I&B Ministry
Prasar Bharati spreads positive news of COVID warriors
MUMBAI: As India fights COVID-19, many inspiring stories of health workers, policemen, journalists, individuals, organisations, academic institutions have come to the fore. To acknowledge and appreciate their contribution, Prasar Bharati (DD and AIR) has followed these stories from across the country and are now offering to the media houses to share these stories of bravery, sacrifice and compassion with other media so that it reaches wider audience in India and abroad, and inspires and gives hope to Indians and the world in this global fight against the pandemic COVID-19.
These good news stories and more on COVID-19 from Prasar Bharati can be accessed via three platforms:
1– Real-time on mobile phones/smartphones through the telegram channel – https://t.me/pbns_india
2– Near real-time from http://covid-goodnews.pbns.in/
3– Broadcast-quality audio-visual media from FTP server.
Apart from the good news stories, through platforms mentioned above, Prasar Bharati will also be sharing video messages of celebrities, latest updates on COVID-19 from India and the world, fact-checks and COVID-19 ground reports from across the country.
All of the above will also be summarised through a periodic news digest with ready reference URLs to important news items and social media updates. The broadcaster has requested all media outlets to take advantage of the above content sharing mechanism and disseminate the stories from across India of perseverance and resilience as India fights back COVID-19.
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.
