I&B sleuths are monitoring surrogate ads for objectionable matter

Will Star Television be rapped on the knuckles for airing the gin/mineral water commercial even as Sushma and her officials debate the issue? They have spent nearly a month on debating the matter.

Officials in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry said they were monitoring the situation and will spell out their mind soon. Of late obscenity in free-to-air channels and surrogate liquor and tobacco commercials on air have become twin obsessions of the I&B Ministry and the minister.

On their part, Star officials clarified that they had stopped airing liquor commercials ever since the Government decided to ban their telecast on air. But whether they have the right to air surrogate commercials is being debated.

Revoking the licence of the broadcaster, the ultimate penalty for violating the provisions of the Cable Television Networks Regulation Act, seems unlikely as Star is not perceived as a chronic defaulter. And considering that Star along with Sony were the first to assure the Government all cooperation in following the broadcast and commercial code of the country, a rap on the knuckles seems more in order. Either way, officials are not spelling out the course of action.

Nearly a month ago, a three-member committee headed by the Prasar Bharati Corporation CEO R.R. Shah, appointed by the I&B ministry, spent considerable time thrashing out the finer details of what constituted surrogate advertisements on television.

After much debate, they left the recommendations with the ministry, hoping that the minister who had raised the issue and her officials would act fast. Broadly, the recommendations highlighted the grey areas in surrogate commercials: Tobacco/liquor companies marketing books/genuine products; Messages sponsored by well-known liquor/tobacco manufacturers (eg cricket matches sponsored by tobacco/liquor companies), and genuine messages of public concern aired by liquor manufacturers.

While the amendments to the Cable Act of 1995, announced by the government in October last year, restrict telecast of pirated films, bars channels from showing late night “adult programmes” and bans cigarette, liquor and tobacco advertisements on television, a raging debate swirls around surrogate commercials.

The debate over the issue will cease according to broadcasters, once the government follows a policy — probably a more tolerant one given the ad revenues such commercials fetch, and making room for them at the dead of night.

But it would be very difficult to say no to liquor and tobacco commercials given the projections for this year — Rs 50 crores of advertisement revenue.