Will the number of TV channels be curbed?

The spectrum war is not limited to the telecom space alone; it has spilled over to the broadcasting sector as well.

With close to 500 TV channels being beamed into India, and over 100 more waiting in queue, the government has asked the regulator — Trai— whether there’s a need to cap the number of channels in the context of scarce spectrum availability.

Earlier, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had asked the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry to vacate some of the lower C band spectrum, that can be used by telcos.

Now that third generation (3G) telecom spectrum auction is slated for December, the I&B ministry wants to know what lies ahead for the broadcasters, and whether there should be more stringent norms for uplinking and downlinking of channels.

In a letter to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) chairman J S Sarma earlier this week, I&B secretary Raghu Menon has posed many questions. These are: Should there be a five-year commitment from broadcasters for running channels to assess the seriousness of the players; should financial viability of the broadcaster be made more rigid so that entry becomes that much tougher; should experience of the applicant in the media business be made mandatory for opening channels; what should be the maximum number of satellite channels that can be permitted; should there be an amendment in the uplinking/downlinking clause?

Asked whether the government would subsequently impose a cap on the number of channels that can be allowed in India, I&B minister Ambika Soni said, “we don’t know. We would wait for the Trai view on the matter.”

It is believed that the I&B letter to Trai followed a series of written complaints from MPs on several “erratic” channels whose seriousness in the media business was being doubted.
It may be mentioned here that capping the number of service providers has been a contentious issue in the telecom sector also. But, despite the scarcity of spectrum, a cap on the number of telcos was not imposed. But, recently, the government said that no new application would be entertained beyond a specified cut-off date.

It is to be seen now if the spectrum concern of the I&B ministry would get reflected in the proposed spectrum allocation recommendations of Trai.

Also, the 3G auction may get further deferred because of this development.
On whether state governments and political parties would be allowed to launch channels or not, Soni indicated that there’s no bar on them as of now, but that spectrum crunch may alter the situation.

Soni is expected to take up the matter with communications and IT minister A Raja soon.
Concern over unregistered channels

In a related development, I&B minister Ambika Soni has written to home minister P Chidambaram and some chief ministers, expressing her concern on cable operators showing illegal and unregistered TV channels. Many of these channels are operating without any permission from the ministry of home affairs, thereby risking the law and order situation of the country.