ITV

Tag: TRAI Tariff

  • Madison Group CEO Vikram Sakhuja on TRAI tariff order, Ekam & media landscape

    Madison Group CEO Vikram Sakhuja on TRAI tariff order, Ekam & media landscape

    In a highly VUCA media world, over I’m going to attempt to answer the question of what’s in store for media in the near future. Today 11000 TV and radio advertisers, over two lakh print advertisers, 1500 OOH advertisers and 300 large – 2 lakh long tail online advertisers think long and hard about how to spend their marketing budgets.

    On one hand, it costs 30-40 crore to do a significant national launch, advertising on IPL can exceed a 100cr for some advertisers. A YouTube masthead or a TOI jacket costs excess of a crore, a 10-day OOH plan in Mumbai can cost over a crore. Yet an average advertiser spends under five crore a year on TV, two crore on OOH and lakhs on other mediums. At the top, there are only 12 advertisers with spends more than 500 cr. At a brand level, an equal number (12) spend more than 100 crore.

    For all of them, budget management boils down to making trade-offs between mediums and media objectives. By mediums I mean TV, print, radio, OOH, digital, cinema, and media objectives: reach, frequency, SOV, weeks on air, advertising size and “impact vs regular” inventory.

    How media shapes in the future will depend on how advertisers, agencies and media owners use different mediums across these fundamental media objectives.

    Reach: When it comes to reach we have close to 200 mn TV homes but only a handful of advertisers – large FMCG, political parties and telecom that reach both urban and rural. Even within urban most aggressive plans reach about 70% of TV homes once/month and about 45% three times.

    Byron Sharp amongst other media pundits says that reach is most important, yet at an India level we are reaching less than half. Question to ask is whether that 60% reach overall urban better or 95% reach among a particular market.

    Frequency: At a campaign level, TV typically operates at a 3-5 frequency, online at 7-8, print at 1 or 2. Yet paradoxically as consumers we often see the same ad perhaps three times in an hour while watching a movie or a game. Question to ask here is do we truly understand the concept of media frequency?

    SOV: Most advertisers track SOV/SOM closely as they find that competitive spends have a bearing on their business. Best way to get a client to spend is to tell them that their competitor is spending. Fact is media salience does drive brand choice but do we need to do it over a campaign or a financial year.

    ACD: TV copy length is coming under a microscope even as print sizes are increasing. Digital has expanded the ad range from 6” to long-form video. Rather than approach copy length by the medium question is one of optimizing the effectiveness and efficiency of creative length (typically using analytics).

    Impact vs. regular: Impact unquestionably helps cut clutter and build awareness. Used well it builds equity. However, it comes at a premium. New advertisers hoping to make a quick mark in the Indian market opt for an impact heavy strategy, while legacy marketers approach impact more judiciously. Question to my mind is do brands have an impact strategy?

    WOA: Often the variable that is traded off most. It is felt that it is better to have a campaign that is noticed over an always-on one. Indeed, we have only a few brands who are always-on on TV, display, social, search, performance; but most TV and all print, OOH, radio, cinema activity is typically sporadic and behind specific marketing initiatives. Why is WOA not given more importance?

    Current thinking has carved the pie across TV – 38%, print – 32%, digital – 19% (search 6%, display/video 7% and social 6%) OOH – 5.5% and radio – 3.5%.

    How will this media scenario change in the near future? If the future follows the past we will see the following:

    TV will be the base medium for building awareness and consideration. More TV channels will continue to launch, rate/10” will not increase and may even fall. Fragmentation will lead to an increase in CPRP. CPRPs within a genre will be competitive. Reach will be precious. Overall it will cost more to reach less. There will be the occasional super Premium Impact program that becomes a “tribal moment”.

    The power of others seeing the same thing as you, in the same room and across India at the same moment, cannot be overstated. If I see a Dominos RCB spot during IPL, and I discuss it with a friend who I can safely assume has seen it, a certain legitimacy is created that is called Cultural Imprinting.

    Digital Video will grow on the back of OTT, YouTube, Jio, MX Player, ShareIt and other video consumption and sharing platforms. Digital video has two roles: on advertising, the TV vs. digital video debate will net out at one complementing/supplementing, rather than replacing the other. On content, video will have an amazing run limited only by a brand’s ability to embrace content assets.

    Social will grow on the back of great psychographic targeting and delivery of outcomes and again grow proportionate to brand’s ability to create content based assets.

    Search will grow but more modestly as CPC’s go up and the ROI on search reduces

    Print will have a bumpy ride. It will remain a medium for a call to action and announcement of new news unless it reinvents itself. Categories will put it more under the scrutiny of effectiveness than any other medium. Comparisons will inevitably be with digital. Newspapers will struggle to balance yield with outlays.

    Digital display will grow but less than video. Here the contextual, performance oriented, rich media, tech-enhanced nature will lead to banners winning the battle versus print. Voice will emerge as a display medium

    Radio and cinema will grow as outlays remain modest and local marketing importance grows. OOH will gain from traffic count measurement that is now available at least in Madison and also grows. Put this way, if nothing changes, one could see similar trends in the next t years as we have seen in PMAR 2018. In 2021 we could well see digital being the second most dominant medium.

    But I think an alternative more exciting scenario is possible. This, however, is predicated on the occurrence of three disruptor events and two changes in how advertisers market their brands.

    · Disruptor events are TRAI channel pricing, digital data measurement, and data privacy

    · Marketing changes are true integrated marketing and increased localisation

    Disruptor events

    TRAI channel tariff order

    When TRAI channel tariff order is enforced, channel availability per home will reduce from approx. 350 Channels to 100+50. So, today most GEC channels have 90%+ distribution and about 35% weekly reach. After TRAI these channels could land up having 30% distribution and 30% reach.

    Reality is that an average home watches 16 channels. It is just that with so many more available there is surfing and some snacking and reach extension. Once these extraneous channels go out we will see individual channel reach reduce, ATS go up, and overall fragmentation will reduce. More channels will also go FTA, but carriage fees will also increase. There will be moreexperimentation with consumers opting in and out of channels on a monthly basis.

    Today there is a high degree of substitution possible between channels. In a post TRAI world, we will need a combination of channels to build reach and no two channels will be completely substitutable. Life will also be more dynamic. Using past four week data to predict the next four weeks will become challenging. It is a good time for a media planner to make a difference.

    Digital measurement

    The most accountable medium does not have a measurement currency. We don’t have a currency on digital AdEx, no currency that tells us about viewability and viewership/listenership. Sure, we are fed data by publishers, and we also have our own tags that we track, but there is no industry currency. Ekam was supposed to be one and huge amounts were spent to keep the infrastructure going, but for completely manmade reasons this has not emerged. If it comes we will get a currency on digital viewership and an official read on integrated reach between at least TV and digital video.

    This can redefine the 27000 cr video+ (23500+3500) industry.

    I believe TV and OTT have the common lean back consumer habit to viewing which will lead to a lot of crossover advertising between the two platforms. I also think the OTT content ecosystem will allow advertisers the deal structuring that we used to do with private producers in the DD era.

    This will also allow a narrowcast of a broadcast medium. We can choose markets and genders or ages and cut some wastage.

    Data Privacy

    As a consumer who owns my data will have a profound bearing on how the digital marketing evolves.This is not a current issue in India but is a simmering one in more developed digital economies.

    The detractors say that global digital media giants have the power and ability to manipulate our behaviour as well as profile us if they control our data. The supporters say having consumer data has led to contextual marketing, psychographic marketing and programmatic marketing that has made messaging to consumers more relevant. Indeed, these are powerful tools for any marketer that goes a long way in improving targeting and explaining how media works.

    As a marketer it would be a shame to lose this tool. But with great power comes great responsibility. It is obvious that data needs to be anonymised. That is a given. The crux of the issue lies in internalising the difference between targeting and profiling. It is ok to target me, but please don’t profile me. The difference is subtle but significant. If we cross the line, there is a danger of the entire digital media juggernaut crashing.

    Two marketing practices will impact the way we spend

    Act truly integrated

    We have talked integrated marketing plans for decades but we still act in silos. Sometimes an idea binds the media together, but is this integrated?

    There is a term called consumer journey or path to purchase that tracks a consumer from the time the trigger for the category happens to when purchase and post purchase happens. In this journey the potential media touchpoints are when the consumer is engaged in the activity of listening, viewing, reading, searching, shopping, socialising, learning or gaming. What brands can do with media at these touch points is the opportunity to get consumers to see us, think about us, experience us, buy us and share their views about us.

    Today over 90% of a brand’s marketing budget is involved in getting ads to be seen. As they move to other aspects of the marketing funnel, how the money is spent will change dramatically.

    Biggest catalyst to that will be CPT (or CPM). Today we evaluate a TV plan in CPRP, print in rate/sqcm, radio in rate/10”, OOH in rate/site, digital in CPT or CPO, etc. This needs to move to an apple to apple CPT. Over this we can add outcomes and measure CPO.

    Increased localisation

    We need to factor India’s heterogeneity much more into our marketing plans than we do currently. We approach plans as urban vs rural, 8 metro vs rest of India urban, HSM, 4 southern states, Maharashtra and West Bengal, and on socio economic basis through an increasingly NCCS AB skewed classification. Way forward is for brands to fine tune their battlegrounds. From spray and pray to seek and prey. We have several examples over the years like Ghadi, Santoor, Thums Up, etc that have built dominant regional positions.

    So, what’s in store for media in the near future is essentially harder working outcome based marketing. Brand budget growth follows an arithmetic progression while demands from marketing forces increase at a geometric progression. The following six forces will shape the advertising spend market.

    1. Expansion of marketing funnel: We used to make trade-offs between Mediums and Media Objectives (R/F/SOV/WOA/ACD/Impact). This was largely about getting consumers to see an Ad. Now we will additionally make trade-offs between getting them to see, explore, experience, buy and share across the journey. If that happens TV will lose relatively and all others will gain.

    2.Integrated Reach will continue to be critical: More media touchpoints will be required to get reach. Marketers will seek it in an integrated manner. Campaigns will maximize reach and optimize frequency across media. CPT will become the common currency that equates the cost of an impression across media.

    3. Greater Localisation: it will become increasingly impractical and inefficient to market to one India. Additionally, the trade-offs between markets will become sharper than our current P1, P2 classification. Greater digitisation and channel selection will lead to more localisation. TV will be used as a local medium more than it ever has. Digital, OOH, radio, the cinema will work in combination better than they work in a silo. Print will need to redefine its value to a local marketer and will find a huge role.

    4. Integrated Reach:, CPT, and greater localisation will lead to more intelligent media selling. All Mediums will have a role. From selling Media like onions and potatoes, there will be a need to find brand building solutions. In the near though not immediate future, media in India will get truly integrated as smart devices get connected in what we know as IOT.

    5.Data and technology will revolutionise targeting: We will increasingly target geographically, psychographically, contextually and behaviourally. We will increasingly retarget sequentially with customised messaging. Any medium with digital backbone leverage this capability.

    6.We will decode how media works: Increasingly through a combination of marketing analytics and real-time attribution, we will understand what sequence of Media drives consumer behaviour for each category

    (The author is Madison Group CEO Vikram Sakhuja. The views expressed here are his own and Indiantelevision.com may not subscribe to them)

  • ISA advises against using BARC data for media planning, buying during tariff order transition

    ISA advises against using BARC data for media planning, buying during tariff order transition

    MUMBAI: With the new TRAI tariff order coming into force from 1 February, the consumption pattern of TV viewership is expected to vary significantly following the impact on the distribution value chain. Considering the challenges during this transition period, the Indian Society of Advertisers (ISA) executive council has advised its members against using the BARC viewership data for media planning, evaluation and buying perspective.

    ISA is of the opinion that it would take a minimum of six weeks to assess the stability of the viewership numbers post the tariff order implementation. The national body of advertisers also believes that the impact will be significantly different in each region of the country given the varied distribution and broadcast landscape .

    To drive home the point, the ISA has drawn a parallel to the implementation of GST that involved India moving to a new tax regime.

    ISA is also of the view that variance in pre and post evaluations will be higher than the usual and will be highly unpredictable.

    The advertisers’ body also reassured its members that it would work closely with BARC to ascertain the time period when data becomes stable and usable for planning and buying.

    The ISA Executive Council and the ISA Core Media Committee have been in active engagement with BARC Board, Technical Committee and NTO task force over the past few months to arrive at the way forward during this transition period.

  • TRAI claims stakeholders ready as new tariff regime kicks in

    TRAI claims stakeholders ready as new tariff regime kicks in

    MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) states that it has held meetings with MSOs, DTH operators and HITS operators over the course of the last few weeks, the last being on 31 January, and all of them have confirmed that they are ready to migrate to the new tariff regime from 1 February 2019.

    Lauding its own efforts, TRAI said that a large number of subscribers have exercised their options and their choices have been recorded by service providers which must be processed on priority basis. For those who have not yet chosen, a smooth migration plan needs to be made and their choices must be taken from a variety of means such as mobile apps, SMS, website or direct communication through LCOs.

    Answering a question on additional TV connections by a customer, the TRAI directed them to follow the rules of Rs 130 as network fee for 100 SD channels and slabs of 25 channels with a cap of Rs 20. Any other discounts can be made within these caps but need to be uniform in the market.

    TRAI reiterated that consumers are free to choose both FTA and pay channels on a-la-carte or combination and any forceful measures on the end of the provider must be brought to the authority’s notice.

    The release also states: “Subscribers may note that the new regime empowers them to change their choices whenever they desire with maximum lock-in period of one month. The subscribers can always request their DPOs to modify their selection even after choosing any package at present.”

  • Niche channels bank on differentiated content in new TRAI tariff regime

    Niche channels bank on differentiated content in new TRAI tariff regime

    MUMBAI: One worry that broadcasters seem to have from the impending TRAI tariff scheme that will commence from 1 February 2019 is the reception of their niche and differentiated channels. While GECs, sports and news channels don’t have much to worry, the others will have to fight for TV space.

    Here, differentiated content will play a role in ensuring genres like kids, infotainment and lifestyle are picked by viewers. 9x Media chief business officer and group business head Punit Pandey explained that out of 100 FTA channels, 26 are Doordarshan (DD) channels that are mandatory and the remaining are left with cable operators to choose. This choice depends on consumer pull and commercial deals with broadcasters. “I have commercial deals with almost all the big operators, where there is no reason for them not to give my channel. Music as a category is something that people like to have. So my commercial deal, consumer pull and music as a genre are the three reasons that will help us get in the 74 slots. But, according to me, a commercial deal is enough to get listed in the slot of 74 because I’ve paid to get in there,” he said.

    About the music genre’s content strategy, Pandey said that the cluster, except for 9xo that plays English songs, plays popular Bollywood songs which cut across divisions. He said, “As a Bollywood channel, our reach is far more than a non-film music channel, which is typically niche. For 9xm, we continue playing popular hit music. What adds to our advantage is our footprint in the regional market. Regional is going to grow and we are already there.”

    Viacom18, which has youth and a music channels MTV and MTV Beats, claims to not fall under the niche category.Viacom18 youth music and English entertainment head Ferzad Palia claims that it caters to a wide audience of 309 million viewers. He said that broadcasters who have not invested in differentiated content or have not found a clear way to differentiate themselves are the ones who may face the pressure of being selected or rather not being selected.

    MTV claims to follow a content-focused strategy while having differentiated product. Palia feels that if you have become an integral part of someone’s viewing habit, they will select you anyway. The channel also recently informed that the time spent on its channel had doubled. “Therefore, if our time spent has doubled that means we are doing something right because more people are watching us and we are becoming closer to the audience. I think we are in this advantageous position because of the unique offering that we have for the youth’s life,” he said.

    Zee TV business head Aparna Bhosle expects this order to usher in good days for the industry. Being a leader in the GEC category, it doesn’t have to worry much but she expects significant changes in viewing patterns to take place. According to her, people consume at max 130 channels when surfing. So, some channels may not make it to a viewer's list.

    Sony Sab, Pal business head Neeraj Vyas firmly believes that segmentation of audiences will be a reality. Till now, people were copying mass-pulling shows from competitors, but now each will have to focus and create for their own audience.

    Meanwhile, Disney India revamped its Disney XD channel to Marvel HQ. It is pertinent for one to assume that it might be its strategy due to the new tariff regime. The Walt Disney Company (India) executive director and head of product media networks Devika Prabhu said that the channel was creating a base so that it is ready by summer and kids would be habituated to it.

    Apart from content, bundling of the channels also plays a major role which is done by the broadcasters, cable and DTH operators. Apparently, Sony pulled the plug from a few of its channels—Sony Le Plex HD, Sony ROX HD and Sony Ten Golf HD since it didn’t rake in sufficient viewership. Simultaneously, others are converting to FTA channels. Recently, Business Television India (BTVI), an English business news channel, converted to FTA following the new regime. This could be a sigh of relief for the advertisers where their reach would be higher. FTA channels have the advantage of having advertising revenue because of higher reach.

    As far as ad rates are concerned, Pandey is confident it won’t be impacted while Vyas prefers to wait and watch for the MRP to unfold and the consumers' response. It will take four to five months for the regime to settle and advertisers, according to Pandey, are likely to wait and watch before changing pricing. He said, “Ad rates are not increased or decreased by one month’s performance. The advertisers or the agencies look at consistency; they do not change rates in a month’s time till the time it settles. Moreover, there are big events such as IPL, and the elections which will have serious pull.”

    Broadcasters have taken it upon themselves to educate consumers about the new tariff regime and also hinting at picking their own packs and channels. Pandey is bullish about the reach of his network and does not feel the need for full-page ads or outdoor hoardings.

    Palia replied that Viacom18 has been informing the consumers because it’s the network’s duty to educate consumers on how they can access their channels and their favourite shows under the new tariff order. “We are not trying to hard sell our channels to anyone,” he clarified.

    We are inching closer to the D-date and hoping that TRAI does not give in to another extension demand, as it has been prone to do previously. By early or mid-February, we are likely to get a sense of direction that the industry will be taking.

  • TRAI tariff: AIDCF impleads in Tata Sky, Airtel Digital pleas

    NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court today allowed the All India Dgital Cable Federation to get impleaded in the direct-to-home platforms TataSky and Airtel Digital challenge to the Tariff and the Reference Interconnect Orderregulations.by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India.

    A bench headed by Chief Justice Gita Mittal listed the matter for 16 August 2017 as the Regulations come into force from 2 September 2017. The bench permitted AIDCF to make legal submissions.

    Although the cases were listed separately, the bench had on 12 May 2017 decided to hear the matters together since similar grounds had been raised and had issued notice to TRAI.

    The Court had also issued notice on an application by the two platforms seeking a stay of the tariff order.

    The petitions are seeking an order not only for setting aside these regulations, but also some sub-sections of Section 11 of the TRAI Act 1997 as being violative of the Constitution.

    The respondents are both TRAI and Union of India.

    Indiantelevision.com had earlier reported that the primary problem arises from the fact that all stakeholders will have to abide by the rates fixed by the broadcaster according to the new tariff order.

    The DTH players are agitated not only with the fact that they pay over 85 per cent of the service tax and entertainment tax in the digitised universe, but the fact that their liberty to make their own bouquets may be taken away with the broadcasters having the say in fixing rates for individual channels.

    Apart from the Tariff order which had originally been issued on 10 October last year, the regulator also issued the DAS Interconnect Regulations which had been issued on 14 October last year, and the Standards of Quality of Service and Consumer Protection (Digital Addressable Systems) Regulations which had been issued on 10 October last year.

    TRAI had first come out with a draft tariff order in October 2016 but later issued the orders on 3 March after getting the green signal from the apex court even as a Star India and Vijay TV case was pending in the Madras High Court. The broadcasters have challenged the regulations under the Copyright Act on the ground that content does not come in the ambit of TRAI.

    The Supreme Court on 8 May stayed the operation of the regulations but asked the High Court to dispose of the casewithin four weeks. The High Court has since heard arguments by all parties and has sought written submissions on 27 July 2017.

    Also Read:

    Tata Sky-Airtel case: HC asks TRAI to file reply before 25 July 

  • SC stays new TRAI tariff, asks Madras HC to complete hearing in four weeks

    MUMBAI: The Supreme Court of India has granted a stay on TRAI’s new tariff orders. A division bench of the court comprising Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman and Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose agreed to the demand of Star India, thus staying the new tariff order and interconnect regulations. 

    Industry sources told www.indiantelevision.com, “The apex court has asked the Madras High Court to complete the hearing within four weeks.” “The case will be heard on a day-to-day basis from 12 June — the date of the next hearing scheduled by the Madras High Court,” the sources added.

    The Supreme Court today (Monday, 8 May) heard the appeal by Star India and Vijay TV challenging the order of the Madras High Court which refused to stay the DAS tariff order of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. TRAI TV reference interconnect offer (RIO) and Quality of service order (QoS) had formally come into effect on 2 May following the order of the High Court.

    High Court Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M Sundar had directed the main petition of the broadcasters to be heard on 12 June. However, the court had said Section 3 of the Tariff order and all other consequences of such implementation/enforcement would be subject to the outcome of the main petition. The broadcasters had challenged the order of TRAI on the grounds that it had no jurisdiction over content, and that it actually came under the Copyright Act, which is not administered by TRAI, but by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, as of last year.

    Apart from the tariff order which had originally been issued on 10 October last year, the regulator also issued the DAS Interconnect Regulations on 14 October, and the Standards of Quality of Service and Consumer Protection (Digital Addressable Systems) Regulations issued the same day (10 October).

    Also Read:

    Hearing of Star – TRAI case begins before MHC chief justice

    Decks cleared for TRAI tariff order implementation as HC declines stay (updated)

  • No advancing of Star India hearing in TRAI tariff case: SC

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has declined early hearing of an appeal by Star India and Vijay TV against the order of the Madras High Court refusing to stay the DAS tariff order of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. A bench headed by Chief Justice J S Kehar said the matter would come up for hearing in due course.   

    The matter was raised through a mention by counsel for Star TV, as the TRAI TV reference interconnect offer (RIO) and Quality of service order (QoS) are to come into effect from tomorrow following the order of the High Court.

    High Court Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M Sundar had directed the main petition by Star India and Vijay TV to be heard on 12 June. However, the court had said Section 3 of the Tariff order and all other consequences of such implementation/enforcement would be subject to the outcome of the main petition.

    The broadcasters had challenged the order of TRAI on the grounds that it had no jurisdiction over content, and that actually came under Copyright Act, which is not administered by TRAI.

    The Court said the petitioners had not made out a strong and prima facie case for interim stay. It also said that it had noted that the situation prevailing on 3 March 2017 when the order was issued and that prevailing today ‘has not changed so drastically’ as to warrant an interim stay. The Court said that it had also kept in view the larger public plea made by the Government counsel.

    Earlier, TRAI had issued the orders on 3 March after getting the green signal from the apex court even as the broadcasters case was pending in the High Court.

    Apart from the Tariff order which had originally been issued on 10 October last year, the regulator also issued the DAS Interconnect Regulations which had been issued on 14 October last year, and the Standards of Quality of Service and Consumer Protection (Digital Addressable Systems) Regulations which had been issued on 10 October last year.

    The orders can be seen at:
    http://trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/Tariff_Order_English_3%20March_20…
    http://www.trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/QOS_Regulation_03_03_2017.pdf
    http://www.trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/Interconnection_Regulation_03…

    Also Read:

    Hearing of Star – TRAI case begins before MHC chief justice

    Decks cleared for TRAI tariff order implementation as HC declines stay (updated)

  • Decks cleared for TRAI tariff order implementation as HC declines stay (updated)

    NEW DELHI: The Madras High Court has declined a petition to stay the tariff orders for cable TV by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India slated to come into effect from 2 May 2017.

    Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M Sundar directed the main petition by Star India and Vijay TV to be heard on 12 June. However, the court said that Section 3 of the Tariff order and all other consequences of such implementation/enforcement would be subject to the outcome of the main petition.

    The broadcasters had challenged the order of TRAI on the grounds that it had no jurisdiction over content,, and that actually came under Copyright Act, which is not administered by TRAI.

    The Court said the petitioners had not made out a strong and prima facie case for an interim stay. It also said that it had noted that the situation prevailing on 3 March 2017 when the order was issued and that prevailing today ‘has not changed so drastically’ so as to warrant an interim stay. The Court said that it had also kept in view the larger public plea made by the Government counsel.

    This implies that TRAI is now free to implement its tariff order, reference interconnect offer (RIO) and Quality of service order (QoS) from 2 May.

    The Court took note of the point made by TRAI counsel P Wilson that every broadcaster would publish its Reference Interconnect Offer on 2 May 2017. Any distributor interested in entering into an agreement would hold discussions with the broadcasters and agreements would be signed by 1 June 2017.

    However, the commercial operation/transactions under the agreement can start only from 1 September 2017.

    Although the Indian Broadcasting Federation had been impleaded and supported the plea for interim stay, the court said it had come to understand that many of the members of the IBF “are now in favour of the impugned interconnect regulations and the tariff order.”

    The Court had also allowed the All-India Digital Cable Federation which has around 10 MSOs operating pan-India under its wing to intervene and had opposed the plea for interim stay.

    Earlier, on 28 March, both the broadcasters had not pressed their plea for stay of the order after TRAI told the court that implementation of these orders had been postponed from 2 April to 2 May. TRAI had issued the tariff order, Quality of Service, and Reference Interconnect Agreement orders after getting clearance on 3 March from the Supreme Court.

    Hearing on the petition has had a chequered history with three judges recusing themselves. Though it was not clear, it appeared that the judges Justice S Nagamuthu, Justice Anita Sumanth and later Justice Govind Rajan had received letters which prompted them to withdraw from the case.

    The fresh petitions became necessary as the matter is being heard afresh by the bench headed by the chief justice

    Apart from the Tariff order which had originally been issued on 10 October last year, the regulator also issued the DAS Interconnect Regulations which had been issued on 14 October last year, and the Standards of Quality of Service and Consumer Protection (Digital Addressable Systems) Regulations which had been issued on 10 October last year.

    The orders can be seen at:
    http://trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/Tariff_Order_English_3%20March_20…
    http://www.trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/QOS_Regulation_03_03_2017.pdf
    http://www.trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/Interconnection_Regulation_03…

    Also read: Star – TRAI copyright case: In dramatic turn, Madras HC judges withdraw

    TRAI notifies tariff order implementation from 2 May, RIO in 60 days

  • HC orders on Star plea for stay on TRAI tariff today

    NEW DELHI: Orders are expected to be pronounced tomorrow on the application by Star India and Vijay TV in Madras High Court seeking a stay of the tariff orders issued by the regulator last month and slated to become effective 2 May 2017.

    Arguments concluded tomorrow after both the broadcasters and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India concluded their arguments.

    The broadcasters, who have challenged the jurisdiction of the TRAI in issuing relating to TV content, had on 28 March decided not to press for stay after the Court was informed by the regulator that it had decided to defer implementation of its tariff orders to 2 May instead of 2 April.

    TRAI had issued the tariff order, Quality of Service, and Reference Interconnect Agreement orders after getting clearance on 3 March from the Supreme Court, which had then directed the High Court to conclude the matter within sixty days.

    The case by the two broadcasters is that content falls under Copyright Act and does not come under the ambit of TRAI. The matter came up for hearing earlier this week in a bench headed by Madras High Court Chief Justice Indira Banerjee.

    Hearing on the petition, which has had a chequered history with three judges recusing themselves, commenced anew as it had gone before a new bench with the Chief Justice and Justice M Sundar.

    After counsel for the broadcasters, counsel for TRAI, Union of India, and the intervener All India Digital Cable Federation will be heard.

    Though it was not clear, it appeared that the judges Justice S Nagamuthu, Justice Anita Sumanth and later Justice Govind Rajan had received letters which prompted them to withdraw from the case.

    The fresh petition became necessary as the matter is being heard .

    Apart from the Tariff order which had originally been issued on 10 October last year, the regulator also issued the DAS Interconnect Regulations which had been issued on 14 October last year, and the Standards of Quality of Service and Consumer Protection (Digital Addressable Systems) Regulations which had been issued on 10 October last year. The orders can be seen at:

    http://trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/Tariff_Order_English_3%20March_20…
    http://www.trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/QOS_Regulation_03_03_2017.pdf
    http://www.trai.gov.in/sites/default/files/Interconnection_Regulation_03…

    Following these regulations, the broadcasters had filed an amended petition and TRAI had also replied to the same last week. Concluding his arguments for the broadcasters, senior counsel P Chidambaram argued that TRAI’s action of fixing tariff for TV content was in violation of the Copyright Act. He also submitted that TRAI did not have the jurisdiction to fix tariff since the exploitation of IPR was part of the Copyright Act.
    Also Read:

    Hearing of Star – TRAI case begins before MHC chief justice

  • 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