KATHMANDU: Indian broadcasters have been worried after the Nepal government decided to bring the Advertisement (Regulation) Bill to regulate Indian channels, Indian media reported.
The players have raised concerns over the alleged technical and economic non-viability of the proposed norms.
The proposed Bill, which has been endorsed by the National Assembly (Upper House), has a provision to make the Indian channels to air Indian channels without advertisements. The Bill will soon be tabled in the Lowe House of Representatives.
Raising their concerns through the diplomatic route, the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) has written to the Ministries of Information & Broadcasting and External Affairs, stating that its members may be forced to switch off their channels in Nepal.
“We would like to state that it is not commercially viable for our member broadcasters to have a separate clean feed (without ads) specific to Nepal. Additionally, the implementation of stipulations pertaining to clean feed may be counterproductive for various reasons,” said the IBF in its letter.
The IBF, whose members cater to 90 per cent of television viewership in India, said the launch of a clean feed will “inter-alia entail separate playout, uplink and downlink costs”.
Piracy fears
The new stipulation may force Indian broadcasters to “discontinue distribution of their channels in Nepal”, said the IBF, adding that “this will result in rampant piracy all over Nepal”. Nepalese cable operators may resort to installing set-top boxes and viewing cards of Indian DTH operators, it added.
Such piracy would lead to tax losses for both the Nepalese government and the Indian government, said the letter. Additionally, the Nepalese government may also miss out on the potential to earn annual license fees for providing downlinking permission to each foreign channel, it pointed out.
The association further said consumers in Nepal may end up paying “exorbitant prices towards cable subscriptions to offset the cost of creating clean feed.” Sources said the non-availability of Indian channels in Nepal may create a vacuum, which is likely to be filled with channels of other countries.
(Agencies)
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