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Govt. to stay firm on downlink policy

Indiantelevision.com Team

(18 August 2007 7:00 pm)

NEW DELHI: Despite a warning by the cable industry about the likely entry of around 3000 unauthorized television channels through Internet Protocol TV (IPTV), the government has for the present ruled out any change in the Downlinking Policy issued in November 2005.

Information and Broadcasting ministry sources told Indiantelevision.com that it was felt that the policy was adequate for dealing with the present situation relating to the growth of television in the country.

However, since the Department of Telecom was planning to introduce Internet Protocol TV in 70 towns during 2007, the inter-ministerial group presently set up by the I&B ministry to go into TV content and monitor any violations of the Broadcast and Advertising Codes will examine any cases relating to content over IPTV.

Sources said that since the list of all channels which had been given downlinking permission was available on the website of the ministry (www.mib.nic.in), it was clear that the cable industry could only re-transmit these channels. The list was being revised from time to time as permission was granted to more channels to downlink into India.

In its representation to I&B Secretary Asha Swarup, the MSO Alliance which is a body of multi-system operators (MSOs) representing the cable industry said IPTV could not be kept outside the ambit of the Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Act 1995 or the Downlinking Guidelines. If this happened, then a large number of adult and pornographic content could enter Indian homes. "This will dilute all existing government norms including downlinking guidelines and foreign direct investment (FDI) caps thereby harming the cable industry adversely," said the letter sent by the MSO Alliance to Swarup.

It is also claimed that IPTV service providers would create or produce news content even though this is not permissible under the rules since only companies with foreign Equity holding including FDI/FII/NRI investment of up to 26 per cent can beam news content. "This would result in creating a disadvantageous position to the existing news channels vis-a-vis IPTV service provider with regard to foreign direct investment limits," according to Arvind Mohan of the MSO Alliance.

The ministry sources said that the Downliking Policy had certain inbuilt safeguards. For example, the entity applying for permission for downlinking a channel uplinked from abroad must be a company registered in India and must have a commercial presence in India with its principal place of business in India.

The applicant company must either own the channel it wants downlinked for public viewing, or must enjoy, for the territory of India, exclusive marketing/ distribution rights for the same, inclusive of the rights to the advertising and subscription revenues for the channel and must submit adequate proof at the time of application. The downlinked channel must be licensed or permitted for being broadcast by the regulatory or licensing authority of the country of transmission, proof of which would have to be submitted at the time of application.

The Company permitted to downlink registered channels shall comply with the Programme and Advertising Code prescribed under the Cable TV Act.