15
DAYS FOR TEMP UPLINK LICENCE
The
I&B ministry has said that while it is prepared
to give temporary live uplinking permission for major
events to private television channels, applications
should be sent at least 15 days prior to the date
of the event. the ministry emphasised that it will
not entertain applications submitted at shorter notice.
Temporary,
live uplink permits are granted on a case to case
basis according to the uplinking guidelines.
The
Ministry usually examines details relating to teleport
service provider, DSNG service provider, use of satellite,
program details (with timing/duration), uplinking
& downlinking locations, etc.
Even
after getting permission from the I&B Ministry,
the WPC Wing of the Department of Telecommunications
also examines such cases for issue of wireless operating
licence. They will also need sufficient time to process
the case.
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BHARTI
AIRTEL UPS DTH STAKE TO 95%
Bharti
Airtel has increased its stake in Bharti Telemedia,
the subsidiary company that holds the DTH, broadband,
wireline and IPTV businesses.
Bharti
Airtel earlier held a 40% stake Telemedia. it has
now upped its stake to 95%. For this, Bharti Airtel
has bought back stake from Bharti Enterprises for
Rs 74 million.
Airtel
Digital TV, the brand of the DTH service, claims close
to 3 million subscribers.
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TATASKY
MOVES COURT AGAINST PUNJAB ENT TAX
As
part of its continued efforts not to pay state Entertainment
taxes in various states, TataSky has approached the
Punjab and Haryana High Court with a petition against
the State of Punjab and Secretary, Excise and Taxation
Commissioner, Punjab. TataSky pleaded that Entertainment
tax could not be levied against its DTH service. The
amended Punjab Entertainment Duty (Amendment) Act,
2010, came into force on April 1.
The
court instructed TataSky to pay the 10% tax due, and
asked the state to allow the DTH service, as interim
measures, pending final judgment.
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SAB
CROSSES 100 GRP
Sony
Entertainment Television's comedy channel SAB TV has
reached a milestone with 101 GRPs (Gross Rating Points)
for the week ended 12 June.
SAB
TV now ranks fifth amongst Hindi GEC channels, overtaking
Imagine TV (94 GRPs), Star One at 51 & Sahara
One at 27 GRPs. Sony Entertainment Television was
at 147 GRPs.
In
the last two-and-a-half years, SAB ratings have risen
dramatically from 28 GRPs to the current level.
SAB
EVP and business head Anooj Kapoor said, "Our
family comedy channel positioning is working very
well for us and we are thrilled to be setting new
records of viewership for both the channel and our
shows. Our differentiated programming has hit a right
chord with the viewers. With a slew of fresh and innovative
offerings in the coming months, we are set to further
conquer many more milestones."
In
the same week, Star Plus remained the leading Hindi
GEC channel with 335 GRPs, while Colors and Zee remained
on second and third spots with 288 and 256 GRPs respectively.
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GOVT
INSISTS ON TV & RADIO REGULATOR
Information
and Broadcasting Secretary Raghu Menon has emphasised
the need for a 3-tier regulatory mechanism for the
media in the country.
Menon
said that apart from individual self regulation and
an industry body, the sector should have a 3rd level
of regulatory body established under law.
He
said that self regulation and regulation by industry
bodies like ASCI have been working well and pointed
out that the I&B Ministry had adopted the advertising
code prescribed by ASCI in the Cable Television Networks
(Regulation) Act. Menon said that while technical
issues relating to broadcasting are being handled
by the TRAI, content regulation was handled directly
by the I&B ministry.
He
further added that "an independent, autonomous
authority for the broadcasting sector is not only
required for the purpose of content regulation, but
more importantly for the purpose of addressing large
number of technical and commercial issues that are
crucial for the healthy and orderly growth of the
sector".
Both
television and radio had emerged as powerful media
in view of their wider reach, both in rural and urban
areas, with over 570 TV channels and more than 400
radio stations. In addition to the content created
by the broadcasters, a large number of cable operators
also generate local content, Menon added.
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NEW
STAR PLUS LOGO
Star
Plus has lined up a major brand recast that includes
a new logo, tagline and signature tune as it has once
again managed to reach the number 1 slot.
The
rebranding exercise, is estimated to have cost $4
million (Rs 18.72 Crore) & is a big step for the
channel, according to Uday Shankar, chief executive
of Star India. "The last time Star Plus recast
its agenda was in 2000, with the launch of ground-breaking
shows such as Kaun Banega Crorepati, (Kyunki) Saas
Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi and Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki, which
were new to Indian television," he said.
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NEW
APPLICATIONS AFTER TRAI'S FDI RECOMMENDATION
The
I&B ministry has restarted issuing licences for
new television channels, but it will not accept any
fresh applications until the TRAI declares its recommendations
on the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy on broadcasting
are released. This was declared by the I&B ministry
Secretary Raghu Menon. "TRAI is working on some
points we referred to them on the FDI policy. Meanwhile,
we thought it is not fair to keep the applicants waiting,"
Menon told the press.
The
TRAI is studying the existing disparity in FDI limits
in different media segments. Currently, 100% FDI is
permitted in non-news TV channels, while it is restricted
to 26% for news and current affairs broadcasters.
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164
CHANNELS MUST REAPPLY
A
total of 164 private television channels which had
received permission before 2 December 2005 to uplink
will have to apply for fresh registration by 11 November
this year for downlinking into the country.
Uplinking
and Downlinking guidelines were formulated and declared
in November 2005.
On
11 May 2006, the I&B ministry declared that the
164 channels operating before this date were automatically
approved.
It
has been decided by the Ministry that the period of
registration would be taken as 5 years from the date
of approval of the Guidelines, 11 November 2005, to
remove this ambiguity.
A
registration fee of Rs 500,000 will be charged while
renewing the permission for registration for next
5 years.
The
164 channels that will have to seek fresh registration
include most major channels by Zee, ETV, TV Today
group, Sun, NDTV, Sahara Samay, Tara and Gemini.
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STAR
HOME SHOPPING CHANNEL SOON
Star
India's home shopping TV channel, Star CJ Network,
is expected to be on air by August.
"The
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has starting
rolling out licences again and we expect ours to come
in soon. Our channel is expected to be on air by August,"
the STAR CJ Network India CEO, Mr Paritosh Joshi,
told the press.
Star
India and CJ Home Shopping Co of Seoul had formed
a joint venture in 2008 to tap the home shopping market
in India.
Currently,
the joint venture has two slots totaling 6 hours on
Star Utsav.
"The
core target group is the Hindi speaking market. We
get a lot of calls from small towns and we are gearing
up to service them," he said.
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RS
122 CRORE FDI OK FOR FOOD CHANNEL
Mumbai-based
Turmeric Vision has received an OK from the FIPB (Foreign
Investment Promotion Board) to induct upto Rs 122
Crores in Foreign Equity to set up and run a TV channel
on food.
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FIBP
DEFERS PROPOSALS
The
FIPB has deferred several proposals related to TV
channels and Cable TV.
These
include INX Media for making an amendment in the FC
approval; Sea TV Network, Agra for induction of foreign
equity to carry out cable networking operations; Zee
Entertainment Enterprises Ltd for transfer of share
by share swap; and Transcend Infrastructure Ltd for
acquisition of 100 per cent equity to undertake the
business of building towers, acquiring towers for
securing management rights of towers for the purpose
of leasing or licensing the shared use of these towers
to communication and broadcasting.
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ESPN
RELENTS AFTER ASIANET MOVES SUPREME COURT
Dispute
between ESPN and Asianet once again erupted just before
the FIFA Soccer World Cup.
The
Sports broadcaster ESPN & Asianet - Kerala's largest
MSO (20% market share) have disputed subscription
levies since 2003. The matter had been heard by the
TDSAT, who asked the 2 parties to negotiate a mutually
accepted settlement. ESPN - Star Sports resumed its
feed to Asianet, after the TDSAT directions. The 2
parties however could not work out a mutually accepted
price and ESPN threatened to cut off ESPN's feed to
Asianet, just before the FIFA World Cup.
Out
of desperation, Asianet Satellite Communications (ASC)
moved the Supreme Court seeking right to receive signals
on non-discriminatory basis from ESPN Software.
Asianet
in its appeal before at the Supreme Court stated that
the TDSAT had failed to appreciate that one of the
fundamental rules in interconnect agreements is non-discrimination
between the cable operators and level playing field
between them. Asianet pointed out that comparison
for non-discriminatory terms can be at the national
level, inter-state, intrastate or area wise. The petition
filed through counsel MP Vinod said that ESPN had
discriminated in fixing Asianet's subscriber numbers
& therefore was demanding an inflated monthly
subscription. This was the core of their dispute since
2003.
A
bench headed by Justice Deepak Verma admitted the
statutory appeal filed under Section 18 of the TRAI
Act 1997.
Soon
thereafter, senior counsel CS Vaidyanathan and Abhishek
Manu Singhvi, appearing for ASC and ESPN, respectively,
told the court that talks had already taken place
and they were in the process of settling the issue.
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CONAX
OFFERS HYBRID IP SOLUTION
Conax
& Espial have launched a Hybrid-IP TV solution
for cable, satellite, terrestrial and telecom operators.
Already deployed commercially by Com Hem in Sweden,
the Espial-Conax solution provides an on-demand services
platform for secure delivery of broadcast TV, interactive
applications, Video-On-Demand, local and network digital
video recording, time shift TV, over-the-top video
services to TVs, PCs and mobile devices.
The
solution features Espial's IPTV Middleware, Video
On-Demand & Content Workflow Management products
working with Conax Content Security technology.
"With
rapidly growing interest in the market for interactive
TV, we are very pleased to work with highly capable
partners like Espial to deliver best-in-class solutions.
Our joint cooperation provides an advanced solution
combining Espial middleware and security from Conax.
This compelling solution is very influential, as reflected
in the achievements and Com Hem platform success,"
says Geir Bjørndal, EVP Products & Markets,
Conax.
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SOUTHERN
MUSIC & LIFESTYLE CHANNEL UFX
UF
Media, part of the UF Group, has launched a new Music
& Lifestyle channel - UFX.
UFX
will air music in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam
and Kannada; however, the shows will have anchors
speaking only in English. It is targeted at the youth
in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.
UFX
was soft launched on 28 May by minister of state for
Information & Broadcasting - S. Jagathrakshkan.
The
south India based UF Group, which has varied interests
ranging from investment fund (Clement Ventures) to
media and entertainment (Southern Digital Screens
the southern franchisee for UFO Moviez) will be investing
Rs 100-150 million in the channel.
Explaining
his rational for launching UFX, UF Group MD Usman
Faheed told the press "Since we have a relationship
with movie producers on account of our cinema digital
distribution business, we thought it would be a good
fit to also start a music channel where we could promote
the movies along with their songs," he says.
"We are targeting audiences across the 14-45
year age-group, with a core target group of 15-35
years. We are hoping to breakeven within 3 to 4 years."
UF
group chairman Usman Fayaz had earlier co-promoted
SS Music along with Santiago Martin, but then the
two decided to part ways.
The
channel is being beamed FTA from the INSAT-4B, using
MPEG 4 compression. It could boost the demand for
MPEG-4 FTA decoders in South India.
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DISH
TV LAUNCHES HDTV
DishTV
has announced the launch of High Definition (HD) Service
- Dish Tru HD - on its platform.
To
receive HD content, subscribers must buy the 'Dish
Tru HD STB' priced at Rs 5,990. The HD channel bouquet
includes Zee TV HD, Zee Cinema HD, Discovery World
HD, and National Geographic HD at Rs 150 each month.
FIFA World Cup broadcast by ESPN on HD is also offered
with at 1080i resolution for Free; Mr Krishna Kumar,
Deputy Vice President Sales, told the press.
DishTV
also has an exclusive tie-up with Zee Entertainment
Enterprises Ltd to offer Zee TV and Hindi Movie Channel
Zee Cinema on its HD platform.
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AMBIKA
SONI ELECTED TO RAJYA SABHA
Union
Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni
was among the 27 candidates across 5 states elected
unopposed to the Rajya Sabha, on 10th June 2010. Nominated
by the Congress party, Soni was elected from Punjab
without a contest she was the only candidate in the
fray, from that constituency.
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TEN
SPORTS' HEADS QUIT
In
a sudden, though not un-expected announcement, almost
the entire top brass at the TEN Sports channel, have
quit.
TEN
Sports COO Peter Hutton has quit. So has his number
two - Mark Denton. Hutton joined the sports channel
8 years ago. He and Denton had joined the sports channel,
along with CEO - Chris McDonald when the project was
conceived.
Press
reports are that CFO Hardik Shah has also put in his
papers.
The
complete change in the top team at the channel, is
a natural fall out of TEN Sports being sold to Zee
Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL).
In
FY10, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) had
increased its stake in Taj TV Mauritius, the holding
company of Ten Sports, by 32.2% at an investment of
$31 million, taking its total holding in the company
to 82.2%. Zee Sports International will finally hold
a 95% stake in Taj TV Mauritius and a 100% stake in
Taj Television (India), paying the Bukhatir Group
a total of $44.1 million.
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SUN
DIRECT OFFERS FREE FIFA
In
a bid to push sales, Sun Direct offered its new subscribers,
free subscriptions to ESPN & STAR Sports, for
the FIFA World Cup 2010.
Unfortunately,
existing subscribers will have to pay Rs 40 + taxes
for the same 2 sports channels.
Sun
Direct CEO Tony D'Silva said, "We constantly
challenge ourselves to live up to the expectations
of our subscribers."
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TV
CHANNELS ASKED TO SUBMIT WPC DETAILS
The
I&B ministry has already licenced 511 TV channels.
Are these too many for the ministry to track ?
On
25th March, the ministry had written to all channels
to submit details of their operational status along
with the Wireless Planning & Coordination (WPC)
licence. The channels were to revert in 15 days, but
few replies were received. the ministry has once again
reminded the channels for these details.
The
I&B ministry is clearly moving to a more restrictive
issuance of new TV licences.
Last
year, I&B minister Ambika Soni had written to
the TRAI, expressing concern on the increasing number
of TV channels in the country and sought to know details
like availability of spectrum and setting up a more
selective criteria for issuing licences. Subsequently
issued a consultation paper on the issue.
In
April this year, the I&B ministry suspended issuing
new licences for a short while. When it recommenced,
it declared that "while considering fresh applications,
the Ministry will take into consideration the financial
viability of the proposal as also the level of expertise
and experience of the personnel who will be charged
with the responsibility of running the channels by
the promoters."
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