Moral policing

The appointment of a regulator for the broadcasting industry may still be a while away but that has not deterred the government from policing private satellite TV channels. Earlier this month, the I&B ministry sent show cause notices to several channels, pulling them up for violating the advertising and programming code. The private satellite channels have been told not to show surrogate ads for products like Gilby’s Green Label Pure Aqua and Haywards 5000 Soda. The notice said such ads do not adhere to the Cable Television Network Regulation Act 1995. Code violation notices were issued to music channels MH1, MTV, ETC and Channel V for playing remix video numbers like Chadti Jawani. While Trendz, the fashion and lifestyle channel, got a notice for a lingerie show, Zee News was warned for its show on tantriks called Kaal Kapal Mahakaal. When last heard, the show was still on air, drawing a huge viewership.

CAS confusion

The confusion over the conditional access system (CAS) seems never ending. The government was supposed to have rolled out CAS in three cities within a month (by April 10) of the Delhi High Court having ordered it to do so. The government filed an appeal and got an extension of the deadline by a few months. Interestingly, now the MSO (multi-system operators) Alliance says the petitioners (the big cable operators themselves) have not been served a notice on the issue. In simple words, it’s not clear whether the government actually got an extension!