Two-year prison terms or fines of approximately US$55,000, to five years in jail and penalties of up to $110,000 for repeat offences, are just some of the provisions stirring up a controversy around India's Broadcast Regulation Bill 2006.
The bill is a renewed attempt to implement the country's first regulatory framework for TV and radio, but many broadcasters claim they were not consulted while the bill was being formulated.
For some, the bill's introduction is timely. The Indian media industry has exploded as sectors such as radio and print were deregulated, and existing media groups which traditionally focused on either print or TV have invested across sectors. Other elements of the bill include proposals to licence thousands of 'last-mile' cable TV operators and implement various forms of content regulation. Punitha Arumugam, CEO, Madison Media, says: "Anything that works towards increasing the cost for the broadcaster prevents media houses from (widening their offer) and fragments the audience, and works to the detriment of agency and client."
1 The bill recommends licensing cable operators for the first time, covered within the remit of a new body, the Broadcast Regulatory Authority of India. Unregulated cable distribution is a concern for most broadcasters, with subscriber numbers regularly under-reported. Licensing should ensure more transparency, but the loss of revenue as well as uncertainty about licence fees is leading cable operators, especially the smaller ones, to oppose such a step.
2 Provisions to prevent monopolies across different segments also threaten to curb the ambitions of media companies. The bill proposes a cap on investment in other TV channels, with a maximum 20 per cent equity share. It also caps investment in 'last-mile' cable operations. This will affect the Sun TV network in south India, which has a substantial investment in cable distributor Sumangli, as well as Star TV, which owns a 26 per cent stake in Hathway cable.
3 After the Government
recently opened up bidding for FM radio licences, broadcasters and publishers have jumped at the chance to invest in this new medium. As a result of proposed investment caps, however, certain media groups will have to restructure their holdings — these include publisher The Times Group (which recently invested in radio and TV), Living Media (publishers of India Today, and owners of the Aaj Tak news channel and Red FM radio) and Mid-Day Multimedia (print as well as FM radio), as well as broadcasters like Zee and Asianet, which have recently invested in radio licences.
4 The aspirations of television stations could face further setbacks from the proposed limits on channel share of voice. Though it is extremely sketchy on how this will be regulated, the bill suggests that no broadcaster should have more than a prescribed share of voice in a city or state. It is again unclear how share of voice will be computed.
5India's love of cricket also features in the bill, which deems that matches that India plays are events of national importance, forcing private broadcasters to share the feed with the national TV and radio stations, Doordarshan (DD) and All India Radio (AIR). Both DD and AIR will be allowed to independently approach advertisers to sell ad slots.
6 Channels which rely heavily on foreign programming may be be affected by a provision stating that 15 per cent of content broadcast must be produced locally. The Government is also proposing mandatory inclusion of public service and 'socially relevant' programming at 10 per cent of total content broadcast every week.
7 There are no provisions for internet broadcasts and mobile TV. A Government official is reported to have said "broadcasting linked to convergence is not under our purview".
8 The bill is due to be heard during the monsoon session, which begins in the last week of July, but there are signs that the Government is rethinking some elements of the bill. Arun Jaitley, a former opposition BJP party minister for information and broadcasting, has said the current bill shows that the Government "is scared of free media".
