In the last five years, a total of 107 television channels have seen changes in their ownership, information and broadcasting minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Lok Sabha in a written response on Wednesday. Of these, 24 are news channels while 83 are non-news channels. He also informed the lower house that the ministry had not noticed any instances of changes in ownership, or takeover of channels where the due procedures and guidelines were not followed.
Of the 24 news channels that saw their ownership change, five are in Hindi, one in English and Hindi, and eighteen in other scheduled languages. Of the 83 non-news channels, four are in Hindi, two in English, seven in Hindi and English, and seventy in other scheduled languages. A detailed list of the channels in question was not given.
Vaishnaw was answering a question asked by TMC MP Sougata Ray.
One of the most significant channel takeovers in the recent past was the Adani Group’s acquisition of NDTV though which the group acquired a 64.71 per cent stake in NDTV in a deal that officially concluded in March 2023.
Ray had also asked if the Malayalam news channel, Reporter TV, had followed the due rules on its change of ownership. Vaishnaw replied that the ministry had received an intimation for change in shareholding pattern. “On examination, it was found that the said change required corrective measures in line with the provisions of the extant Policy Guidelines, the same have been advised accordingly,” his response read.
In the response, the minister had said that amongst other things, as per the Guidelines for Uplinking and Downlinking of Television Channels, 2022, change in ownership can be done by intimating the change in shareholding patterns to the ministry within 30 days, or by transferring permission with the prior approval of the MIB. If the due processes are not followed, permissions can be suspended or cancelled.
{{/usCountry}}In the response, the minister had said that amongst other things, as per the Guidelines for Uplinking and Downlinking of Television Channels, 2022, change in ownership can be done by intimating the change in shareholding patterns to the ministry within 30 days, or by transferring permission with the prior approval of the MIB. If the due processes are not followed, permissions can be suspended or cancelled.
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