and hunting with the hounds. For 7 years when I was heading this joint working committee comprising heads of many agencies and channels, we had a great time. We combined work and had fun in different parts of the world – Australia, Germany, Sri Lanka, Malaysia and of course in many Indian locations. My faith was, if we bonded well as friends, we could be fair to each other. I am told, that was the golden era of IBF-AAAI relationship.

    When I become President of AAAI in 2004, I did what I thought was an obvious thing to do. An industry association is for all members and if anyone wanted to serve the industry they should be allowed to. So based on interest levels of members, I expanded the Executive Committee with many invited members – and made what was an exclusive club, a place anyone can participate and contribute for the industry. In hindsight it appears a normal thing to do, but at that time it was a leap of faith. Of course having invited members in the Executive Committee is the norm from then onwards. We also did many new things at that time. We celebrated the Diamond Jubilee of the association very well, we changed the logo to be in line with current trends, renamed AAAI Premnarayen Award to AAAI Lifetime Achievement Award, helped start the Confederation of Asian Advertising Agency Associations and of course our own Goafest.

    Before Goafest, AAAI had something called AAA Awards. It was an Award which no one had serious respect for. Abbys from Ad Club was seen as the most coveted and it attracted over 1500 people on their Awards night when AAAI would struggle to get 200 to 300. And the President of the day stood there all by himself and ditched out these Awards to the winners. After my first and only AAA Awards night in 2005 as President, I decided that this would be my last. AAAI represents the industry. Its members send entries and if we can’t make our Award the most coveted one, then we are doing something wrong. A small group started to think through what we can do to differentiate us and make it the most coveted. Thus was born Goafest – an advertising festival, combined with industry conclave, knowledge seminars, fun events and of course Awards. To be fair, I did invite Ad Club to join us to be part of Goafest from the first year, but they rebuked it, for their own reasons.

    In our own AAAI Executive Committee, there were doubting thomases as to whether we will get our members to participate and the whole episode will lead to financial mess for AAAI. We were looking at about Rs.2 Cr commitment and AAAI had never taken projects or events of this scale. And to top it, AAAI did not even have the financial resources to pay advances for event companies and travel agents. My faith in our idea egged me on, and my company lent substantial money to AAAI to start on the execution of the event. Fortunately there was enough goodwill when I went and met Vineet Jain in Delhi, Aveek Sarkar in Kolkata, Peter Mukerjea at Star, Subhash Chandra in Zee etc. The very first year of Goafest in 2006 had over 1200 delegates for the two-day event. Fortunately for me, we did cover our costs and made a small contribution to AAAI coffers as well. My leap of faith, paid off.

    After 2 years, Ad Club decided to team up with AAAI and now Goafest is firmly established as a destination to go to, for Creative, Media, Digital, Publisher and Broadcaster Awards.

    In 2014, Goafest was on a slide for a variety of reasons and many felt that Goafest should be skipped for a year. I felt that once it gets stopped and the momentum lost, it will be difficult to rebuilt the festival. Again with a leap of faith, I took on the Chairmanship when asked by the then President and did all that was necessary to do a festival, including broad-basing the appeal for a wider audience. Incidentally, that year turned out to be most profitable year until then for Goafest.

    I wish to give just two more instances that I was a part of, in two other Associations.

    All India Management Association conducts National Management Convention and this is the high point in any President’s Calendar. 2009 was the worst year economically in India after the economic melt down in 2008 in the western world. As President, I was to conduct this Convention. I chose Chennai, my home town, and we delivered a Convention with some of the best speakers and raked in record surplus as well, which hitherto is unsurpassed in AIMA.

    Similarly, it was just a leap of faith that I felt Kochi would be good destination for IAA Silver Jubilee Summit. Many in the IAA Mancom warned me that it may be difficult to get delegates to come there. But our speaker line up was so good that we had over 600 delegates from outside Kerala and 600 were from Kerala including some 300 students. This was the biggest event ever for IAA in India.

    My leap of faith is equally true in the businesses I lead. From a stand alone advertising agency about 15 years ago, we are amongst the most diversified marketing services group in the country today. Our cumulative revenue we believe will place us at No.3 or No.4 in India. We have about 25 business verticals across 4 of our companies in India and two in the US – R K SWAMY BBDO, Hansa Vision, Hansa Research and Hansa Customer Equity in India and Hansa Marketing Services and Hansa GCR in the US. Again the reason for this success is easy to comprehend. We identify a candidate with the right skill and more importantly the right attitude and empower him/her to take the business forward. I believe in total delegation and my task is to see that any hindrance posed by finance people based on budget constraints is removed for the person to perform and to take on new challenges and risks to grow faster. This has served us well.

    When we started BBDO India in 2007 as our second agency it was another, major leap of faith. We were told that we were cutting the ground under our own feet. The last 9 years have proved that our two-brand strategy has worked well and our overall market share and market presence have improved.

    Moving on to some other aspects, I thought I would reflect briefly on my relationship with my father, R K Swamy. I worked with him from 1978 to 2003 – 25 years. He is one of the coolest bosses one can have. He is thorough in whatever he does, but at the same time he empowers people. He is generous with his praise and quite happy to review and offer comments on anything you put in front of him. You do learn a lot by observing and I think some of his qualities have rubbed off on me, though not once he has told me what I should do.

    He was President/Chairman of all industry bodies in India other than only IAA that was not in his orbit then. May be instinctively I followed his path. He has said a few times to me that any amount of time we spend on industry matters in fine since it the hand that feeds us.

    He passed away in June 2003. If he is observing the institution he created now, I am sure he will be more than happy as to where we have taken it. In this context, I am reminded of a couplet in Tirukural:

    Eendra Pozhudhin Perithuvakkum Thanmakanai Chaandron Enak ketta Thaai.

    Loosely translated it says – the mother who hears her son being called a ‘wise-man’ will rejoice more than when she did, at the time of his birth.

    I am sure, in the same vein, my father will be mightily pleased that his son has this recognition today, as much as my mother.

    Before closing, I want to thank a few people:

    Ramesh Narayan has been a terrific support for me in IAA without whose help and constant prodding, IAA would not be what you know it to be. I am also grateful to him for all the kind words he spoke about me.

    My wife Sudha, She is a very bright lady, a MBA and had a thriving career. But she gave up much of this to support my children, me and my parents. She is here to share my happiness with me today, as she has always done in the past.

    And of course the President and the Executive Committee of AAAI for having considered me for this honour. Thank you all for what you did. But let me warn you all – this lifetime achievement award doesn’t mean retirement for me. I am not going away anywhere yet – I have a long journey ahead.

    Thank you!

  • Fourth Indian Screenwriters Conference to focus on stories that reflect ‘India’s Reality’

    Fourth Indian Screenwriters Conference to focus on stories that reflect ‘India’s Reality’

    MUMBAI: The television and film writers are pulling their socks for the fourth edition of Indian Screenwriters Conference. The Film Writers Association, Mumbai are set for the conference on 3 and 4 August 2016 at St. Andrew’s Auditorium, Bandra West – Mumbai.

    During 4ISC, the prominent names from the writer fraternity, along with writer-directors, producers, TV channel representatives and film lovers, would network and indulge in stimulating discussions revolving around various issues concerning screenwriting and screenwriters in India. The theme in the fourth edition is So Near So Far: Do our stories reflect India’s Reality? The issues relevant to writing profession will also be addressed in the conference.

    The first conference, held at FTII, Pune, in August 2006, was attended by 275 writers.The second, at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, in December 2008; saw 575 screenwriters and writer-directors attending it. Third ISC at St. Andrew’s Auditorium, Bandra, in February 2013, had the participation of 700 screenwriters. The event has been garnering popularity over the years. The association is claiming the fourth edition to grow bigger.

    The sessions will tackle the theme from different angles. The sessions included are- Little Big Films: Small films, driven by strong scripts and the passion of the filmmakers, are increasingly ending up as surprise successes. What is the scope and future of such efforts?

    Serial Killers: Does our current TV content reflect our times and society? Why are we stuck in some unchangeable grooves? What is the way out?

    Writers & Producers: Partners or Adversaries?: Writers feel they are undervalued while producers complain of lack of quality scripts. How can this relationship be made more collaborative, more mutual, and more productive for both?
    The Feminine Factor: Are female actors getting better roles now? Is our audience comfortable only with stereotypical women characters? Are we ready to have a more realistic gender equation on screen?

    The Digital Explosion: Is the Internet the answer to our creative and economic issues?
    The Business of TV Writing: The leverage of the TV writer is growing; it appears, with him/her turning into a producer. Is this the model for all TV writers to move towards?

    Well known poet Ashok Vajpeyi will be the chief guest of the conference, while journalist P. Sainath will deliver the keynote. Other expected penalists are- Javed Akhtar, Gulzar, Siddharth Roy-Kapur (Disney), Ronnie Screwvala (UTV), Gaurav Banerjee (Star), Ritesh Sidhwani (Excel), Anooj Kapoor (SAB), Danish Khan (Sony), Ravina Kohli (Epic), Vishal Bhardwaj, Jaideep Sahni, Sriram Raghavan, Rajat Kapoor, Hansal Mehta, Juhi Chaturvedi, Jayesh Patil, Aatish Kapadia, Purnendu Shekhar, Shridhar Raghavan, Nagraj Manjule, Neeraj Ghaywan, Sonali Jaffer, Shashi Mittal, Varun Grover, Himanshu Sharma, Sudip Sharma, Saurabh Tiwari, Biswapati Sarkar (TVF).

  • Fourth Indian Screenwriters Conference to focus on stories that reflect ‘India’s Reality’

    Fourth Indian Screenwriters Conference to focus on stories that reflect ‘India’s Reality’

    MUMBAI: The television and film writers are pulling their socks for the fourth edition of Indian Screenwriters Conference. The Film Writers Association, Mumbai are set for the conference on 3 and 4 August 2016 at St. Andrew’s Auditorium, Bandra West – Mumbai.

    During 4ISC, the prominent names from the writer fraternity, along with writer-directors, producers, TV channel representatives and film lovers, would network and indulge in stimulating discussions revolving around various issues concerning screenwriting and screenwriters in India. The theme in the fourth edition is So Near So Far: Do our stories reflect India’s Reality? The issues relevant to writing profession will also be addressed in the conference.

    The first conference, held at FTII, Pune, in August 2006, was attended by 275 writers.The second, at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, in December 2008; saw 575 screenwriters and writer-directors attending it. Third ISC at St. Andrew’s Auditorium, Bandra, in February 2013, had the participation of 700 screenwriters. The event has been garnering popularity over the years. The association is claiming the fourth edition to grow bigger.

    The sessions will tackle the theme from different angles. The sessions included are- Little Big Films: Small films, driven by strong scripts and the passion of the filmmakers, are increasingly ending up as surprise successes. What is the scope and future of such efforts?

    Serial Killers: Does our current TV content reflect our times and society? Why are we stuck in some unchangeable grooves? What is the way out?

    Writers & Producers: Partners or Adversaries?: Writers feel they are undervalued while producers complain of lack of quality scripts. How can this relationship be made more collaborative, more mutual, and more productive for both?
    The Feminine Factor: Are female actors getting better roles now? Is our audience comfortable only with stereotypical women characters? Are we ready to have a more realistic gender equation on screen?

    The Digital Explosion: Is the Internet the answer to our creative and economic issues?
    The Business of TV Writing: The leverage of the TV writer is growing; it appears, with him/her turning into a producer. Is this the model for all TV writers to move towards?

    Well known poet Ashok Vajpeyi will be the chief guest of the conference, while journalist P. Sainath will deliver the keynote. Other expected penalists are- Javed Akhtar, Gulzar, Siddharth Roy-Kapur (Disney), Ronnie Screwvala (UTV), Gaurav Banerjee (Star), Ritesh Sidhwani (Excel), Anooj Kapoor (SAB), Danish Khan (Sony), Ravina Kohli (Epic), Vishal Bhardwaj, Jaideep Sahni, Sriram Raghavan, Rajat Kapoor, Hansal Mehta, Juhi Chaturvedi, Jayesh Patil, Aatish Kapadia, Purnendu Shekhar, Shridhar Raghavan, Nagraj Manjule, Neeraj Ghaywan, Sonali Jaffer, Shashi Mittal, Varun Grover, Himanshu Sharma, Sudip Sharma, Saurabh Tiwari, Biswapati Sarkar (TVF).

  • Turner launches Boomerang on Pops Kids in Vietnam

    Turner launches Boomerang on Pops Kids in Vietnam

    MUMBAI: Turner has entered into a partnership with Pops Worldwide to launch its Boomerang brand on the popular POPS Kids non-linear platform in Vietnam.

    Turner in Southeast Asia MD Phil Nelson  said,  “This partnership is another landmark in the ongoing expansion of the Boomerang brand within this region. The service will offer world-class content, on-demand, to millions of consumers in Vietnam on the POPS Kids, platform that is familiar and easy to use.”

    “We are excited to partner with Turner to bring Boomerang – with its portfolio of well-loved characters – to POPS Kids, Vietnam’s premier kids’ education and entertainment destination with almost 400 million views,” commented Pops Worldwide, founder and CEO Esther Nguyen.

    “This is another step in our goal to build the leading premium digital entertainment network in Southeast Asia. We will be working on all aspects of Boomerang’s digital video content: from programming, localization, marketing, distribution to monetization. With this partnership, everyone in Vietnam can have greater access to family-friendly content on POPS Kids.”

    Boomerang, which Turner rebranded globally in late 2014, is an all-animation, kids-targeted network, with a line-up of world-famous cartoon characters from shows such as: The Powerpuff Girls, Ben 10, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends and Dexter’s Laboratory. It is known for its line-up that is ideally suited to a safe, family co-viewing experience. On POPS Kids, the programming will be exclusively in Vietnamese and will be available from April 1, 2016, with a special preview scheduled for March 31.

    The agreement follows substantial recent distribution growth for Boomerang in Asia, notably in Thailand where the local offering is available in 15 million homes and has been the number one kids’ TV channel by a considerable margin since its launch in 2013.

     

  • Turner launches Boomerang on Pops Kids in Vietnam

    Turner launches Boomerang on Pops Kids in Vietnam

    MUMBAI: Turner has entered into a partnership with Pops Worldwide to launch its Boomerang brand on the popular POPS Kids non-linear platform in Vietnam.

    Turner in Southeast Asia MD Phil Nelson  said,  “This partnership is another landmark in the ongoing expansion of the Boomerang brand within this region. The service will offer world-class content, on-demand, to millions of consumers in Vietnam on the POPS Kids, platform that is familiar and easy to use.”

    “We are excited to partner with Turner to bring Boomerang – with its portfolio of well-loved characters – to POPS Kids, Vietnam’s premier kids’ education and entertainment destination with almost 400 million views,” commented Pops Worldwide, founder and CEO Esther Nguyen.

    “This is another step in our goal to build the leading premium digital entertainment network in Southeast Asia. We will be working on all aspects of Boomerang’s digital video content: from programming, localization, marketing, distribution to monetization. With this partnership, everyone in Vietnam can have greater access to family-friendly content on POPS Kids.”

    Boomerang, which Turner rebranded globally in late 2014, is an all-animation, kids-targeted network, with a line-up of world-famous cartoon characters from shows such as: The Powerpuff Girls, Ben 10, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends and Dexter’s Laboratory. It is known for its line-up that is ideally suited to a safe, family co-viewing experience. On POPS Kids, the programming will be exclusively in Vietnamese and will be available from April 1, 2016, with a special preview scheduled for March 31.

    The agreement follows substantial recent distribution growth for Boomerang in Asia, notably in Thailand where the local offering is available in 15 million homes and has been the number one kids’ TV channel by a considerable margin since its launch in 2013.

     

  • “Our carriage bill is down 30-35%; subscription up 14-15%”: Nikhil Gandhi

    “Our carriage bill is down 30-35%; subscription up 14-15%”: Nikhil Gandhi

    2015 will be remembered as a memorable year for Disney India’s TV biz. The mouse house took its TV channel distribution in its own hands when it terminated its joint venture with the Viacom outfit Indiacast.  For several years it had experimented with other distribution partners like Sun Distribution Services to Star Den, both of which are non-existent now.

    A new venture Disney Media Networks was set up and media vet Nikhil Gandhi – who was responsibile for revenue and profitability across Disney India media channels comprising of youth channels – Bindass and kids channels – Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD and Hungama TV, movies channels – UTV Movies and UTV Action –  was given its charge.

    His challenge: to jiggle out distribution and subscription  revenues from India’s fragmented cable TV ecosystem, while keeping affiliate fees under control even as he ensured carriage of Disney India’s eight channel bouquet.

    Six months down the line, Gandhi seems to have done well, if one goes by this exclusive interview to indiantelevision.com’s Anirban Roy Choudhury.  He speaks about the challenges he has and continues to face, and why he is still optimistic.

    Excerpts: 


    How has the journey been so far? What made Disney decide to distribute its TV channels on its own?

    It has been a fabulous six months. The market has been receptive to whatever we are doing, which has been a major boost for us. We have been in the business for over 10 years now and we have been distributing through different partners. We started with Star, then we went to Sun and then to IndiaCast, following which we were on an agency relationship with them. Therefore we needed to take a call on what we really wanted to do.

    I think our network is one to reckon with. We have six per cent viewership share which is probably five or six times compared to the one following us. So we are the fifth largest broadcast network. That’s why we thought we could go out and take the business in our hands and see what we could do at the distribution level.

    One, it was also important to get our carriage fee bill down, which each  broadcaster is trying his level best to do. Two and the most important one was to get the subscription business in order. 

    What are the challenges that you faced and how did you counter them?

    We had to inform the ecosystem – the MSOs’ and the DTH players about Disney Media Networks, that we have eigh channels, we have very high premium brands. We had to tell them what we are and what value we could add to them. I think that at certain point after our initial efforts, they did realise that they had never seen Disney as an entity in its own right. They began to understand the value that we brought to the table in terms of packaging. They realised we were the leaders in kids and youth channels and we had a sizeable movie business. We were not just another bouquet, we were leaders of sorts. The challenge was to communicate that and the team did a fantastic job.

    I think that the deals that we have struck are our biggest achievement. We have reached very big milestones in the first year itself. To begin with we have got our carriage bill down by 30 to 35 per cent and at the same time we have taken our subscription revenue up 14 to 15 per cent and it happened after rounds of negotiations and discussions with our carriage partners.

    When you talk about distribution success, do you mean a pan India success or is it a particular market?

    It is a pan India success for us. We are distributed nationally. Our channels reach east, west, north and south. And that is because of the fantastic work done by our teams on ground. We got a fantastic bunch of talented people from across different fields. They have successfully communicated what really Disney Media Networks stands for, and most of the negotiations are done by them. So whenever we talk about success or numbers, it is pan India that we are talking about, and not a particular market.

    What is your opinion about the CPS model? If rolled out properly, will it enhance your subscription revenue?

    CPS is there…and yet it’s not there as a whole. In phases I and II, we know what is going on. Phases III and IV will take shape with time. It’s good that we’ve digitized, now what really matters is how it is being addressed, how the CAF is filled up and how it is packaged. 

    It is a great move forward, and as a broadcaster and content provider, we can only add value to the process by giving superior content and a brand which will enhance ARPUs.

    CPS will happen as the progression of packaging happens and the progression of addressability happens.

    The MSO-LCO equation needs to change and become more mature. Yes, the moves are very positive, but we are still not there, there are areas where we need some amount of investor players to come and change the game at least from a mind-set point of view. CPS will go up with ARPU going up.  And when there is a transparent system in place that enables addressability, subscription revenue will move up in the right direction.

    What is your opinion on the regulators stand so far?

    The regulators have been very pro industry, which is a great thing. We have seen how there was a hard stance when it came to the phase III deadline. So I think it’s a very bold move, because for them also, it’s about getting the industry which is so big in size organised and deriving the maximum out of it in terms of entertainment tax and other revenue generating propositions. And an organised platform is always more transparent, and transparency is the need of the hour for the industry. So I think the regulator’s stand so far has been immensely pro industry.

    Do you think content, if paid for in India, will grow?

    ARPUs’ have been flat for last 10 years. So obviously India is not paying for content, but the moot point is that India is capable of paying more. We, at Disney, are manufacturers; we are content providers. There are platforms and there are wholesalers and retailers involved.  It is the retailers and the wholesalers who need to drive the ARPU and there are many elements on which it all depends.

    At a pricing level we are restricted by the RIO model, and then on the ground level there is the LCO who by no means is interested as it might hurt him. I think to drive payment for content, the LCO – MSO equation needs to change, DTH needs to play its role and it all needs to happen in a collaborated manner.

    I think there is a need for standard pricing similar to any other industry. You buy toothpaste the price is the same everywhere.  In India there is a legacy involved in the way it has been run. The legacy needs to change. It is changing, we expected it to change fast, but it’s actually changing at a snail’s pace.

    Can the broadcasters not play a role in ensuring higher ARPU?

    Look at what the broadcasters are offering these days. Look at the quality of the content. It’s premium content created with superior sophistication. There are HD channels offering HD content. A few of them have rolled out 4K channels.

     So while ARPU has remained same over the last 10 years, the investment on content did not stop. It kept on going. New formats, acquisitions, new and bold ways of storytelling have been explored, and then there are the additions in the number of channels every year.

    Rs 300 for 50 channels 10 years ago, has now become 250 channels of superior quality for the same old price. We have witnessed a few ARPU movements at least in the metros with DTH and a few MSOs, but these are minuscule movements. The movements need to happen much faster because that’s where the motivation is. From a broadcaster’s point of view, there is nothing that we can do but play the game as per the nature of the business.

    You spoke about collaboration, recently we witnessed switching off of signals, what is your opinion on such acts?  

    Firstly, the switching off of services and disturbing the consumer at a fundamental level is very unfair, it should not happen. There could be differences on the negotiation table, but that by no means should disturb the end consumer. 

    The fact that the consumer is deprived of a service in itself is very sad.  I don’t subscribe to such negotiations. We have also gone through highs and lows in our negotiation process but, at the end of the day, you cannot starve your consumer of superior content, or any content for that matter, because the consumer has subscribed for it. The ecosystem is such that the business is dependent on ad sales, and that is why the switch offs’ happen.

    What should lead the business, subscription or ad revenue?

    Ad sales should be an icing on the cake, subscription revenue should steer the business. Look at the mature markets – subscription revenue is leading the business, the negotiations that happen there are at a different level.

    Fundamentally the broadcast business has to be a subscription led business. You can have an advertising-based play that we are seeing with the FTA’s and that’s majorly because of the huge population of our country and the market size and the reach that TV offers. But a premium pay channel creating original superior content needs to be pay first.

    What is your take on the growing OTT business?

    At the heart of the OTT ecosystem is bandwidth and the bandwidth needs to improve.  What will be interesting to see is if it becomes subscription based (SVOD) or advertising based video on demand (AVOD). 

    Now if you are providing superior content for an AVOD model you are not creating a great environment as such. It’s all about how you form the habit. Consumers who consume OTT content are paying about Rs 1,000 for data, and we tend to think that the same consumer will not pay for  content. This mentality is not a long term one, we need to think 10 years ahead and then take steps.

    Smart TVs are in place; people are talking about 8K.  There are great leaps in terms of technology, but if we don’t take the correct steps, we won’t be able to get value out of the OTT business.

    Will you make yourself available on OTT platforms? Star has Hotstar, SPN has Sony Liv, ZEE has a couple of them and Viacom is launching VOOT. Is Disney also looking towards launching an OTT platform?

    Anywhere where consumption is there, we will make ourselves present. That’s the way forward for us. We do have plans, but we are at a very nascent stage as far as OTT is concerned. As a linear service we will be available on all OTT platforms, but when it comes to launching our own venture we will evaluate when the time is right.

    Where are you generating more subscription revenue from, DTH or cable?

    DTH has a slight edge over cable when it comes to our subscription revenue. We are gradually moving towards level contributions from both the platforms. Now with DAS phase III, I think the headroom for growth is massive in the case of cable. At this stage I think that DTH, given its organised and transparent nature, has the edge.

    Is it the bouquet mode of distribution that you are looking at, at this stage?

    Most of our deals are all bouquet offerings, if there is any platform that requires a youth offering or kids offering or a movie offering, such deals happen at a very high CPS price and we create those packages. We are there on a la carte as an offering, but there is a very small set of consumers who subscribe to the service. So it’s largely all bouquet.

    What is it that Disney Media Networks is looking for in the foreseeable future?

    I have mandated the team in Disney that the subscription business needs to overtake the ad sales business over the next three years’  and that will change the entire ecosystem. An MSO cannot then threaten me with a switch off and that’s what we are targeting. We were at about 65:35 ratio, now we have become 60:40 so we are moving towards that direction. Over time the target is to make it 40:60 or 30:70 for that matter.

     

  • “Our carriage bill is down 30-35%; subscription up 14-15%”: Nikhil Gandhi

    “Our carriage bill is down 30-35%; subscription up 14-15%”: Nikhil Gandhi

    2015 will be remembered as a memorable year for Disney India’s TV biz. The mouse house took its TV channel distribution in its own hands when it terminated its joint venture with the Viacom outfit Indiacast.  For several years it had experimented with other distribution partners like Sun Distribution Services to Star Den, both of which are non-existent now.

    A new venture Disney Media Networks was set up and media vet Nikhil Gandhi – who was responsibile for revenue and profitability across Disney India media channels comprising of youth channels – Bindass and kids channels – Disney Channel, Disney Junior, Disney XD and Hungama TV, movies channels – UTV Movies and UTV Action –  was given its charge.

    His challenge: to jiggle out distribution and subscription  revenues from India’s fragmented cable TV ecosystem, while keeping affiliate fees under control even as he ensured carriage of Disney India’s eight channel bouquet.

    Six months down the line, Gandhi seems to have done well, if one goes by this exclusive interview to indiantelevision.com’s Anirban Roy Choudhury.  He speaks about the challenges he has and continues to face, and why he is still optimistic.

    Excerpts: 


    How has the journey been so far? What made Disney decide to distribute its TV channels on its own?

    It has been a fabulous six months. The market has been receptive to whatever we are doing, which has been a major boost for us. We have been in the business for over 10 years now and we have been distributing through different partners. We started with Star, then we went to Sun and then to IndiaCast, following which we were on an agency relationship with them. Therefore we needed to take a call on what we really wanted to do.

    I think our network is one to reckon with. We have six per cent viewership share which is probably five or six times compared to the one following us. So we are the fifth largest broadcast network. That’s why we thought we could go out and take the business in our hands and see what we could do at the distribution level.

    One, it was also important to get our carriage fee bill down, which each  broadcaster is trying his level best to do. Two and the most important one was to get the subscription business in order. 

    What are the challenges that you faced and how did you counter them?

    We had to inform the ecosystem – the MSOs’ and the DTH players about Disney Media Networks, that we have eigh channels, we have very high premium brands. We had to tell them what we are and what value we could add to them. I think that at certain point after our initial efforts, they did realise that they had never seen Disney as an entity in its own right. They began to understand the value that we brought to the table in terms of packaging. They realised we were the leaders in kids and youth channels and we had a sizeable movie business. We were not just another bouquet, we were leaders of sorts. The challenge was to communicate that and the team did a fantastic job.

    I think that the deals that we have struck are our biggest achievement. We have reached very big milestones in the first year itself. To begin with we have got our carriage bill down by 30 to 35 per cent and at the same time we have taken our subscription revenue up 14 to 15 per cent and it happened after rounds of negotiations and discussions with our carriage partners.

    When you talk about distribution success, do you mean a pan India success or is it a particular market?

    It is a pan India success for us. We are distributed nationally. Our channels reach east, west, north and south. And that is because of the fantastic work done by our teams on ground. We got a fantastic bunch of talented people from across different fields. They have successfully communicated what really Disney Media Networks stands for, and most of the negotiations are done by them. So whenever we talk about success or numbers, it is pan India that we are talking about, and not a particular market.

    What is your opinion about the CPS model? If rolled out properly, will it enhance your subscription revenue?

    CPS is there…and yet it’s not there as a whole. In phases I and II, we know what is going on. Phases III and IV will take shape with time. It’s good that we’ve digitized, now what really matters is how it is being addressed, how the CAF is filled up and how it is packaged. 

    It is a great move forward, and as a broadcaster and content provider, we can only add value to the process by giving superior content and a brand which will enhance ARPUs.

    CPS will happen as the progression of packaging happens and the progression of addressability happens.

    The MSO-LCO equation needs to change and become more mature. Yes, the moves are very positive, but we are still not there, there are areas where we need some amount of investor players to come and change the game at least from a mind-set point of view. CPS will go up with ARPU going up.  And when there is a transparent system in place that enables addressability, subscription revenue will move up in the right direction.

    What is your opinion on the regulators stand so far?

    The regulators have been very pro industry, which is a great thing. We have seen how there was a hard stance when it came to the phase III deadline. So I think it’s a very bold move, because for them also, it’s about getting the industry which is so big in size organised and deriving the maximum out of it in terms of entertainment tax and other revenue generating propositions. And an organised platform is always more transparent, and transparency is the need of the hour for the industry. So I think the regulator’s stand so far has been immensely pro industry.

    Do you think content, if paid for in India, will grow?

    ARPUs’ have been flat for last 10 years. So obviously India is not paying for content, but the moot point is that India is capable of paying more. We, at Disney, are manufacturers; we are content providers. There are platforms and there are wholesalers and retailers involved.  It is the retailers and the wholesalers who need to drive the ARPU and there are many elements on which it all depends.

    At a pricing level we are restricted by the RIO model, and then on the ground level there is the LCO who by no means is interested as it might hurt him. I think to drive payment for content, the LCO – MSO equation needs to change, DTH needs to play its role and it all needs to happen in a collaborated manner.

    I think there is a need for standard pricing similar to any other industry. You buy toothpaste the price is the same everywhere.  In India there is a legacy involved in the way it has been run. The legacy needs to change. It is changing, we expected it to change fast, but it’s actually changing at a snail’s pace.

    Can the broadcasters not play a role in ensuring higher ARPU?

    Look at what the broadcasters are offering these days. Look at the quality of the content. It’s premium content created with superior sophistication. There are HD channels offering HD content. A few of them have rolled out 4K channels.

     So while ARPU has remained same over the last 10 years, the investment on content did not stop. It kept on going. New formats, acquisitions, new and bold ways of storytelling have been explored, and then there are the additions in the number of channels every year.

    Rs 300 for 50 channels 10 years ago, has now become 250 channels of superior quality for the same old price. We have witnessed a few ARPU movements at least in the metros with DTH and a few MSOs, but these are minuscule movements. The movements need to happen much faster because that’s where the motivation is. From a broadcaster’s point of view, there is nothing that we can do but play the game as per the nature of the business.

    You spoke about collaboration, recently we witnessed switching off of signals, what is your opinion on such acts?  

    Firstly, the switching off of services and disturbing the consumer at a fundamental level is very unfair, it should not happen. There could be differences on the negotiation table, but that by no means should disturb the end consumer. 

    The fact that the consumer is deprived of a service in itself is very sad.  I don’t subscribe to such negotiations. We have also gone through highs and lows in our negotiation process but, at the end of the day, you cannot starve your consumer of superior content, or any content for that matter, because the consumer has subscribed for it. The ecosystem is such that the business is dependent on ad sales, and that is why the switch offs’ happen.

    What should lead the business, subscription or ad revenue?

    Ad sales should be an icing on the cake, subscription revenue should steer the business. Look at the mature markets – subscription revenue is leading the business, the negotiations that happen there are at a different level.

    Fundamentally the broadcast business has to be a subscription led business. You can have an advertising-based play that we are seeing with the FTA’s and that’s majorly because of the huge population of our country and the market size and the reach that TV offers. But a premium pay channel creating original superior content needs to be pay first.

    What is your take on the growing OTT business?

    At the heart of the OTT ecosystem is bandwidth and the bandwidth needs to improve.  What will be interesting to see is if it becomes subscription based (SVOD) or advertising based video on demand (AVOD). 

    Now if you are providing superior content for an AVOD model you are not creating a great environment as such. It’s all about how you form the habit. Consumers who consume OTT content are paying about Rs 1,000 for data, and we tend to think that the same consumer will not pay for  content. This mentality is not a long term one, we need to think 10 years ahead and then take steps.

    Smart TVs are in place; people are talking about 8K.  There are great leaps in terms of technology, but if we don’t take the correct steps, we won’t be able to get value out of the OTT business.

    Will you make yourself available on OTT platforms? Star has Hotstar, SPN has Sony Liv, ZEE has a couple of them and Viacom is launching VOOT. Is Disney also looking towards launching an OTT platform?

    Anywhere where consumption is there, we will make ourselves present. That’s the way forward for us. We do have plans, but we are at a very nascent stage as far as OTT is concerned. As a linear service we will be available on all OTT platforms, but when it comes to launching our own venture we will evaluate when the time is right.

    Where are you generating more subscription revenue from, DTH or cable?

    DTH has a slight edge over cable when it comes to our subscription revenue. We are gradually moving towards level contributions from both the platforms. Now with DAS phase III, I think the headroom for growth is massive in the case of cable. At this stage I think that DTH, given its organised and transparent nature, has the edge.

    Is it the bouquet mode of distribution that you are looking at, at this stage?

    Most of our deals are all bouquet offerings, if there is any platform that requires a youth offering or kids offering or a movie offering, such deals happen at a very high CPS price and we create those packages. We are there on a la carte as an offering, but there is a very small set of consumers who subscribe to the service. So it’s largely all bouquet.

    What is it that Disney Media Networks is looking for in the foreseeable future?

    I have mandated the team in Disney that the subscription business needs to overtake the ad sales business over the next three years’  and that will change the entire ecosystem. An MSO cannot then threaten me with a switch off and that’s what we are targeting. We were at about 65:35 ratio, now we have become 60:40 so we are moving towards that direction. Over time the target is to make it 40:60 or 30:70 for that matter.

     

  • TRAI issues draft regulations on register of interconnect agreements, wants comments by 25 April

    TRAI issues draft regulations on register of interconnect agreements, wants comments by 25 April

    New Delhi: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India today asked stakeholders to give their views on the periodicity and authenticity of the proposed register of interconnect agreements, apart from the format for such a register.

    Stakeholders have been asked to post their comments by 25 April with counter-comments, if any, by 5 May to a consultation paper and a draft of the Register of Interconnect Agreements (Broadcasting and Cable Services) Regulations 2016.

    The primary objective of register of interconnection regulations is to prescribe the contours of a reporting system to service providers to report interconnection agreement details to the Authority so as to enable it to maintain a register of interconnect agreements as per the provisions of TRAI Act. It is also useful for monitoring and analyzing market practices prevailing for interconnection agreements. Presently, the regulations mandate service providers to report the prescribed information annually.

    One clause of the draft register is for ‘Reporting of information, relating to interconnect agreements, by broadcaster of pay channel and the distributor of TV channel’. It says every broadcaster of pay channel and distributor of TV Channel shall report the information relating to all interconnect agreements entered into by them or modifications or amendments or addendums thereto which have been signed before and after coming into effect of the regulations that are valid as on the date of commencement of the regulations and shall be reported within one month for the previous ones and by tenth of the month for the new ones.

    A para on format of reports says: “Subject to the provisions contained in regulation 5 of the regulations, the broadcaster of pay channel and the distributor of TV Channel , as the case may be, shall furnish to the Authority, the information relating to the interconnect agreements in the formats specified in Schedule-I ( Format for broadcasters of pay channels), Schedule-II (Format for MSO and HITS Operator) or Schedule-III (Format DTH and IPTV Service provider) of the regulations as applicable.”

    Stakeholders have been asked to provide suggestions on this regulation of draft regulations and also the formats given in schedules and told that they can also suggest modified format for reporting to make it simple and easy to file.

    TRAI also wants comments on how it can be ensured that service providers report accurate details in compliance of regulations, and on digitally signed method of reporting the information.

    TRAI wants to know why all information including commercial portion of register should not be made accessible to any interested stakeholders, and if the commercial information is to be made accessible, in which way can this commercial information be made accessible to fulfill the objective of non-discrimination.

    If the commercial information is not made accessible to stakeholders, then in what form the provisions under clause (vii) and (viii) of Section 11 (1) (b) of TRAI Act be implemented in broadcasting and cable sector so that the objective of non-discrimination is also met simultaneously, the stakeholders have to state.