'CNN' reports trigger controversy in India

'CNN' reports trigger controversy in India

By John Zubrzycki

NEW DELHI (JP): India's normally feuding political parties found a common cause recently when the launch of a 24-hour CNN news channel, in partnership with India's state-owned network, Doordarshan (DD), upset Indian sensitivities on cows and Kashmir.

A teaser depicting stray cattle blocking traffic in the commercial capital, Bombay, followed later by a weather map showing India's claim to Kashmir as part of Pakistan, touched off a storm of protest and rekindled debate on uncontrolled entry of satellite television in India.

The president of the right-wing opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Mr L K Advani, described the CNN-DD deal as a "sell- out of the nation's interests".

"The indiscriminate opening up of the Indian economy to multinationals has already compromised the economic sovereignty of the country. Now such tie-ups with foreign channels, like CNN, will enable them to control the human mind," Mr Advani said, claiming that the distortion of Kashmir on the Indian map was an "ominous pointer of the shape of things to come."

The US$1.5 million deal, signed on June 30, has been condemned by the other main opposition parties, including the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Janata Dal, as well as by sections of the ruling Congress Party.

Although CNN vice president, Peter Vesey, apologized for not taking into account Indian sensitivities, critics lashed out at the network for reinforcing cliched images of India, where cows are considered sacred by Hindus.

The CNN gaffe may make other international broadcasters think twice about their approach to the rapidly expanding Indian market. The number of satellite stations available to Indian viewers has jumped dramatically over the past few years as local and foreign broadcasters try to plug into growing spending power of India's consumer conscious middle class.

With 75,000 cable operators, linking 10 million households, each with an average of six viewers, India's existing satellite television audience is a massive 60 million people, mainly in the middle income bracket.

A recent study predicts an increase in TV-owning households, over the next five years, from the present 50 million homes, to 82 million, with more than half connected to cable. At the same time the number of stations is expected to rise to 70.

The huge market has not escaped the notice of large international media players, such as Mr Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, which owns 50 percent of Zee TV, the most successful of the new crop of local satellite stations, and has the same stake in two other channels--El TV and a Hindi pay-TV movie channel.

Dozens of Indian companies have announced plans to set up their own stations, production houses and marketing firms to cash in on India's booming entertainment business.

To the surprise of many of its critics, DD has met the satellite challenge head on with new channels and a major programming revamp, while retaining the lion's share of advertising revenue. It has even launched its own satellite station targeted at Indian communities in other parts of Asia.

With a coverage of 85 percent of India and an estimated viewership of 260 million, DD maintained the advantage of being the only broadcaster allowed to uplink its signal from Indian soil--a privilege now shared by CNN.

Other private satellite channels must export their programs on videotape and uplink them from as far away as Russia before they can be beamed back into India.

That DD has allowed CNN to uplink from India, let alone enter into a rebroadcasting agreement with the Atlanta-based network, represents an extraordinary turn around. Only a few years ago DD refused to acknowledge that its stodgy state-controlled programming was no match for the likes of MTV.

Under the agreement CNN becomes the first international broadcaster to use India's Insat 2B satellite. More significantly, CNN will offer at least one hour a day of news and current affairs for airing on DD's terrestrial channels, giving it a penetration undreamed of by other satellite networks.

Some analysts believe the deal was rushed through Parliament to punish the Rupert Murdoch-owned Star TV Network for broadcasting a chat-show in which one of the guests called Mahatma Gandhi a "bastard bania". The derogatory remark, referring to the Mahatma's trader caste, forced the producers of the "Nikki Tonight" show to axe the program.

Following the incident, the government warned it might prohibit cable operators from relaying Star's signal and punish Indian companies advertising on the network.

Another of the Star Network's channels, BBC World Service, ran into trouble recently when it mixed footage of the fighting in Chechnya with its coverage of the separatist movement in Kashmir.

With a viewership of around 14 million households, India is Star TV's most profitable source of advertising revenue, generating approximately $12 million a year. The CNN-DD deal is expected to erode Star's share of this fast-growing market.

The controversies surrounding CNN and Star underline the vulnerability of satellite broadcasters to local pressure despite the transnational nature of the medium. Last year, China forced Star to axe BBC World Service TV after it screened a controversial program on the sex life of Mao Tse Tung. Malaysia tried to do the same when the BBC broadcasted a program on alleged corruption in Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad's government.

Although CNN's berth on insat seems secure, other international broadcasters will have to tread warily now as their footprints extend over one of Asia's most enticing markets.