India's Parliament has finalized broadcast guidelines for adult content on late night television. According to the newly-adopted Broadcast Bill, channels will now be able to air adult content between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. The bill marks the first instance of the Indian government specifying a content code for TV programming.
According to the report, the new rating system will be monitored by a panel; however, the methodology for the constitution of the panel and its members remains unclear. The panel will also be charged with overseeing violations to the new code of conduct for television channels.
Some industry experts see the addition of adult channels as possibly leading to a considerable rise in viewership and ad revenues during those late hours. However, Paritosh Joshi, president of ad sales and distribution at STAR India, told the Economic Times that ad jumps might look marginal due to the fact that "the only directly sexual product category that is currently advertised in India is condoms." Direct advertising of products such as alcohol and tobacco is banned, he pointed out.
"It is a good beginning," Piyush Pandey, group president and national creative manager at O&M India, told the Economic Times. "Allowing airing of adult content could generate interest from advertisers of products such as condoms."
