Approval given to Zee Media to uplink in Ku-Band revoked

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has withdrawn the approval given to Zee Media Corporation Ltd. (ZMCL) for simultaneous uplinking of its 10 TV channels in Ku Band on GSAT-15 Satellite through the teleport of Dish TV India Ltd.

According to the MIB order, ZEE media was violating clause 5.1 of uplinking guidelines and clause 5.6 of downlinking guidelines. The broadcaster had taken dual transmission approval for uplinking both in Ku-Band and C band, and due to their co-location they got the advantage to be on DD Free Dish without paying for the huge auction fee other broadcasters were paying to be on.
Uplinking and downlinking of private satellite TV channels in India are governed by the 2011 policy guidelines issued by ministry.
According to the MIB order, ten regional news channels of ZMCL, such as Zee Hindustan, Zee Rajasthan, Zee Punjab Haryana Himachal, Zee Bihar Jharkhand, Zee Madhya Pradesh Chhattisgarh, Zee Uttar Pradesh Uttarakhand, Zee Salam, Zee 24 Kalak, Zee 24 Taas and Zee Odisha (Zee Delhi NCR Haryana) were permitted to operate on C-Band.

According to the order, ZMCL applied on 26.8.2019 for permission to uplink the above mentioned 10 channels simultaneously in Ku Band on GSAT-15 satellite from the teleport of M/S Dish TV India Ltd. “Justification given by the applicant seeking uplinking on Ku-band was that many operators have desired to receive channels in the Ku-Band. These operators desire to receive only one of two channels of the M/S ZMCL in many cases, and do not own or operate a C-Band receiving dish of 4 Meters (16 feet) due to their location in crowded locales where such installations are not possible. The applicant further mentioned that Ku-band allows smaller dish antennas for its application, hence installation is cheaper and easy and it incurs lesser terrestrial interference,” said the order.