An analysis of Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995

Introduction

The regulation of content has always been a debatable topic. The content of any show decides how famous a show would be and its creator should understand that the content should not be against public interest. Television has been one of the mediums of entertainment since a long time and two decades back there was no body which could regulate the content being broadcasted and also the cable operators hiked the rates for the customers. This led to the implementation of the law on cable television network. Even after two decades there arises the question of regulation on the content.

Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995[1]

The act was brought with the motive of controlling the broadcasting of content to some extent. Earlier the cable operators were not required to have license to broadcast the program and this led to the broadcasting of programme without any regulation. The need to regulate the content and operation of cable networks was felt and hence the act was brought to address this issue. Also accessing foreign television network was considered as ‘cultural invasion’. The Act aimed to lay down the responsibilities of the cable operator in broadcasting the content, protecting the subscribers from anti-national broadcasts from sources inimical to national interests.

Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 is divided into five chapters. Chapter one consists the scope of the act and the important terms. The second chapter discusses “Regulation of Cable Television Network” Chapter three deals with “Seizure and Confiscation of certain equipments” The fourth chapter has mentioned offences and punishment and the last chapter of the act covers miscellaneous provisions.

Important Terms

• Broadcaster: It refers to a person, an organisation or a corporate body which provides programming services and includes its authorised distribution agencies.
• Cable Operator: It refers to any person who provides cable service through a cable television network and is responsible for its operation.
• Subscriber: The person who receive service of the cable television network by way of transmission.
• Cable Television Network: It is a system designed to provide cable service which consists of transmission paths and associated signal generations.

Regulation of Cable Television Network

To have a look after the working of cable operators, the registration of cable operators was made compulsory. To regulate the broadcasting of content certain provisions were laid down.

Registration of Cable Operators

Section 5 of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act mentions the procedure for registration of cable operators. A person who is currently operating cable network or desires to operate should register under the act. A cable operator can apply for an application under Form 1 for the registration and has to pay a fee of Rs 50 to the post master within that territorial jurisdiction under which the office of cable operator is situated. Also, the registration certificate remains valid for a year and has to be renewed after that. Registering authority has the right to refuse to provide the registration certificate to the cable operator if they find anything wrong but the reason for refusal has to be communicated to the applicant and must be recorded in writing.

Regulation of Content

In those times as well, there was a need to have regulation on the broadcasting of content. Central government could make an obligation on operators to transmit or retransmit a programme through any addressable system. The central government can also specify the maximum amount payable by the subscribers to the operator. The operators had to publicise the rates of each pay channel at regular intervals. As per Section 5 and 6 of the Act which provides for advertisement code and programme code, these codes have to be followed by the cable operators and cable services should be in compliance with the codes. And as per Section 7, every operator has to maintain a register in which the information regarding transmitted and retransmitted content will be available. Doordarshan channel has to be compulsory re transmitted by the operator.

Offences and Penalties

Section 11: Any authorised government authority has the power to seize the equipments of any cable operator if the cable operator is using equipment without proper registration.

Section 16: Anyone who violates the provisions of the Act will be liable to imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years or fine extending to Rs 1000 or with both for the first offence. For subsequent offence imprisonment may extend to five years and fine upto Rs 5000.

Section 17: If the offence is committed by a company, the person in charge will be held liable under the act.

Section 19: An authorised officer has the power to restrict the transmission of those programmes which are against public interest.

Section 20: Operation cable television network can be prohibited by Central Government in public interest i.e., in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, security of India, friendly relations of India with any other foreign states and public morality.

Amendment to the Act[2]

Amendment to the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 was made in 2003 Various issues relating to the cable operator raised the need for amendment in the law. The main aim of this amendment was to address the issue of increase in cable charges. Cable operators raised unreasonable price in cable television. Cable operators were not disclosing their real income and thus not paying appropriate revenue and there were many more problems as a result government appointed a special task force to deal with the matter.

Task force came with the report that subscribers had no choice to choose the channels as per their choice and had to subscribe to the bundle of channels as per operators’ criteria even if the customer does not want to. Special task force recommended introduction of Conditional Access System (CAS), this would mean that a customer has to set up a set-top box. This would work in favour of the customer as they can watch all free to air channel and can choose premium channel for a charge.

The amendment introduced section 4A thus allowing cable operators to transmit pay channels through an addressable system.

Analysis

The Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 was implemented to address various issues concerning the cable operators. The need to have regulation was felt then. It is very important to regulate the content. The cable operators were not required to have licence, this was changed after the implementation of the law. It was necessary that the cable operator have license to broadcast the content. As the absence of license could have created a problem for the customers as the operators were not answerable to anyone and had no licence so it was easy for them to charge a hefty amount from the consumers for the subscription of the channel. But though the law imposed made compulsory to have registration of the cable operators, there is no mention if there was any body which checked if the registration certificate is renewed after 12 months.

The amendment to the act in 2003 was brought by the government when they realised that the cable operators were charging high rates from the subscribers. And also, the subscribers were not allowed to select the channels as per their choice, this benefited the operators to the large extent. After implementing the act this might have given relief to the subscribers to some extent but even today setting up of set top box has not solved the issue as a subscriber has to choose a bundle of channels as per the operator’s criteria and if extra channels of subscriber’s choice are to be added, extra amount has to be paid.

Recently, Cable Television Network Rules have been amended to have a statutory mechanism, which would be transparent and benefit the citizens. Also, the self-regulating bodies of the broadcasters could be registered with the Central Government. The central government in June 2021 has issued a notification to amend the Cable Television Network Rules, 1994, this would provide a statutory mechanism for solving the grievances of the citizens relating to the content broadcasted by television channels in accordance with the provisions of the Cable Television Network Act, 1995.[3] Currently there is an institutional mechanism for addressing the grievances relating to programme code. Also some broadcasters have their own self regulatory model for addressing the complaints.

Conclusion

A strong institutional system is required for redressing the grievances. The broadcasters must be held accountable for their working. The amended act of 2003 of cable network regulation has focused more on the issue of cable charges whereas the 2021 act has focused more on the content being broadcasted. Any law is implemented with the aim of welfare of both the service provider and the customer. The content must not be against public interest and the subscribers must have the choice to select their own preferences.

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References:

[1] The Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995

[2] Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, https://cis-india.org/telecom/resources/cable-television-networks-regulation-act (last visited Sept 14, 2021)

[3] Cable Television Network Rules amended, https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1727961 (last visited Sept 14, 2021)