"Government should ensure facilitation not regulation," India Today Group Chairman Aroon Purie on broadcasting industry

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 7 (ANI): Aroon Purie, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief, India Today Group gave a keynote speech at FICCI FRAMES 2025 on Tuesday where he drew attention to the achievements of the Indian media, also offering an insight into a few challenges that the system encounters.
"In terms of shared volume, we are the undisputed global king of news media. I don't think any country has over one lakh 40 thousand registered publications. Just the city of Delhi wakes up to a dozen English newspapers on a regular basis, as many as regional newspapers. According to TRAI, we have 900 permitted satellite channels, out of which more than 324 are 24-hour news channels," he said.
Calling the Indian media, a "gigantic industry", Aroon Purie reflected how the supply has been continuous across several households, adding that a similar practice has prevailed in the broadcasting sector.
He shed light on the broadcasting media that have encountered certain issues.
"When cable channels were launched, the distribution system was lenient. Later, the broadcasters had to pay the cable operators' carriage fees to make it available to consumers. Even digitisation couldn't solve the issues with the fees. The TRAI regulations controlling the price of channels are another hindrance to allowing market forces to play," Purie said.
Aroon Purie explained how the employment figures have the potential to grow if the market forces are allowed to play and the government allows facilitation not regulation.
"In terms of the tensions that have happened and can happen, the government has made a mess of the broadcasting industry with the lack of foresight and aggressive policies. The role of the government should be to ensure a fair level with not regulations, but facilitation," he stated.
"Today, most of the news channels are losing money. The business model is already cracking. This must be the only business in the world that is losing money but offers a cue to people who want to get into it," Purie added.
The India Today Group Chairman addressed the "wave of digital" and explained how the digital advancement can fix the model and build a direct relationship with the reader.
"Google, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter have become the world's new editor-in-chief. They produce no journalism but controls its distribution," he said.
Aroon Purie said that disruption is a challenge to build a sustainble future based on the quality of the journalism.
"Disruption is not a problem, but a new normal. The challenge is to build a future where journalism is valuable. We survive on the stories we tell," he saod
This year FICCI FRAMES marks its silver jubilee and has been at the forefront of driving innovation, collaboration, and growth in the Media & Entertainment (M&E) industry. This year's theme is "RISE Together" - Reimagine, Innovate, Strengthen, Empower. (ANI)