Self regulation best option for TV ratings: I&B Ministry
Mumbai, 12 March 2014:
The government has recently notified TRP guidelines that cover a
detailed procedure for registration of rating agencies, eligibility
norms, terms and conditions of registration, cross holdings, methodology
for audience measurement, complaint redressal mechanisms, sale and use
of the audit, disclosure, reporting requirements and action against non
compliance. This was disclosed by Mr Bimal Julka, Secretary, Ministry of
Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, at the opening of
the 15
th FICCI FRAMES Conference here today.
FRAMES
is a three day global convention organised by Federation of Indian
Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). It covers the entire gamut of
media and entertainment like films, broadcast, digital entertainment,
animation, gaming, and visual effects. About 200 Indian and overseas
speakers will address nearly 2000 Indian and 800 foreign delegates from
the media and entertainment industry. This year marks the 15
th anniversary of FICCI FRAMES and assumes importance since it comes just before the general elections.
In
his opening remarks, Mr Uday Shankar, Chairman, FICCI Media and
Entertainment Committee and CEO, Star India, complimented the FICCI team
for putting up such a spectacular show. He expressed happiness that the
media had recorded a growth of 12 percent last year, amidst an
environment of gloom and doom. That is a testimony to the tenacity of
the media, he said.
Mr Shankar also described media and
entertainment as key to the inspiration of one billion Indians, and
hence felt that an event like this was extremely important, especially
since it took place at a time leading to the elections. The industry had
run through its course of exploiting the first set of economic reforms
in 1991. It now faces a complex set of economic and social choices,
including the role of the government and private sector. He was of the
view that no relationship is more important than that between the
government and the media, since they are conditioned to be adversarial.
Hence these weeks before the elections call for a rethink of their
respective roles.
“We are of the firm view that self
regulation by the industry is the best option as far as TV ratings are
concerned,” said Mr Bimal Julka. Delivering the vision statement at the
inaugural session, he announced that the Indian Broadcasting Foundation
had set up a Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC)) High Table and
was going ahead with appointing a rating agency. He urged BARC to speed
up the process so that ratings may be generated without delay. He
described the issue of TRPs as critical for the broadcasting sector and
said it had been under discussion for the last few months.
Regarding
FM radio, Mr Julka said that the ministry’s policies had ensured
vibrant growth in the sector, with 245 FM channels launched in 86 cities
since 2005. The third phase of FM auction for 839 channels is currently
underway. He also discussed the challenges facing the sector, including
complete digitisation throughout the country, rationalisation of taxes,
control of vertical monopoly and cross holdings and content monitoring.
Mr Julka also announced that the National Museum of Indian Cinema in
Mumbai is ready for inauguration and the first phase will be dedicated
to the nation very shortly.
Mr Ajit Pai, Commissioner,
FCC, USA, was the guest of honour at the event. He began on a personal
note, describing how his parents migrated to the US in 1971 and taught
him the value of hard work and sacrifice. As a child growing up in the
US, he found it difficult to communicate with his grandparents back home
because there were no phones, no email and no YouTube. Today’s world is
unrecognisable from those days, he observed. Thanks to technology,
families that are separated geographically feel a lot closer today than
they did in the ‘70s.
Mr Pai was clearly of the view that
regulators must not impose their preferences on others. It was the role
of the marketplace to sort success from failure. Describing the
phenomenal progress made by the entertainment and media industry in
America, he said that this progress happened not by government fiats,
but because the private sector took risks to innovate, spending over one
trillion dollars on upgrading and deploying core broadcast
infrastructure. The US Government created the regulatory framework for
the industry to take these risks. That is the story behind their
success.
FICCI Frames always has a partner country and a
partner state. This year, the partner country is Australia, and the
partner state Karnataka. Mr Patrick Suckling, Australian High
Commissioner to India, delivered the Partner Country Keynote Address.
He felt that Australia’s film credentials are not as well recognised in
India as they should be. His country has won about 50 Oscars, out of
which three have been this year. The industry is adept in both front and
back end cinema quality. There are four major production houses, with
modern infrastructure, technological expertise, and post production,
animation and music facilities. Australia is famous for its locations,
and he called upon Bollywood producers to consider shooting in
Australia. He also announce that Australia’s interests go beyond film
making to education, and can make a good contribution to Indian film
institutes. However, there still remain areas of mistrust and lack of
understanding between the two countries, and these must be addressed
through interaction.
Karnataka, the partner state, was
represented by Mr Srivatsa Krishna, Secretary, Department of IT, BT
& ST, Government of Karnataka. In a dramatic multimedia
presentation, he showcased the state-of-the-art facilities available in
Karnataka, and revealed that many famous Hollywood film sets were
actually created at Whitefield in Bengaluru. He invited Indian and
international film makers to take advantage of the facilities offered by
his state.
Mr Harshvardhan Neotia, Vice President, FICCI,
welcomed the gathering to the three-day event and Mr Ramesh Sippi,
Co-Chairman, FICCI Media and Entertainment Committee, delivered the vote
of thanks. The session also saw the release of the FICCI-KPMG Report
and the FICCI Amarchand Lawbook. The entire session was anchored by Dr A
Didar Singh, Secretary General, FICCI.
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