With polls to four states scheduled for next month, the Election Commission has issued a warning to television channels (including national broadcaster Doordarshan) to be impartial in their coverage and not to favour any one individual or political party.

The circular issued by the poll panel reportedly states: "A model code of conduct is established for television to ensure it is not misused but used in the best interest of democracy and the voter."

DD has been given a circular which states: "It is emphasised that being a public broadcaster all Doordrashan news and programme units should take extra care to ensure fair and balanced coverage of the political activities in the news bulletins and programmes. It should also be ensured that feeds to the New Delhi central newsroom are also fair and balanced.

The EC has instructed DD to ensure "adequate coverage to the Election Commission and the state electoral offices for the preparation of a fair poll."

Channels have been told to refrain from:

• Coverage of speeches and material inciting communal violence.
• A single candidate in any particular consituency must not be covered. Candidates from all known political outfits contesting in a constituency should be covered.

All producers should also record a copy of their programmes, the EC has said.

The states going to the polls are Punjab (13 February), Manipur (14 February, Uttaranchal (14 February) and Uttar Pradesh (two phases - 14 February & 18 February).

‘Broadband Outlook 2002: Vision, Strategy, Implementation‘, to be held in Washington on 23 January, aims at exploring cutting-edge trends in broadband business, policy, programming and technology. It will also try to offer unique insights into the future of this fast-paced, dynamic marketplace.

The conference will tackle questions such as:

a) What new services are on tap for 2002 and where will they appear? On the TV? On the PC? On both?

b) When will interactive TV arrive and, more importantly, do consumers want it? What are the limits that consumers are willing to pay for faster Internet connections, pay-for-play streaming services, and interactive TV?

c) What role do broadband communications play in times of crisis and how secure are broadband networks?

d) Are cable companies, telcos, satellite providers and wireless companies technologically ready to deliver on the promise of broadband? Which broadband architecture is best positioned to offer the range of new interactive TV and voice services? What new blueprints are on the drawing board?

e) Will more capital flow to broadband companies due to the importance of communications during times of conflict? Will streaming media gain steam as broadband penetration increases?

f ) What are the financial challenges facing broadband service and content providers? Which new broadband services are investors betting on?

g) Does the government have stake in ensuring broadband network reliability and service in times of national emergencies? How does broadband change the policy landscape and what are the pressing challenges for 2002?

h) Is interactive TV a threat to consumer privacy? Will new laws help or hinder the development of new broadband services?

i) Which broadband medium - cable, satellite, telco or wireless - will win the broadband race?

j) Will the growing number of alliances and cross-ownership linkages among ISPs, phone companies and cable operators speed the penetration of broadband? How will these alliances and linkages shape competition in broadband.

Former Federal Communications Commission chairman Richard E. Wiley will introduce the day‘s keynote speakers. There will be an expanded speaker lineup for panels on business models, financial prospects, programming, and technology. The speakers include the senior V-P of Advanced Broadband Services, AT&T Broadband Susan Marshall, VP, Earthlink Communications, Tom Andrus, CTO, Charter Communications Steve Silva, CEO, Intertainer, Jonathan Taplin, VP of Interactive Services, Sony Corp. of America, Saul Shapiro, East Coast managing editor, MSNBC.com Michael Silberman, and VP of Broadband and Interactive Services, ESPN Manish Jha.

Cahners Publishing has signed on as a conference sponsor, joining the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA), Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), and Broadband Daily. Cahners publishes Multichannel News, Broadband Week, and Broadcasting & Cable.

For all Indian radio FM wannabes, Mumbai is the jewel in the crown. And Radio City, the Star India-backed station, is hoping to see services being launched by April-end, industry sources indicate.

A major hold-up so far has been where to locate the FM towers. Music Broadcast Private Limited (MBPL), the company promoting Radio City, is looking for a suitable location in the centre of the city and while one or two places have been shortlisted, a final decision is still to be made, sources say.

Sumantra Dutta, Star India‘s head of FM operations, however, says that an official communication from the government is still awaited. According to Dutta, the government is still to issue an interim power clearance order and only after that could there be any talk of launching services.

Be that as it may, all the backend for starting operations is almost in place. Sources confirm that 10,000 square feet space in the IL&FS building at the Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai has been taken up which will house Radio City. While reports say Radio City will move into the new office by early February, this could not be independently confirmed.

Dutta, meanwhile, confirmed that MBPL was re-evaluating the viability of starting FM operations in Patna and Nagpur, two of the six cities (Bangalore, Lucknow, Mumbai and Delhi being the others) for which it had secured licenses. Dutta said the depressed economic scenario that currently exists meant the yearly licence fees of Rs 47.5 million for Patna and Rs 74 million for Nagpur were too steep for any worthwhile returns on investment.

If MBPL does drop its FM plans for Patna and Nagpur, it stands to forfeit the bank guarantees it gave for securing the licenses. This is equivalent to one year‘s licence fees for each city.

Star India supplies content and provides sales and marketing support to MBPL?s investments in radio while the venture has been promoted by the PK Mittal Group.

Prasar Bharati seems to have taken criticism by the parliamentary committee on information technology on its poor marketing efforts seriously.

For, its new baby DD Bharati will have a private ad agency prepare a high pitch campaign for the youth, culture and entertainment channel, rather than the staid old Department of Audiovisual Publicity (DAVP) dishing out the usual release prior to its launch on 26 January, Republic Day.

Reports say at least five agencies, including Mudra, Lintas and Crayon, are making a pitch for the account that will be finalised shortly. The pubcaster is obviously not leaving any stone unturned in its effort to make Bharati a winner. DD has tied up with several organisations including the Discovery Channel, the Technology Media Group, Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts and Morepen Labs for content.

TMG will produce software for a daily one hour branded slot on infotech, while Morepen will provide content for a daily one-hour slot on healthcare. DD Bharati has already tied up with IGNCA for a slot on culture and may sign an agreement with Discovery for access to international nature and adventure software.

DD Bharati has also finalised a new logo for itself.

On paper at least, the preparations for DD‘s new arrival seem to be spot on. How this translates in terms of viewers‘ response will in part depend on whether there is a match between intent and actuality.