Round 1 To Liquor Lobby

THE tension was palpable. It was a meeting where I&B minister Sushma Swaraj was expected to speak her mind and tell the satellite television channels where to get off. But she failed to show up for the April 16 pow-wow, convened to draw up an advertising code for private broadcasters. The channels, represented by their heads, had little difficulty in wriggling out of a potentially sensitive corner. With Swaraj's deputy, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, too, crying off, I&B secretary Piyush Mankad, who had taken charge only the day before, was left holding the baby.

The outcome of the encounter: Swaraj's much-hyped plan to come down hard on liquor ads aired by the satellite channels has been put on hold until the law is fir-med up sufficiently. "The CEOs of the various private channels turned the tables on the government by arguing that they are not averse to playing by the rules if and when the rules are clearly framed," says an I&B ministry official. In the absence of a Broadcast Bill, the satellite channels continue to uplink from foreign soil and, therefore, can't be brought under the purview of the Indian law.

During its coverage of Election '98, STAR News generated over 30 per cent of its Rs 13-crore ad revenue from liquor commercials. And not all of them were surrogate ads. During live cricket telecasts, STAR Sports and ESPN make a killing from ads of alcoholic beverages because DD is not permitted to carry them.

The well-connected liquor lobby, on its part, has hired three lawyers, including DD newsreader Shivendra Kundra, to ascertain whether there's any legal problem in airing their ads on channels uplinking from outside India. Moreover, some of the channel heads have pointed out to Mankad that they are compelled to accept liquor ads because they are denied a level playing field: while DD can advertise just about any product, the satellite channels have to confine themselves to brands that are exported. "This must change," they told the I&B secretary.

With round one proving inconclusive, Sushma Swaraj will now have to wait until the Broadcast Bill is in place before she throws the next punch.