I&B Ministry
Penal provision remains as TV channel renewal abolition comes into immediate effect
NEW DELHI: Even as Information and Broadcasting Minister M Venkaiah Naidu announced doing away with the annual renewal permission for television channels provided annual payment was made 60 days before the due date, the Ministry in a note in the evening said non-payment in time will be considered violation of the guidelines.
The note on the Ministry website which said the order was coming into immediate effect also warned that violators would attract penal provisions under the Uplinking and Downlinking Guidelines.
Meanwhile, Naidu announced that the 28th State Information Ministers Meet (SIMCON) would be held in the capital on 9 and 10 December.
Critical issues pertaining to the films sector, community radio and social media are on the agenda.
Speaking at a Consultative Committee of members of Parliament attached to the Ministry, Naidu also said the focus of the Ministry is to make the processes online,thereby promoting transparency and accountability.
In the meeting that concentrated on the Registrar of Newspapers in India, Naidu said there was a need to update contemporaries and revise the legal mechanism in the print sector and to give statutory backing to Print Media Policy and various guidelines. In this context, the Minister apprised the members about the salient features of the proposed Press and Registration of Books and Publication (PRBP) Bill.
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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.
