I&B ministry has its hands full trying to regulate satellite TV channels  

June 2, 2010

Television channels are coming up in India at a mind-boggling rate—there’s a launch of a new channel almost every week. But regulating these channels is turning out to be a tough, if not impossible, task

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) has asked all TV channels to provide details of their respective Wireless Planning & Coordination (WPC) licenses by 11 June 2010. WPC licenses are issued to satellite channels when they are given the authorisation to broadcast. According to estimates, there are 512 channels which beam into the country’s households on a daily basis. Sources close to the matter say that almost 100 applications are waiting for clearance for additional channels. India must be the country that has the maximum number of satellite television channels in the world—which is proving to be a regulatory nightmare.

In 2009, the minister for information & broadcasting, Ambika Soni, had written to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India regarding the breakneck speed of proliferation of TV channels across the country, due to issues like excessive spectrum utilisation. On 18 January 2010, the ministry had reiterated its concerns over the mushrooming of channels saying in a note: “The spectrum and transponder capacities for satellite TV channels are not unlimited.”

This is not the I&B ministry’s first diktat. Earlier, it had issued a notice to all satellite TV channels on 25th March seeking details on their WPC licences, asking them to reply within 15 days. Sources close to the matter confirmed to Moneylife that a number of channels did not respond, so the ministry was forced to extend its deadline and issue a fresh diktat on 11th June.

We tried repeatedly to get through to the ministry on this issue, but neither the minister nor any of her staff could be reached. The I&B ministry’s website also does not give any details on which satellite channels have not responded with the requisite details.

Despite being in the business of ‘information’, none of the satellite channels have responded to our queries till the time of writing this report.

Professor Priya Raj, professor of marketing consulting from the Asia Pacific Institute of Management, New Delhi, told Moneylife, “The main idea of the ministry is to look at the validation of these (WPC) licenses. It is quite logical because there are channels that have kept their documents on hold for various reasons and are sitting on them. The ministry has to keep a tab on which licenses are in use or not in use, to clear pending applications.”   

Is this another case where companies are openly flouting rules because of the absence of a regulator specifically for the satellite industry? Is the ministry at Shastri Bhawan just another toothless tiger?

And why cannot TV channels respond to such a simple issue—does it require an application under the Right to Information Act to get these details? — Moneylife Digital Team