Satellite channel guidelines have been revised by the I&B ministry in October, 2011.

• the net worth criteria has been revised. For the news channels, it will be Rs 20 crore (up from Rs 3 crore earlier). For the non-news channel, the net worth criteria will be Rs 5 crore (up from Rs 1.5 crore earlier).
• the operationalisation of the TV channel should be within a year from the date of permission.
• non-news channels will have to sign a Performance-Bank-Guarantee (PBG) of Rs 1 crore, whereas N&CA channels will have to give a PBG of Rs 2 crore.
• if the channel is not operationalised within a year, the PBG will be forfeited and permission cancelled.
• one of the persons occupying the top management position in the applicant company should have a minimum three years prior experience in a media company.
• renewal of permissions will be considered for a period of 10 years at a time.
• the channel should not have been guilty of violating the conditions of permission, including violations of the Programme and Advertising Code on five occasions or more.
• any proposal of merger, demerger and amalgamation will be allowed under the provisions of the Companies Act, but only after obtaining permission from I&B ministry.