DD seeks action against Tata Sky for not airing its channels

National Broadcaster Doordarshan has sought action against leading Direct to Home(DTH) operator Tata Sky for allegedly taking off 'DD Bharati' and some other channels from its platform, saying it was in violation of the norms.
The issue has been taken up by Prasar Bharati with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, who has been requested to initiate action against Tata sky, Doordarshan said in a statement here.
Doordarshan also claimed that DD Bharati, India's only channel dedicated to art and culture, has been taken off by Tata Sky from June 13, 2015 till date without any official information.
"This accounts to a serious violation from Tata Sky's end," Doordarshan said, adding that it is mandatory for all DTH operators to carry all Doordarshan channels on their network, in accordance with an I&B Ministry order.

"DD Bharati and some other important Doordarshan channels including DD UP, DD MP, DD Bihar and DD Rajasthan are not being carried by Tata Sky on its network, which amounts to violation of the Government of India rules," the statement said.
As per the Government order, it was obligatory for every DTH operators to carry all Doordarshan channels, irrespective of any bouquets or a-la-carte channels being subscribed by subscribers.

The DTH operators shall also place the channels in the respective genre and shall display them in full television screen, the statement said.
There are around 25 mandatory channels which DTH operators and multi service operators (MSO) need to carry.

When contacted, Harit Nagpal, MD and CEO, Tata Sky said "Tata Sky has been airing almost 95 per cent of the mandated DD channels much before it became compulsory to do so. We were the first DTH player to offer DD Kisan, which was launched recently. We will start carrying the remaining three channels as soon as our capacity permits us.