I&B Ministry
TV channels’ failure to start in a yr: 18% permits cancelled
NEW DELHI: Action is taken whenever a channel which has been given permission to uplink fails to do so within a year, the Parliament has been told.
Under the roll-out obligations for operationalisation of private satellite TV channels furnished under the clauses 2.5.1 and 3.5.1 of uplinking policy Guidelines 2011 and 5.9 of downlinking policy guidelines 2011, the applicant companies are required to operationalise the permitted TV channels within a year from the date the permission is granted by the MIB.
Minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore has said that whenever an instance comes to the notice of the ministry where the company fails to fulfil the roll-out obligation, action is taken against the company under the clauses 2.5.2 and 3.5.2 of uplinking guidelines and clause 5.9 of downlinking Guidelines which entails the forfeiture of PBG and cancellation of permissions.
After the permission for uplinking of a channel is issued by the ministry, the Wireless Planning and Coordination Wing, Department of Telecom, assigns frequency spectrum (bandwidth) to the teleport operators to enable them to uplink such TV channels, Rathore said.
The minister said a total number of 1078 permissions had been issued for uplinking and downlinking of private satellite TV channels as on 30 June last, out of which 195 permissions (18 per cent approximately) have been cancelled so far.
Rathore said the typical value of bandwidth/data rate required to transmit (uplink/downlink) TV channels are calculated in two categories of transmission are:
TV Broadcasting with platform bit rates per channel (in Mbps)
Typical
SDTV with MPEG-2 3
SDTV with MPEG-4 1.5
HDTV with MPEG-2 16
HDTV with MPEG-4 8
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.
