|
NEW
DELHI: The government has failed to bring in a comprehensive
broadcast legislation though it has been on the anvil for
over a decade, speakers at a discussion on broadcast regulation
said today.
The
growth of the broadcast industry in India has been very unorganized
and the regulation that existed was only in terms of the Cable
Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995 which applied mostly
to cable operators only.
Ironically,
the discussion held as part of the ongoing ‘Convergence
India 2009’ on broadcast legislation did not have any
broadcasters participating to give their point of view. Chaired
by the senior broadcast engineer Lt Col V C Khare, the discussion
featured Casbaa CEO Simon T Davies, Tata Sky chief legal and
regulatory officer Anshuman Sharma and Cable Operators Federation
of India president Roop Sharma.
Davies
said at the outset that governments need to step back and
let the industry grow and regulate itself, intruding as little
as possible. It was necessary to first ensure that the content
that was being aired was relevant to the target audience.
The Indian scenario, however, was much better than other countries
like the Philippines where there was no regulation of any
kind despite years of struggle.
India
had proved to be the most dynamic television industry in the
region and the variety of broadcasting in India was also unique
as the country had over 400 channels telecasting to a subscriber
base of around 80 million. However, he admitted to ‘underperformance’
as far as regulation was concerned.
While
he noted the vibrancy of advertising in India, he wondered
if this was not controlling the content and intruding on it.
He said broadcasters needed to have strong subscription base
and not merely depend on ad revenue.
He
said that digitalization was now an irreversible technology
and the only way forward. Casbaa was concerned more than anything
else with the issues relating to copyright.
Anshuman Sharma said the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
was already into regulation, but did not have the authority
to go into content. He felt that there was need for a unified
legislation for the entire broadcast industry including content
providers, service providers, and cable operators.
While
there was some regulation in the form of the Central Board
of Film Certification as far as cinema was concerned, television
channels had got into trouble for showing films that were
only meant for adult audiences.
He
referred to regulations coming from Trai like the Interconnection
Rules which had come yesterday but said this did not address
all sections. He hoped the government would fill the lacunae
soon.
When
his attention was drawn to the Content Code which had been
drawn up by a cross-section of stakeholders and consumers
at the instance of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry
but was opposed by the news channels, he said content regulation
should be balanced with freedom of the media. In any case,
the problem was not one of regulation but of implementation.
Roop Sharma said the broadcast legislation had been delayed
primarily because the broadcasters constituted a strong lobby
that could influence the government as their vested interests
were involved. She strongly denied charges of under-reportage
as often alleged, and said it was the broadcasters who were
overcharging. She said the broadcasters received huge subscriptions,
advertising revenue, income from SMS mode, repeating dubbed
versions, and international sales.
She
also said that cable operators were often blamed when consumers
on a single connection provided to their homes managed to
connect three or four TV sets or even provided connections
to neighbours.
Sharma
also questioned the wisdom of the Cable Act which held cable
operators guilty for content provided by broadcasters –
some from overseas - over which the operator had no control.
Noting
in answer to a question that there were far too many TV channels
in the country, she said the government should stop registering
new channels till there was adequate legislation to regulate
content and the entire industry was digitized.
In
an acerbic remark, she said that seen from the point of view
of the consumer, Cas (conditional access system) had proved
to be a success in that it had been completely rejected by
the viewers who opted to see only free-to-air channels and
some channels had been forced to go FTA.
Lt
Col Khare said any regulation should be visible and not merely
on paper. There was no sense in having bureaucratic regulations
which were not implemented. There should also be clear rating
of programmes on the basis of violence, depiction of sex and
so on.
At
the outset, he said there had to be convergence of the mind
and only then could convergence of technology come through.
He said that it was often not recognised that Cas as a technology
was an inherent part of DTH.
Also
Read:
New
Delhi to host 17th Convergence convention from 18 March
|
