Globalization and Television ― A Study of the Indian Experience, 1990-2010

This book explores the globalization and liberalization that has occurred in Indian television over the two decades starting from 1990. In India, this period has been marked by unprecedented change in television, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Since India gained its Independence in 1947, broadcasting was controlled by the state and used as a tool to assist in development. Things changed dramatically in the early 1990s with the entrance of transnational satellite broadcasters, which covered the subcontinent with their footprint. The growth of a domestic cable industry and the rise of indigenous private broadcasters were important developments that marked the latter half of the 1990s. The last two decades have seen growth in the media industry in India with the broadcasting sector expanding in size. New players and new distribution modes have also been significant in the period 2000-2010.

All this has significant implications for the role of the state. The theoretical framework used to explore developments in this industry is derived from James Rosenau's model of relocation of authority towards global and local levels, away from the nation state. The literature on the role of the state has also been examined with a view to understanding the response of the Indian state to massive changes occurring in broadcast and cable industries in the last two decades. Issues of policy formulation and regulation have also been examined at length.

Sunetra Sen Narayan examines the changing contours of this sector and the reactions of the Indian state to the processes of liberalization in the television sector. Issues such as the impact on the national broadcaster, Doordarshan, and the implications for regulation of this sector are considered. Based on content analysis, archival research and interviews, this book documents some of the major milestones in the liberalized television sector which has morphed into one of the largest and most dynamic ones in the world.

Sunetra Sen Narayan is Associate Professor, Indian Institute of Mass Communications, New Delhi.