I&B Ministry
MIB gives licences to 5 new channels
MUMBAI: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) gave licenses to five new channels up until 31 December 2018. The channels are P Plus, PTunes, Living Travelz, Star Movies Kids and Star Movies Kids HD.
Graphisads Private Ltd got the permission for uplinking and downlinking P Plus and PTunes (non-news) on GSAT-17 satellite in Hindi, English and all Indian scheduled languages on 27 December 2018.
Essel Group-owned Living Entertainment Enterprises (LEEPL) got the permission for uplinking and downlinking Living Travelz (non-news) on Intelsat-20 in Hindi and English language on 9 December 2018. Going by the name, Living Travelz, mostly will be a lifestyle channel which will compete against FYI TV18, TLC, Fox Life. The teleport operator of the channel will be Dish TV India.
Surprisingly, Star India is planning to target the kids' audience and got the permission for Star Movies Kids and its HD version on Asiasat-7 satellite. The competitors for the broadcaster in the kids industry are Nick, CN, Pogo, Hungama, Disney and Discovery Kids.
The number of private satellite TV channels having valid permission in India stands at 883 as on 31 December 2018. 497 channels are non-news channels and the remaining 386 are news channels.
Of the 883 permitted private satellite channels, TV channels permitted for uplinking from India and also to downlink into India are 785. Nine non-news channels and five news channels are permitted for uplinking from India but not downlink into the country. 84 TV channels are uplinked from abroad which only have downlinking permission in India. This category includes 15 news and 69 non-news channels.
I&B Ministry
MIB halts news TRPs for four weeks over sensational US-Iran conflict coverage
Government flags panic-mongering in television war coverage
NEW DELHI: India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting directed the Broadcast Audience Research Council India (BARC) to suspend television ratings for news channels for four weeks amid concerns over sensational coverage of the ongoing conflict involving the United States and Iran.
According to media reports, the move intends to curb excessive dramatisation in television reporting that could trigger unnecessary public anxiety.
Officials have observed that several news broadcasters are amplifying developments in the conflict in ways that may fuel panic among viewers. By temporarily halting the publication of viewership data, the ministry hopes to ease the competitive pressure on channels to chase ratings through sensational content.
The suspension will remain in effect for one month for now. During this period, television news channels will continue to broadcast as usual, but their audience measurement figures will neither be counted nor released.
Authorities will monitor both the evolving geopolitical situation and the tone of television coverage during the pause. The four-week suspension could be extended if the government believes the risk of panic-mongering or sensational reporting persists.
