Enough isn?t enough when it comes to the mushrooming of TV channels in India. Aspirants for new channel licences are making a beeline for the Information & Broadcasting ministry, on fears that the soon-to-be-implemented entry norms for broadcasting from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) could scupper their chances. According to official sources, the ministry has been flooded with a record 200-plus applications for new channels, with about 100 of them coming in the last 50 days alone.
The new applicants include Viacom 18, Gujarat Samachar, Mathrubhumi and a clutch of media and non-media firms wanting to launch both news and entertainment channels in regional languages. The I&B ministry says it has received 89 applications between April 1 and early May. In April, the process of accepting applications for broadcast licence was re-opened after a gap of over two months. Last October, the I&B ministry had paused the process of granting licences due to the growing number of channels and shortage of satellite transponders.
Currently, nearly 550 entities hold licences. With the growing demand for new channels and the shortage of bandwidth, the ministry has sought help from Trai, which regulates both telecom and broadcast sectors.
Trai, in a recent consultation paper, has proposed various ways to control the influx of new channels. These range from substantially hiking the net worth criteria for applicants to a mandatory requirement of prior media experience for professionals launching channels.
?There is a fear among several new applicants that the rules to get broadcast licences will become tougher in two-three months. This is the main reason why everybody and anybody have put in their applications,? said the senior executive of a leading teleport company. The I&B ministry has made it clear to all existing licence-holders and new applicants that clearance from the Wireless Planning and Coordination (WPC) cell is mandatory. All broadcasters, especially the existing ones, have to submit a certificate from WPC before the I&B ministry by June 11. The certificate will quantify how many channels are actually operational. The government suspects that among the 550 channels permitted, more than half are not operational.
In order to make the process transparent, the I&B ministry is putting in place an online application tracking software. This will allow applicants to check the status of their application without having to visit the ministry. After receiving the applications, the I&B ministry has to obtain 10-12 different government clearances including those from the home ministry, revenue department, department of space and WPC, among others. ?We are here to help applicants with all the necessary approvals. Our online tracking will help applicants track their application status. Amongst the new applicants, we have granted licence to around 18 channels,” an official said.