Centre formalises mechanism for TV channels’ regulation

A government official said the new guidelines will apply across entertainment channels, news channels and other cable channels.

The government has amended the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994, to mandate that the ad-hoc structure of self-regulation now be brought under a formal framework with a three-tier mechanism similar to what recently been announced for streaming content services as part of the new information technology rules.

Broadcasters also have to issue an acknowledgment of a complaint received within 24 hours of it being filed. (HTPhotos)

The Union government issued a gazette notification dated June 17, which says there must be self-regulation by broadcasters, self-regulation by the self-regulating bodies of the broadcasters, and an oversight mechanism by the government.

A government official said the new guidelines will apply across entertainment channels, news channels and other cable channels. “There’s around 900 channels,” said an official from the ministry, who asked not to be named. “They are already part of a system, there is already a self-regulation, just putting a legal term,” the official said.

Broadcasters also have to issue an acknowledgment of a complaint received within 24 hours of it being filed.

The complainant, if not satisfied with the response that has to be filed within 15 days, can further escalate the complaint to the self-regulatory body. The self-regulatory body has sixty days to address the complaint, failing which the complainant can escalate the matter to oversight mechanism, which will be an inter-ministerial government body.

“Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, and consisting of representatives from the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Defence, and representatives of such other Ministries and Organisations, including experts, as the Central Government may decide,” the government said in its notification.

NDTV editorial director Sonia Singh, who is on the News Broadcasters Association board, said that the government’s directives were being studied and a response could be expected in a few days.

Former minister for information and broadcasting Manish Tewari said similar guidelines have been under government consideration for quite some time. “The government has decided to embed a statutory framework for what was earlier an ad-hoc mechanism,” he said, adding: “Ever since the television space was liberalised in the 1990s this has been under consideration. A better assessment can be offered once we read the fine print of the government’s new guidelines.”