To foster greater competition in the Rs 51,300-crore media business, growing at 19% a year, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has decided to examine if ownership across different media segments proves detrimental to the overall health of the sector.
Asked by the information & broadcasting ministry to review the concentration of interest in the media and not obstruct ?plurality of players?, Trai has floated a consultation paper on cross-media ownership in the country. The broadcast regulator has invited stakeholders to express their views on whether there is need for cross-media ownership restrictions and whether existing laws are adequate to address the concerns.
The regulator says as an increasing number of broadcasting and telecom companies are entering into the delivery of services, it is necessary to ascertain if restrictions on the ownership of cable, DTH, IPTV or mobile TV companies by broadcasting/telecom companies, or vice-versa, is feasible.
At present, there is no general policy on ownership or cross-media restrictions between print and electronic media. Companies like Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd and Living Media Group, among others, have a formidable presence in both sectors. However, restrictions for different segments within the broadcasting sector have been put forward in the policy guidelines for each individual segment, such as the DTH guidelines and FM radio policy.
The Trai consultation paper has examined three possible scenarios, wherein a single media company could dominate. Firstly, cross-media ownership across different segments such as print, television and radio?a scenario in which a company with core competence in print also has a presence in TV or radio, and vice versa.
The second case is cross-holding restrictions to prevent consolidation, including vertical integration, within a media segment such as television or radio (for instance, a broadcasting company with DTH services). The third type of possible restriction could emerge when a single company has a large marketshare in a given geography within each media segment. This could occur, for instance, where there are restrictions on the number of operations that a company can have.
The second scenario is real, says Trai. There are restrictions on vertical integration within a media segment like in DTH services, vis-?-vis broadcasters and cable operators, under the present policy framework. No DTH operator can hold over 20% of total paid up equity in a broadcasting companies and/or cable network company and vice versa. However, there are no ownership restrictions between broadcasting companies and cable network companies.
The third alternative of ownership restriction based on marketshare in a given geography is only applicable to FM radio currently. The FM radio policy permits applicants to bid for only one channel in a city.