Electronic Media under EC Scanner

The Election Commission (EC) on 8th April had released guidelines for election coverage across the print, television and social media, reflecting the increased penetration and proliferation of new media platforms in the country.

Broadly, the guidelines outline the need for neutral and objective coverage of the elections and encourage all media stakeholders to exercise utmost restraint and shun paid news a phenomenon in which media present political parties and candidates in a favorable light in return for money.

MediaPro Split is not the End

Ever since the sector regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India(TRAI) had redefined the rules of the distribution game through its regulation on content aggregators, the news of Star DEN and Zee Turner ending their equal distribution joint venture (JV) Media Pro Enterprise India was expected anytime. 

Digital Terrestrial Television in India

Terrestrial transmission

Digital Television is the way of future, providing interference free  television reception and remarkable picture & sound quality. 

Top 5 Technologies Enabling the Connected Home

Marketeers no longer have to conduct marketing studies to prove that consumers have an insatiable appetite for smart devices, along with the world of instantaneous connectivity they depend upon. With the "smart revolution" reaching into every aspect of modern life, enabling technologies are quickly moving the concept of the connected home out of the realm of fantasy into a bold new reality.

Many pending issues for Indigenous Manufacturing

As per the projections made by I&B Ministry and TRAI regarding catering to STB demand by local manufacturers, not much has been achieved so far. Ministry has failed to convince the government about the importance of massive task of digitisation as no incentives have been given to Indian manufacturer to compete with the imports and also no measures undertaken to ensure payment of VAT by MSOs and DTH operators on imported STBs.

Will consumers see A La Carte Cable Service?

Cable rates have risen significantly where ever DAS has been fully implemented. It was assured by the Ministry as well as the Regulator that consumers will get plenty of choice and will be able to watch only those channels in digital cable which they subscribe and also pay only for them. Thus one of the biggest advantages of digital cable is that a subscriber can adjust his monthly billing according to his affordability by taking a basic package of 100 FTA channels for Rs 100 and a few ‘pay’ channels that he prefers to watch. This way he could manage his entertainment only in Rs 150 and of course the taxes. We are forced to ask this question after two years of DAS implementation if the consumer really started enjoying such a freedom.

Can we follow Leveson committee report on Media Ethics?

Manish Tewari while addressing a conference on the topics of Freedom of media and ethics stated that, Freedom of the press and journalistic ethics is an important topic today in India — with the word ‘press' encompassing the electronic media also. There should be a serious discussion on the topic. That discussion should include issues of the responsibilities of the press, since the media have become very prominent and very powerful.