BRIEFS

DELAYS IN LEGISLATION CRITICISED

Opposition parties criticised the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party government for not introducing the Broadcast Bill and legislation relating to the Prasar Bharati (the holding company for state-owned caster Doordarshan and All India Radio) in Parliament during the ongoing winter session. A few months ago, the government had promulgated an ordinance that restored the Prasar Bharati Act to its 1990 status, undoing what the previous United Front government had achieved. By doing this, it got rid of the Prasar Bharati chief executive and also made the organisation answerable to a committee made up of politicians. That ordinance is due to lapse in the next few weeks and political parties expected BJP leaders to introduce the modified legislation for enactment.

COURT LABELS MURDOCH A CRIMINAL

A Delhi high court has taken steps to label global media baron Rupert Murdoch a proclaimed offender. The court said that it would be issuing a process under section 82 of the Criminal Procedure Code to try and ensure that he come to India to take part in an obscenity case filed against him. Authorities are also examining ways in which they can attach and seal Murdoch's assets in Star TV India.

PAKISTAN PROTESTS AGAINST INDIAN ATTEMPT TO JAM PTV

Pakistan information minister Mushahid Hussain has criticised the Indian government's attempts to jam state-owned broadcaster Pakistan TV's transmission in border areas between the two countries. Indian authorities have for long been saying that the Pakistan government is using PTV as a tool to lambast Indian policies and initiatives and spread misinformation about India. Indian minister of state for information & broadcasting M.A. Naqvi has been threatening to ban PTV transmission on cable networks. The Pakistan minister said that the Indian move to ban Pak TV is undemocratic and against the spirit of freedom.

DEALS STRUCK AT MIP ASIA '98

The Reed Midem Organisation has announced that several programming deals were finalised at Mip Asia '98 in Singapore. Among these: * Chinese Central Television sold 2,500 hours of CD and video rights to companies in Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and Hong Kong. Hong Kong Pacific Theme bought all rights (excluding satellite) to a big budget production. * Canadian programmer Chum City sold a sports action program to AXN TV. * Polygram TV International found buyers in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong. * US firm SPI signed deals with Indonesia's SCTV and a co-production deal with Singapore company Southern Lights for four new animation series projects. * French firm Pathe sold video rights of Alain Delon feature films to the Chinese. * Japanese broadcaster NHK's sales arm, Mico sold two fiction series to Taiwan's CTS. * French outfits Marathon, TFI, Tele-Images sold programs to Indonesia, Korea, and Korea, Thailand, China and Singapore respectively.

STAR MOVIES TOM-TOMS NEW FARE

Star Movies has been holding road shows in all the major metros to inform advertisers about the fare that is going to be shown on the basic subscription TV channel over the next year. A new Sunday 9:30 pm slot has been created to air recent Hollywood blockbuster movies from February 1999. The channel has also bagged the rights to exclusively air the Oscar awards ceremony in March 1999 edging out state-owned broadcaster Doordarshan in the process.

RADIO FREQUENCY MANAGEMENT BODY SET UP

A sub-committee has been set up by the group on telecom (GoT) to focus on frequency management and use the radio spectrum effectively. The group is expected to submit its report by 24 December.

SINGAPORE FIRM LAUNCHES INTERNET BOX

Singapore firm Integrated Synergy International and Chennai-based Liscott Electronics have launched a set-top box allowing Internet Access via television with a price tag of Rs 13,250. The box consists of a 33.6 kbps modem and a remote access keyboard. It cannot be used to download data but can be used for browsing. The two firms expect to sell 3,000 boxes every month.

PARLIAMENT SESSION MAY BE EXTENDED FOR 10 DAYS

The government is considering extending the ongoing winter session of Parliament after the New Year. Various political parties were slated to meet with the Speaker of the House at the time of writing to consider extending the session for 10 days from 4 January. This is because several pieces of legislation are awaiting passage through Parliament.

INSTITUTIONS MEET ON FUNDING CHANDRA'S SATPHONE PROJECT THIS WEEK

Indian financial institutions are scheduled to meet this week to decide on whether they are interested in taking an exposure to the Subhash Chandra promoted global mobile telephony project Afro Asian Satellite Communications. The Industrial Finance Corp of India, the Industrial Development Bank of India and the ICICI are the institutions that Chandra has approached for funding his Rs 33,500 million project.

SATYAM INFOWAY LAUNCHES INTERNET SERVICE IN MUMBAI

The first private Indian Internet Services Provider Satyam Infoway launched its service in Mumbai last week. The company has dedicated 400 nodes for Mumbai. The company has announced an alliance with Intel to bundle its on-line service with Intel architecture-based desktops.