Mumbai, May 04: The information and broadcasting ministry will no longer have to play moral guardian to the Indian television industry about the content telecast on its channels.
The channels will now classify shows with “mature content” as ‘ restricted access’ and shift them to the 11 pm to 5 am slot.
This is part of a self- regulatory mechanism put in place by general entertainment and nonnews channels.
Earlier, the ministry had ordered the time slots for shows like Rakhi Ka Insaaf and Bigg Boss to be changed. But such actions were viewed by TV channels as infringement on their freedom.
The broadcasters have now come out with self- regulatory guidelines and have set up a regulatory body to be headed by former chief justice of Delhi High Court A. P. Shah.
The guidelines were announced by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation, an umbrella body of broadcasters, in its board meeting on Monday. They will not affect news or advertisements telecast on the channels.
The remaining programmes, to be called ‘ generally accessible’, can be scheduled at any time.
This was necessitated as certain programmes, including saasbahu serials, reality shows and even cartoons, reportedly offended viewers’ sensibilities.
Now, viewers can register a complaint to a channel in case of violation of the guidelines. If there is no satisfactory reply, the matter can be referred to the Broadcast Content Complaints Council.
–Agencies