TRAI’s New Pricing Rules For DTH and Cable TV Is Great News For Consumers
In a major relief to the average Indian consumer who still gets their daily dose of entertainment bywatching television, telecom regulatory body TRAI has brought a major reform to make DTH and cable services more affordable.
This order, which has been pending since 2016 due to a legal tussle between Star India and TRAI, was passed by the Supreme Courtlast monthand is aimed at capping the maximum prices of channels to prevent consumers from being over-charged. These guidelines will go into effect starting December 29 this year .
Broadcasters Will Set MRP For Channels
In a number of ways, these regulations will ease the burden on consumers’ pockets. First and foremost, broadcasters like ZEE Network, Sony Entertainment Television, and the likes will beresponsible for setting the prices of these channelsand not the distributors i.e. DTH operators like Tata Sky or cable providers. Therefore,broadcasters are obligated to set maximum retail prices (MRP) for each channeland distributors will not be able to sell these channels for higher than the MRP.
Standard Free-to-Air Package For All Providers
Secondly,users will get 100 “free-to-air” channels in standard definition, which include Doordarshan, Star Bharat, and Zee Anmol. But these channels are not exactly free and users will have to pay aminimum operating fee of Rs 130for these.
No Bundling of Free and Paid Channels
Broadcasters will provide each channel to distributors on ana-la-cartebasis. Distributors will be responsible for clubbing channels into relevant bundles but thea-la-carte“pay” channels cannot be combined with free channels. Moreover,standard and high definition channels must be offered in separate bundles.
Separate SD and HD Bundles
Channels which are priced more than Rs 19 ona-la-cartebasis cannot be bundled with other channels and must be offered to the user individually. This will save the user from the burden of having to buy an entire bundle or a “bouquet” of premium channels just to enjoy a single channel. Under the new rules, SD channels cannot be bundled with HD channels from the same broadcaster, so you are not paying twice for the same paid channel.
The motive behind the move is to deter DTH and cable operators from imposing such “bouquets” on consumers in an attempt to sell unpopular channels with the popular ones. This act helps the unwanted channels to get pseudo impressions and thus a modest amount of revenue from advertising. “By promoting bundles, not only can they maximise ad revenue of niche channels but the subscription revenue of distributors also goes up, and that is when consumer interest goes for a toss“, a TRAI official toldThe Ken.
Free Bundles With MRP
Lastly,TRAIhas also instructed distributors to make bundles comprising only the free 100 channels so that users, who do not wish to pay more than Rs 130 per month can opt for this. Further, distributors must offer these bundles in multiples of 25, with themaximum rate per 25 standard definition channels capped to a maximum of Rs 20.
As a result of TRAI’s new regulations, television viewing is not only set to get cheaper but alsofocused around content. To keep consumers engaged with the new bundles, broadcasters will have to ensure that they push new and exciting content or suffer the wrath of a bored customer.
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