May 17th, 2008 
krishna The saga of satellite television in India which started almost 15 years ago, in many respects, one of phenomenal success. With an access to around 200 channels and an estimated 70 million homes enthusiastically subscribe to cable—making it one of the biggest national markets. Quality unconscious cable operators, however, are cheating the broadcasters and subscribers. The Central government has also abysmally failed to tailor the exponential growth of the industry, at times even proving to be a hindrance to progress.
It was the national broadcaster Doordarshan (DD), with a mainly unwatchable channel, for many years, was the only electronically-transmitted audio-visual presence. This supremacy was challenged in January 1991 when the US embarked on a bombardment of Baghdad, in retaliation for Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait. From the rooftop of a Baghdad hotel, the Atlanta-based Cable News Network (CNN) was able to communicate the spectre of the aerial attack live via satellite to the whole world
When a word spread of this channel’s coverage, five-star hotels in India allocated rooms, otherwise utilized for banquets, to offer a ring-side view of the action. It was illegal to receive such a signal, under India’s archaic laws. But a force of technology was overtaking the nation, with the government frozen in bewilderment as the revolution rumbled on.
After a few months when Rajiv Gandhi was unspeakably blown to smithereens by a suicide bomber. Britain’s Independent Television News (ITN), in a world exclusive for electronic media, broke the story. Immediately, CNN, an associate of ITN, began broadcasting hourly updates.
Roughly 4, 00,000 households in India had satellite or cable connections on the night of the assassination and could keep abreast of developments. DD amazingly closed down without a mention of the incident, as its horrifying rule book precluded the extension of its transmission over the death of an opposition leader, which Gandhi then was.
In October 1992, with the advent of Zee TV, a Hindi general entertainment channel, that cable TV began expanding explosively. As word spread of this channel’s coverage, five-star hotels in India allocated rooms, otherwise utilized for banquets, to offer a ring-side view of the action. Today 68 m households in India have access to satellite and cable television. 54 m television households all over India have access to only terrestrial channels.
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