Indian High Commission to Bangladesh claimed that there is no legal bar in India to the down-linking of Bangladeshi television channels.
In a press release issued recently, the Indian High Commission (IHC) stated that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in India has not imposed any restriction on down-linking of any Bangladeshi channels in India.
It also said, so far, no Bangladeshi television channel has approached the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in India seeking permission to downlink their channel in India.
"If any company is interested in down-linking Bangladeshi channels in India, the Ministry would be happy to facilitate them within the ambit of prescribed guidelines," the release said.
Explaining the reason of the release, the HC said several television channels of Bangladesh have expressed keen interest in telecasting their channels in India to reach the Indian audience which has also been mentioned by many other well-wishers outside the media industry in Bangladesh.
According to a policy guideline issued by the concerned Ministry of India, it clearly indicates that there is no legal bar in India to the downlinking of TV channels from Bangladesh.
In order to downlink any foreign television channel in India, an application is required to be submitted to Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in India through a company registered under Indian Companies Act 1956 and having the prescribed net worth.
The channel can be downlinked after the Indian authorities approve registration of that company. The applicant company should either own the channel or have exclusive marketing distribution rights for the same.
The applicant company should have a minimum net worth amounting to 50 million Indian Rupees for down-linking of first television channel while it would need 25 million Indian Rupees for down-linking each additional television channel, the release said, explaining the details for the interested Bangladeshi media companies.
The channel being down-linked should be licensed or permitted to broadcast by the regulatory or licensing authority of the country of transmission. The channel being registered should not have been deregistered at the time of application. Additional conditions would apply in the case of news and current affairs channels.
The registration and permission to downlink would be valid for 10 years.
A fee of Rupee 1 million has to be paid at the time of granting permission to downlink channels.
Apart from this, Rupees 0.5 million per annum per channel for down-linking channels up-linked from India and Rupees 1.5 million per annum per channel for down-linking channels uplinked from abroad as permission fee for registration would be required.
The applicant company may apply to the Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in the prescribed proforma for evaluating eligibility.
After the agreement is signed, the company can contact the Multi system Operators (MSO)/cable head and operators/Direct-to-Home television (DTH) operators.
No legal bar in India to down-linking of Bangladesh TV channels
In a press release issued recently, the Indian High Commission (IHC) stated that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in India has not imposed any restriction on down-linking of any Bangladeshi channels in India.
It also said, so far, no Bangladeshi television channel has approached the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in India seeking permission to downlink their channel in India.
"If any company is interested in down-linking Bangladeshi channels in India, the Ministry would be happy to facilitate them within the ambit of prescribed guidelines," the release said.
Explaining the reason of the release, the HC said several television channels of Bangladesh have expressed keen interest in telecasting their channels in India to reach the Indian audience which has also been mentioned by many other well-wishers outside the media industry in Bangladesh.
According to a policy guideline issued by the concerned Ministry of India, it clearly indicates that there is no legal bar in India to the downlinking of TV channels from Bangladesh.
In order to downlink any foreign television channel in India, an application is required to be submitted to Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in India through a company registered under Indian Companies Act 1956 and having the prescribed net worth.
The channel can be downlinked after the Indian authorities approve registration of that company. The applicant company should either own the channel or have exclusive marketing distribution rights for the same.
The applicant company should have a minimum net worth amounting to 50 million Indian Rupees for down-linking of first television channel while it would need 25 million Indian Rupees for down-linking each additional television channel, the release said, explaining the details for the interested Bangladeshi media companies.
The channel being down-linked should be licensed or permitted to broadcast by the regulatory or licensing authority of the country of transmission. The channel being registered should not have been deregistered at the time of application. Additional conditions would apply in the case of news and current affairs channels.
The registration and permission to downlink would be valid for 10 years.
A fee of Rupee 1 million has to be paid at the time of granting permission to downlink channels.
Apart from this, Rupees 0.5 million per annum per channel for down-linking channels up-linked from India and Rupees 1.5 million per annum per channel for down-linking channels uplinked from abroad as permission fee for registration would be required.
The applicant company may apply to the Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in the prescribed proforma for evaluating eligibility.
After the agreement is signed, the company can contact the Multi system Operators (MSO)/cable head and operators/Direct-to-Home television (DTH) operators.
No legal bar in India to down-linking of Bangladesh TV channels