News Analysis India

Tag: Television

  • TRAI launches TV Channel Selector web portal for people to check, modify subscription 

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Wednesday launched a TV Channel Selector web portal on Wednesday for consumers who could not access its mobile phone app of the same name due to lack of a smartphone.

    The TV Channel Selector App for smartphone was launched on June 25 last year that enabled users to check their subscription, modify it, view all channels provided by their cable operators and choose channels of interest.

    “TRAI has now developed TV Channel Selector web portal also to facilitate subscribers who don’t own smart phone or wish to use web browsers. The prominent feature of both app and portal is optimisation of the subscription before it is sent to the DTH /cable operator, so that subscribers can get the best value for money,” the authority said in its notification.

    It also said the portal has all the existing features of the app along with download facility and will help subscribers to check their own subscription, view all channels and bouquets provided by their DTH and cable operators, and choose only channels of interest and remove the unwanted ones.

    The portal will help subscribers “get optimised solutions and the best combination of user selected channels/bouquets in same or less price”.

    TRAI said the portal will help subscribers modify their subscription, check real time status of subscription request, add channels in the applicable NCF (network capacity fee) and download and print current subscription.

    “The users may provide feedback by clocking the ‘Feedback’ option available on the issue/feedback menu on the portal. Both the TV Channel Selector app and portal are presently functional with 16 DTH and cable operators. However, efforts are being made to integrate other service providers whose system are capable to communicate through API (Application Program Interface) with this platform,” TRAI said.

  • Govrnment refuses to exempt mainstream media from new IT rules, asks them to comply with its provisions 

    By PTI
    NEW DELHI: The government has refused to exempt the digital news content of mainstream television channels and print media from the ambit of the IT Rules, 2021 and asked them to take “urgent steps” to comply with the provisions of the digital media rules immediately.

    The rationale for bringing the websites of the organisations under the ambit of the law is “well reasoned”, the information and broadcasting ministry said in a clarification to digital news publishers, publishers of online curated content or OTT platforms and associations of digital media publishers on Thursday.

    “Making any exception of the nature proposed will be discriminatory to the digital news publishers who do not have a traditional TV/print platform,” the ministry said.

    The National Broadcasters Association (NBA) had recently written to the ministry, urging it to “exempt and exclude” the traditional television news media and its extended presence on digital news platforms from the ambit of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021, saying they are already “sufficiently regulated” by various statutes, laws, guidelines, codes and regulations.

    “Since the code of ethics requires such digital platforms to follow the exiting norms/content regulations, which are in vogue for the traditional print and TV media, there is no additional regulatory burden for such entities.

    Accordingly, the request for exempting the digital news content of such organisations from the ambit of digital media rules 2021 cannot be acceded to,” the ministry said.

    However, the ministry said, it does recognise that entities having traditional TV and print media are already registered with the government either under the Press and Registration Books Act or the Uplinking and Downlinking Guidelines of 2011.

    “The digital version/digital publication of the organisations having traditional news platforms (TV and print) may be following internal guidelines of the self-regulatory bodies.

    Accordingly, if the organisations so desire, they can request the same self-regulatory bodies to serve as the Level II of the self-regulatory mechanism, after ensuring consistency with the Digital Media Rules, 2021,” it said.

    The ministry clarified that when any news and current affairs content of a digital news publisher is transmitted on an OTT platform, such content would be outside the regulatory responsibility of that platform.

    “However, if any OTT platform receives a grievance related to such news and current affairs, it may transfer the same to the publisher concerned of that content. Accordingly, there should not be any apprehension on this count either to the digital news publishers or to the OTT platforms,” it said.

    The ministry noted that the television news channels already have a self-regulatory mechanism in place to adjudicate grievances relating to the violation of the programme code under the Cable Television Network Act, 1995 and their internal codes or guidelines.

    “The requirement of Level II under the Digital Media Rules, 2021 is only an extension of an existing institutional practice. Further, the composition of the self-regulating body would be decided entirely by the publishers and the government has no role to play,” the ministry said.

    “It is neither stipulated nor intended for the government to either interfere or obstruct the formation of the self-regulating body including its composition,” it added.

    The ministry also dismissed the concerns that the oversight mechanism stipulated under the digital media rules would lead to excessive government control over the functioning of the digital news publishers and the OTT platforms.

    “In this regard, it may be mentioned that even at present, in respect of the traditional TV channels, there is an oversight mechanism in the government by way of an inter-ministerial committee (IMC), which looks at certain grievances relating to the violation of the Programme Code, a mechanism which is in existence since 2005,” it said.

    Over the last 15 years, the IMC has given recommendations by way of advisories, warnings etc.

    in respect of a large number of cases involving the content of both news and non-news channels in relation to the Programme Code and in almost every such case, the TV channels have accepted the recommendations of the panel, the ministry said.

    “The IMC mechanism has stood the test of time. The concept of an inter-departmental committee (IDC) is similar,” it said. “Further, Level III is visualised as a residual level, insofar as the grievances which do not get addressed at the first and second levels would go to the IDC. Accordingly, the apprehension of excessive government control through these mechanisms is misplaced,” the ministry said.

    In the overall context, the Digital Media Rules, 2021 may be complied with by the digital news publishers and the OTT platforms without any misapprehensions, it added.

    “The publishers may furnish the requisite information in the prescribed format immediately, take urgent steps for appointing a grievance officer, if not done, and place all relevant details in the public domain, constitute self-regulatory bodies through mutual consultation so that the grievances are addressed at the level of publishers or the self-regulating bodies themselves,” the ministry said. More than 500 publishers have already submitted their details in the requisite format, it added.

  • Editorial :- TV Par Sabs Jayaada Vijayanapan Deen Vaali Party

    In the Delhi Assembly elections for the first time in the interview given by the journalists after Rahul’s victory, Rahul Gandhi had said that he will try that in the future you should follow the party’s character and move the Congress towards victory.

    After this, continuously Rahul Gandhi has made polarization, but the baseless allegations are being put in the same way as the Anarchist Kejriwal has imposed.

    Feroz Khan’s grandson Rahul Gandhi’s maternal grandfather was part of Mussolini’s party in Italy. Mussolini was a supporter of Hitler Mano has been locked in Russia’s prison for a few years now. Rahul Gandhi often goes to Italy to spend his holidays on the pretext of meeting his grandmother. The entry of Hitler’s campaigner Goebbels has probably been done in Rahul Gandhi.

    Yesterday only Smriti Irani said in Madhya Pradesh that the Congress of Yuvraj is roaming around for a lie.

    Raju Das free lance journalist through the Opienda site, via the Opienda site, Congress of Rahul Gandhi of Clubs of Goebbels, via the Economic Times and the other newspapers in the same way, a fek news is being broadcast today on November 23: The BJP, the party, overtook reputable companies.

    On November 23, the Economic Times has circulated a false story, Fake News, claiming that according to the latest data from the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the Indian television in the week ending on November 16 Number one has become an advertiser.

    It has been mentioned in the story that BJP is ahead of Hindustan Unilever BJP, Hindustan Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser, Amazon and other advertisers like others. It has been mentioned in the story that BJP is number one advertiser in all the channels above the number two in the last week.

    This false Fake News emblem of Economics has been followed by other media houses and this is being viral by leaders like Fake News Opposition parties, especially Abhishek Manu Singhvi of Congress.

    According to some reports, the Congress party, moving ahead, demanded that the Election Commission be examined to become the top advertiser of BJP.

    Claiming that BJP has overcome traditional advertisers like HUL, it was a surprise news, so we decided to examine the source of the news (Raju Das reporter). Weekly television ads and viewer data are uploaded to the BARC website, so we used to go there to verify the report. When we selected to see the top 10 advertisers for the week ending on November 16, the following table was presented to us.

    But why did the Media House like Economic Times publish such unfounded news? On the BARC website, television is another category for advertising on top 10 brands. And in that list, BJP is occupying top position for the same week, followed by Netflix and Trivago. Therefore, BJP is the top advertised brand on TV for the week, but it was not the top advertiser because media reports claim.

    If companies like HUL are on the top advertisers list, why they are not included in the top brand list, you can ask. The answer is simple, there are dozens of products in FMCG beams, such as HML, ITC, for whom they advertise on TV. This means, although they spend the highest amount on advertisements, but this amount is divided between different brands. For that simple reason, BJP has emerged as the top advertised brand because the advertisement of the party is not divided into many brands like consumer goods companies. That’s why netflix and trivago are on the list because these companies do not have many brands to split their ads.

    There is a fundamental difference between becoming a top advertiser and a top advertised brand. And for sure to claim each other, a fake news is Fake News which is being spread by Congress.

    BARC data is available online in public, yet how and why media houses spread this fake news, this is a big question. A media house may be a mistake, but it can not be said that other media houses covering the story did not even check the source website once. Prior to the election, it should be an intentional effort to spread false information about BJP. On this issue, the Congress may be right, the Election Commission should inquire into the matter to know the root cause of this fake news.