Sushma firm on 20% sectoral cap for DTH platforms

(Posted on 4 January 4:30 pm)

The government is sticking to its guns as far as the issue of a sectoral cap of 20 per cent for setting up a Direct-to-Home (DTH) TV platform is concerned despite all pleas from broadcasters.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday was quite categorical in an interview to the Financial Express that there would be no changes made to the original DTH guidelines.

Swaraj's consistent refrain on the subject despite strong lobbying indicates that entry into the DTH club will prove virtually impossible for most aspirants. There is a distinct possibility that when DTH does take off, there may be only one or at the most two competing players.

And with the government's own Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) announcing the formation of a five-member panel to chalk out its entry into DTH it all seems pretty well sewed up on that front. Who else if at all any remains to be seen.

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