I&B Ministry
Over 180 TV channels asked to provide information to EMMC
NEW DELHI: A total of 182 television channels have been asked by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry to provide by 8 June certain details required for monitoring purposes by the Electronic Media Monitoring Centre (EMMC).
The pay channels have to provide one set of Professionat TRO for each TV channel permitted to them which can give SD-SDI output (in case of HD channels, HD-SDI output) alongwith one spare IRD per bouquet to EMMC.
Alternately, the pay TV broadcaster/ service irovider should provide Viewing Card (VC) with matching CAlvl module for interfacing with demodulators to decrypt and demodulate the channels over IP. TV Channels are also required to provide the technical details as frequency, satellite, location of teleport, etc.
The Free-to-Air (FTA) TV channels whose signals are not encrypted need not provide such equipment. However, they may immediately inform of the frequency being used
The Information and Broadcasting Ministry said that under Clause 5.14 of Downlinking Guidelines, ‘the applicant company shall provide the necessary monitoring facility at its own cost for monitoring of programmes or content by the representative of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting or any other Government agency as and when required’.
A list attached along with the notice published on the site of the Ministry mib.nic.in also gives a list of the 182 channels as well as the officers to whom the information has to be sent.
The list contains all genres of channels – news, general entertainment, business news, and music.
I&B Ministry
Prasar Bharati sets EPG standards for DD Free Dish platform
New specs define 7-day guide, LCN mapping, and device compatibility.
MUMBAI: Your TV guide just got a backstage pass structured, scheduled, and far more in sync. Prasar Bharati has released detailed technical specifications for Electronic Programme Guide (EPG) services on DD Free Dish, laying down a standardised framework for how channels and programme information are organised and delivered. At the core of the update is a defined EPG data structure, covering genre-based categorisation, scheduling formats, and Logical Channel Numbering (LCN). The aim is simple: make navigation less guesswork and more guided experience across the platform’s over 40 million households.
The specifications also introduce a seven-day programme guide window for each channel, alongside clear rules for channel grouping and LCN mapping effectively deciding not just what you watch, but how easily you find it.
On the technical front, the document outlines requirements for Program Specific Information (PSI) and Service Information (SI), including descriptor usage across tables such as PAT, BAT and NIT. It further details service lists and network linkage parameters, giving OEMs and developers a clearer blueprint for integration.
Importantly, the framework is designed to work seamlessly with television sets equipped with in-built satellite tuners, enabling users to access DD Free Dish directly without additional hardware, an incremental but meaningful step towards simplifying access.
The platform will continue to operate on GSAT-15 transponders, using MPEG-4 compression and DVB-S2 transmission standards, ensuring continuity even as the interface evolves.
While largely technical, the move signals a broader push towards standardisation and user-friendly discovery in India’s free-to-air ecosystem because sometimes, the real upgrade isn’t what’s on screen, but how easily you get there.
