NEW DELHI, JAN 29: The DTH war in the country, which ranks as the world’s third largest television market, is heading for the stars. India’s new DTH ventures are scrambling for precious transponder space as satellite scarcity looms large.
Reliance’s Blue Magic, Bharti, Doordarshan’s DD Direct and Sun TV’s Sun Direct are in the race to acquire as many as possible of the 24 Ku-band transponders on Insat 4B and Insat 4CR, to be launched in March-April, 2007 and July-Aug, 2007, respectively.
Considering that each one is expected to offer around 120 channels, they need at least 7-10 transponders each. There aren’t that many available till the end of 2007, at least.
Each transponder is capable of providing between 15 and 30 channels depending on its frequency capacity.
Currently, there are only two satellites with a pan-India footprint capable of providing the Ku band required for DTH services—Insat 4A and the Netherlands-based SES Global-owned NSS6. Both booked between TataSky (all 12 on 4A) and DD Direct (5 on NSS6) and Dish TV (7 on NSS6). NSS6 is an international satellite with a pan-Asia presence and consists of 50 Ku band transponders.
Sources within Dish TV said, each transponder is capable of providing around 25 channels and the cost of renting a transponder is around a million dollars a year.
Due to the exorbitant international satellite transponders cost and few Indian satellites with Ku band capability there is a severe scramble for satellite transponders over Indian skies.
Unconfirmed reports suggest that communication and information technology minister Dayanidhi Maran’s brother Kalanithi Maran’s Sun TV has divided Insat 4B’s 12 available transponders with DD.
ISRO sources said, Insat 4B is identical to the 2005-launched Insat 4A and will be followed by the launch of Insat 4CR in August. Insat 4CR is a downgraded version Insat 4C which failed on launch in June 10, 2006. It has lesser number of transponders than Insat 4A.
With new players like Reliance with its blue magic brand of DTH services and Bharti gearing up to enter the DTH arena and the limited number of transponders available at present, one can only wait to see what happens next.
Source: financialexpress.com
February 1, 2007 at 7:09 am |
Sir,
This is the style of FUNCTIONING of Shri Ramoji Rao, owner of Ushodaya Enterprises where you invested recently…sir please deliver justice for all of us.
From;
a young journalist from Karnataka by name Shrinivasa M
Respected Sir,
This is a peculiar problem faced by more than 20
ex-journalists (from
all over the country-expected to hit another 80+)
associated with ETV
NEWS channel, owned and managed by Shri Ramoji Rao, a
resident of Ramoji
Film City, Hyderbad-12 (Andhra Pradesh) India.
Sir, I would like to summarize the problem in some
words.
1. We are all Masters in Mass Communication and
Journalism and
applied for ETV News, as per their advertisement in
media.
2. After a written test and oral interview, they
selected us for the
post of trainee copy editor/reporter and offered Rs
5,000 as the
salary.
3. But, at the time of joining they forced (!) us
to sign a articles
of agreement saying that we must serve the company for
minimum of three
years.(see: attachment)
4. The articles of agreement even read that even if
ETV people
terminate us from the job, we must pay the said
amount. But unfortunately
they not even said a single word on how much they pay
us or what’s the
service conditions, pay scale etc
5. Actually we are all well trained in our
University including
two months of internship at newspaper offices. But as
we thought that ETV
is professionally managed company and they might treat
us as per the
rules in regard to the journalist acts.
6. But one fine day, they created us such a
situation that, we
simply flown out of Hyderbad. After wards the problem
started.
After that NEWS TODAY PVT LTD sent many notices and
finally terminated
us from job and now even secured a order from Andhra Pradesh High court
over formation of an arbitration bench. Sir,
arbitration bench hearing
is on November 10 at Hyderbad.
Sir, what about law and Justice?
Sir, I do agree that we violated the agreement. But I
think, it’s not
at the cost of Rs 75,000. Sir, when we joined ETV
NEWS-Kannada as the
trainees they assured of international level training.
But for our bad
luck, they are not even taken a single day class in my
case. They taught
nothing special including what’s media, freedom,
ethics, guidelines
etc. Even after completing the one-year of trainee
period, they not even
given any special degree or additional qualification
other than change
in the designation.
As in our class rooms, we taught that Manisana Wage
Board is accepted
and implemented we taught that NEWS TODAY PVT LTD also
implement the
same. But, only after joining we came to know that
it’s not implemented in
the organization. At last we taught that after
completion of the
trainee period we might given the wage as per the govt
orders. But it’s also
not done. They are not ready to follow the law of this
land. But
expected us to follow the bond. Sir, this is just a
example for how we
cheated by NEWS TODAY LTD.
Sir, first I would like to draw your attention towards
how the NEWS
TODAY PVT LTD violated the laws related to working
journalists. Sir, as
per the WORKING JOURNALISTS AND OTHER NEWSPAPER
EMPLOYEES (CONDITION OF
SERVICE) AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS ACT, 1955, Hours
of work in any
media house should not exceed for more than one
hundred and forty-four
hours during any period of four consecutive weeks,
exclusive of the
time for meals. But, NEWS TODAY PVT LTD fixed 8 hours
work per day leading
to 192 hours. NEWS TODAY PVT LTD, which speaks of
75,000 compensation,
is silent in this regard.
Sir more than anything I want to draw your attention
towards the
another torture given by the NEWS TODAY PVT LTD. Sir,
once in 15 days they
made us to work between 12 at midnight to 4 pm of next
day without a
single minutes rest. Sir, how could any journalist
could work for such a
long hour and handle the news items which is has
greatest impact.
Sir, I would like to bring your kind notice towards
the some of the
provisions of the Bonded Labour System (Abolition)
Act, 1976, which
defined the bonded system as ‘forfeit the freedom of
employment or other
means of livelihood for an specified period or for an
unspecified period
Or forfeit the right to appropriate or sell at
market-value any of his
property or product of his labour. Sir, but none of
our government
agencies tried to topple such an effort taken out by
NEWS TODAY PVT LTD.
Sir, as like as any other journalist of this country I
am also working
for a state newspaper from Karnataka. Sir, you know
the salary and
perks provided by news organizations! Sir, now as most
of our journalists
are scattered all over the India and not in a position
to pay for a
advocate, how could we defend our self in the
arbitration bench or in front
of highcorut?
Sir, please interfere and protect the poor
journalists….
Yours truly
sri B
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