News Broadcasting
Asia-Pac broadcast body, Casbaa to jointly fight piracy
MUMBAI: The Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) and the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (Casbaa) agreed to work together to combat signal theft in the region at an ABU copyright seminar in Hong Kong on Thursday.
According to Caasba CEO Simon Twiston Davies, signal theft was increasing at a rate of 11 per cent a year in Asia, corroding the ability of the industry to grow. The cost of piracy of channels by unlicensed cable operators, under-declaring of subscriptions by licensed operators, and ad-blocking by cable operators, amounted to more than $1.2 billion a year in the Asian region, Davies claimed.
“Piracy is a big problem for our members in Taiwan, the Philippines, Thailand and India,” he said.
ABU secretary-general David Astley told the seminar that many free-to-air channels were suffering signal theft too, and proposed that the two organisations work together where there were issues of common interest.
FTA broadcasters were suffering what the chief legal counsel of ABS-CBN, Philippines, Andrefanio Santos, described as both primary signal piracy and secondary signal piracy.
Santos explained that secondary signal piracy was where cable operators had pirated DTH (direct to home) satellite services that had already pirated the transmissions of free-to-air broadcasters.
“There being hundreds of cable operators in the Philippines, it is not expedient for ABS-CBN to seek legal action against each and every cable operator,” he said.
Santos said his organisation was therefore focusing its legal action against the DTH operators. “Once the illegal broadcast by the DTH operator is finally stopped, it is evident that most of the unauthorized retransmission by the provincial cable operators will also stop,” Santos said.
The ABU seminar, which was held in conjunction with its annual Copyright Working Party meeting, attracted delegates from Australia, Brunei, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand, People’s Republic of China, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Turkey.
Other issues that were discussed at the seminar included the protection of format rights and the negotiation of music licences and royalties.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to host Kolkata Town Hall on Hooghly River
‘Bhalobasa Bengal Inspiring Bharat’ event on April 20 brings cultural icons, trailblazing women and leaders aboard a cruise to celebrate Bengal’s enduring influence.
MUMBAI: Bengal is about to make fresh waves on the Hooghly and this time the current is pure conversation. CNN-News18 is taking its iconic Town Hall format to the waters of the iconic Hooghly River on 20 April 2026 with a special edition titled ‘Bhalobasa Bengal – Inspiring Bharat’. The floating event will celebrate the state’s rich cultural legacy and how its ideas, creativity and spirit continue to shape the rest of the country.
The unique riverside setting draws on Bengal’s history as a cradle of reform, art and intellectual thought. The speaker line-up mirrors that diversity: cultural heavyweights Mithun Chakraborty and Sreenanda Shankar will share the stage with trailblazing “Devis” such as Tanya Sanyal (India’s first woman firefighter in aviation), Ipsita Chakraborty (Kolkata’s first woman bartender) and Reshma Nilofer Visalakshi (Nari Shakti awardee and marine pilot). Music will flow through the celebrated pianist-vocalist duo Sourendro and Soumyojit, while public life and governance will be represented by Smriti Irani, Leander Paes, Saira Shah Halim, Keya Ghosh, Rekha Patra, Roopa Ganguly and Babul Supriyo.
CNN-News18, editorial affairs director, Rahul Shivshankar, said the event honours voices that carry Bengal’s legacy forward. Smriti Mehra, CEO – English & Business News, Network18, added that Bengal’s stories resonate far beyond its borders, especially as the state heads into polls.
From the first woman to battle flames in the skies to legendary actors who shaped Indian cinema, the gathering promises a rich mix of inspiration, courage and candid dialogue. In a city where culture has always flowed as freely as the river itself, CNN-News18 is turning the Hooghly into a floating forum for ideas that matter.
Tune in on 20 April on CNN-News18, CTV and YouTube to catch Bengal’s heartbeat in full flow.
