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Tag: IBF

  • Supreme Court defers NTO 2.0 hearing to 15 February 2022

    Supreme Court defers NTO 2.0 hearing to 15 February 2022

    Mumbai: The Supreme Court bench of Justices UU Lalit, S Ravindra Bhat, and Bela Trivedi has deferred hearing in the New Tariff Order (NTO) 2.0 case to 15 February 2022. The matter pertains to a bunch of petitions filed by IBDF and certain broadcasters against the Bombay high court order on the implementation of the NTO 2.0.

    In October, the apex court had refused to consider the petitioners’ request for interim relief, and posted the case for final disposal on 30 November.

    The NTO 2.0 passed in January 2020 seeks to cap the pay channel price at Rs 12 from the existing Rs 19. After a legal tussle that lasted over a year, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had managed to get a green signal from the Bombay high court on its implementation on 30 June. 

    The division bench of Bombay HC had upheld the constitutional validity of NTO 2.0, but partly struck down the second provision of the twin conditions as “arbitrary.” As per the second provision, the a-la-carte rates of each pay channel (MRP), forming part of a bouquet, shall in no case exceed three times the average rate of a pay channel of the bouquet of which such pay channel is a part.

    The Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF), an umbrella organisation of private TV broadcasters and a couple of other private channels had moved the SC in July against the Bombay high court judgement which had upheld the constitutionality of the NTO 2.0.

    Earlier this month, Trai moved the deadline for implementation of NTO 2.0 to 1 April 2022 from 1 December 2021. Distribution platforms like DTH and cable will have to seek subscriber choice till 31 March 2022. 

    As per Trai, broadcasters will have to publish new reference interconnection offers (RIOs) to Trai by 31 December, and simultaneously publish the required information about channel and bouquet offerings and their MRPs on their websites. Broadcasters who have already submitted their RIOs in compliance with NTO 2.0 can revise it by 31 December, it said.

    Several large networks including ETV, Discovery Communications, Sun TV, Times Networks, Zeel, SPNI, and others had come out with their new RIOs in October-November.

  • Supreme Court to hold final hearing in NTO 2.0 case today

    Supreme Court to hold final hearing in NTO 2.0 case today

    Mumbai: The Supreme Court is all set to hold the final hearing in the NTO 2.0 case on Tuesday. The matter pertains to a bunch of petitions filed against the Bombay high court order regarding the implementation of the New Tariff Order (NTO) 2.0 issued by the telecom regulator.

    After a legal tussle that lasted over a year, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had managed to get a green signal from the Bombay high court on 30 June on the implementation of the amended NTO 2.0. The division bench of Bombay HC had upheld the constitutional validity of NTO 2.0, but partly struck down the second provision of the twin conditions as “arbitrary”. As per the second provision, the a-la-carte rates of each pay channel (MRP), forming part of a bouquet, shall in no case exceed three times the average rate of a pay channel of the bouquet of which such pay channel is a part.

    The Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF), an umbrella organisation of private TV broadcasters and a couple of other private channels had moved the SC in July against the Bombay high court judgment which had upheld the constitutionality of the NTO 2.0.

    The NTO 2.0 passed in January 2020 seeks to cap the pay channel price at Rs 12 from the existing Rs 19.

    Earlier this month, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) moved the deadline for implementation of NTO 2.0 to 1 April 2022 from 1 December 2021. Distribution platforms like DTH and cable will have to seek subscriber choice till 31 March 2022. 

    As per Trai, broadcasters will have to publish new reference interconnection offers (RIOs) to Trai by 31 December, and simultaneously publish the required information about channel and bouquet offerings and their MRPs on their websites. Broadcasters who have already submitted their RIOs in compliance with NTO 2.0 can revise it by 31 December, it said.

  • Twin conditions ensure broadcasters do not engage in ‘perverse’ pricing: TRAI

    Twin conditions ensure broadcasters do not engage in ‘perverse’ pricing: TRAI

    Mumbai: The twin conditions introduced in the New Tariff Order (NTO) 2.0 seek to ensure that broadcasters do not engage in “perverse pricing”; that consumers do not get a raw deal; and that choices offered by and to all market participants remain real. Both conditions are important in their own ways, observed Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

    The regulator made these statements in its counter-affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court quashing the writ petitions by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) and other broadcasters to halt the implementation of NTO 2.0.

    The twin conditions introduced in the NTO 2.0 seek to discourage unfair bundling, stated TRAI. The first condition prescribes that the aggregate a-la-carte (MRP) prices of channels in a bouquet must not be more than 1.5 times the bouquet price, hereafter referred to as the “Aggregate Test”. So, if a bouquet has five channels A, B, C, D, and E (with their individual a-la-carte) and a bouquet price of X, the total/aggregate of A+B+C+D+E should not be more than 1.5 times X.

    The second condition, which alone has been struck down by the Bombay high court judgement, states that the MRP of any individual channel in a bouquet, i.e., its a-la-carte price, should not exceed three times the average MRP of a pay channel in that bouquet, hereafter referred to as the “Average Test”.

    TRAI alleges that broadcasters want to maximize their advertising revenue and hence are bundling their popular channels along with less popular channels to claim higher subscription and advertising revenues. The high-demand channels that do not need to be pushed, henceforth called driver channels, are bundled with those channels in which consumers otherwise have no interest.

    “In a large number of cases bouquet prices are the same as the a-la-carte price of the driver/popular channel. In many cases, the bouquet price artificially has reached such perversity that the bouquet price is cheaper than the driver channel in it,” observed TRAI.

    This perverse pricing compels the consumer to pick a bouquet over a-la-carte channel not by choice but out of compulsion, it alleged. 

    In a prior hearing, SC expressed three concerns with NTO 2.0 order: a) Whether the “Average Test” in the twin conditions formed a part of the pre-consultation process b) Are broadcasters and DPOs being treated equally c) Is “Average Test” severable from “Aggregate Test”.

    Referring to a) TRAI responded, “Both twin conditions were fully deliberated on prior to making of the 2020 framework. There is ample correspondence between TRAI and the broadcasters concerning the implementation of the twin conditions. Even the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has found broadcasters to be in violation of such twin conditions prescribed by TRAI in the past, and held that all reference interconnect offers had to be in consonance with those conditions.”

    TRAI denied discriminating between broadcasters and DPOs stating that there are exhaustive notes on the subject matter that point to the contrary.

    Referring to c) TRAI responded, “The 2020 framework seeks to address two major issues arising out of the formation of the bouquet by broadcasters. The first concerned heavy discounting of bouquet prices, and the second related to ‘pushing’ of unwanted channels to consumers.”

    “TRAI is duty-bound to resolve both issues, in order to safeguard the interest of all service providers and consumers,” it said. 

    The next hearing will be held on Tuesday 7 September.

  • SC adjourns NTO 2.0 hearing to 18 August

    SC adjourns NTO 2.0 hearing to 18 August

    Mumbai: The Supreme Court on Friday adjourned the hearing in a matter pertaining to the New Tariff Order (NTO 2.0) to 18 August.

    Last month, The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) and several leading broadcasters had filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the Bombay high court verdict dated 30 June, which had upheld the constitutionality of the NTO 2.0. The amended NTO 2.0, passed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in January 2020, was challenged by broadcasters in the Bombay HC.

    After a legal tussle that lasted over a year, TRAI had managed to get a green signal from the court on 30 June on the implementation of the amended NTO 2.0. The division bench of the HC had stated that the challenge to the constitutional validity of the 2020 rules and regulations of TRAI does not hold any water. At the same time, it termed one of the twin conditions “arbitrary”, according to which the maximum retail price of an a-la-carte channel could not be more than one-third the maximum rate of a channel in the bouquet.

    The judgment was passed on the petitions filed by several broadcasters under the umbrella of the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) including ZEE Entertainment, Star India, TV18, and Sony Pictures Network India (SPN) who had challenged the NTO 2.0 terming it “arbitrary and in violation of their fundamental right”.

    The NTO 2.0 prescribed linkage between a-la-carte price and bouquet and reduced the price cap on the subscription fees for pay channels.

  • Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) moves SC against HC’s NTO 2.0 verdict

    Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) moves SC against HC’s NTO 2.0 verdict

    New Delhi: The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) has filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the Bombay high court verdict, which had upheld the constitutionality of the amended New Tariff Order (NTO 2.0) passed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).

    After a legal tussle that lasted over a year, Trai had managed to get a green signal from the court on 30 June on the implementation of amended NTO 2.0 passed in January, 2020. The division bench of the high court stated that the challenge to the constitutional validity of the 2020 rules and regulations of Trai does not hold any water. At the same time, it termed one of the twin conditions “arbitrary”, according to which the maximum retail price of an a-la-carte channel could not be more than one third of the maximum rate of a channel in the bouquet.

    The court had passed the judgement on petitions filed by several broadcasters under the umbrella of the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) including Zee Entertainment, Star India, TV18, and Sony Pictures Network India (SPN) who had opposed the order, challenged the tariff order and termed it “arbitrary and in violation of their fundamental right.”

    According to broadcasters, the new order could lead to a drop in the subscription revenue, especially now, when the industry is reeling under pandemic-induced low advertising revenue. NTO 2.0 has prescribed linkage between a-la-carte price and bouquet, and reduced the price cap on the subscription fees for pay channels. So, TV broadcasters can include a channel in a pack only if it is priced at Rs 12 or less than that. Earlier, this limit was Rs. 19.

    The broadcasters only got partial relief when the high court struck down one of the twin conditions relating to the average pricing of a channel in a bouquet terming it as ‘arbitrary’. This will allow broadcasters to increase the number of channels they want to provide in the bouquet and enhance the value delivered to consumers.

    According to the condition the a-la-carte rates of each pay channel (MRP), forming part of a bouquet, shall in no case exceed three times the average rate of a pay channel of that bouquet. So, if the maximum price of a channel in a pack was Rs.12, a broadcaster could not charge more than four rupees for an a-la-carte channel.

    The high court had also extended its previous interim order, asking Trai not to take any coercive action against the broadcasters, if they did not implement the new tariff order. The order was extended for the next six weeks.

  • Bombay HC upholds TRAI’s NTO 2.0 except second provision of twin conditions

    KOLKATA: After a long legal battle between broadcasters and the telecom regulatory authority of India (TRAI), the Bombay High Court on Wednesday pronounced judgment on the amended new tariff order (NTO 2.0) case. 

    The court has upheld the constitutional validity of NTO 2.0 but has partly struck down the second provision of the twin conditions.

    As per the second provision, the a-la-carte rates of each pay channel (MRP), forming part of a bouquet, shall in no case exceed three times the average rate of a pay channel of the bouquet of which such pay channel is a part. The court has mentioned the clause as an arbitrary condition. 

    The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), along with other broadcasters had filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court against TRAI in January 2020, soon after the regulations came into place.

    More to follow…

  • OTT industry working on compliance with new IT rules

    Kolkata: For the last few months, the new regulations introduced for over-the-top platforms at the beginning of this year, has been the talk of the town. As the new rules introduced by the government came into effect on 26 May, the industry is working towards complying with all the rules. However, both the self-regulatory bodies, the newly formed digital segment under Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI ) have asked for additional time, as per industry sources.

    On 27 May, the digital media division of the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) wrote to the OTT and digital media publishers to furnish all their details and compliance status under Rule 18 of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Codes) Rules, 2021 within 15 days.

    Soon thereafter, IDBF announced the appointment of Justice (retd.) Vikramjit Sen as chairman, along with six other media and entertainment industry members for its newly formed Digital Media Content Regulatory Council (DMCRC). IAMAI followed suit and announced its self-regulatory body for streaming content companies like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. The Digital Publisher Content Grievances Council’s (DPCGC) Grievance Redressal Board (GRB) will be chaired by former Supreme Court judge Arjan Kumar Sikri, it announced.

    The withdrawal of broadcaster-led OTTs such as Disney+Hotstar, Zee5, SonyLIV from IAMAI has created two lobbies in the industry. International tech and media giants like Netflix, Amazon have stayed with IAMAI, along with tech giant Apple who also joined the body recently. Several independent bodies have also decided to remain under IAMAI.

    According to a senior official with a leading OTT, both are in touch with MIB and have asked for additional time. While the ministry may grant some extension, it seems it is not very happy with the fact that “people have been toying around deadlines”, the official added.

    “IBF has to work on the registration, including a new name, trademark for its new body, and IAMAI has to work on the formation of its second-tier mechanism. IBF has assured that it would come up with rigid guidelines exactly based on the code of ethics”, he added.

    Indiantelevision.com surfed through websites of leading platforms like MX Player, Zee5, SonyLIV, Disney+Hotstar, and found details of the grievance redressal officers identified by the respective platforms. Moreover, most of the leading platforms have already classified age-rating on their shows, some of the platforms have even rated the overall show, still others have rated each episode wise.

    According to a Hindustan Times report over 800 OTT platforms including video streaming services such as Netflix and Hotstar, and digital news media outfits, have shared details under the new IT rules. Most of the top OTT players have shared the details including Netflix, Amazon, Jio, the report said, quoting an unnamed MIB official.

    The new rules apply to digital news publishers as well. While traditional media companies with digital footprints asked for an exemption. But MIB clarified that it would not grant any relief because making an exception of the nature proposed “will be discriminatory to the digital news publishers who do not have a traditional TV/print platform.”

    The News Broadcasters Federation has stated on Friday that all its current members have duly complied with the requirements of the new rules by providing required information of their entities. However, the new rules have been challenged in court by a few digital news media outfits including LiveLaw and The Wire.

  • IBF ropes in Siddharth Jain as secretary general

    IBF ropes in Siddharth Jain as secretary general

    New Delhi : The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), the apex body of broadcasters, on Thursday appointed Siddharth Jain as its secretary general.

    An industry veteran, Jain’s career spans over three decades. Until 30 April, he was working with Turner International India Pvt. Ltd. as SVP and managing director – South Asia.

    Commenting on the appointment, IBF president, K. Madhavan said, “Siddharth has demonstrated great competency in nurturing efficient, talented cross border teams of industry experts and is highly adept in driving innovation to turn adversities into opportunities. Given his remarkable expertise in leadership and advocacy, business strategy, corporate governance and compliance, we are confident in his ability to steer the IBF on a path that helps realize the sector’s value chain to the optimum. I, along with the rest of the IBF members, welcome Siddharth and wish him the very best for his new role.”

    Jain is an accomplished enterprise business leader known for expertise in business strategy, revenue/profitability/EBITA growth, financial management, sales & marketing, business development, international brand launches & development, account management, strategic alliances & partnership development, relationship management, and corporate governance and compliance stated IBF in a release.

    Meanwhile, IBF is being renamed as Indian Broadcasting & Digital Foundation (IBDF), as it expands its purview to cover digital platforms to bring all digital (OTT) players under one roof. IBF is also in the process of setting up a separate subsidiary to facilitate the entry of OTT players.

    The subsidiary will be carrying out various activities for its member OTT players including handling the day-to-day activities of the industry-led Level-II appellate Self-Regulatory Body (SRB) called Digital Media Content Regulatory Council (DMCRC) for non-news digital OTT platforms, similar to Broadcast Content Complaint Council (BCCC).

  • Former SC judge Justice Vikramjit Sen appointed chairman of IBF’s new self-regulatory body

    Former SC judge Justice Vikramjit Sen appointed chairman of IBF’s new self-regulatory body

    New Delhi: Former Supreme Court judge Justice Vikramjit Sen was on Monday appointed as the chairman of the newly formed self-regulatory body – Digital Media Content Regulatory Council (DMCRC) formed by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), the apex body of broadcasters.

    The industry-led self-regulatory body (SRB) for digital OTT platforms will work as a second-tier mechanism at the appellate level, quite similar to the Broadcast Content Complaint Council (BCCC), which IBF had implemented for the linear broadcasting sector in 2011. DMCRC was formed as per the mandate of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 that came into effect on 26 May, with active consultation amongst the creative industry fraternity.

    The newly formed Council constitutes prominent personalities from the media & entertainment industry and Online Curated Content Providers (OCCPs), with experience in IPR, programming, and content creation. Meanwhile, IBF will also be renamed as the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF) as it expands its purview to cover digital platforms to bring all digital (OTT) players under one roof. 

    A former supreme court judge, Justice (retd) Sen has practiced in all the courts in Delhi, although primarily in the high court of Delhi. He was elevated to the apex court on 24 December 2012. He was also appointed chairman of the Broadcast Content Complaints Council (BCCC)- a self-regulatory body for the non-news and current affairs television channels in India in 2017, said IBF in a statement on Monday.

    The other members of the council are national award-winning filmmaker Nikkhil Advani, Banijay Group CEO and founder Deepak Dhar,  prominent artist, filmmaker, and writer Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari and creative writer and innovative director, Tigmanshu Dhulia. The other two members from the OCCPs include Sony Pictures Pvt. Ltd, general counsel Ashok Nambisan, and Star and Disney India, chief regional counsel Mihir Rale and Disney India.

    Speaking on the appointment of the committee, IBF president, K. Madhavan said, “I am delighted that so many experts from the media and entertainment industry have come forward and accepted the invitation of IBDF to be part of the proposed self-regulatory body. I look forward to working with the Council whose mandate is to ensure freedom of expression of the Indian creative industry as well as help the discerning audience of the OTT platforms to have unhindered access to world-class and differentiated content. This is a historical and win-win moment for all the stakeholders i.e. the M&E industry, the policymakers, and the subscribers of the OTT platforms.”

  • IBF to be renamed as it plans to bring digital players under its ambit

    IBF to be renamed as it plans to bring digital players under its ambit

    KOLKATA:  The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), the apex body of broadcasters, is being renamed as Indian Broadcasting & Digital Foundation (IBDF), as it expands its purview to cover digital platforms to bring all digital (OTT) players under one roof. IBDF is in the process of forming a new wholly-owned subsidiary to handle all matters pertaining to digital media.

    IBDF will also form a self-regulatory body (SRB), as per the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 as notified by the Government of India on 25 February 2021. 

    This industry-led SRB called Digital Media Content Regulatory Council (DMCRC) for digital OTT platforms, which is a second-tier mechanism at the appellate level is similar to Broadcast Content Complaint Council (BCCC), which IBF had successfully implemented for the linear broadcasting sector way back in 2011. 

    IBF president K Madhavan said: “We are pleased to extend our commitment of fostering an environment that is culturally adept, socially responsible and governance-bound to the fast-growing digital medium. The diversification will empower the Foundation to pursue growth opportunities for its members who run OTT services in the country, while ensuring they present a strong collective voice, both in the broadcast and digital sector under the combined body. We will continue to work arduously to create new benchmarks in line with the industry’s growth aspirations.”

    Over the years, IBF has played a key role in providing research-based policy and regulatory advocacy to the government to build a strong broadcasting sector which is the backbone of the Indian M&E sector.

    Today, with the emergence of new digital technical technologies, the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) is not only going to rechristen itself as Indian Broadcasting & Digital Foundation (IBDF) but will continue to proactively engage all the relevant stakeholders to introduce policy and regulatory certainties and strengthen self-regulatory mechanisms to help the Indian creative industry to produce world-class content which has received an overwhelming response from the global audience.