The government has decided to ask old television channels, which were operational before December 2005, to register for downlinking in India. Out of a total of over 500 channels beaming into the country, 164 are not registered for downlinking, as there was no provision for it at the time of their launch. According to a notice prepared by the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry, these channels would need to register for downlinking by November 2010. At Rs 5 lakh per channel, the government would get over Rs 8 crore in a go through this exercise.
In May 2006, the government had notified that channels uplinking from India, in accordance with permission, shall be treated as registered TV channels and can be carried or included in the cable service. But the government now has issued the above notice in order to clear doubts on these channels’ registration status. “It was decided that in order to remove ambiguity about the registration status of the 164 channels permitted before 2005, the period of registration would be taken as five years from the date of approval of guidelines — November 2005,” the I&B ministry said. The ministry grants registration to each channel for an initial period of five years, which is to be renewed thereafter.
The total number of TV channels being beamed into Indian homes is over 500 currently, and at least 100 more are in the queue.
I&B minister Ambika Soni had recently written to J S Sarma, the chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, asking whether there was a need to cap the number of channels in the context of scarce spectrum availability. Subsequently, the government has put on hold all new applications.
The government had formulated the downlinking guidelines in 2005 for transmitting and re-transmitting all satellite television channels in India for public viewing. “Consequently, no person or entity shall downlink a channel, which has not been registered by the ministry of information and broadcasting under these guidelines,” it said. According to the guidelines, the applicant company must either own the channel it wants downlinked for public viewing, or must enjoy, for the territory of India, exclusive marketing/distribution rights for the same, inclusive of the rights to the advertising and subscription revenues for the channel and must submit adequate proof at the time of application.
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