ITV

Tag: New Regulatory Framework 2020

  • Trai extends deadline for implementation of new tariff order to February next year

    Trai extends deadline for implementation of new tariff order to February next year

    Mumbai: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has decided to extend the deadline for implementation of the new tariff order (NTO 2.0) from 30 November 2022 to 28 February 2023.

    As per the regulatory filing, the authority said, “All the distributors of television channels shall ensure that services to the subscribers, with effect from 28 February 2023, are provided as per the bouquets or channels opted by them.”

    Several representations have also been received from the stakeholders requesting an extension of the time limit for implementation of the New Regulatory Framework 2020. According to Trai’s recent notice, it stated, “All the broadcasters shall report any change in name, nature, language, MRP per month of channels, and composition and MRP of bouquets of channels by 30 November 2022, and simultaneously publish such information on their websites,” it stated.

    “The broadcasters who have already submitted their reference interconnect offers (RIO) in compliance with the New Regulatory Framework 2020 may also revise their RIOs by 30 November 2022,” it further added.

    In addition to it, Trai also said, “All distribution platform operators (DPOs) will need to submit their distributor retail price (DRP) of pay channels and bouquets & composition of bouquets of pay and free-to-air channels, by 31 December 2022 to Trai.”  

    The authority further, in compliance with the New Regulatory Framework 2020, asked DPOs to revise their already-submitted RIOs by 31 December 2022. 

    After receiving comments and counter comments from the stakeholders on the consultation paper, TRAI was to conduct an open house discussion (OHD) on 21 July 2022, which is now scheduled to take place on 8 September 2022.

    New Tariff Order

    When NTO was first introduced and gave customers the option to select channels à la carte, the price of entertainment increased, forcing Trai to modify its order. In January 2020, NTO 2.0 was introduced, capping the price of a bouquet channel at Rs 12 as opposed to Rs 19. This was not supported by any logical justification or consumer insight, according to the Indian Broadcasting Digital Foundation (IBDF), a unified representative body of Indian television broadcasters.

    Broadcasters have resisted the new tariff order vigorously and reacted by removing premium channels from bouquets and increasing their prices from Rs 20 to Rs 30 after losing the legal battle to overturn the Trai order in both the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court.

    Cable operators were compelled to ask the regulator to postpone the implementation of NTO 2.0 as a result of major broadcasters like Star, Zee, Sony, and Viacom18 choosing to raise the MRP of their well-liked channels and keep them out of bouquets. For instance, the All India Digital Cable Federation had urged Trai to reconsider the order’s provisions in light of the sustainability aspect of putting this framework into place.

  • Trai extends deadline for implementation of new regulatory framework to 30 November

    Trai extends deadline for implementation of new regulatory framework to 30 November

    Mumbai: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has extended the deadline for implementation of the new regulatory framework 2020 to 30 November. Earlier, it was decided to be implemented from 1 June.

    In a letter issued by Trai said, “All the broadcasters shall report to the authority, any change in name, nature, language, MRP per month of channels, and composition and MRP of bouquets of channels as per the new regulatory framework 2020, by 31 August 2022, and simultaneously publish such information on their websites. The broadcasters who have already submitted their RIOs in compliance with the new regulatory framework 2020 may also revise their RIOs by 31 August 2022.”

    All distributed platform operators (DPOs) have to report the distributed retail price (DRP) of channels and DRP of the bouquet of channels as per New Regulatory Framework 2020 by 31 September.

    “All the distributors of television channels shall ensure that services to the subscribers, with effect from 30 November 2022, are provided as per the bouquets or channels opted by them,” the letter added.

    TRAI is awaiting stakeholders’ comments and counter comments on its consultation paper regarding issues related to the new regulatory framework for broadcasting & cable services. It recently extended the deadline for comments to 13 June.

    The authority had received several representations from DPOs, local cable operators (LCO) and consumer organisations highlighting the difficulties in implementing the new regulatory framework 2020.

    Subsequently, the regulator formed a committee consisting of members from the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF), All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) and DTH Association to look into the process of smooth implementation of the provisions of the new regulatory framework 2020.

  • Trai defers NTO 2.0 implementation to 1 June

    Trai defers NTO 2.0 implementation to 1 June

    Mumbai: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Thursday extended the deadline for implementation of new tariff order (NTO) 2.0 to 1 June. The previous deadline was 1 April.

    As per the plan, Trai has allowed broadcasters to revise their reference interconnect offers (RIO) by 28 February and publish the same on their websites. It has also asked distributed platform operators (DPOs) to report the distributor retail price and composition of the bouquet of pay channels by 31 March in compliance with the new regulatory framework. Those who have already submitted can revise their RIOs by 31 March.

    “Keeping in view the current pandemic situation across the country and requests received from stakeholders for extension of time for implementation of new regulatory framework 2020, it has been decided to extend the time limit for implementation of new regulatory framework 2020,” said Trai in the statement.  

    Several stakeholders have informed Trai that due to the present Covid situation most of their staff who were affected were unable to attend office due to guidelines by state governments. Cable operators’ staff were finding it difficult to reach Covid affected subscribers/areas for collection of choices.

    Further, Trai has asked all distributors of TV channels to ensure that with effect from 1 June services to the subscribers are provided as per the bouquets or channels opted by the subscribers.

  • Trai to form committee for smooth rollout of NTO 2.0

    Trai to form committee for smooth rollout of NTO 2.0

    Mumbai: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has decided to form a committee with representation from leading pay TV industry associations to ensure the smooth implementation of the New Regulatory Framework 2020 and identify impediments with counter-measures for the overall growth of the broadcast sector.

    In a letter dated 22 December, accessed by Indiantelevision.com, Trai had asked the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF), the All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF), and the DTH association to nominate a maximum of two representatives to be part of the implementation committee.

    Early this November, the regulator had notified stakeholders that implementation of the new tariff order (NTO 2.0) would be delayed until 1 April 2022. This decision was taken after various stakeholders expressed concerns to the regulator with respect to the timeframe for migration of 150 million pay TV consumers and sufficient time for service providers to upgrade their IT systems and incorporate various channels/bouquets before offering the same to consumers.

    In the latest development, Delhi-based Cable Operators Welfare Federation (COWF) has written to Trai to be a part of the implementation committee and include two local cable operator (LCO) representatives from four zones or four representatives from the All India Federation. “LCOs deserve to be treated as frontline workers who touch base with each subscriber at least once a month. During the implementation of the regulatory framework the best way to reach the subscriber is to communicate in person, in their language, using printed handouts to evaluate options and help subscribers make a well-informed decision,” the letter reads.

    The LCOs also argue that market discovery of prices of pay-TV channels and consumption pattern evolution cannot be back-end driven, rather the front-end instructions should drive the backend. “The DPOs manage the back-end that would implement the service requests coming in from the front-end and therefore should not impose any packages and choices on subscribers,” it added.

    COWF has now also written to prime minister Narendra Modi to halt the implementation of new tariff framework, discard NTO 2.0, and consider making “cable-operator friendly amendments” in Digital Addressable Systems (DAS) law. The operators also suggest that linear TV channels no longer be distributed on OTT platforms. They lettered dated 29 November, also says that the NTO 2.0 regulation will increase unemployment and result in the downturn of lakhs of people employed by the cable TV industry.