I&B Ministry
I&B asks Films Division to prove its mettle
NEW DELHI: In a bid to justify the existence of some divisions (and also the employees working there) within its fold, the information and broadcasting ministry has sounded off the Films Division (FD) to look for assignments outside the government, including private satellite channels.
FD has been instructed to undertake training and re-training of its staff members irrespective of the cost incurred,to be competitive in the present media environment.
“We have conveyed to Films Division to get out of the time warp of making just news reels (those which were shown few decades back in cinema halls before the start of a movie) and make documentaries and other interesting programmes for private broadcasters too,” a senior information and broadcasting ministry official told indiantelevision.com.
In this connection, the ministry official also pointed out that it has informally told Films Division to begin the training of the people working in the department, as soon as possible.
The move comes at a time when the I&B ministry has more or less rejected a finance ministry’s proposal (taking cue from the Geethakrishnan report on cutting flab in the Indian government) to close down certain divisions.
At a recent interaction with journalists, information and broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj said that her endeavour is not to close down departments under her ministry but to go in for strategic mergers. The maximum that the ministry has done is to ‘surrender’ 1,000-odd posts in deference to the finance ministrys request.
FD was one division which critics have been saying has outlived its existence, especially in an era where TV brings news and events, most of the time live, into the bedrooms of people.
But there is also no denying the fact that if FD can change itself, it can find a market amongst private satellite channels which are still hungry for good non-fiction fare for television.
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.
