I&B Ministry
MIB grants 4 TV channel licences to ABP News Network
MUMBAI: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has given ABP News Network four new TV channel licences in the month of February. The company has received uplinking and downlinking licences under the names ABP Andhra, ABP Ganga, ABP Kannada and ABP Tamil.
One of the licences could be used to launch an Uttar Pradesh centric news channel that the company is planning to launch. The company also operates a Punjabi digital news channel ABP Sanjha, which was then launched as ABP Asmita in 2016. ABP News Network currently owns and operates four news channels ABP News (Hindi), ABP Majha (Marathi), ABP Ananda (Bengali) and ABP Asmita (Gujarati).
Recently, the news broadcaster had converted its pay channels to free to air (FTA) under the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) new regulatory framework. ABP Ananda and ABP Majha went FTA from 8 February.
In the month of January and February, MIB gave licenses to other six new channels. The channels were Skystar Bangla, Skystar Telugu, PTC Music, PTC Punjabi, PTC Simran and Zee Classic. All the six channels are under non-news category.
G-Next Media got the permission for uplinking and downlinking PTC Music, PTC Punjabi and PTC Simran on Intelsat-20 satellite in Punjabi, Hindi, and English on 7 February 2019.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises got the permission for uplinking and downlinking Zee Classic on Asiasat-7 in Punjabi, Hindi and all regional languages on 13 February 2019. Skystar Entertainment Pvt Ltd got the permission for uplinking and downlinking Skystar Bangla and Skystar Telugu on Intelsat-20 in Hindi, English, all India scheduled languages and world language on 15 January 2019.
I&B Ministry
AIDCF moves TDSAT over Waves plan to stream linear TV channels
Industry body flags regulatory gap as OTT push sparks broadcast turf war
NEW DELHI: The battle between traditional television distributors and digital platforms has found its way to the courts, with the All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) moving the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) against Prasar Bharati’s latest OTT play.
At the heart of the dispute is Waves, Prasar Bharati’s OTT platform, which has invited applications to onboard linear satellite TV channels. Aidcf, which represents multi-system operators (msos), argues that this move sidesteps existing broadcasting rules and risks tilting the playing field in favour of digital platforms.
The federation’s petition hinges on a key provision in the Uplinking and Downlinking Guidelines, 2022. Clause 11(3)(f) allows broadcasters to downlink channels only if they provide signal decoders to recognised distribution platforms such as MSOS, DTH operators, hits operators and iptv platforms. OTT platforms, aidcf points out, do not feature on that list.
In simple terms, AIDCF’s argument is this: if OTT platforms are not officially recognised distributors, they should not be receiving broadcast signals in the first place. By inviting channels onto Waves, the federation claims, Prasar Bharati is opening a backdoor that lets broadcasters bypass long-standing rules.
The concern goes beyond legal interpretation. Aidcf says OTT platforms currently operate without a clear regulatory framework, allowing them to expand into traditional broadcasting territory without the compliance burden that cable and satellite operators must carry. That, it argues, creates an uneven contest.
There is also a warning for broadcasters. If they provide signal decoders to an OTT platform like Waves, they could risk breaching the very conditions under which their downlinking permissions were granted.
For its part, Prasar Bharati’s Waves initiative is positioned as a step towards wider access and digital reach, bringing linear television into the streaming era. But critics say the move blurs the line between regulated broadcasting and largely unregulated streaming.
The matter is expected to come up before tdsat next week. The outcome could do more than settle a single dispute. It may help define how India regulates the fast-merging worlds of television and OTT, where the lines are getting fuzzier by the day and the stakes, sharper than ever.
