Information and Broadcasting Ministry working on new Broadcasting Services Bill

While the CTN Act 1995 primarily regulates the content and operation of cable TV networks, the BSR Bill will have a considerably larger scope as it will govern over-the-top (OTT), cable TV, direct-to-home (DTH), headend-in-the-sky (HITS), internet protocol television (IPTV), and radio.

The MIB became the nodal ministry for OTT content and digital news platforms in 2020.

ET Bureau

“Broadcasting Services Regulation will replace the CTN Act of 1995. However, the process will take time as we will have to first put up the draft bill for public consultation. The bill will be made public either in October or November,” an MIB official said on condition of anonymity.
According to the draft of the bill accessed by ET, a broadcaster has been defined as a person who provides programming services and has been granted registration under Section 5 for uplinking or downlinking of programmes.

OTT has been defined as a broadcasting service that is made available on-demand or live to users in India, where a curated catalogue of programmes is owned by, licensed to, or contracted to be transmitted over the internet or a computer resource that is not a closed network, and where additional hardware such as a set-top box or dongle is required to access content on a non-smart device.

The bill clarifies that the OTT services will not include a social media intermediary as defined in the Information Technology Act 2000.

The bill has three parts, with the first part applying to broadcasters and cable and satellite broadcasting networks. The second and third parts deal with radio and internet broadcasting, respectively.

Every programme or advertisement will have to conform with the Advertising and Programme Code, as may be prescribed. Besides, different programme and advertising codes may be prescribed for linear, OTT, and radio broadcasting.

The violation of advertising and programme codes will attract fines ranging from ₹5,000 to ₹10 lakh. The government might also ask TV channels to issue an apology or direct the channel to be taken off-air depending on the nature of the violation.

The bill also prescribes fines and imprisonment for cable TV, DTH, HITS, OTT, radio, broadcasting, and audience measurement service providers who operate without registration. The fine ranges from ₹10,000 to ₹20 lakh, while the imprisonment ranges from two to five years.

To ensure compliance with the advertising and programme codes, the bill prescribes a three-tier grievance redressal mechanism – self-regulation by the platform, a self-regulatory industry body, and a Broadcast Advisory Council having 11 members from government and civil society.