New Delhi: Controversy over the alleged illegal launch and broadcast of NaMo TV mounted Thursday with a broadcaster and government sources contradicting each other on the nature of the channel and laws governing it.
NaMo TV is exclusively dedicated to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speeches and election rallies and has been on air for nearly a week now.
ThePrint had reported Wednesday that NaMo TV had circumvented rules required to run a TV channel in India, and had been operating without a licence or security clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs. The ministry was contemplating issuing a notice to all DTH operators running it.
Government sources told media organisations that NaMo TV is an “advertising platform” run by a service provider on DTH platforms, which does not need approval from the government.
However, Harit Nagpal, CEO of Tata Sky, told NDTV that the channel is not a “Hindi news service”, as claimed by a previous tweet from the DTH operator’s official Twitter handle. He clarified that it is a “special service”, whose feed it gets from the BJP via the internet.
Officials well-versed with India’s broadcast rules say no such channel can be run on television without a valid licence, particularly if it has “news value” and political content. They also said it cannot be compared to an “advertising platform”, as it is not selling a product or service.
News value
A senior government official, who had earlier served in the broadcasting department of the I&B ministry and handled TV channels and the licencing process, told ThePrint: “No matter what the source is, internet or any other, for content to be aired on a DTH platform, a licence is mandatory.
“It can otherwise run as a web streaming service, like a Netflix or Hotstar. A Netflix movie can’t be shown on a DTH platform, it has to be shown on an OTT (over-the-top) platform. Or it can run as a YouTube channel on the internet. But to run on a DTH platform, like a channel, a licence is mandatory.”
Moreover, the channel is being run on multiple DTH platforms, which makes it clear that it is not owned by any particular DTH operator, even as a ‘value-added’ channel (free channels attached to a particular DTH platform).
The official said the content broadcast by NaMo TV is political in nature, including speeches by Modi and senior BJP ministers, and thus has news value.
“The content of the channel has news value, unlike any other advertisement network or platform, which sells a service or product. Even a home shopping channel like Naaptol runs on non-news licences,” the official said, adding that under existing broadcast rules, no news or non-news channel can run without a licence.
The official said that several television channels are run by political entities in India, directly or indirectly, but “no other television channel which is currently owned and run by political entities in India operates without a licence”.
The I&B ministry had earlier turned down requests from the Samajwadi Party and the Delhi assembly to start their own channels. Even the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal wanted its own channel.
Also read: NaMo TV has no broadcast licence, didn’t even apply for one
‘Not an advertising or advertorial channel’
Industry sources told ThePrint that NaMo TV also doesn’t resemble an advertising or ‘advertorial’ channel in any way.
“There is no symbol or logo displayed on the channel showing it is ‘advertorial’, as is displayed in a print advertisement, thus giving out the impression to consumers that the content has news value,” a top industry source said.
It is not even a value-added channel that would be exclusive to a DTH platform, said another official who deals with the subject.
“It could be a language-learning platform, for instance, which is run by a DTH operator, which is not clearly defined under the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994,” this official said.
“However, those platforms selling a product or service are owned by a particular DTH operator, and are hence aired only on that DTH platform. They are not aired on multiple DTH platforms. This means NaMO TV is not owned by a particular DTH operator.”
Moreover, unlike advertising platforms, NaMo TV is categorised under the news section.
Another set of channels which do not fall within the purview of broadcasting regulations are “ground channels” aired by local cable operators. But this cannot be the case when it comes to NaMo TV, since it is beamed by DTH operators.
Also read: Narendra Modi didn’t need NaMo TV or biopics in 2014, he needs both now