One up on Uplinking |
The time has come for the media sector also to be liberalized. Though the plan of permitting the broadcasting companies to have own uplinking has been on the anvil since 1995, the government flew the green flag in the first phase in 1998 and is being reviewed in July 2000. What was and is the policy? Who are going to benefit and what would be the implications on the entertainment companies?
Doordarshan was the only company, which had the
uplinking facility. However, permission for live uplinking was given to the private
channels on occasions like the golden jubilee celebration of India's Independence and the
funeral of Mother Teresa in the past. The policy was liberalized in 1998 and gave some
freedom to the Indian companies. However, the applicant had to be an Indian satellite
channel with resident Indian equity holding of not less than 80 percent and effective
management control being with the resident Indians. And it was also possible only for the
companies’ that had uplinking facilities through some other country.
Earlier, the programs had to be taped and
sent to Singapore, Hong Kong or Bangkok for uplinking. Programs were uplinked and downloaded to the respective channel’s base
station and again uplinked to the satellites before the footprint was beamed back into the
country. Uplinking to foreign satellites was granted through the International
Telecommunications Union.
When the operators uplink from overseas stations, the expenses are incurred in foreign exchange. Permitting the uplinking facility from India can be expected to reduce or stop the outflow of foreign exchange, which is presently in the range of $ 300,000 per annum and expected to increase substantially in future.
The TV channels - Sun, Raj TV and Vijay TV, used to cover the live
telecasts with their stationed newscasters at their base station. From there with a
virtual live link to the satellite, the programs were broadcasted. Cellphones on the spot
allowed the anchorperson in the station to directly interview a candidate.
Now the channels can cut down the lead time. Uplinking can be done directly
from any of the VSNL earth stations at major cities such as New Delhi, Calcutta, Chennai
and Mumbai. Television companies can simply bring in tapes which can be uplinked.
An uplink facility costs around Rs. 1.5 crores and allows live feed of telecast materials thus saving around 25-30 per cent in uplink cost. This would also help bring in more foreign exchange as international companies will have to set up Indian subsidiaries and provide greater employment opportunities as programs will have to be produced within the country. The government would get revenues from granting uplinking rights to television channels in the form of licensing and facility charges. Also the Government would have better control over the telecast materials of private channels, as they would be under the control of a regulatory agency set up by the Government.
The channels that benefited most were Raj TV, Udaya TV, Sun TV, Eenadu TV, BiTV, Asianet and Srishti Video Corp. These channels had uplinking from teleports in Singapore and Hong Kong.
In most countries, it is the downlinking activity which is first brought under regulations, whereas uplinking is more freely permitted. There are practically no restrictions regarding downlinking of signals from both Indian and foreign satellites, which can be freely received through dish antennae and cable networks.
Leaving the 1998 policy behind, the government took up the policy for review again in July 2000. This is expected to bring a large number of TV channels within the discipline of our broadcasting codes and also generate substantial employment opportunities, as India becomes an important hub offering latest facilities for uplinking.
The Government has allowed any Indian company (non-broadcasting
Indian companies also) to set up uplinking hubs and teleport facilities for hiring it out
to broadcasters. But the permissible foreign equity in such companies would be restricted
to 49 per cent (inclusive of NRI/OCB investment). These hubs are permitted to hire out for
uplinking to only those television channels which are specifically approved by the
Government. However, in case of news agencies, uplinking facility is restricted to 100%
resident Indian owned and controlled companies incorporated within India.
With the introduction of the new policy, Zee and BPL have already taken a step in this
direction and have applied for setting up a hub. Zee will definitely have an advantage
over other media companies. However, since Zee has a foreign stake of more than 49
percent, the company can get the hub only through a subsidiary in which the foreign stake
will fall within the limits.
With the provision of giving the uplinking facility
to the private channels, there would be demand for the satellite capacity. The Indian
Space Research Organization (ISRO), which builds satellites, can have domestic orders to
fill its demand and will no longer require to hunt overseas customers. The move would also
help the Government in making foreign broadcasters fall in line with the advertising and
program code which bind Indian networks.
K Venu Babu