IPTV and Mobile TV, the new cable distribution platforms that have emerged recently. A clarification issued by the ministry of information and broadcasting recently makes it compulsory for all broadcasters to immediately share their channels with Wire & Wireless India Ltd, the HITS licence holding company of Essel Group.
The health ministry plans to oppose the application from Japan Tobacco International Ltd, the world's third largest tobacco company, to the Foreign Investment Promotion Board to raise its stake in its Indian venture from 50 to 74 per cent. The application is slated for consideration in the FIPB meeting on Tuesday.
Congress member V Kishore Chandra Singh Deo could occupy the Lok Sabha Speaker's chair in case Somnath Chatterjee opts to quit his post. According to top party sources, Singh Deo, who represents the reserved Parvathipuram constituency of Andhra Pradesh, has been considered the most appropriate Congress MP to replace Chatterjee.
At least half a dozen foreign satellite firms with over 100 C-band transponders have initiated their talks with domestic media firms which are interested in launching headend-in-the-sky cable distribution platform.
In a sure sign that recent changes in the business of cricket are here to stay, Saturday's India-Pakistan one-day final of a tri-series failed to attract television viewers to the extent recent Indian Premier League matches did.
Sports broadcaster ESPN Star Sports and direct-to-home operator Tata Sky may soon get entangled in a legal battle as Tata Sky has dropped ESPN, Star Sports and Star Cricket from its basic package offerings. The move, according to ESPN's lawyers, may go against a recent Delhi high court order that restrains Tata Sky to do so, but the second largest DTH operator maintains that it is operating within the permissible rules.
This means the cable companies engaged in last-mile distribution of TV channels will qualify for the existing 49 per cent FDI limit, while operators of DTH, HITS, IPTV and multi-system operators will be able to bring in up to 74 per cent FDI, a limit proposed by broadcast regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.
This move will make Dish TV, an Essel Group company, the first DTH operator to have installed their DTH services in consumer homes, cars, buses, aircraft, cruise liners and on trains. "Dish everywhere is our motto. We aim to provide our DTH services across all platforms, whether moving, flying or stationary," a senior Dish TV executive said. This move is likely to help the company market its services to the potential consumers more effectively.
The CD, which will have 1940s' film songs, will remind Pakistanis of undivided India and the undivided talent in the Bombay film industry. The first song is Jab Dil Hi Toot Gaya by Kundan Lal Sehgal from the film Shahjahan. The album signs off with the title track of Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna by Sonu Nigam.
The regulator may ask broadcasters to abide by the tribunal's pricing formula.
After the CPI(M), the crucial partner of the ruling UPA government, raised its voice against any attempt to shut down three public sector vaccine manufacturing units, Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss has quickly moved to announce that it will upgrade the units and 'do everything to protect their interest'.
The govt was supposed to issue the CAS expansion notification by April 30. The expansion of the conditional access system beyond southern parts of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata, and subsequently to 55 more cities, may be further delayed with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting seeking a detailed report from the cable industry on tackling piracy of pay channels after the system comes into effect.
The price-war has begun in the direct-to-home market with the country's largest DTH company Dish TV with over three million subscribers getting ready to offer its connection virtually free. Any consumer who wants to buy a Dish TV connection will not have to pay for the set-top box, the hardware essential to access DTH services, which normally costs Rs 2,500.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may have used a mix of charm and roguish coercion to let India know that he expected the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline proposal to become a reality in 45 days. But India is in no hurry to take a decision, a top Cabinet minister in the United Progressive Alliance government said. The volatile political environment in Iran and Pakistan has as much weightage now and the UPA government is becoming more reluctant.
According to the ratings data released by the online media ratings agency Audience Measurement and Analytics Ltd (aMap) for April 25-27, SetMax not only got higher average viewership ratings than Star Plus between 8 pm and 9 pm, when the quiz show aired, but the average time spent on SetMax (40 minutes) was double what viewers spent on Star Plus.
In order to take on the competition posed by the direct-to-home (DTH) operators, large cable distribution companies will soon bring in their own digital-quality cable television offerings in select cities at competitive fees and offer quality service support.
According to party sources, the Congress' hopes to regain power are pinned on the first and third phases of the election. The first phase (89 assembly segments) will cover the entire southern Karnataka along with Bangalore and Mysore. In the third phase, 69 constituencies of the northern part will go to polls.
Dish TV and Tata Sky, the country's two direct-to-home (DTH) companies, are expected to post losses in excess of Rs 1,400 crore for 2007-08 in their quest to expand the market by offering set-top boxes at subsidised rates. The companies have over five million subscriber homes across the country collectively.
The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), the apex body of broadcasters, and Advertising Agencies Association of India (AAAI), a body that represents over 70 per cent of the television advertisers have decided to tigten their rules. All advertisers will now have to make payments within 60 days of airing the television commercials, failing which there will be a financial penalty and a possible boycott on all television networks. This 2-year agreement is valid till March 2010.
This has been agreed between the Indian Broadcasting Foundation, an apex body of broadcasters, and the Advertising Agencies Association of India, which represents over 70 per cent of TV advertisers in India and has over 120 members represented by leading advertising agencies and broadcasters.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances