ITV

Category: TRAI

  • TRAI may check broadcasters & distributors’ monopolistic behaviour

    TRAI may check broadcasters & distributors’ monopolistic behaviour

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India may intervene in case any monopolistic behaviour of significant market power (SMP) is observed or brought to its notice in future although it has decided not to regulate the market power at present.

    It said in its draft tariff orders that it will keep a watch on the developments after implementation of the new framework. It has noted that the monopolistic behaviour is well demonstrated by both, broadcasters as well as distributors of television channels. However, it says that it is prescribing a new framework for television broadcasting sector.

    In the consultation paper that has led to this draft, stakeholders had been asked to suggest whether there was a need to identify significant market powers. The stakeholders were also asked to suggest the criteria for classifying an entity as the a significant power.

    A majority of broadcasters felt that the issue of identifying SMPs was in the purview of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and there was no need for TRAI to do so. They also said the CCI provides adequate safeguards for preventing anti-competitive behaviour. A few broadcasters however favoured the idea of SMP identification and have given suggestions on identifying SMPs.

    A few distributors of television channels submitted that there was no need to identify SMPs while the others believed that such a distinction be made. Some distributors suggested that vertically integrated entities in the distribution sector be subjected to additional regulations.

    Also read

    I&B ministry to take up cable TV monopoly recommendations

  • TRAI may check broadcasters & distributors’ monopolistic behaviour

    TRAI may check broadcasters & distributors’ monopolistic behaviour

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India may intervene in case any monopolistic behaviour of significant market power (SMP) is observed or brought to its notice in future although it has decided not to regulate the market power at present.

    It said in its draft tariff orders that it will keep a watch on the developments after implementation of the new framework. It has noted that the monopolistic behaviour is well demonstrated by both, broadcasters as well as distributors of television channels. However, it says that it is prescribing a new framework for television broadcasting sector.

    In the consultation paper that has led to this draft, stakeholders had been asked to suggest whether there was a need to identify significant market powers. The stakeholders were also asked to suggest the criteria for classifying an entity as the a significant power.

    A majority of broadcasters felt that the issue of identifying SMPs was in the purview of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and there was no need for TRAI to do so. They also said the CCI provides adequate safeguards for preventing anti-competitive behaviour. A few broadcasters however favoured the idea of SMP identification and have given suggestions on identifying SMPs.

    A few distributors of television channels submitted that there was no need to identify SMPs while the others believed that such a distinction be made. Some distributors suggested that vertically integrated entities in the distribution sector be subjected to additional regulations.

    Also read

    I&B ministry to take up cable TV monopoly recommendations

  • The TRAI broadcasting & cable tariff order simplified

    The TRAI broadcasting & cable tariff order simplified

    MUMBAI: The industry could not have asked for a better Dusshera gift. On the eve of 11 October 2016, India’s telecom and TV distribution regulator  The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) announced two draft legislations  – The Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable Services) (Eighth) (Addressable Systems) Tariff Order, 2016 and Standards of Quality of Service and Consumer Protection (Digital Addressable Systems) Regulations, 2016 – that definitely look like progressing the stuck-in-quicksand-of-uncertainty broadcast TV and cable TV sector. More than that, they could possibly inject a modicum of organization, professionalism and structure to an otherwise disorganized-free-for-all TV distribution business.

    The first of the draft legislation attempts to put in place a pricing framework for the heavily conflicted cable TV distribution sector. The second seeks to upgrade the quality of services that MSOs, cable TV operators provide to the consumers. Both have been much-awaited pieces of legislation.

    The third which seeks to iron out the much-maligned and disputed subscription revenue stream that flows between broadcasters, MSOs, cable TV operators and consumers is expected to be announced soon.

    Let’s look at the pricing draft whose purpose TRAI says is to ensure:

    –       transparency, non-discrimination, non-exclusivity for all stakeholders in value chain
    –       affordable TV services for customers
    –       adequate choice to consumers
    –       balance the commercial interests of broadcasters and distributors of television  channels to enable the distributors of television channels to recover their network cost and the broadcasters to recover their content cost.

    The TRAI wants the new Tariff Order or the MRP pricing regime to become effective from 1 April 2017.In the new scheme, the authority has in detail defined the role of  broadcasters, LCOs and MSOs or HITS operators. This is an attempt to simplify the order for everyone to be able to understand it.

    The role of the broadcaster

    Under this, broadcasters will have to first declare their channels as a pay channel or a free to air channel, on an a  la carte basis, and in one of the following seven genres: devotional, general entertainment, infotainment, kids, movies, news and current affairs and sports. The TRAI has defined a ceiling on the maximum retail price (MRP) for each of the genres: devotional (Rs 3), general entertainment (Rs 12), infotainment (Rs 9), kids (Rs 7), movies (Rs 10), news and current affairs (Rs 5) and sports (Rs 19).

    Each pay channel has to have a MRP  that can vary depending on the region, but which cannot be changed before the expiry of six months of it being declared. These rates will be platform agnostic – that is, uniform across the platforms (cable TV, DTH, HITS and IPTV) across a relevant geographical market, and will have to be declared on each broadcaster’s website and be transparently available to the TRAI, TV distributors and consumers.

    The pay channels of a network or its subsidiary or holding company or subsidiary of the holding company can be packaged into a bouquet. This can be done while taking the precaution that the bouquet’s MRP is not less than 85 per cent of the sum of the MRPs of the a la carte pay channels forming a part of the bouquet. Similar conditions of holding prices for six months and in geographical areas also apply to bouquets.

    The TRAI has introduced a category called a premium channel. Broadcasters are free to notify any channel as premium channel in their reference interconnect order (RIO). There shall be no price cap on maximum retail price notified by broadcasters for customers. For HD channels, the regulatory authority has, however, stated the price cannot be more than three times the MRP of the corresponding channel transmitted in SD. For those HD channels that do not have a corresponding SD channel, the benchmark will be the ceiling on the MRP of the genre it is in. These independent HD channels will have a price ceiling of three times the ceiling of the MRP of the genre.

    As far as pay per view or VOD goes, the TRAI says it will bring it under its purview at a later date as these services are in their infancy in India and have minimal adoption.

    The television distributor’s role

    On the television distributor side, the TRAI has made them responsible to provide all channels on a la carte basis and it has also  proposed to formalize  a minimum subscription fee of Rs 130 per month per set top box from a subscriber for 100 SD channels.  Now if an HD channel is included in this, it will be equal to 2 SD channels.

    The TRAI has stated that TV distributors cannot change the bouquets formed by broadcasters or its price, but they can form bouquets themselves of pay channels of different broadcasters provided that their price is not less than 85 per cent of the sum of the MRPs of the pay channels forming part of the bouquet. Free to air, HD and SD variants of the same channel and premium channels are not permitted to be included in these bouquets.

    The authority says that the composition of the 100 channel basic tier should be left to the subscriber’s volition. It can consist of FTA, pay, premium channels, broadcast bouquets or even television distributor package bouquets. But it has to have the government mandated channels and at least five channels of each of the seven genres. If the subscriber opts for pay TV or premium or HD channels or broadcast or TV distributor bouquets, he will have to pay the retail price for these separately.

    Subscribers wanting channels beyond the basic tier can opt for other channels by paying the TV distributor Rs 20 – excluding taxes-  for each slab of 25 channels and the broadcaster the MRP of each channel.

    The TV distributors also have another responsibility. The electronic programming guide on the network must display the details of all channels and their MRP genre wise for easy navigation. Broadcasters who are relying on TV distributors to collect and remit the pay channel revenues will provide a 20 per cent distribution fee to them, which the latter can share with the LCOs who are actually doing the collection. Additionally, TV channels can also offer a maximum 15 per cent MRP discount to TV distributors to encourage them. Parameters for discounts will be disclosed by broadcasters in the RIOs that will be transparent and uniform for all distributors of television channels.

     

  • The TRAI broadcasting & cable tariff order simplified

    The TRAI broadcasting & cable tariff order simplified

    MUMBAI: The industry could not have asked for a better Dusshera gift. On the eve of 11 October 2016, India’s telecom and TV distribution regulator  The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) announced two draft legislations  – The Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable Services) (Eighth) (Addressable Systems) Tariff Order, 2016 and Standards of Quality of Service and Consumer Protection (Digital Addressable Systems) Regulations, 2016 – that definitely look like progressing the stuck-in-quicksand-of-uncertainty broadcast TV and cable TV sector. More than that, they could possibly inject a modicum of organization, professionalism and structure to an otherwise disorganized-free-for-all TV distribution business.

    The first of the draft legislation attempts to put in place a pricing framework for the heavily conflicted cable TV distribution sector. The second seeks to upgrade the quality of services that MSOs, cable TV operators provide to the consumers. Both have been much-awaited pieces of legislation.

    The third which seeks to iron out the much-maligned and disputed subscription revenue stream that flows between broadcasters, MSOs, cable TV operators and consumers is expected to be announced soon.

    Let’s look at the pricing draft whose purpose TRAI says is to ensure:

    –       transparency, non-discrimination, non-exclusivity for all stakeholders in value chain
    –       affordable TV services for customers
    –       adequate choice to consumers
    –       balance the commercial interests of broadcasters and distributors of television  channels to enable the distributors of television channels to recover their network cost and the broadcasters to recover their content cost.

    The TRAI wants the new Tariff Order or the MRP pricing regime to become effective from 1 April 2017.In the new scheme, the authority has in detail defined the role of  broadcasters, LCOs and MSOs or HITS operators. This is an attempt to simplify the order for everyone to be able to understand it.

    The role of the broadcaster

    Under this, broadcasters will have to first declare their channels as a pay channel or a free to air channel, on an a  la carte basis, and in one of the following seven genres: devotional, general entertainment, infotainment, kids, movies, news and current affairs and sports. The TRAI has defined a ceiling on the maximum retail price (MRP) for each of the genres: devotional (Rs 3), general entertainment (Rs 12), infotainment (Rs 9), kids (Rs 7), movies (Rs 10), news and current affairs (Rs 5) and sports (Rs 19).

    Each pay channel has to have a MRP  that can vary depending on the region, but which cannot be changed before the expiry of six months of it being declared. These rates will be platform agnostic – that is, uniform across the platforms (cable TV, DTH, HITS and IPTV) across a relevant geographical market, and will have to be declared on each broadcaster’s website and be transparently available to the TRAI, TV distributors and consumers.

    The pay channels of a network or its subsidiary or holding company or subsidiary of the holding company can be packaged into a bouquet. This can be done while taking the precaution that the bouquet’s MRP is not less than 85 per cent of the sum of the MRPs of the a la carte pay channels forming a part of the bouquet. Similar conditions of holding prices for six months and in geographical areas also apply to bouquets.

    The TRAI has introduced a category called a premium channel. Broadcasters are free to notify any channel as premium channel in their reference interconnect order (RIO). There shall be no price cap on maximum retail price notified by broadcasters for customers. For HD channels, the regulatory authority has, however, stated the price cannot be more than three times the MRP of the corresponding channel transmitted in SD. For those HD channels that do not have a corresponding SD channel, the benchmark will be the ceiling on the MRP of the genre it is in. These independent HD channels will have a price ceiling of three times the ceiling of the MRP of the genre.

    As far as pay per view or VOD goes, the TRAI says it will bring it under its purview at a later date as these services are in their infancy in India and have minimal adoption.

    The television distributor’s role

    On the television distributor side, the TRAI has made them responsible to provide all channels on a la carte basis and it has also  proposed to formalize  a minimum subscription fee of Rs 130 per month per set top box from a subscriber for 100 SD channels.  Now if an HD channel is included in this, it will be equal to 2 SD channels.

    The TRAI has stated that TV distributors cannot change the bouquets formed by broadcasters or its price, but they can form bouquets themselves of pay channels of different broadcasters provided that their price is not less than 85 per cent of the sum of the MRPs of the pay channels forming part of the bouquet. Free to air, HD and SD variants of the same channel and premium channels are not permitted to be included in these bouquets.

    The authority says that the composition of the 100 channel basic tier should be left to the subscriber’s volition. It can consist of FTA, pay, premium channels, broadcast bouquets or even television distributor package bouquets. But it has to have the government mandated channels and at least five channels of each of the seven genres. If the subscriber opts for pay TV or premium or HD channels or broadcast or TV distributor bouquets, he will have to pay the retail price for these separately.

    Subscribers wanting channels beyond the basic tier can opt for other channels by paying the TV distributor Rs 20 – excluding taxes-  for each slab of 25 channels and the broadcaster the MRP of each channel.

    The TV distributors also have another responsibility. The electronic programming guide on the network must display the details of all channels and their MRP genre wise for easy navigation. Broadcasters who are relying on TV distributors to collect and remit the pay channel revenues will provide a 20 per cent distribution fee to them, which the latter can share with the LCOs who are actually doing the collection. Additionally, TV channels can also offer a maximum 15 per cent MRP discount to TV distributors to encourage them. Parameters for discounts will be disclosed by broadcasters in the RIOs that will be transparent and uniform for all distributors of television channels.

     

  • Offer Premium channels as a la carte, don’t bundle: TRAI

    Offer Premium channels as a la carte, don’t bundle: TRAI

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, which issued draft DAS tariff earlier today, decided that a broadcaster will be free to declare any of its channels as ‘Premium’ so long as its maximum retail price is notified to the subscriber.

    TRAI considered all the issues relevant to the classification and pricing of ‘Premium channels’ recognising the fact that encouragement of quality content through a rational classification and a distinctly different ‘Premium’ pricing policy will benefit all.

    TRAI decided that the premium channels shall be offered only on a-la-carte basis to subscribers and shall not form a part of any bouquet or package in the entire value chain.

    The distributors of television channels will also display MRP of Premium channels in their EPG and also provide a special flag in EPG for easy identification of Premium channels by subscribers.

    It noted that, with a maturing TV audience, a demand was felt for content that may not have a mass following. This is borne by the fact that there have been an increasing number of channels that cater to a niche audience. A number of niche channel issues like redefinition, classification criteria, tariff fixation, gestation and related facets were posed for consultation.

    It noted that most stakeholders responded enthusiastically to the idea of redefining ‘Niche channel’ in the new scenario and their regulation in a manner that is different from mass viewing channels like general entertainment, etc. The stakeholders also expressed concerns about possible misuse if genre price cap is totally withdrawn for certain category of the content while submitting their suggestions for classification of such niche channels.

    TRAI noted that broadcasters provide popular content for mass viewing to get large viewership of their channels, and hence more revenue from advertisements. This has resulted in minimal investments in the development of content which is viewed by a select class of viewers. Such content is not limited to niche channels only; there is other type of content which has a select viewership such as education, health, and women welfare etc.

    The advertisement revenues for Premium channels may also be relatively limited due to the limited viewership. Therefore, TRAI is of the view that the MRP of a premium channel will be under forbearance. It can be argued that forbearance may allow the broadcasters to fix high MRP for premium channels. However, high MRP may deter customers to subscribe to such channels impacting the subscription as well as advertising revenue of a broadcaster. This will compel broadcasters to price their premium channels reasonably.

    The categorization of a ‘Premium channel’ will be agnostic of the content, format (SD/HD etc). Once a broadcaster has reported a channel as a ‘Premium channel’, it will continue to do as long as the broadcaster chooses to, subject to a minimum period of six months. Any reported change in the category of a ‘Premium channel’ to other genre would then be subject to the reporting related to the genres and associated ceilings.

  • Offer Premium channels as a la carte, don’t bundle: TRAI

    Offer Premium channels as a la carte, don’t bundle: TRAI

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, which issued draft DAS tariff earlier today, decided that a broadcaster will be free to declare any of its channels as ‘Premium’ so long as its maximum retail price is notified to the subscriber.

    TRAI considered all the issues relevant to the classification and pricing of ‘Premium channels’ recognising the fact that encouragement of quality content through a rational classification and a distinctly different ‘Premium’ pricing policy will benefit all.

    TRAI decided that the premium channels shall be offered only on a-la-carte basis to subscribers and shall not form a part of any bouquet or package in the entire value chain.

    The distributors of television channels will also display MRP of Premium channels in their EPG and also provide a special flag in EPG for easy identification of Premium channels by subscribers.

    It noted that, with a maturing TV audience, a demand was felt for content that may not have a mass following. This is borne by the fact that there have been an increasing number of channels that cater to a niche audience. A number of niche channel issues like redefinition, classification criteria, tariff fixation, gestation and related facets were posed for consultation.

    It noted that most stakeholders responded enthusiastically to the idea of redefining ‘Niche channel’ in the new scenario and their regulation in a manner that is different from mass viewing channels like general entertainment, etc. The stakeholders also expressed concerns about possible misuse if genre price cap is totally withdrawn for certain category of the content while submitting their suggestions for classification of such niche channels.

    TRAI noted that broadcasters provide popular content for mass viewing to get large viewership of their channels, and hence more revenue from advertisements. This has resulted in minimal investments in the development of content which is viewed by a select class of viewers. Such content is not limited to niche channels only; there is other type of content which has a select viewership such as education, health, and women welfare etc.

    The advertisement revenues for Premium channels may also be relatively limited due to the limited viewership. Therefore, TRAI is of the view that the MRP of a premium channel will be under forbearance. It can be argued that forbearance may allow the broadcasters to fix high MRP for premium channels. However, high MRP may deter customers to subscribe to such channels impacting the subscription as well as advertising revenue of a broadcaster. This will compel broadcasters to price their premium channels reasonably.

    The categorization of a ‘Premium channel’ will be agnostic of the content, format (SD/HD etc). Once a broadcaster has reported a channel as a ‘Premium channel’, it will continue to do as long as the broadcaster chooses to, subject to a minimum period of six months. Any reported change in the category of a ‘Premium channel’ to other genre would then be subject to the reporting related to the genres and associated ceilings.

  • TRAI tariff & quality of services regulations

    TRAI tariff & quality of services regulations

    NEW DELHI: The maximum retail price of a general entertainment television channel under the digital addressable system cannot exceed Rs 12 and that of a sports channel cannot go above Rs 19, according to the draft of the DAS tariff order issued by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

    The maximum prices of other genres are: movies – Rs 10, infotainment – Rs nine, kids – Rs seven, news and current affairs – Rs five, and devotional – Rs three.

    Even as the TRAI permitted broadcasters to offer bouquets if they wish to, it has said that the total price of the bouquet will not exceed 85 per cent of the total individual price of each of the channels in such a bouquet.

    Furthermore, as consumers are often unsure of the fact that free to air channels are not be charged, the Authority has decided that bouquets of pay channels and FTA channels have to be separate — there can be no bundling of pay and FTA channels both, at the broadcaster as well as at the distributor of television channels level, as it will help to reduce forced bundling of packages with FTA channels in view of fixed fee/CPS deals being executed by the broadcasters. The Tariff order states that broadcasters will have to qualify a channel as a pay TV or a free channel.

    All stakeholders have been asked to respond to the tariff order draft by 24 October, after which TRAI will form its final opinion and issue the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable Services) (Eighth) (Addressable Systems) Tariff Order 2016.

    The maximum retail price of a pay channel transmitted in SD format in a given genre shall not exceed the rate specified for such genre.  

    The maximum retail price of a pay channel transmitted in HD format shall not be more than three times the maximum retail price of corresponding channel transmitted in SD format, But if the corresponding SD channel of a HD channel is not available, the maximum retail price of such HD channel shall not exceed three times the rate specified for corresponding genre.

    The ceiling on maximum retail price shall apply to all the existing pay channels as well as to new pay channels that are launched or converted from free to air channel to pay channel after the commencement of this tariff order.

    In the new framework, the number of genres has been reduced to 7 from existing 11. Some of the existing genres have been grouped together to form a new genre, while some genres have been retained.

    In case a genre has been retained as it is, the maximum retail price of a channel to the customer in that genre will be 1.20 times the existing price cap for that genre for addressable systems. In case, multiple genres have been clubbed to form a new genre, maximum retail price of a channel in that genre to the customer will be 1.20 times the existing price cap of that genre which has the highest price cap for addressable systems.

    Meanwhile, TRAI also issued a draft of the Standards of Quality of Service and Consumer Protection (Digital Addressable Systems) Regulations, 2016 and wanted stakeholders to react to these by 25 October 2016.

    The broadcaster will have to ensure that the maximum retail price of such bouquet of pay channels in a relevant geographical area shall be uniform for all distribution platforms in that area; that it should not contain any free to air channel or HD or SD variants of the same channels or any premium channels.

    The Q of S Regulations have addressed almost every aspect of the cable TV ecosystem going forward fixing the responsibility of the broadcaster, the cable TV platform, the distributor and consumer. It covers everything from subscriber management systems to disconnection and reconnection of services to a la carte pricing to package pricing to the tariffs that can be charged by cable TV operators, MSOs, and broadcasters to billing to creating consumer awareness about DAS. 

    Referring to the discussions it held with stakeholders, TRAI says the Authority had prescribed a genre-ceiling subject to inflation linked hikes. All the channels have to prescribe channel rate in accordance with the applicable genre-ceilings in non-addressable and addressable systems.

    Some broadcasters had submitted that they agree with genre-wise pricing, maximum and minimum defined for channel pricing with regular revision of caps from time to time.

    Broadcasters have also submitted that the price cap should be based on channel popularity, number of channels in a particular genre and actual viewership based on distributor of television channels disclosures. They have further opined that a maximum of 33% discount on wholesale price across all genres must be allowed with the frequency to revisit genre ceilings be 1 to 2 years.

    A majority of the distributors of television channels have submitted that the price caps may be determined by TRAI using the existing commercial agreements data filed with TRAI.

    According to them, one such method to arrive the genre-wise price caps can be a simple average of current RIO rates of channels in a genre. Most of the distributors of television channels have further submitted that there exists and inverse relation between price of a channel and popularity-viewership. As a-la-carte rates increase, penetration of the channel decreases thereby decreasing ad-revenue. They are of the opinion that a maximum of 40-50% discounts should be allowed on the RIO rates for fair and non-discriminatory pricing of channels to all the distributors of television channels. They further suggested that the frequency to revisit genre ceilings may be 1- 5 years.

    The existing framework for genre ceiling is working well. Therefore in order to have continuity, the Authority is of the view that existing genre ceiling should continue. However, in the new framework, broadcasters will provide distribution fee of 20% on the MRP to distributors of television channels. Accordingly, the Authority has proposed a new genre-ceiling for MRP to customers with adequate scope to cater for additional business margins at 20% of the existing genre ceilings for addressable systems. It is expected that the prices will be regulated by the market forces based on the demand of channels or TRP.

    Also Read:  TRAI releases draft tariff & consumer DAS regulations

  • TRAI tariff & quality of services regulations

    TRAI tariff & quality of services regulations

    NEW DELHI: The maximum retail price of a general entertainment television channel under the digital addressable system cannot exceed Rs 12 and that of a sports channel cannot go above Rs 19, according to the draft of the DAS tariff order issued by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

    The maximum prices of other genres are: movies – Rs 10, infotainment – Rs nine, kids – Rs seven, news and current affairs – Rs five, and devotional – Rs three.

    Even as the TRAI permitted broadcasters to offer bouquets if they wish to, it has said that the total price of the bouquet will not exceed 85 per cent of the total individual price of each of the channels in such a bouquet.

    Furthermore, as consumers are often unsure of the fact that free to air channels are not be charged, the Authority has decided that bouquets of pay channels and FTA channels have to be separate — there can be no bundling of pay and FTA channels both, at the broadcaster as well as at the distributor of television channels level, as it will help to reduce forced bundling of packages with FTA channels in view of fixed fee/CPS deals being executed by the broadcasters. The Tariff order states that broadcasters will have to qualify a channel as a pay TV or a free channel.

    All stakeholders have been asked to respond to the tariff order draft by 24 October, after which TRAI will form its final opinion and issue the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable Services) (Eighth) (Addressable Systems) Tariff Order 2016.

    The maximum retail price of a pay channel transmitted in SD format in a given genre shall not exceed the rate specified for such genre.  

    The maximum retail price of a pay channel transmitted in HD format shall not be more than three times the maximum retail price of corresponding channel transmitted in SD format, But if the corresponding SD channel of a HD channel is not available, the maximum retail price of such HD channel shall not exceed three times the rate specified for corresponding genre.

    The ceiling on maximum retail price shall apply to all the existing pay channels as well as to new pay channels that are launched or converted from free to air channel to pay channel after the commencement of this tariff order.

    In the new framework, the number of genres has been reduced to 7 from existing 11. Some of the existing genres have been grouped together to form a new genre, while some genres have been retained.

    In case a genre has been retained as it is, the maximum retail price of a channel to the customer in that genre will be 1.20 times the existing price cap for that genre for addressable systems. In case, multiple genres have been clubbed to form a new genre, maximum retail price of a channel in that genre to the customer will be 1.20 times the existing price cap of that genre which has the highest price cap for addressable systems.

    Meanwhile, TRAI also issued a draft of the Standards of Quality of Service and Consumer Protection (Digital Addressable Systems) Regulations, 2016 and wanted stakeholders to react to these by 25 October 2016.

    The broadcaster will have to ensure that the maximum retail price of such bouquet of pay channels in a relevant geographical area shall be uniform for all distribution platforms in that area; that it should not contain any free to air channel or HD or SD variants of the same channels or any premium channels.

    The Q of S Regulations have addressed almost every aspect of the cable TV ecosystem going forward fixing the responsibility of the broadcaster, the cable TV platform, the distributor and consumer. It covers everything from subscriber management systems to disconnection and reconnection of services to a la carte pricing to package pricing to the tariffs that can be charged by cable TV operators, MSOs, and broadcasters to billing to creating consumer awareness about DAS. 

    Referring to the discussions it held with stakeholders, TRAI says the Authority had prescribed a genre-ceiling subject to inflation linked hikes. All the channels have to prescribe channel rate in accordance with the applicable genre-ceilings in non-addressable and addressable systems.

    Some broadcasters had submitted that they agree with genre-wise pricing, maximum and minimum defined for channel pricing with regular revision of caps from time to time.

    Broadcasters have also submitted that the price cap should be based on channel popularity, number of channels in a particular genre and actual viewership based on distributor of television channels disclosures. They have further opined that a maximum of 33% discount on wholesale price across all genres must be allowed with the frequency to revisit genre ceilings be 1 to 2 years.

    A majority of the distributors of television channels have submitted that the price caps may be determined by TRAI using the existing commercial agreements data filed with TRAI.

    According to them, one such method to arrive the genre-wise price caps can be a simple average of current RIO rates of channels in a genre. Most of the distributors of television channels have further submitted that there exists and inverse relation between price of a channel and popularity-viewership. As a-la-carte rates increase, penetration of the channel decreases thereby decreasing ad-revenue. They are of the opinion that a maximum of 40-50% discounts should be allowed on the RIO rates for fair and non-discriminatory pricing of channels to all the distributors of television channels. They further suggested that the frequency to revisit genre ceilings may be 1- 5 years.

    The existing framework for genre ceiling is working well. Therefore in order to have continuity, the Authority is of the view that existing genre ceiling should continue. However, in the new framework, broadcasters will provide distribution fee of 20% on the MRP to distributors of television channels. Accordingly, the Authority has proposed a new genre-ceiling for MRP to customers with adequate scope to cater for additional business margins at 20% of the existing genre ceilings for addressable systems. It is expected that the prices will be regulated by the market forces based on the demand of channels or TRP.

    Also Read:  TRAI releases draft tariff & consumer DAS regulations

  • TRAI releases draft tariff & consumer DAS regulations

    TRAI releases draft tariff & consumer DAS regulations

    MUMBAI: The draft cable TV tariff and quality of services (consumer protection) orders have been talked about for a long time. But the wait is over now as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released two of them a short while ago on its website. Called the Consultation on the draft Standards of Quality of Service and Consumer Protection (Digital addressable systems) Regulations, 2016 and the Consultation on the draft Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable Services) (Eighth) (Addressable Systems) Tariff Order, 2016 both seek to keep the consumer at the centre of cable TV ecosystem.

    The Tariff order states that broadcasters will have to qualify a channel as a pay TV or a free channel. They will have to offer pay channels on an a la carte basis and they can also offer them on a bouquet basis provided the maximum retail price of such bouquet of pay channels shall not be less than eighty five percent of the sum of maximum retail prices of the a-la-carte pay channels forming part of the bouquet. Additionally, the
    broadcaster will have to ensure that the maximum retail price of such bouquet of pay channels in a relevant geographical area shall be uniform for all distribution platforms in that area; that it should not contain any free to air channel or HD or SD variants of the same channels or any premium channels.

    The quality of service regulations have addressed almost every aspect of the cable TV ecosystem going forward fixing the responsibility of the broadcaster, the cable TV platform, the distributor and consumer. It covers everything from subscriber management systems to disconnection and reconnection of services to a la carte pricing to package pricing to the tariffs that can be charged by both cable TV operators, MSOs, and broadcasters to billing to creating consumer awareness about DAS.

    The digitalization of cable TV has been in a bit of a limbo specially in Phase III areas as it has been a High Court order to mandate the switch off of analogue signals. With this draft regulations, coming in, the industry should have some idea about the direction the cable TV ecosystem is headed, once implemented.

    For further details keep logged in.

  • TRAI releases draft tariff & consumer DAS regulations

    TRAI releases draft tariff & consumer DAS regulations

    MUMBAI: The draft cable TV tariff and quality of services (consumer protection) orders have been talked about for a long time. But the wait is over now as the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) released two of them a short while ago on its website. Called the Consultation on the draft Standards of Quality of Service and Consumer Protection (Digital addressable systems) Regulations, 2016 and the Consultation on the draft Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable Services) (Eighth) (Addressable Systems) Tariff Order, 2016 both seek to keep the consumer at the centre of cable TV ecosystem.

    The Tariff order states that broadcasters will have to qualify a channel as a pay TV or a free channel. They will have to offer pay channels on an a la carte basis and they can also offer them on a bouquet basis provided the maximum retail price of such bouquet of pay channels shall not be less than eighty five percent of the sum of maximum retail prices of the a-la-carte pay channels forming part of the bouquet. Additionally, the
    broadcaster will have to ensure that the maximum retail price of such bouquet of pay channels in a relevant geographical area shall be uniform for all distribution platforms in that area; that it should not contain any free to air channel or HD or SD variants of the same channels or any premium channels.

    The quality of service regulations have addressed almost every aspect of the cable TV ecosystem going forward fixing the responsibility of the broadcaster, the cable TV platform, the distributor and consumer. It covers everything from subscriber management systems to disconnection and reconnection of services to a la carte pricing to package pricing to the tariffs that can be charged by both cable TV operators, MSOs, and broadcasters to billing to creating consumer awareness about DAS.

    The digitalization of cable TV has been in a bit of a limbo specially in Phase III areas as it has been a High Court order to mandate the switch off of analogue signals. With this draft regulations, coming in, the industry should have some idea about the direction the cable TV ecosystem is headed, once implemented.

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