Ravi budhwar
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The eligibility criteria for companies applying to operate television channels in India is being tightened by the union government to ensure that only serious players enter the burgeoning broadcast arena.
The proposals, which were approved by the cabinet on Friday (7 October) require that each company has a sound financial footing before a licence to uplink or downlink will be issued.
The net worth criteria for uplinking domestic non-news and non-current affairs channels, and for downlinking foreign channels into India has been revised from INR 1.5 crore to INR 5 crore for an initial channel. Subsequent channels operated by the same company each require an additional net worth of INR 2.5 crore.
To apply to operate a news or current affairs channel, a company must now have a net worth of INR 20 crore, from INR 3 crore. For every additional channel the broadcaster must raise its net worth by an extra INR 5 crore.
Net worth is defined as total assets minus liabilities, and indicates the overall financial health of a company.
The amendments have been made: "in order to ensure that only serious and credible operators are permitted to operate such channels and the electronic media landscape is not unnecessarily crowded by non-serious players," according to a government statement.
As part of the new amendments, broadcasters will be required to launch their channel or channels within a year of being awarded their licence. If they fail, they risk forfeiting a bank guarantee of up to INR 2 crore, and possibly losing the licence altogether.
Every year broadcasters will also pay INR 15 lakh for each foreign channel they downlink into India. If a channel has originated (or been uplinked) from India prior to being downlinked, this cost will be reduced to INR 5 lakh for each channel per annum.
The new requirements reportedly apply to companies still seeking licences, rather than those with existing ones. Permission to broadcast will be set for a uniform period of ten years.
The revisions, which have had a mixed reception from industry commentators, follow a consultation between the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
source:rapid news tv
The proposals, which were approved by the cabinet on Friday (7 October) require that each company has a sound financial footing before a licence to uplink or downlink will be issued.
The net worth criteria for uplinking domestic non-news and non-current affairs channels, and for downlinking foreign channels into India has been revised from INR 1.5 crore to INR 5 crore for an initial channel. Subsequent channels operated by the same company each require an additional net worth of INR 2.5 crore.
To apply to operate a news or current affairs channel, a company must now have a net worth of INR 20 crore, from INR 3 crore. For every additional channel the broadcaster must raise its net worth by an extra INR 5 crore.
Net worth is defined as total assets minus liabilities, and indicates the overall financial health of a company.
The amendments have been made: "in order to ensure that only serious and credible operators are permitted to operate such channels and the electronic media landscape is not unnecessarily crowded by non-serious players," according to a government statement.
As part of the new amendments, broadcasters will be required to launch their channel or channels within a year of being awarded their licence. If they fail, they risk forfeiting a bank guarantee of up to INR 2 crore, and possibly losing the licence altogether.
Every year broadcasters will also pay INR 15 lakh for each foreign channel they downlink into India. If a channel has originated (or been uplinked) from India prior to being downlinked, this cost will be reduced to INR 5 lakh for each channel per annum.
The new requirements reportedly apply to companies still seeking licences, rather than those with existing ones. Permission to broadcast will be set for a uniform period of ten years.
The revisions, which have had a mixed reception from industry commentators, follow a consultation between the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
source:rapid news tv
