Broadcast

The broadcast media was under complete monopoly of the Government of India. Private organizations were involved only in commercial advertising and sponsorships of programmes. However, inSecretary, Ministry of I&B v. CAB[6], the Supreme Court clearly differed from the aforementioned monopolistic approach and emphasized that, every citizen has a right to telecast and broadcast to the viewers/listeners any important event through electronic media, television or radio and also provided that the Government had no monopoly over such electronic media as such monopolistic power of the Government was not mentioned anywhere in the Constitution or in any other law prevailing in the country.This judgment, thus, brought about a great change in the position prevailing in the broadcast media, and such sector became open to the citizens. The Broadcasting Code, adopted by the Fourth Asian Broadcasting Conference in 1962 listing certain cardinal principles to be followed buy the electronic media, is of prime importance so far as laws governing broadcast medium are concerned. Although, the Broadcast Code was chiefly set up to govern the All India Radio, the following cardinal principles have ideally been practiced by all Broadcasting and Television Organization; viz:- To ensure the objective presentation of news and fair and unbiased comment To promote the advancement of education and culture To raise and maintain high standards of decency and decorum in all programmes To provide programmes for the young which, by variety and content, will inculcate the principles of good citizenship To promote communal harmony, religious tolerance and international understanding To treat controversial public issues in an impartial and dispassionate manner To respect human rights and dignity Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 basically regulates the operation of Cable Television in the territory of India and regulates the subscription rates and the total number of total subscribers receiving programmes transmitted in the basic tier. In pursuance of the Cable Television Network (Regulation) (Amendment) Bill, 2002, the Central Government may make it obligatory for every cable operator to transmit or retransmit programme of any pay channel through an addressable system as and when the Central Government so notifies. Such notification may also specify the number of free to air channels to be included in the package of channels forming the basic service tier. Direct-to-Home Broadcasting Direct-to-Home (DTH) Broadcasting Service, refers to distribution of multi-channel TV programmes in Ku Band by using a satellite system and by providing TV signals directly to the subscribers premises without passing through an intermediary such as a cable operator. The Union Government has decided to permit Direct-to-Home TV service in Ku band in India.[7]

The Broadcasting Content Complaints Council (BCCC) is an independent self-regulatory body set-up by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation in 2011, in consultation with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The primary role of BCCC is to implement self regulatory guidelines for non-news channels, including general entertainment channels, kids channels and special interest channels.

1.The self-regulatory body has 13 members: one chairperson, four non-broadcast members, four members from national level statutory commissions, and four members from the broadcast industry. Retired Supreme Court judge A P Singh serves as the chairman of the industry body. Members representing the broadcast fraternity are: Ashok Nambissan of MSM, Deepak Jacob of Star India, Nittin Kq2.eni of Zee Network and Sujeet Jain of Viacom 18.

2.The guidelines have been formulated after deliberations from the industry and the Government of India around areas such as national interest, racial and religious harmony, ill treatment of children, social values, sex and nudity, violence and crime, gambling, drugs, smoking, tobacco consumption, alcohol, defamation, harm and offence.

In the case of a valid complaint, the respective channel is asked to provide their view on the offending content within one working week of receipt of a letter from BCCC. Post evaluation of the channels response, if the BCCC committee is not satisfied, it has the power to pass a directive asking necessary modifications or withdrawal of such content, failing which, the BCCC sends out a detailed report to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting within 24 hours.

3.In a recent development, BCCC presented a report to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, recommending heavy fines in accordance with the degree of violation of advisories. In an official communiqu released by the BCCC, Justice A P Singh, chairman, BCCC, was quoted saying that about 50 per cent of the complaints received by the council relate to sex and obscenity, especially in American serials.

Reacting to BCCCs claim, Anand Chakravarthy, business head, Big CBS Networks, says, The BCCC is an industry body. And its job is to remind channels about what is not acceptable in terms of content on TV. As far as the English entertainment genre is concerned, most of the content comes from the West. And, as we all know, it sometimes, tends to be risqu in nature. So you cant really help, because thats more or less the nature of the genre. Also, there is an audience for that kind of content. Channels cater to their specific audiences, and there is nothing wrong in it. But, while you do that, its important to not cross the line as that could backfire as a strategy.Manjit Singh, chairman, Indian Broadcast Federation (IBF), is of the opinion that BCCC is doing a fairly good job of monitoring content on TV. BCCC was set up with the objective to aid and promote the self-regulatory practice in the broadcast industry. Its job is to monitor content as per the guidelines set by the IBF and Ministry of Information in a joint effort, he maintains.He further adds, There is no doubt that self-regulation is the way to go for the industry. The BCCC has some eminent personalities as members of the council, whore doing a very fine job of ensuring that the industry, as a whole, is moving towards a strong self-regulation mechanism. It is good for all stakeholders broadcasters, advertisers, viewers and last but not the least, the Government of India.

Janardhan Pandey, associate vice president, Mudra Max, observes, For broadcasters, its about acceptability among their audiences that matters the most. And, one way of building that acceptance level is by investing time and effort in producing quality content as against controversial content, which invariably comes under the scanner of industry bodies, and in some cases, the Government.

4.Till 30 November 2012, BCCC had received 8,628 complaints and suggestions, including 1,072 specific complaints. So far, BCCC has issued seven advisories to member channels on different topics of concern. It is critical for the industry to practice self-regulation to ensure smooth growth in years to come, opine industry watchers.