NaMo TV not a news channel but a "special service": Tata Sky CEO clarifies
The recently-launched NaMo TV, already under Opposition attack for violating the Model Code of Conduct, landed in fresh trouble when Tata Sky tweeted that it was a "Hindi news service"
- Apr 4, 2019,
- Updated Apr 4, 2019 5:45 PM IST
Tata Sky CEO Harit Nagpal today clarified that the tweets related to NaMo TV put up on the DTH service provider's official Twitter handle were incorrect and that the recently-launched channel was not a "Hindi news service". "NaMo TV is a Special Service," Nagpal told NDTV, adding, "Tata Sky carries many Special Services in different genres like Education, Self Help and so on ... Special Services do not need a licence."
Tata Sky users had taken to the social media platform to question why NaMo TV was suddenly showing up on their channel list despite not having subscribed to it. That's when the DTH player tweeted that "Channel no 512 is NAMO TV, it is a Hindi news service which provides the latest breaking news on national politics". Another user was told that "the channel is added to all the subscribers as a launch offer. There is no option to delete the individual channel".
This development had fanned the debate over the already-controversial channel. It hardly fitted in with the Information and Broadcasting ministry's stand before the Election Commission that NaMo TV is an advertising platform of the BJP and not a licenced channel. India has roughly 350 unlicensed channels that come alive during elections.
Tata Sky CEO Harit Nagpal today clarified that the tweets related to NaMo TV put up on the DTH service provider's official Twitter handle were incorrect and that the recently-launched channel was not a "Hindi news service". "NaMo TV is a Special Service," Nagpal told NDTV, adding, "Tata Sky carries many Special Services in different genres like Education, Self Help and so on ... Special Services do not need a licence."
Tata Sky users had taken to the social media platform to question why NaMo TV was suddenly showing up on their channel list despite not having subscribed to it. That's when the DTH player tweeted that "Channel no 512 is NAMO TV, it is a Hindi news service which provides the latest breaking news on national politics". Another user was told that "the channel is added to all the subscribers as a launch offer. There is no option to delete the individual channel".
This development had fanned the debate over the already-controversial channel. It hardly fitted in with the Information and Broadcasting ministry's stand before the Election Commission that NaMo TV is an advertising platform of the BJP and not a licenced channel. India has roughly 350 unlicensed channels that come alive during elections.