INTERNATIONAL satellite broadcasters are scuttling to prove their commitment to culturally sensitive programming as India's regulatory authorities threaten new restrictions.
Gary Davey, chief executive of STAR TV Hong Kong, told the India Satellite and Cable TV conference here that STAR would not risk giving offence.
'Offence is extremely bad for business,' he said.
Meanwhile Baskhar, Pant, president of Turner International, India, emphasised that his movies and cartoons were popular whole family viewing. The company's policy 'meets the concerns of family viewing', he said.
The broadcasters' assurances, which reflect the importance of the 45 million television-home Indian market to their international strategies, came as government officials and public broadcasters lined up to demand more responsible programming.
The Minister for Information and Broadcasting, P A Sangma, warned: 'We should not let our country be a dumping ground for unwholesome software.' He said the danger of satellite-based multi-channel communication bringing the whole world to Indian homes was that 'children and adolescents of impressionable age get exposed to lifestyles and values non-consistent with their social, geopolitical and economic environment'.