I&B Ministry
MIB cancels permission to two channels
BENGALURU: Permissions to two private channels – one news and current affairs and one non-news and current affairs channel have been cancelled in this calendar year as on 28 February 2018 as per the information put out by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB). The total number of private satellite and pay TV channels having valid permissions as of 28 February 2018 stood at 875 as compared to 877 as on 31 December 2018. As on 28 February 2018, the number of private news and current affairs channels that were permitted in India stood at 388, while the number of permitted private non-news and current affairs channels was 487.
There has been a dearth of licences being handed out in the last nine months. So far, 2018 has seen the addition of only two new channel licences namely Discovery Jeet HD and DSport HD. Before that, the last licence was issued in September 2017.
Of the 875 permitted private TV channels, 774 channels were permitted to both uplink and downlink to India. 368 of the TV channels that were permitted to both uplink and downlink were news and current affairs channels, while 406 were non-news and current affairs channels. 16 private channels were permitted to uplink from India, but not to downlink in India. Five of these channels were news and current affairs channels and 11 were non-news and current affairs channels. The total number of private channels that were permitted only to downlink to India was 85 as on 28 February 2018. The breakup of these channels was 15 news channels and 70 non-news channels.
The government had issued licenses to 45 channels in 2017 as compared to 75 in the previous calendar year (2016). In all, permission has been granted to 1,101 channels. Permission was cancelled for 226 channels, with 66 in 2017 alone. 44.3 percent or 388 of the permitted channels were news and current affairs channels.
Also Read :
No new channels added in December 2017
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.
