Forty-one television channels, including entertainment majors Star, Sony and Zee, have applied for registration in India in line with the new downlinking guidelines.
NEW DELHI: Forty-one television channels, including entertainment majors Star, Sony and Zee, have applied for registration in India in line with the new downlinking guidelines.
"Around 40 channels have submitted their applications for registration in India," an official in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry said.
He said the channels seeking registration include the Star Group, Sony, Zee, Discorvery, Anil Planet, Cartoon Network, CNN, Pogo, MTV, Channel V, Toon Disney, Hallmark, HBO, Ten Sports and Channel News Asia.
Those yet to send in applications include Fashion TV, ESPN-Star and BBC.
The official said around 100 channels downlink into India.
The government's new downlinking guidelines, announced in November, stipulate that all channels beaming into India should have a registered office in India.
The deadline for submitting applications for registration ends on Wednesday, after which cable and DTH operators cannot carry the channels on their platform.
The government had made it mandatory for channels to register themselves in India in order to make them accountable under Indian laws and make them responsible for the content they beam. Also, with a registered office in India, all the channels will now have to pay tax on the earnings they make from the country, which earlier they could afford to give a go-by.
The government also stipulated that the applicant company should provide for a facility where online monitoring of the content beamed into India is possible. Also, the system should have the capacity to store the data for 90 days, which should be provided to the government when asked for.
In the new downlinking guidelines, the government has laid out strict penalties for channels defaulting on the content.
In case of violation, they will be warned for the first time, after which they will face blackout for one and three months respectively on the second and third default. A default after this will mean indefinite blackout.
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