INDIAN BROADCASTING SYSYTEM

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INDIA:

LAND OF THE TIGER

Official Country Name: Republic of India Region (Map name): East & South Asia Population: 1,173,108,018 (July 2010 est.) Language(s): English, Bengali, Teluga, Marathi Literacy rate: 52.0% Area: 3,287,590 sq km GDP: 456,990 (US$ millions) Number of Daily Newspapers: 398 Total Circulation: 30,772,000 Circulation per 1,000: 50 No. of Nondaily Newspapers: 98 Total Circulation: 7,774,000 Circulation per 1,000: 13 Total Newspaper Ad Receipts: 35,624 (Rupees millions)

As % of All Ad Expenditures:50.40 Number of Television Stations:562 Number of Television Sets: 63,000,000 Television Sets per 1,000:61.2 Number of Cable Subscribers: 39,112,150 Cable Subscribers per 1,000:38.5 Number of Radio Stations: 312 Number of Radio Receivers: 116,000,000 Radio Receivers per 1,000:112.6 No. of Individuals w/ Computers: 4,600,000 Computers per 1,000:4.5 Internet Access per 1,000:4.9 Internet users (2009): 61.338 million Telephones - mobile cellular: 670 million (2010)

Age of India News, Indian Radio, Broadcast Media

The Indian Broadcasting Company was started in 1927 as a private enterprise. It was an amalgamation of amateur radio clubs which were started by individuals in Madras, Bombay, Lahore, and other major cities. The owners of the company had commercial ambitions. However, it did not succeed and they were forced to close operations within 3 years. Then the British government took control of broadcasting in India and named it Indian State Broadcasting Service, later re-named as All India Radio. Since then it has remained a creature of government. The British government used radio broadcasting as a tool of war propaganda and saw to it that it remained out of bounds to the leaders of the freedom movement. In 1947 when India gained independence, there were only six radio stations, mainly located in big cities. There were 280,000 radio receiver sets in a population of 350 million people. Post-independence no effort was made to exploit the potential of the medium. Information and Broadcasting ministers like R.R.Diwakar and B.V.Keskar who were in charge of All India Radio attempted to convert this mass medium into an elite medium. Classical music, and talks by members of the elite were tailor-made to appeal to a set of class in the society. For these puritans even Hindi film music was a taboo. It alienated people from radio and the only interest the common person had was to listen to news and cricket commentaries. Particularly Keskar, a nationalist and a moderate Hindu chauvinist sought to promote art, music and standardized a sort of orchestral light music known as vadya vrinda. This kind of narrow outlook in the early years curtailed the growth of the medium and had adverse effect on its future development. In 1956, UNESCO selected India for a unique experiment known as Radio Rural Forums Project, which was earlier successfully implemented in Canada. Pune was the site of this experiment. Village radio forums were created and made to listen to half-hour radio program broadcast by AIR and then discussed the content of the program. The theme of the experiment was, "listen, discuss and act".

The arrival of television in 1959 and flourishing of satellite television channels by 90s came as a deathblow to already tired radio broadcasting in India. Radio found it difficult to attract the attention of the listeners. It looked pale and dull before the glamour of the idiot box. The hope of the admirers of radio that it would have a healthy growth in the competitive environment created by television proved wrong. Although radio remained as popular medium, it never saw drastic transformation in its content and approach. It started languishing. In 1999 the government approved the establishment of 150 private FM radio stations in 40 Indian cities, and in principle allowed non-governmental organizations, educational institutions and citizens groups to establish community radio stations. All India Radio services are gradually being broken. Since television was first introduced in India in 1959, the country has emerged as one of the largest TV markets in the world. Television is estimated to reach around 60% of all individuals (urban and rural) in India. In the last decade the television programming landscape has also been totally transformed. India has one of the largest broadcasting networks in the world. Doordarshan, the Indian National Television Network established in 1959, reaches more than 90% of the population. The Indian national television (Doordarshan) and radio (All India Radio, or Akashwani) networks are state-owned and managed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Their news reporting customarily presents the government's point of view. Since the 1980s, India has experienced a rapid proliferation of television broadcasting that has helped shape popular culture and the course of politics. Although the first television program was broadcast in 1959, the expansion of television did not begin in earnest until the extremely popular telecast of the Ninth Asian Games, which were held in New Delhi in 1982. Realizing the popular appeal and consequent influence of television broadcasting, the government undertook an expansion that by 1990 was planned to provide television access to 90 percent of the population.

Allow 100% foreign ownership in satellite radio broadcasting: TRAI

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended 100 per cent foreign ownership in satellite radio broadcasting with no entry fee for companies interested in this business. Making a case for granting licenses, the broadcast regulator has said that it would be desirable to provide a licensing framework so that there is no uncertainty in the future. However, the license should be issued to the Indian subsidiary only to ensure no legal complications in enforcing regulation and collection of license fees. Licenses should be granted for a period of 10 years. Currently, the four satellite digital radio systems in the world are WorldSpace (covers Africa, southern Europe, Middle East and Asia), XM Radio, Sirius Radio (US and parts of Canada), and MBCo (Japan and Korea). In India, WorldSpace through the West beam of its AsiaStar satellite provides about 40 radio channels and operates through a wholly owned subsidiary, WordSpace India Pvt Ltd. It is estimated that there are less than 50,000 receivers have been installed in the country. However, if satellite radio broadcasters are allowed to use terrestrial repeaters (an equipment used to enhance weak signals), a revenue share of 4 per cent of gross earnings generated in India should be imposed.

DOORDARSHAN AND AKASHWANI NETWORKS ARE STATE-OWNED

The national television (Doordarshan) and radio (All India Radio, or Akashwani) networks are state-owned and managed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Their news reporting customarily presents the government's point of view. For example, coverage of the 1989 election campaign blatantly favored the government of Rajiv Gandhi, and autonomy of the electronic media became a political issue. V.P. Singh's National Front government sponsored the Prasar Bharati (Indian Broadcasting) Act, which Parliament considered in 1990, to provide greater autonomy to Doordarshan and All India Radio.

Government of India has provided for restrictions in ownership of companies seeking licenses/permissions/ registrations under various Policy Guidelines issued from time to time for electronic media.

IN CONTROL ON INDIAN BROADCASTING

Television programming was initially kept tightly under the control of the government, which embarked on a self-conscious effort to construct and propagate a cultural idea of the Indian nation. This goal is especially clear in the broadcasts of such megaseries as the Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. In addition to the effort at nation-building, the politicians of India's ruling party have not hesitated to use television to build political support. In fact, the political abuse of Indian television led to demands to increase the autonomy of Doordarshan; these demands ultimately resulted in support for the Prasar Bharati Act.

Controlled by a monopoly, whether the monopoly was of state or any other individual, groups or organizations". The court further ruled that the broadcasting media should be under the control of the public as distinct from government. This is the command implicit in article 19(1)(a). It should be operated by a public statutory corporation or corporations."

Television programming was initially kept tightly under the control of the government, which embarked on a self-conscious effort to construct and propagate a cultural idea of the Indian nation. This goal is especially clear in the broadcasts of such mega series as the Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata.

India Broadcast in Financing

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, through the mass communication media consisting of radio, television, films, the press, publications, advertising and traditional mode of dance and drama plays a significant part in helping the people to have access to free flow of information.

Originally, India television broadcast standard get their sources of revenue from the sale of airtime to advertisers. But when the competition of the satellites among broadcast stations emerged and brought radical change, in 1992, the government liberated its markets pressuring it to pay for expenditures from internal revenues.

In a FM Station, Indian policy currently states that broadcasters are assessed a One-Time Entry Fee (OTEF), for the entire license period of 10 years. Under the Indian accounting system, this amount is amortized over the 10 year period at 10% per annum. Annual license fee for private players is either 4% of revenue share or 10% of Reserve Price, whichever is higher. On the other hand, India's new private FM channels could also change the advertising scenario. Traditionally, radio accounts for 7% to 8% of advertiser expenditures around the world. In India, it is less than 2% at present.

In summary, sources of revenues in India broadcast is from the state subsidization through taxes and internal revenues and others is from the annual license fees derived on receivers and through the sale of airtime to the advertisers.

BACKGROUND & GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS

India is the world's largest democracy. Its mass media culture, a system that has evolved over centuries, is comprised of a complex framework. Modernization has transformed this into a communications network that sustains the pulse of a democracy of about 1.1 billion people. India's newspaper evolution is nearly unmatched in world press history. India's newspaper industry and its Westernizationor mondialisation as French would call itgo hand in hand. India's press is a metaphor for its advancement in the globalized world.

THE NATURE OF THE AUDIENCE

While a majority of the poor working people in rural and urban areas still remain oppressed and even illiterate, a significant proportion of peopleroughly about 52 percent of the population over 15 years of age were recorded as being able to read and write. That breaks down to 65.5 percent of males and an estimate of 37.7 percent of females. After the liberalization of the economy, the growth of industry, and a rise in literacy, the post-Emergency boom rekindled the world's largest middle class in news, politics, and consumerism. Since private enterprise began to sustain and pay off, mass communications picked up as a growth industry.

B ROADCAST M EDIA
The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, through the mass communication media of radio, television, films, the press, publications, advertising and traditional modes of dance and drama, plays a significant part in helping the people to have access to information. It fosters the

dissemination of knowledge and entertainment in all sectors of society, striking a careful balance between public interest and commercial needs in its delivery of services. The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting is the highest body for formulation and administration of the rules, regulations and laws relating to information, broadcasting, the press and films. The ministry is responsible for international cooperation in the field of mass media, films and broadcasting, and interacts with its foreign counterparts on behalf of Government of India. The mandate of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting is to provide:
y y y y y y y

News Services through All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan (DD) for the people Development of broadcasting and television Import and export of films Development and promotion of film industry Organization of film festivals and cultural exchanges Advertisement and visual publicity on behalf of the Government of India Handling of press relations to present the policies of Government of India and to seek feedback on government policies

Administration of the Press and Registration of Books Act of 1867 in respect of newspapers

Dissemination of information about India within and outside the country through publications on matters of national importance

Research, reference, and training to assist the media units of the Ministry to meet their responsibilities

Use

of

interpersonal

communication

and

traditional

folk

art

forms

for

information/publicity campaigns on public interest issues

y

International co-operation in the field of information and mass media

The main Secretariat of the Ministry is divided into three wings: the information wing, the broadcasting wing, and the film wing. The media units engaged in press and publicity activities include:
y

Press: 1) Press Information Bureau; 2) Photo Division; 3) Research Reference & Training Division; 4) Publications Division

Publicity: 5) Directorate of Advertising and Visual Publicity; 6) Directorate of Field Publicity; 7) Song and Drama Division

y y

Regulation of the Press: 8) Registrar of Newspapers for India; 9) Press Council of India Training: 10) Indian Institute of Mass Communication (Government of India, 2002)

The media in India represents a confluence of paradoxes: tradition and modernity; anarchy and order; diversity and unity; conflict and cooperation; news and views; feudalism and democracy; the free market and monopoly. Economic realities and relationships between press, television and those who own these engines of control and change will eventually determine the future of India's communication culture. India's complex cultural mosaic, especially linguistic and communal, strengthens its diversity. The media and press continue to play a dominant role in deconstructing the diversity discourse that sometimes flares up in explosive situations. Capitalism, the press, and public hunger for news promote a culture of media that is fast replacing the legacy of a feudal/colonial system. While corporatization and state regulations can muffle free expression, the force of public interest and the market economy strive for greater freedom and openness. Both politics and capitalism thrive on the liberties of a democratic system that continues to evolve into a functional hybrid of chaos and order.

STORY ABOUT INDIAN BROADCASTING

Delhi CWG to be broadcast in 13 countries across 6 continents

NEW DELHI: Promising the best-ever coverage in the history of Commonwealth Games, the Organising Committee (OC) on Wednesday said that they have finalised deals with right holding broadcasters from 13 countries across six continents.

OC said to make the Games a visual treat, host broadcast partner Prasar Bharati has roped in Satellite Information Services, UK for production and coverage and for the first time in the history of the Games, all 17 sports disciplines and opening and closing ceremonies will be covered on High Definition Digital Format ( HDTV).

OC also said that the October 3-14 Games will be viewed across Australia, New Zealand, Africa, Asia, Canada, Europe, the Caribbean and the United States, with additional daily news coverage reaching across 160 countries.

"Many of the world's best production crew will be handling the broadcast. It is for the first time the US has shown interest in the Commonwealth Games. It is going to be a landmark in the broadcasting history of India," OC treasurer AK Mattoo told reporters.

According to the organisers, the total contracted value for the 13 international right holding broadcasters is $46,342,601 out of which OC has already realised a sum of $34,224,000.

"The US, Canada and Tanzania are paying for the first time for Commonwealth Games broadcasts from overseas," Mattoo said.

Mattoo also said that the International Broadcast Centre (IBC) being set up at the Pragati Maidan is almost ready and was of world class standard.