A comprehensive legislation to restrict cross-media ownerships may be on its way.
Trai floats consultation paper on issue.
NEW DELHI: A comprehensive legislation to restrict cross-media ownerships may be on its way.
Currently in India, cross-media restrictions exist only in direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasting and FM radio.
On Tuesday, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) floated a consultation paper on the issue.
Trai’s paper is in response to a reference from the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry.
In May, the then information and broadcasting secretary Asha Swaroop had written to Trai chairman Nripendra Misra seeking the regulator’s recommendations on the matter.
“The Government of India has been considering the matter for some timeand weighing the pros and cons of putting some restrictions on accumulation of interest in the media,” she wrote.
The industry is opposed to a policy restricting cross-media ownership. In India, several media houses own newspapers/magazines, TV channels and radio firms.
While restrictions are already in place for direct-to-home and FM radio, Trai had earlier recommended cross-media curbs for private terrestrial TV, headend in the sky (HITS) and mobile TV also.
“There is a need to lay down a holistic and clear cut approach towards cross-media and ownership restrictions for the future growth of these sectors,” Trai has said.
Apart from the electronic media, the government is also keen to include print media within the scope of cross-media restrictions.
“Media ownership is a subject of intense debate and government review in both developed and developing countries around the world,” Trai has stressed.
It has added that most developed countries including the US, UK, Canada, Australia and France have cross-media ownership restrictions in place. The regulator has observed that a prevalent practice in these countries is to restrict the control to two of the three media-print, TV and radio.
The objective behind restricting cross-media ownership is providing competition, diversity and plurality of players.
Besides seeking stakeholders’ inputs on the pros and cons of cross-media ownership across various segments of media, vertical integration within a segment and market share within the country/state/city, Trai also wants to know about cross-control/ownership across telecom and media segments.
Stakeholders have to send their views to Trai by October 24.
In her letter to Misra in May, Swaroop had said, “neither the existing nor the proposed restrictions as of now have a uniformity of approach as these have come at different times and stages of growth.”
m_nivedita@dnaindia.net 
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}