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Tag: Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd

  • News uplink norms deadline extended further

    News uplink norms deadline extended further

    NEW DELHI: Another extension has been granted to the news channels uplinking from India to conform to the existing guidelines. The new deadline is 31 December.

    Though nothing official has been communicated to the industry or to the media, information and broadcasting ministry sources indicated over the weekend that the deadline has been extended, as the ministry has not been able to decide the areas that need some further changes.

    Earlier last month, the cabinet had taken a decision to extend the deadline to 31 October.

    According to ministry sources, the changes being sought by the ministry include making the Press Information Bureau, a government arm, the nodal agency for vetting all news tapes that are uplinked from India via Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. by the likes of BBC and CNN.

    Indian uplinking guidelines do not permit more than 26 per cent foreign investment in news channels that are directly uplinked from India.

  • Cabinet extends to 31 October news uplink norms deadline

    Cabinet extends to 31 October news uplink norms deadline

    NEW DELHI: The Union Cabinet yesterday extended a deadline for adhering to the prescribed eligibility criteria related to uplinking of news channels from India to 31 October, hinting that the present guidelines may be revised.

    The extension in the deadline would also give time to the information and broadcasting ministry to examine various issues related to the uplinking guidelines, a government representative said today.

     
    “The deadline has been extended with a view that if there is a necessity to amend the existing guidelines, the nodal ministry could come up with suggestions,” finance minister P Chidambaram told indiantelevision.com this afternoon, immediately after briefing the media about a Cabinet meeting that was held yesterday.

    The minister, however, did not specify the reason(s) behind the move or whether the I&B ministry had communicated to the Cabinet that it would like to bring about some changes in the existing uplinking norms, which cap foreign investment in news channels uplinking from India at 26 per cent.

    However, a slew of proposals relating to uplinking that the I&B ministry is studying, at the moment, include whether foreign institutional investors should be allowed to invest in news channels and streamlining the uplinking procedures through Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd for news clips and stories by foreign news channels (like CNN and BBC).

    Chidambaram today said that proposals seeking amendments in the existing uplinking norms shall be submitted for the Cabinet’s consideration shortly.

    The previous Bharatiya Janata Party-led government had approved foreign ownership and management control restrictions on news channels uplinking from India through a decision on 18 March , 2003. The guidelines pertaining to this were issued a week later on 26 March. These eligibility criteria were further revised in August, 2003.

    The uplinking norms had been issued in 2003 after allegations were made by domestic news channels that Star News was trying to circumvent the then existing norms.

    Subsequent to the issuance of guidelines last year, several media houses, owning TV news channels, had made representations to the I&B ministry on various issues, including allowing FII investments in TV news ventures.

    While some news channels effected corporate restructuring to adhere to the uplinking norms, Zee News in particular is yet to complete the process of fulfilling the eligibility criteria.

  • Centre looking at tougher uplink norms for foreign news channels

    Centre looking at tougher uplink norms for foreign news channels

    NEW DELHI: The Indian government is planning to further tighten the screws on foreign TV news channels and electronic news agencies by bringing in regulation that would envisage such entities get their content, being uplinked out of India via Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd, cleared by the Press Information Bureau (PIB).
    Apart from a sense of control creeping in, the proposed regulation is also likely to make it mandatory that all such news channels (like CNN, BBC and even ESPN and Star Sports) and news agencies (like APTN and CCTV) get themselves accredited to the PIB, a long drawn procedure.
    These are part of a set of proposals prepared by the information and broadcasting ministry under revised uplinking norms that are awaiting a Cabinet nod. The issue was scheduled to be taken up by the Cabinet today, but was taken off the agenda at the last moment due to the absence of I&B minister Jaipal Reddy, who is away on an official foreign tour.
    Ministry officials are attempting to play down the indirect control that they would wield over various foreign news channels, not directly uplinking from India, but using VSNL’s facilities for sending news stories to their respective headquarters.
    The proposed move would indirectly result in the handing of powers of censorship into the hands of the PIB, manned by officials of the I&B ministry. The designated authority would also have the powers to screen content supposed to go out of India for foreign news channels.
    Most such news channels like CNN and BBC use VSNL’s uplinking facilities to send news inputs on a daily basis, while taking special government permission for direct uplinking on special occasions.
    Government officials also say that though ESPN Star Sports manage sports channels, they could also fall into this category because ESS air sports news bulletins.
    Channels like CNN and BBC would ideally not like to uplink straight out of India as that would mean they have to conform to government guidelines for news channels and bring down the foreign shareholding in the Indian operation to 26 per cent.

  • Star News gets another two-week extension

    NEW DELHI: The Indian government today gave another 14-days extension to Star News for uplinking purpose from the country after the file was cleared by information and broadcasting minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today evening.
    According to government sources, the temporary extension for uplinking, fifth in a row, has been given in the light of the fact that an inter-ministerial group is studying the Star News proposal and various other antecedents.
    “Pending the examination, one cannot switch off an existing channel,” a government source said, adding Star News is also protected by a Mumbai high court ruling, which states that Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. cannot discontinue uplinking content for the news channel from India without coming back to the court with valid reasons.
    In the meanwhile, the inter-ministerial group is slated to meet on Saturday again to discuss the Star News case.
    Also read:

    I&B minister Prasad extols CAS virtues in Rajya Sabha

    PM defends government handling of Star News case

  • Seth becomes biggest stakeholder in MCCS; another uplink extension granted

    NEW DELHI: Setting at rest speculations and playing safe, Media Content & Communications Services India Pvt. Ltd, which has applied for a licence to uplink content for Star News, has not got a replacement for Kumaramangalam Birla whose 25 per cent holding, instead, has been bought by an existing shareholder, ad man Suhel Seth.
    As if on cue, the Indian government also gave another weekly extension — the fourth in a row — to MCCS to continue uplinking news content from India through Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. MCCS had earlier got an anticipatory stay from Mumbai high court against VSNL snapping its uplink arrangement from India.
    “Now I am the single largest shareholder in the company and I am an Indian too,” Seth told indiantelevision.com, in between a meeting that he was attending.
    Seth, who earlier held 5 per cent stake in MCCS, now becomes the single largest shareholder in the news venture with 30 pr cent stake. Star News Broadcasting, a Rupert Murdoch company, is the second largest shareholder with 26 per cent stake.
    According to Kaushal Dalal, a board member of MCCS and a Star India employee, all shareholders would be on the board of MCCS, contrary to an earlier arrangement when not all the Indian shareholders were represented on the board of the company.
    Dalal today submitted MCCS’ reply to government posers that were lengthy and includes the business plans of the company that has justified its relatively small capital base on the grounds that most of its services are “outsourced”.
    Meanwhile, Seth’s acquisition of Birla’s shareholding also signifies the rise of the Kolkata-educated ad man man who is a permanent fixture on Delhi’s cocktail circuit and loves to throw stylish and lavish parties himself.
    However, today he seemed to be extra busy, taking mostly calls from the media. Given to flamboyance, Seth, who also wears the hat of the CEO of Equus Red Cell advertising firm, refused to spell out any financial details.
    “Those who know, know how much I paid for buying the stake (held by Birla),” a tantalisingly vague Seth told a journalist before whizzing off to another meeting earlier in the evening.
    Seth, as per associates, friends and those who have known him in Kolkata, has always been a go-getter and a compulsive debater at college.
    “While one of Jadhavpur University’s better debaters prepared before an outing, Suhel would speak extempore like a bull in a China shop and would continue debating till he managed to convince the others,” a batchmate of his revealed.
    After a short stint at Kolkata-headquartered ITC, Suhel, along with his brother Swapan, started Equus advertising agency where the now-troubled Daewoo India, then targeting India aggressively with its cars, is reported to have been the first client.
    Between mid and late 1990s, Equus managed to get investment from one of Korea’s biggest ad firms Korad, which held a minority stake in the Indian ad firm.
    It is also said that Suhel managed to get global advertising world’s big daddy Martin Sorrell, CEO WPP, interested in his works and ultimately hitched up a relationship with WPP. Of course, as per Seth’s own admission, he owes a lot to the late marketing wizard Shunu Sen who was instrumental in shaping Seth’s career to a large extent. Not to mention Seth is a close friend of the Doon School-educated Star India CEO Peter Mukerjea too.
    GOVERNMENT RELENTS ON UPLINKING
    After showing signs of indecisiveness, the government admitted late this evening that it has granted another weekly extension to Star News. The extension given last week expires at midnight.
    Pointing out that the replies from Star News and MCCS were not conditional for extending uplinking permission, an official of India’s information and broadcasting ministry said, “They (the replies) are adequate, if not satisfactory.”
    The government official also said that the replies would be “analysed” by the government and the ministry would hold consultations with the inter-ministerial group that would look into various policies regarding the media, including shareholding and ownership patterns.
    It has also been indicated by the government that it would look into the shareholding pattern of companies like Touch Telecontent (India) and Hughes Electronics, corporate entities in which Rupert Murdoch is likely to have holdings directly or indirectly. The former, anyway, has been set up as an infrastructure company owned a 100 per cent by Star.
    The government is looking into Hughes Electronics because as per a deal done abroad Murdoch’s News Corp has bought into Hughes Electronics India’s parent company and would, thus, be having a hold over the Indian entity too.
    According to Star News-MCCS combine, Hughes Electronics India would be used for outsourcing news gathering connectivity-related equipment. Hughes Electronics is a V-sat company and has a vast network of broadband and other related infrastructure in India.
    Government officials, quoting from the reply furnished by Star News, also pointed out that Touch Telecontent would be responsible for the ad sales of Star News, which had mopped up about Rs 850 million in advertising revenue last year.
    Star News Broadcasting Ltd has licenced the usage of the Star News logo.

  • FDI cap for news channels announcement put off

    NEW DELHI: Surprises and anti-climax, like any other issue related to broadcasting and cable, continue to dog the uplinking matter where the guidelines, now, are expected to be stringent and somewhat on the lines of those prevalent in the print medium (26 per cent FDI cap) in the news category.
    Early this morning, the government machinery was set in motion to convey that the information and broadcasting minister Ravi Shankar Prasad would announce the guidelines under the new uplinking issue later today. About an hour before the scheduled interaction, the minister cried off with the Press Information Bureau , the public relations arm of the government, saying the “briefing was cancelled as the minister had to rush off to an urgent and emergency meeting called by the Prime Minister and the deputy Prime Minister.” 
    Though in the backdrop of the recent killings by terrorists in the strife-torn Jammu and Kashmir region, the top level meeting at the Prime Minister’s residence was a logical cause, what is being questioned in certain quarters is the fact that in such Cabinet meetings traditionally the ministers of state or junior ministers don’t go. That is why Prasad, despite being the I&B minister, is not the official spokesperson for the government, a responsibility that is still being handled by his predecessor at the ministry, parliamentary affairs minister Sushma Swaraj. 
    Though the next date for announcing the FDI guidelines for TV news channels desirous of uplinking from India has not been fixed yet, government sources indicate it is likely to be tomorrow as the I&B ministry wants to complete the proceedings as soon as possible. 
    The government, which has twice postponed over the last three days the idea to hold a briefing on foreign equity guidelines, is also learnt to be seriously making the guidelines stringent and combining various clauses for news channels that has been specified in the news and non-news category for the print medium.
    It is likely that permission for uplinking for news channels from India would be granted if, among other conditions, at least 3/4th of the broad of directors of the news company and all key execs and editorial staff being resident Indians.
    It is also likely that another condition may specify the applicant TV news company is required to intimate the names and details of all persons not being resident Indians and who all are proposed to be inducted on the board of the company.
    These conditions may make life for the likes of Zee News and Star News difficult.
    Last week, the Indian Cabinet took the bull by its horns and exercising a country’s sovereign power to have laws to suit local environs, a la any other country, put a 26 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) cap on television news companies desirous of uplinking from India. This is at par with the FDI cap prevalent in the print medium relating to news and current affairs. 
    In a smart move, the Indian government has also sought to stop backdoor uplinking or by-passing of the new uplinking policy by saying that that any channel or company that uses very small aperture terminals (V-SATs)to uplink from India through Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. would also have to adhere to the FDI cap. Companies like Television Eighteen Ltd. (for CNBC India business news channel with 51 per cent foreign shareholding) fall within this category. 
    Meanwhile, government sources today indicated that the new uplinking policy guidelines would be, “more or less”, in line with norms for FDI in the news category in the print medium. 
    It is also expected that as part of the guidelines for TV news channels, the government may insist that the company desiring to uplink from India should also have an Indian individual holding 51 per cent equity stake, as it has been done for the print medium. 
    This step was taken to ensure that the control of the company did not slip into foreign hands in a scenario where the foreign shareholding was 26 per cent and the remaining 74 per cent was scattered amongst, for example, 10 Indians whose shareholding individually would have been less than the foreign shareholding. 
    It is also expected that as in the print medium, the government may insist that the full editorial control of a news channel, beaming into India primarily targeting Indian audience, should lie with Indians to ensure editorial integrity. 
    If the government wants the guidelines to be more stringent, then it can also insist that those small companies, which have uplink permission or have teleport licence would have to ensure that they do not indirectly rent their facilities to any company that has dominant foreign shareholding. 
    Companies like TV Today Network (English news channel), NDTV World, Star News and BBC are awaiting a green signal from the I&B ministry to uplink channels from India. 
    However, doubts persist about the case of the British Broadcasting Corporation News that has admitted to indiantelevision.com that it is seeking an uplink licence from Indian authorities to augment its global news gathering process. 
    An official statement from BBC News had sated sometime back that its application for uplink was technical in nature and should not be categorised with those of Star and others. 
    Still, quizzed on the issue, government officials are not clear whether the 26 per cent FDI cap would be applicable on BBC News or not. At the end of the day, an uplinking is an uplinking whether it is done for technical reasons (as BBC News is insisting) or to uplink a news channel for Indians (as being said by the likes of TV Today, Star and NDTV). 
    The 26 per cent FDI cap, unlike that in other sectors like DTH and the print medium, is inclusive of investments in a television news company by foreign financial institutions, overseas corporate bodies, non-resident Indians and external commercial borrowings. 
    The government, however, has made some concessions for existing news channels that have foreign shareholding over the now-prescribed permissible limit and has given them a year’s time to go in for equity restructuring to continue availing the uplinking permission given to them earlier. 
    The government has also made it clear that though 100 per cent FDI is allowed in entertainment channels, any percentage — small or big — of news and current affairs programming on such channels would compel the government to treat them as news channels.

  • Prasar Bharati for KU band transmission in NE India

    Prasar Bharati for KU band transmission in NE India

    NEW DELHI: The Prasar Bharati Corp, overseeing the functioning of India’s pubcasters Doordarshan and All India Radio, has sought the government’s approval to start KU-band transmission for remote areas, starting with the north-eastern part of the country.

    If this proposal is given the go-ahead, DD may well be the first one to start a DTH service in the country; though with a difference: the service will not be as costly as normal DTH services are round the globe. 

    According to officials in India’s information and broadcasting ministry, Prasar Bharati wants to start Ku-band transmission in N-E India to bring on to the television map remote areas of the country where normal terrestrial or cable TV services are unable to penetrate.

    The officials pointed out that Prasar Bharati-government talks are on to see the feasibility of such a project as a major part of the funding is likely to come from the government.

    Meanwhile, Prasar Bharati has started C-band cable transmissions in certain parts of N-E India in a bid to take DD and other private satellite channels to places where its terrestrial services are not available as also to counter cross-border propaganda by some neighbouring countries. Certain states and cities in N-E India are open to TV propaganda material from countries like China, Myanmar and Bhutan. 

    But the official was quick to point out that such a KU-band service should not be construed as a full-fledged DTH service. 

    At one time, Prasar Bharati was also in talks with the partly government owned Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd and state-controlled Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd, running telecom networks in Delhi and Mumbai, to jointly put together a proper DTH platform. But the talks did not make much headway owing to the huge investment that is needed for a DTH service and related infrastructure to man it.

  • Star applies for port-to-port uplinking through VSNL

    Star applies for port-to-port uplinking through VSNL

    NEW DELHI: With the clock ticking towards the 31 March 2003 termination of the NDTV-Star India alliance, Rupert Murdoch’s company is making all the arrangements for the smooth transition to the new Star News feed. 

    As part of this process, Star has applied to the government for permission to use international gateway Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) for port to port uplinking.

    Currently the arrangement is that NDTV sends the signal through VSNL to Hong Kong, from where it is uplinked onto the Asiasat satellite. 

    Star India officials however, offered no comments, when asked about the latest developments. 

    Though Star, surprisingly, has not applied for a direct uplink licence, in 1997, Newscorp boss Rupert Murdoch did consider using Bangalore as an uplink station.

    Watch this space for a detailed report to follow.

  • VSNL extends uplinking services to digitally encrypted channels

    VSNL extends uplinking services to digitally encrypted channels

    Overseas communications carrier and sole uplinking service provider Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd is working on providing digital uplinking facilities to encrypted channels from Indian soil. As part of that the company has selected a range of Taridan Scopus Codico platforms which are to be installed in Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai. The service will initially be available from Chennai’s Ambattur uplink site where playout rooms will be provided at a price. It will be extended to the two other cities as and when the facilities are upgraded. No rates have been decided for the Multiple Channel Per Carrier (MCPC) services.

    Prior to this, in nine different cities, Scopus had installed digital SCPC (Single Channel Per Carrier) systems that improve signal reach and quality.

    The current installation covers the three major metros and Scopus has installed a number of MCPC systems. VSNL is using a Conditional Access System provided by Irdeto. Scopus digital platforms also enable VSNL to provide IP data services over these networks.

    “VSNL is a very large part of the changing media landscape in India and now that we are part of their overachieving team, I am convinced that our digital tools will propel them even further,” says Arie Vered, Scopus Sales and Marketing Director. “VSNL’s selection of Scopus advances our growing interests in Asia and is a major confirmation for Scopus’ technology and reputation.”

    The cornerstones of Scopus’ SCPC and MCPC systems are the CODICO E-1100 Professional Encoder and and CODICO IRD 2520 (Integrated Receiver / Decoder). The CODICO RTM-3600 Statistical Multiplexer / Re-multiplexer is behind the MCPC.

    The E-1100 Professional Encoder operates at 50 Mbit/ second and support both MPEG-2 4:2:0P@ML and 4:2:2P@ML encoding levels. The E-1100, housed in a single unit rackmounted enclosure, uses an advanced video pre-processor to deliver flexible encoding capabilities and high quality pictures at any given bit rate and with a very low delay. The Encoder operates either at constant bit-rate (CBR) or at variable bit-rate mode (VBR), to support Scopus’ statistical multiplexing process.

    The RTM-3600 is an MPEG-2 DVB compliant Statistical Multiplexer / Re-multiplexer that provides cost-effective MPEG-2 DVB stream multiplexing and efficient re-multiplexing. It is capable of multiplexing up to 15 MPEG-2 transport streams, re-multiplexing video programs and has a statistical multiplexing mode.

    The Scopus systems also include an Network Management system, the NMS-4000.

    Scopus has teamed up with MCBS (India) for project implementation and technical support.

  • VSNL targets DTH platform by July; alliance with Star on the cards?

    VSNL targets DTH platform by July; alliance with Star on the cards?

    The Big Daddy is putting together its plans for direct-to-home (DTH) television and other aspirants can either try to beat them or join them.

    The Hindustan Times reported on Saturday that Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) intends to be the first company in India to enter this segment with an investment in excess of Rs 2.5 billion. The proposal will be put up before the company board on 22 January for in-principle approval and VSNL hopes to be ready with a platform by July this year, the report says. VSNL’s plans are very significant as a number of players like the C. Sivasankaran-run Sterling group in partnership with Zee TV, Jain TV, DD, Modi Entertainment Network and B4U have all announced that they would either invest in or set up DTH platforms themselves.

    If VSNL achieves first to market advantage, it will be in a position to offer services to these companies. VSNL chairman and managing director SK Gupta did not comment on whether any tie-ups were in the offing, but hinted that he had an open mind on the issue.

    A real possibility though would be an alliance with Star TV. It appears to be the only private player seriously putting together any plans to start DTH operations. According to published reports Star is willing to put in up to $ 500 million in its DTH project taking on as many as three to four partners. Star is believed to be ready to form some sort of association with VSNL if it makes business sense.