The government said it would not harm cable operators as it would provide only those channels a person wanted to watch and at affordable cost.
A bill aimed at digitalisation of cable TV was passed by the Lok Sabha today with the government saying it would not harm cable operators as it would provide only those channels a person wanted to watch and at affordable cost.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni, who had earlier introduced the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Second Amendment Bill, said the measure was a major step towards reform which would enable digitalisation of the analog TV network and bring India on a par with other countries like US, UK, Korea and Taiwan.
Though members expressed their ire at the content being broadcast on some channels, including those telecasting news, almost all present supported the bill.
Soni said perceptions that the new Act would render cable operators jobless were misplaced and insisted that the main concern of the government was the viewers' interest.
"The prices of set-top boxes will fall. These will be available on installments and on rent. Also, viewers do not have to take a whole bouquet of channels. TRAI will impose a tariff capping for subscribing to channels," she said.
The most important aspect of this legislation is that it would end the fight for more TRPs among channels.
"When we issue notices to channels or take them to court for showing objectionable content, they say we have to do so to get more TRPs as they bring the advertisements. Now the subscriber list will determine this," Soni said.
The bill also gives the government the right to cancel licenses of cable operators who flout rules.
"But this bill is not anti-poor and not against small operators. This is not for big players," Soni said.
Soni justified the government decision to bring an ordinance earlier, saying this was done to meet the deadline set for full digitalisation by December 31, 2014. The government will complete the process in four phases starting with the metros.
She said it would benefit the customer by providing a la carte selection of channels and video-on-demand, among other things and the broadcasters and cable operators by ensuring transparency, reducing their dependency on TRP and ad revenues and raising subscription revenue.
The government would also stand to benefit as it would ensure proper tax collection, Soni said.
The discussion on the legislation saw members making a strong plea to protect the interests of customers, including those in the rural areas.
Initiating the discussion, Rajendra Agrawal (BJP wanted that certain channels, identified by the government, should be designated free-to-air and not included in any package for which the consumer would have to pay.
Making a strong plea for regulation of content by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, he sought rules to fix the time for advertisements in between programmes and of social messages through the channels.
On set-top boxes, Agrawal said these should be provided to consumers at cheap rates, especially in rural areas.
Agreeing with Agrawal on the high price of set-top boxes, Ijyaraj Singh (Cong) wanted steps like tax benefits to small cable operators to ensure their survival as they could face the threat of being gobbled up by big operators.
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