WHAT IS TELEVISION CHANNEL?

 A TV Channel is by definition a physical or

virtual channel over which a television station
or television network is distributed. But for
most people it is the network on which one
gets to see different television programs. There
are thousands of TV channels around the
world.
Today TV is among the biggest form of mass communication. It
levels with News Paper and is next to only the Internet. As the
number of TV channels grew people became more and more
aware about TV and the kinds of services it offers. People can
now choose what they want to pay for, what they want to watch
and even when they want to watch. TV is as individual as it is
general. Each person watching TV, while hearing and viewing the
same thing, is perceiving something different. Each news channel
might report a similar news but people are aware enough to
decide which form of expression about the event they like and
want to follow. That is the reason why many channels falling
under the same category might offer content vastly different.
 TV had a lot of effect on our society. People now know more and better because of TV.
It acts as medium to bring news and information to all. As a mass communication
medium TV helped people be aware about the ills of the society and how to cure them.
TV also helped people to bring themselves in front of the world and be recognized.
Talent shows helped people be judges by experts and find their true fit. TV globalized its
audience and presented different cultures and different societies in touch of each
other. But at the same time TV was the harbinger of a number of problems. It resulted
in children being addicted to it, people changing their food habits and brought forth the
negative aspects of globalization. But amidst all this the TV market is growing leaps and
bounds. The number of TV channels are growing, the content and the variety of shows
is also improving. And above all with the advent of technology and integration of TV and
internet, people have on their hands the best of information they can.
HOW TO START A TV CHANNEL IN
INDIA?
Starting a new channel in Indian has become
more difficult than before. The Ministry of
Information and Broadcasting laid down
stricter guidelines in 2014, which will make it
difficult to start a new TV channel. Government
did this to prevent non-serious candidate from
entering the already crowded Indian
broadcasting scenario.
 Prerequisites& Capital – So how much does it cost to start a TV
channel? To start a new Non-news channel or current affairs
channel, the net worth of the company has to be INR 5 crore for
the first channel. To apply for a new news channel the net worth
of the company has to be a whooping INR 20 crore. The firms
applying for a licence have to start their channel within a year
of receiving the licence. But bar these pre-requisites you also
need to have a steady cash flow (to maintain operation during
the initial few months or years), a studio to produce your
content and a marketing team at the ready to help you launch
the channel.
 Revenue Sources – Once you have input the capital required for
initialising the operation, you wait for the next thing in line, revenue.
Once the channel starts operating on a full scale, there are a number
of ways to warn money. The most common of then is Ad revenue,
money earned by selling advertisement spots. Then come/s the
sponsorship, where a particular company sponsors some or all of
the content of that channel. Subscription is also a popular way to
earn money in this new age of DTH. Although this is applicable over
the carriage fee paid by channel to operators. Lastly the revenue
earned by Content Royalty Fee, or the money earned by selling your
already produced content to others you want to show it. Internet
has catapulted this new revenue stream, where websites now show
content produced for TV to reach larger audience.
 Content Creation – Once you are ready with the sum you need to start
preparing for creation of content for your TV. Following are the steps for
preparing shows for your channel. Remember that you can follow these
steps in any fashion as long as you get the job done. Also these steps will
have much wider definition based on the type of channel that you want to
start.
Step 1: Decide the type of channel you want to start. Make a list of the type of
shows that you wish to have on the show.
Step 2: Arrange for a studio. Every TV Channel needs a studio, and if you wish
to start a news channel your office will have to have the studio from where
the news is broadcasted. You can own a studio, but it is better to rent a
studio in the initial phase.

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Step 3: Gather a team to help you running the channel. You will
need people working marketing, finance, hiring for your shows.
Also you will need to hire clerical staff and low level
workers.
Step 4: Shoot shows or downlink shows from other channels.
Shooting your own show is pretty much the point of starting
your own channel, since there is more potential of revenues and
sponsorships. Although you can always downlink another
foreign channel under your name, process of which is on
Ministry if Information and Broadcasting’s website.
Next step is to register your channel so that you can start
uplinking
 How to Register – The procedure to start a TV channel in India differs
depending on the type of channel but the base method remain the same. The
following is a step by step process for uplinking a TV Channel from India.
It is a step by step process which involves a lot of thinking and
preparation.
Step 1: Licence for setting up of uplink hub – This is the step where you apply
for licence and state your agenda of starting a channel. After this step you
are officially working with the Ministry of Inf. & B to start a new channel.
Step 2: Permission/Approval for uplinking TV channel from India – This step
makes you a legitimate player who is willing to uplink his TV channel from
India for the world to see. You apply with the ministry and once you receive
the affidavit your form is sent for security clearance and clearance of
satellite use. After clearance the uplink permission is given following which
the owner can approach the up linking facility.
Step 3 (Optional): If you are a news agency, your licence of
uplinking is slightly different. You go through the same
clearance method but after clearance you need a No Objection
Certificate. After which you have to approach the Wireless
Planning Commission for maintaining its own operating and
maintenance facility. Finally the firm has to pay licence fee and
royalty as prescribed by the WPC for use of spectrum.
Step 4:Following all this you have to submit a number of forms to
show the shareholding pattern of the channel and the content
approval.
All these methods are mandatory for a person to
start operation of a channel. Once he/she
receives a licence, they must prepare a channel
to release within a year. Starting a TV channel
is really difficult, and maintaining it get
harder still. But with the right amount of
money and a solid team to back you, a TV
channel can be success in no time