Is that true? Anybody on the forum from West Bengal able to confirm that?
of course it is not true. if any channel is banned that is mentioned explicitly through press releases by the information and broadcasting (I&B for short) ministry. I have watched channels like ATN and channel i on my local cable network.

from 2006 though to broadcast in India a channel has to get itself registered with the I&B ministry, this is true for both Indian and foreign channels. I think bangladesh has a similar mechanism as well. the rest depends on whether bangladeshi channels feel it is economically worthwhile to pay a fee and get registered to be beamed in India. I don't think channels from opar bangla think it would be worth their while to get registered, because post 2006, I do not see bangladeshi channels in my local network.
like in bangladesh, here too the hindi channels rule the roost for entertainment channels and the ever shrinking market for bangla channels is highly competitive, with a dozen or so channels. so may be they are apprehensive about the competition. hopefully it will change in the future.

yes that is true,

yeah ? and you are from west bengal ? :ohno:

of course it is not true. if any channel is banned that is mentioned explicitly through press releases by the information and broadcasting (I&B for short) ministry. I have watched channels like ATN and channel i on my local cable network.

from 2006 though to broadcast in India a channel has to get itself registered with the I&B ministry, this is true for both Indian and foreign channels. I think bangladesh has a similar mechanism as well. the rest depends on whether bangladeshi channels feel it is economically worthwhile to pay a fee and get registered to be beamed in India. I don't think channels from opar bangla think it would be worth their while to get registered, because post 2006, I do not see bangladeshi channels in my local network.
like in bangladesh, here too the hindi channels rule the roost for entertainment channels and the ever shrinking market for bangla channels is highly competitive, with a dozen or so channels. so may be they are apprehensive about the competition. hopefully it will change in the future.



yeah ? and you are from west bengal ? :ohno:
does visiting count? bangladesh doesnt recquire you to get landing rights and above that bangla channels are fta unlike the indian bengali channels

does visiting count? bangladesh doesnt recquire you to get landing rights and above that bangla channels are fta unlike the indian bengali channels
I don't think you're entirely correct. Not all Bangladeshi television channels are FTA (Free To Air). I believe only BTV and Ekushey TV are FTA, the rest require a satellite decoder. Most consumers however, get them through (local) a cable TV provider. I don't know whether the TV channels (e.g., ATN, Channel-i, NTV) make the cable providers pay them any fee or not.

of course it is not true. if any channel is banned that is mentioned explicitly through press releases by the information and broadcasting (I&B for short) ministry. I have watched channels like ATN and channel i on my local cable network.

from 2006 though to broadcast in India a channel has to get itself registered with the I&B ministry, this is true for both Indian and foreign channels. I think bangladesh has a similar mechanism as well. the rest depends on whether bangladeshi channels feel it is economically worthwhile to pay a fee and get registered to be beamed in India. I don't think channels from opar bangla think it would be worth their while to get registered, because post 2006, I do not see bangladeshi channels in my local network.
like in bangladesh, here too the hindi channels rule the roost for entertainment channels and the ever shrinking market for bangla channels is highly competitive, with a dozen or so channels. so may be they are apprehensive about the competition. hopefully it will change in the future.

yeah ? and you are from west bengal ? :ohno:

^^ I don't buy into your argument, I have been to Nepal and friends have visited Pakistan, and they were able to see Bangladeshi channels like Channel I, NTV over there. So if Bangladeshi channel operators find it worthwile to get registered in non Bengali countries and cities, why would they not register in West bengal or Kolkata? Doesn't make any sense.. It is more likely as the earlier report stated, cable operators in Kolkata blocking the airing of Bangladeshi satellite channels.

Bangladeshi TV channels blocked in India
by Special Correspondent
June 22, 2011

http://www.weeklyblitz.net/1525/bangladeshi-tv-channels-blocked-in-india

Indian government is continuing an unwritten ban on allowing Bangladeshi television channels from entering their domestic cable network, thus depriving millions of Bangla speaking population in that country from watching Bangladeshi programs, especially drama and music videos, which are considered to be top favourite to India's Bangali population. On the other hand, Bangladesh has adopted a very liberal policy in allowing foreign television channels, including most of the Indian channels [even some regional language channels] and have not only allowed them in Bangladeshi cable network, but also, each month Indian channels are earning significant amount of revenue, both by selling advertisements as well as subscription to Bangladeshi entrepreneurs and households.

According to a recent statistics availed by a team of Weekly Blitz, Indian channels are earning millions of dollars every year from Bangladeshi cable operators.

Bangla drama, soap opera and music videos, especially folk songs are extremely popular amongst the Bangla speaking population in India. Some Indian traders are trading in audio and video CDs of Bangla drama, soap opera and music videos, which have high demand in India.

[B]Commenting on the current ban on Bangladeshi channels from entering Indian cable network, an Indian journalist on condition of anonymity told Weekly Blitz, Indian government fears that Bangladeshi TV channels may contain anti-Indian propaganda as well as instigative messages to various separatist groups inside India.

"We all want to see Bangladeshi TV channels, but we fear such channels may contain anti-Indian propaganda", the source said.
On the other hand, an owner of a Bangladeshi TV channels said, "We never allow any negative propaganda against India or any foreign nation. Bangladeshi channels are already available on major cable networks in United States, Europe and the Middle East. We never heard any such complaint of any Bangladeshi channel airing anti-Indian campaign. This must be a lame excuse of the Indian authorities for stopping Bangladeshi channels from reaching the Indian viewers."

Commenting on the existing ban on Bangladeshi TV channels from entering Indian cable network, eminent researcher of Sufi music as well as popular Sufi singer, Fakir Shabuddin said, "As far as folk and Sufi songs are concerned, Indian listeners are definitely interested in such songs from Bangladesh. Whenever we go abroad for shows, we hear requests from expatriate Indians in foreign countries for singing Bangla Sufi songs. As a singer, I would humbly request the Indian government to allow Bangladeshi channels in reaching millions of Bangla speaking viewers in that country."

Rahman Mustafiz, popular news reporter in Bangladesh said, "None of the Bangladeshi TV channels have any anti-Indian agenda. Authorities in New Delhi should not unnecessarily continue ban on Bangladeshi channels, just on the basis of mere speculations or doubts."

Eminent Bangladeshi music director Milton Khandekar said, "As we are already watching Indian channels in Bangladesh, we also have the equal right of showing our channels to the viewers in India. As an individual, I do believe that, India, being the largest democracy in the world will withdraw such unkind decision on Bangladeshi TV channels."

http://www.weeklyblitz.net/1525/bangladeshi-tv-channels-blocked-in-india

I don't think you're entirely correct. Not all Bangladeshi television channels are FTA (Free To Air). I believe only BTV and Ekushey TV are FTA, the rest require a satellite decoder. Most consumers however, get them through (local) a cable TV provider. I don't know whether the TV channels (e.g., ATN, Channel-i, NTV) make the cable providers pay them any fee or not.
they are fta, in the asian region its pay in north america and europe but if you can catch the telstar10 bird all the bangladesh channels are there for free!

^^ I don't buy into your argument, I have been to Nepal and friends have visited Pakistan, and they were able to see Bangladeshi channels like Channel I, NTV over there. So if Bangladeshi channel operators find it worthwile to get registered in non Bengali countries and cities, why would they not register in West bengal or Kolkata? Doesn't make any sense.. It is more likely as the earlier report stated, cable operators in Kolkata blocking the airing of Bangladeshi satellite channels.
these dadas will never agree, why do you even bother...

le sigh!

nayeem, would you believe a declaration by your own information minister, that too from BNP govt ?

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-145354607.html
Bangladeshi television channels not banned in India: Information Minister.
UNB - United News of Bangladesh
UNB - United News of Bangladesh
May 4, 2006 | Copyright
COPYRIGHT 2009 Asia Pulse Pty Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights or concerns about this content should be directed to Customer Service.

Sangsad Bhaban, May 4 (UNB) - Information Minister M Shamsul Islam Thursday informed Parliament that the programmes of Bangladeshi television channels are not viewed in India.

Replying to Delwar Hossain Saidee of Jamaat-e-Islami, he said the Indian government did not ban transmission of Bangladeshi television channels.

I don't know about pakistan or nepal, since I haven't been to pakistan and last I went to nepal was 20 years ago, before the cable TV age. but I do know this, all Indian channels are banned in pakistan yet they are continued to be carried illegally due to public demand. so you can't draw any conclusions from that.

I can only guess nepal's broadcasting law is similar to what we had pre 2006, when bangladeshi and a host of channels from other countries were aired. I don't think it requires registering like it does in India.

I keep hearing about this idea that cable operators block bangladeshi channels but that sounds extremely strange to me. why would they do something like that ? if there is enough demand they would show it and improve their earnings.

So an Indian journalist in 2011 says BD channels are blocked but a BD minister in 2006 said it wasnt. Who to believe?

what Indian journalist ? anyone can write anything they want citing anonymous sources pulled out of their wazoo. the article doesn't even name a reporter. I am saying an bangladeshi journalist told me on conditions of anonymity that BD channel owners feel it won;t make economic sense for them to operate in India, would you believe me ?
at the very least show a reputable source, say a comment by one of the channel owners that they are not allowed by the govt of India.

^^ In that case you would be lying. While I agree all media is biased, I wont expect a paper like weekly blitz to lie blatantly.

I am now utterly confused with what to believe. Bleh!!

nayeem, would you believe a declaration by your own information minister, that too from BNP govt ?

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-145354607.html

I would believe anything other than statements of politicians.. they say whatever suits their purpose at that point of time.

what Indian journalist ? anyone can write anything they want citing anonymous sources pulled out of their wazoo. the article doesn't even name a reporter. I am saying an bangladeshi journalist told me on conditions of anonymity that BD channel owners feel it won;t make economic sense for them to operate in India, would you believe me ?
at the very least show a reputable source, say a comment by one of the channel owners that they are not allowed by the govt of India.
i dont see any bd channels on tata sky, dish tv, airtel, and other major satellite tv operators in india,

you exactly know what india is doing, it is indirectly stop bengali tv channels from staying away but putting in downlink norms and other vagera vagera stuff, dont act like you aint know mayne!

i dont see any bd channels on tata sky, dish tv, airtel, and other major satellite tv operators in india,

you exactly know what india is doing, it is indirectly stop bengali tv channels from staying away but putting in downlink norms and other vagera vagera stuff, dont act like you aint know mayne!

On the cable based service providers there are channels of countries like Russia, Germany, Australia, China even a Saudi religious channel.

But none of the satellite providers have any channels other than Indian, thats because of the high cost of satellite bandwidth. Even these providers do not carry 100% of Indian channels. Any low viewership channels gets dropped. Cost is the overriding factor here.

i dont see any bd channels on tata sky, dish tv, airtel, and other major satellite tv operators in india,

you exactly know what india is doing, it is indirectly stop bengali tv channels from staying away but putting in downlink norms and other vagera vagera stuff, dont act like you aint know mayne!

well, every channel whether Indian or foreign is following those downlink norms and 'vagera vagera stuff', so clearly the problem lies with bangladeshi channels.

if you think India needs to 'indirectly' stop channels from some country you are seriously overestimating the importance of bangladeshi channels.

well, every channel whether Indian or foreign is following those downlink norms and 'vagera vagera stuff', so clearly the problem lies with bangladeshi channels.

if you think India needs to 'indirectly' stop channels from some country you are seriously overestimating the importance of bangladeshi channels.
when bangladesh imposes entry tarrif for indian channels they try foul and send their lobby team

not overestimating i am just illustrating the entry barriers india has for us so we should do the same.

dude, there are no more entry barriers for bangladeshi items than there are for other nations, much less in fact.

quoting from that 3rd party report

In Bangladesh it is often argued that the deficit is aggravated by India’s protectionist policies that have hobbled Bangladesh exports to India. However, for the past 8 years India’s imports from the world as a whole have been growing at over 9 percent a year recently, each year’s increase in imports has been exceeding Bangladesh’s total exports. Many of these imports have been coming in over considerably higher tariffs than the tariffs faced by Bangladesh exporters, owing to the extensive tariff preferences given to Bangladesh by India under SAPTA, and to the extent that there are non-tariff and bureaucratic barriers, they are probably more constraining than the ones that Bangladesh would face. This suggests that the low level and slow growth of Bangladesh’s exports to India reflect fundamental comparative advantage factors, not discriminatory import policies.
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/SOUTHASIAEXT/Resources/223546-1168296540386/VolumeI.pdf

please try to understand what this means before you start pulling arguments out of your hat. :ohno:

The Daily Star did a detailed story on this. Should clear up many misconceptions.

Where the Sky is Limited

While 50 India-controlled satellite television channels are broadcast all over Bangladesh, not a single Bangladeshi satellite channels can be viewed in Indian cities

Tamanna Khan

Muneera Khan is looking for Sanddhi Sudha, an ointment for aches, advertised on Zee TV, an Indian satellite channel, for which she has to pay a monthly subscription fee to her cable operator. Since Sanddhi Sudha is an Indian product, Khan has to bring it from India sending someone there with dollars. As a result India earns revenue from subscription fee of Zee TV, sale of Sanddhi Sudha and finally from the travelling cost of the buyer.

It is not just herbal medicine, thanks to the numerous Indian satellite television channels, fashion, songs, movies — all sorts of consumer goods have made their presence in the home of Bangladeshi viewers. Unfortunately, the same is not true for Bangladeshi products and services. In this era of globalisation, free-trade and open economy, Bangladesh is forced into an unfair competition with its neighbour India.

At present around 80 to 90 television channels are broadcast in Bangladesh, out of which twenty are Bangladeshi, including the government-owned terrestrial channel Bangladesh Television (BTV). The rest are foreign language channels, the majority of which are Indian-market based, targeted at an Indian audience. Among these 30-40 are purely Indian channels in different Indian languages including Hindi and Bengali. Most of the Indian satellite channels like those of Star, Sony and Zee group are pay channels. Special receivers are required to downlink the channels and their local distributors pay monthly subscriptions to the broadcasters at a rate approved by the Ministry of Information, Bangladesh. The subscription fee is collected from Bangladeshi viewers through the cable operators.

In contrast, not a single of the eighteen Bangladeshi satellite channels (currently in broadcast) is aired in any large city of India, a country with a population of more than 83 million Bengali speaking people. Television channels 'uplinked' from foreign countries need to follow some specific guidelines of the Indian ministry of Information and Broadcasting for 'downlinking' their channels for Indian viewers. The guideline requires the applicant company which can either be a sole distributor of a Bangladeshi broadcaster or a foreign office, to be registered in India under the Indian Companies Act, 1956. The company should have a net worth of Rs 15 million for downlinking one channel and Rs 10 million for every additional channel. As registration fee the company has to pay Rs 5 lakhs for each channel for the initial five years to be renewed at the end of the period. Before signing the Grant of Permission Agreement another Rs 5 lakhs have to be paid to the ministry in addition to Rs 1 lakh per channel as annual fee. The application will also be subject to security clearance from the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs.

Thus on pen and paper there is no restriction from the Indian government in allowing the entry of Bangladeshi channels in India. The problem lies elsewhere. Bangladeshi satellite channels are free-to-air (FTA), meaning anyone with appropriate receiving equipment available in the market can receive the signal and view or listen to the content without a subscription fee, explains Ehsan Sarwar Chowdhury, Head of sales and business development, Edu-Smart.info. Ehsan has experience of working in cable operation projects, IPTV (Internet Protocol TV) and the cable distribution wing of a former local distributor of foreign channels. He adds that cable TV operators in the countries under the footprint (the ground area under the coverage of the transmitter-receiver device) of the communication satellite (Apstar 2R) in which most of our channels are uplinked can easily downlink the channels, because they are all FTA. Apstar 2R coverage extends to many countries in Asia, Europe, Africa and Australia. Thus Indian cable operators do not need to bear any extra cost to make our channels available for viewing.

Yet Bangladeshi channels cannot be viewed in any major city in India. Pramit Reza, Head of distribution, independent 24.tv states the reason. According to his estimation, there are about 650 international, national and regional television channels in India. “There are two types of delivery networks in India to make these channels available for viewing at household levels. One through cable (wired), the other is wireless. The wired has two segments --- analogue and digital. The wireless is generally called Direct-to-home (DTH). This is wireless digital. Maximum subscribers are under the wired analogue. The bandwidth of the wires has a certain capacity to carry data or video. Theoretically, if you put the best equipment, a maximum 106 channels can be carried. Practically the capacity is limited to 90-95 channels. Whereas there are 650 regional and national channels, each network can only air at best 90 channels. Here supply is six seven times higher than demand. Thus when new channels arrive they offer payments to the cable networks in exchange of carrying their channels,” explains Pramit. This payment is called carriage fee and it is one of the basic barriers for entry into the Indian market.

Dr Mahfuzur Rahman, Chairman and Managing Director of ATN Bangla Limited confirms saying: “The cable operators in India demand a huge amount of money from us. When our Kolkata representative talked with them they asked for a sum of Tk 2-3 crore annually for carrying our channel.” Dr Mahfuz raises the question why Bangladeshi channels should pay so much money to Indian cable operators whereas Indian channels do not pay a dime to our cable operators.

Pramit notes that according to a report Rs 1300 crore has been exchanged as carriage fee in India in the last financial year. Not surprisingly, their cable operators are not interested to air our channels for free. According to Nizamuddin Masud, former general secretary of Cable Television Operators' Association of Bangladesh (COAB), four large cable TV operators control the networks in central Kolkata, where majority of Bengali-speakers live, notwithstanding Bangladesh. “We have talked with them and they are not willing to carry our channels without carriage fee,” he says adding that it is not possible for our channels to compete with the local channels of India in this respect.

On the other hand paying such insanely large amount also does not make business sense for Bangladeshi satellite channels. Internationally, television channels have two main revenue streams — subscription revenue and advertisement revenue. Pramit cites how the demand created by Bangladeshi Diaspora has made it possible for Bangladeshi satellite channels to earn both subscription and advertisement revenue from the United States (which is beyond Apstar 2R footprint). In the case of India, the FTA status of the Bangladeshi satellite channels prevents them from earning any subscription revenue. “Moreover, we could not create sufficient demand in India to become pay TVs,” he adds.

Thus the only revenue stream that can be tapped in India is advertisement. “Our revenue will come from advertisement of Bangladeshi products marketed in India,” says Pramit giving example of Middle East where there is a market for Bangladeshi products among Bangladeshi viewers. Although they too do not pay any subscription fee for our FTA channels they influence the buying decision of their family back home. Local advertisers show interest in sponsoring the programmes to target this population. The same is not true about Indian viewers, whose interest in Bangladeshi products has not been created.

On the other hand, advertisement revenue from Indian products also remains farfetched as Indian advertisers can easily reach to the viewers through their own regional and national channels. “So why would they invest their money in channels which are not even tested there?” Pramit inquires referring to Bangladeshi channels' status in India.

The scenario is quite different across the border. Not only are we getting to view Indian products in Indian channels but our advertisers are also being lured away by Indian channels complains Dr Mahfuz. Referring to Zee TV's Bengali language programmes, he says, “From 10pm to 11pm they air super flop Bangladeshi dramas that mar the image of Bangladeshi culture. They have brought these dramas at a cheap price and they are trying to collect ad revenues from Bangladesh. Consequently, the local Bangladeshi TV channels will lose revenue by getting fewer advertisements.” He doubts whether Zee TV, like Bangladeshi private channels pays 15% VAT to Bangladesh government on advertisement revenues. “Our Kolkata office in its 4-5 years of establishment could not collect even one single advertisement from Indian companies for our channel. If this is so, then why should we allow our ads to be aired in Indian channels?” says Dr Mahfuz.

Shykh Seraj, founder Director and Head of News, Channel i, points out how Bangladeshi satellite channels not only face competition from within the country but also across the border as Bengali-language channels from India are aired in Bangladesh without any restriction. “We are facing unfair competition from channels like Zee Bangla and Tara Bangla. They can air their advertisements in both countries whilst we do not have any access in their country. Why won't our government restrict these channels?” he questions.

Giving the example of how Bangladeshi TV channels promote Bangladeshi products, he emphasises that government has to be strict about Indian channels that has already made Bangladesh a market for Indian products. “When the multinational companies see that Indian programmes have higher TRP at prime time than Bangladeshi programmes, they invest their money in the other side of the border. We are facing one sided competition,” he observes. Besides, Bangladeshi cable TV operators have started imitating their Indian counterparts in charging carriage fee from new channels recently, he informs. He adds that many cable TV operators are also not following the policy guideline of the Ministry of Information where it has been clearly stated that the first 12 channels should carry programmes of Bangladeshi broadcasters only.

According to Nizamuddin, there is sufficient demand for Bangladeshi programmes in Indian states with considerable Bengali population. In fact, COAB has arranged with local operators at places like KochBihar, Shiliguri, Jalpaiguri, Malda, Dinajpur and Chabbish Pargana to air ATN Bangla, Channel i and NTV. Nevertheless, the viewership is limited. Recently, the Bangladesh government has signed a memorandum of understanding to exchange programmes of Indian national television Doordarshan and Bangladeshi government television BTV. Chief ministers of Assam, Tripura, Mizoram and Meghalaya accompanying the Indian premier on his recent tour to Bangladesh have stated that they will take steps to air Bangladeshi television channels in their states.

Yet the reality appears bleak for Bangladeshi satellite television channels. The inequitable competition also puts a strain on our foreign currency reserve when the amount Bangladesh remits to Indian pay channels is taken into account. Shykh Seraj provides a figure of Tk 2000 crore which is paid annually by local agents to the Indian pay TVs. The government's attempt to restrict the Indian channels in the past has met with huge protest from Bangladeshi viewers. So the next time when we worry about Priya and Ram Kapur's wedding (two Hindi serial characters) or look for Aksara's (another Hindi serial character) saree in our stores, perhaps we should keep the Tk 2000 crore figure in mind.

http://www.thedailystar.net/magazine/2011/09/02/perspective.htm

^^ so, is it true that some rural districts in West Bengal get Bengali channels?

the indian kiss ass govt in bd needs to put similar restrictions in bangladesh too, if pakistan can so should bangladesh, channels like hbo axn cartoon network, wb mtv, nickelodeon and many more have a pakistani version, where they have filtered out indian adds, bangladesh should ban those fag channels alpha bangla n etv bangla or impose taxes on their advertisement, and on any channel downlinked in bangladesh which is in the bengali language

the pressure from viewers isnt that much trust me on that, it is what the distributers of these channels used to leverage their point across, if the government can ignore the other demands from the same group why cant they ignore this one? what a farce

if the taxes are imposed on companies that foreign channels that are downlinked in bangladesh then they will preassure those channels to change feeds in bd and they will spend more money in the bd advertisement market

http://www.bdnews24.com/details.php?id=206320&cid=4

"India to talk lifting Bangladeshi TV ban: report


Sat, Sep 17th, 2011 2:30 pm BdST

Dial 2000 from your GP mobile for latest news
Dhaka, Sep 17 (bdnews24.com) – India will talk to Bangladesh for steps to ensure that Bangladeshi channels are available in India, a news report has said.

While Bangladeshi viewers can watch a number of Indian channels, mostly Hindi-language programmes, Bangladeshi channels are not available even in Kolkata.

India has been continuing an unofficial ban on allowing Bangladeshi television channels from entering their domestic cable network.

On the other hand, most of the Indian channels are earning significant amount of revenue, both by selling advertisements as well as subscription to Bangladeshi entrepreneurs and households thanks to a very liberal policy in allowing foreign television channels.

After a meeting with West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banarjee, union information and broadcasting minister Ambika Soni on Friday reportedly said that Indian government would look into the issue.

"We will speak to the Bangladesh government," the state-run Press Trust of India news agency quoted Soni as saying.

Soni had already spoken with her minister of state C M Jatua on the issue, the agency said.

Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh during his Dhaka visit earlier this month had said, "We have agreed to further intensify academic, cultural, sports, and youth exchanges.

"I am aware that many Bangladeshi citizens are disappointed when they are unable to see their favourite local channels when they visit India," he had said in a lecture at the Dhaka University on Sep 7.

Manmohan had expressed his hope that commercial arrangements could be worked out so that Indian viewers have the opportunity to listen to the 'great contemporary exponents of Rabindra Sangeet and Baul in Bangladesh' or see the films of a director like Tareque Masud.

"There is no rule which prevents the broadcast of Bangladeshi channels in India," he added.

The chief ministers of Meghalaya, Tripura, Assam and Mizoram, who had been assisting Manmohan, had assured Bangladeshi ministers of taking steps to broadcast programmes of Bangladesh satellite television channels in India on Sep 7, information minister Abul Kalam Azad had said.

bdnews24.com/ost/jr/1407h. "

A very good read on the current subject on this thread.

http://www.prothom-alo.com/detail/date/2011-09-20/news/187101

^^ Excellent article and very reasonable in tone. It's a good thing that the urgency has finally sunk in judging by the comments posted. I propose,

1. Starting ASAP there should be elevated taxation and carriage fees imposed on Hindi/Urdu Channels. Demonstrations on the street can be conducted so the govt. gets the message.

2. Also effective immediately -- all Hindi/Urdu Programming broadcast in Bangladesh should be dubbed in Bengali. We did not fight a guerrilla war for nine months so kids could start cussing in Hindi or Urdu.

3. Ads shown on Hindi/Urdu Channels should be limited to local Bangladeshi products by default. This way the ad-agencies and the local FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) companies will benefit. FMCG meaning branded soaps, biscuits, hair oil, etc.. If Indian/Pakistani products need entry or advertize locally -- then they can pay a fee and do it.

I think ads for foreign products (especially Indian FMCG products such as Hazmola, Dabur and crappy soap) on cable TV had a free run for a while. If the govt. has a way to get ad revenue and carriage fee from foreign channels trying to sell their wares here -- what is the issue? Who gives up free money? the article above says we are paying some 2000 crore rupees yearly to India on account of cable channel surcharge alone. This has to be reversed or neutralized.

Once we start supporting our local channels with our ad-revenue money -- then their creativity and program quality will automatically improve. This country showed with its late 70's generation that even an organization like BTV could produce excellent dramas based on Kafka and Ibsen's writing (ask your parents little boys and girls :)). We don't have to take lessons from these Bollywood idiots on creativity.

^^ Excellent article and very reasonable in tone. It's a good thing that the urgency has finally sunk in judging by the comments posted. I propose,

1. Starting ASAP there should be elevated taxation and carriage fees imposed on Hindi/Urdu Channels. Demonstrations on the street can be conducted so the govt. gets the message.

2. Also effective immediately -- all Hindi/Urdu Programming broadcast in Bangladesh should be dubbed in Bengali. We did not fight a guerrilla war for nine months so kids could start cussing in Hindi or Urdu.

3. Ads shown on Hindi/Urdu Channels should be limited to local Bangladeshi products by default. This way the ad-agencies and the local FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) companies will benefit. FMCG meaning branded soaps, biscuits, hair oil, etc.. If Indian/Pakistani products need entry or advertize locally -- then they can pay a fee and do it.

I think ads for foreign products (especially Indian FMCG products such as Hazmola, Dabur and crappy soap) on cable TV had a free run for a while. If the govt. has a way to get ad revenue and carriage fee from foreign channels trying to sell their wares here -- what is the issue? Who gives up free money? the article above says we are paying some 2000 crore rupees yearly to India on account of cable channel surcharge alone. This has to be reversed or neutralized.

Once we start supporting our local channels with our ad-revenue money -- then their creativity and program quality will automatically improve. This country showed with its late 70's generation that even an organization like BTV could produce excellent dramas based on Kafka and Ibsen's writing (ask your parents little boys and girls :)). We don't have to take lessons from these Bollywood idiots on creativity.
but these days much of the generation is stuck on bollywood and esp the rising middle class and the nauve riche, i despise bollywood , even thou half my family is urdu speaking

but i wont deny bollywood produces some good stuff in the odd occasion.

We did not fight a guerrilla war for nine months so kids could start cussing in Hindi or Urdu.


Hear hear!

Hear hear!

Hear hear, indeed, but is anything in definitive terms being done about it to stem the tide, if not reverse the trend?