(19 February 2009 7:45 pm)

MUMBAI: For creating Indian Rupert Murdochs, private media companies feel the government should not come out with restrictions on cross-media ownership while the sector regulator is pressing for certain safeguards to ensure that monopolies are build.

ENIL MD AP Parigi notes that there is no fear of a monopoly being created. Star, the biggest TV network, gets less than eight per cent of the total broadcasting revenue pie. Similarly, The Times of India Group gets less than 10 per cent of revenues in print.

"What is needed are not controls and safeguards but an environment where companies have the freedom to grow and become global players. Otherwise all you have is global companies like News Corp entering India. The reverse will never happen. Market forces should determine the industry's direction," says Parigi.

Agrees UTV Global Broadcasting executive director Shantonu Aditya: "We need diversity in content but it does not mean that we need diversity in ownership." Controls would have been needed to restrict dominance of a player, but with so much viewer fragmentation happening this is not an issue," he says.

However, the delivery medium is challenging, says Aditya, as pipelines are choked and these are controlled by monopolies. If telecom companies get into the business of delivering broadcast television, that is something that the regulator should look at. Also the consumer does not have the choice in terms of service provider though he is spoilt in terms of content at his disposal.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India opened a consultation among the stakeholders last year on the cross-media ownership issue.

"We held an Open House discussion in December. Trai has taken the views of 35 stakeholders. We will then offer recommendations to the Information and Broadcasting ministry. The aim is to push for more diversity and plurality," says Trai advisor Parmeshwaran.

While there is no restriction on horizontal cross-media ownership, the Indian government does not allow broadcasters to own more than 20 per cent in a direct-to-home (DTH) company.

Indian companies like Times of India Group and Essel Group have business interests across print, television and radio.

Offering a foreign perspective, Federal Communications Commission chief, media bureau Monica Desai says that the US media watchdog in 2007 relaxed the ban on cross ownership between newspapers and television. Under the new rules, broadcasters in the nation's 20 largest media markets can now also purchase newspapers for their business. However this rule is being challenged in court and so it has not come into effect. Other existing rules are also being challenged.

There is also an ownership limit on national television in that an owner can't reach more than 39 per cent of the TV homes in a market. An entity can own two stations if the entire local market is not being covered. There also have to be eight independent stations in a local market, says Desai.

Ofcom in the UK will review media ownership rules this year. In France, a company can control two out of three media vehicles - print, television and radio.