News Broadcasting
Indian government proposes to remove FDI and cross media irritants in DTH once again: is it the real thing this time?
The Indian government is believed to be considering a proposal to lift the 20 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) cap in direct-to-home broadcasting ventures to 49 per cent. The difference this time: the voting rights will be capped at 20 per cent.
It is also proposing to the amend the cross media restrictions in a similar manner taking the cap up to 49 per cent but limiting the voting rights to 20 per cent, a senior information and broadcasting ministry official told indiantelevision.com late last night.
The lifting of the 20 per cent FDI ceiling means that DTH ventures could be in a position to attract enough capital. The inability to generate enough capital to flag off a DTH service has been a major constraint for Indian companies as they have been loathe to wait out the long gestation period that such a project would require to start generating profits. But one has to wait and watch whether foreign investors would be willing to cede control of a venture in which they would be pouring in hundreds of millions of dollars.
The hike in the cross media restriction limit could also prove attractive and will allow integrated media companies to exploit their content properties across another platform such as DTH. The key question is whether they would be willing to give up their voting rights.
Officials in the I&B say that an opinion has been sought from the department of company affairs on the issue of amending the FDI and cross media barriers and it has opined that prima facie it seems like the proposed changes seem all right.
However, this is not the first time that smoke signals have been sent out that the DTH regulations introduced in 2000 would be made more investment friendly. On several occasions in the past the government has made similar announcements only to find that it has not been able to translate it into action.
If the limit is removed and the norms are liberalised then it is quite likely that a risk-taking entrepreneur would take the plunge into DTH. One of the most interested players in the launching DTH in India has been global media baron Rupert Murdoch but his foray has been nipped in the bud by fearful rivals and an even more reluctant government.
News Broadcasting
News18 India to air Sabse Bada Dangal on 4 May counting day
Channel promises fastest results, live trends and analysis across five states.
MUMBAI: Ballots will do the talking and screens will do the shouting. As counting day approaches for high-stakes Assembly elections across West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry, News18 India is gearing up for an all-day broadcast of its flagship election show, Sabse Bada Dangal, on 4 May from 6 am onwards. The Hindi news channel plans to deliver continuous, real-time updates as votes are tallied, combining live counting data with on-ground reporting and studio analysis. With political fortunes set to shift through the day, the coverage will track every swing, surge and surprise as trends turn into results.
The broadcast will feature a mix of senior political leaders, analysts and experts, offering instant reactions and decoding the evolving electoral picture. Expect heated debates, quick takes and detailed breakdowns as the numbers settle across all five states.
For News18 India, counting day has long been a high-visibility moment. The network is banking on its reporting reach, editorial bandwidth and technology-driven coverage to stay ahead in what is often a fiercely competitive news cycle.
With multiple battlegrounds and shifting narratives, the day promises both drama and data in equal measure. And if all goes to plan, Sabse Bada Dangal will once again turn the counting of votes into prime-time spectacle.
