NEW DELHI: The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) has put a bar on live telecast of any fresh footage from general entertainment channels, even as it says that a Designated News Broadcaster may broadcast a maximum of eight minutes of 'Fresh GE Footage per News Day', though it may be repeated as specified.

For fresh footage from general entertainment channels, the NBA has said there must be a minimum of at least seven minutes delay following the live broadcast of any 'Fresh GE Footage' by the host broadcaster.

According to the ‘NBA News Access Guidelines for General Entertainment Footage’ issued by the Association which is the apex body of news television channels, no more than three minutes of 'Fresh GE Footage' shall be used from any single programme of a general entertainment broadcaster.

At the outset, the guidelines state that the Designated News Broadcaster must bear in mind that general entertainment material is not central to the news genre and accordingly, general entertainment footage must be used sparingly (subject to the guidelines) and only when such footage has some intrinsic news value or which is connected to any news or current affairs being reported

It is stated that these News Access Guidelines shall govern the use of general entertainment footage by Designated News Broadcasters and shall be followed by all Members/Associate Members of the NBA.

A Designated News Broadcaster may use a maximum of two minutes of archival footage per news day which shall also be subject to the same restrictions as to repeat use as Fresh GE Footage.

However, the guidelines state that "use of any Footage (whether Fresh GE Footage or Archival Footage) in excess of the stipulations contained above shall be permissible only under separate contractual arrangements between the Designated News Broadcaster and a general entertainment broadcaster and not otherwise".

The Guidelines stress that the use of Fresh GE Footage and the use of Archival Footage is strictly limited in each case to use within news and/or current affairs programmes. "No use of Fresh GE Footage and/or Archival Footages is permitted in any circumstances for any commercial purposes," it is emphasised.

It has been further stated that ‘for the avoidance of doubt, a Designated News Broadcaster may commercially exploit a news and/or current affairs program within which Fresh GE Footage and/or Archival Footage is broadcast as a whole, in the regular course, through normal advertising/sponsorship breaks usual in programming of news channels, provided always that, no advertising, sting, logo, graphic and/or any other commercial (morphing) activity occurs immediately before, immediately after or during the Fresh GE Footage and/or Archival Footage and no association is created between the use of Fresh GE Footage and/or Archival Footage and any third party brand or product’.

The Guidelines stress that ‘Courtesy bug acknowledging the concerned Host Broadcaster must be pasted by the Designated News Broadcaster throughout the broadcast of any Fresh GE Footage and/or Archival Footage’.

The Guidelines say it will be permissible to repeat the Fresh GE Footage referred to above up to 2 times in a News Day – that is, Fresh GE Footage may be used on one premier and two repeats basis of the same footage.

But such restriction on repeats shall not apply to Fresh GE Footage of an Exceptional Occurrence of news value: any newsworthy occurrence of an extraordinary nature that happens in relation to a GE Program but outside the GE Programme or the event being broadcast by way of the GE Programme.

Footage made available to a Designated News Broadcaster as part of a Electronic Press Kit (EPK) shall be counted as part of the eight minutes stipulated above.

No footage or part thereof may be provided or made available by a Designated News Broadcaster to any third party, the Guidelines say.

Designated News Broadcasters must use the correct name of the GE programme and the 'GE Programme Logo' in any and all broadcasts in which the GE programme is mentioned or referred to, whether or not including the broadcast of any clips of Fresh GE Footage and/or Archival Footage.

If the 'GE Program Logo' gets covered by the logo of the Designated News Broadcaster, the Designated News Broadcaster must include a courtesy line extended at the bottom of, or elsewhere, on the screen.

In order to improve the quality of footage for use, Designated News Broadcaster may use footage received through Integrated Receiver-Decoders (IRDs) obtained from concerned general entertainment broadcasters under simple bilateral arrangements with such general entertainment broadcasters.

Except for footage received from a general entertainment broadcaster as part of EPK, Designated News Broadcaster alone shall be liable for any consequences arising from broadcast of any footage that may contain adult or otherwise inappropriate content during hours when such footage is not broadcast by the concerned general entertainment broadcaster. Regarding EPK footage, however, such liability (if any) shall be upon the general entertainment broadcaster.