I&B Ministry
Government wraps consultations on broadcasting regulation overhaul
DELHI: India’s big broadcast rulebook reboot has crossed a crucial milestone. The government has completed stakeholder consultations on the Draft Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023, paving the way for the most significant rewrite of media norms in years.
L. Murugan, minister of state for information and broadcasting, informed the Rajya Sabha that all submissions from industry bodies and stakeholders have been examined. The update was in response to an unstarred question raised by MP Saket Gokhale.
First opened for public comment on November 10, 2023, the draft Bill was initially slated to close on December 9, then extended to January 15, 2024. A fresh surge of industry feedback pushed the deadline further to October 15, 2024, reflecting intense scrutiny from broadcasters, streamers and media firms.
Murugan said the government “believes in wide and extensive consultations” as it looks to modernise antiquated broadcasting laws for a digital-first era where TV, OTT and online video increasingly overlap.
The Bill now stands on the runway for take-off. India’s media landscape may be just one push of the throttle away from a radical new flight path.
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.
