Airtel Digital partially implements TRAI Tariff Order

Airtel Digital, one of the top television channel distributors in India, has partially complied with TRAI’s tariff order as amended on January 1 this year. The company has complied with some provisions of the rules, such as reducing the network charge for up to 200 channels, while compliance with other parts of the tariff order […]

Cable/DTH operators ignore TRAI’s new tariff order

Most cable and DTH operators in India have failed to comply with TRAI’s tariff order issued that came into effect today in perhaps the first such incident in the industry’s history. As of today, the amended provisions of the Telecom Services Tariff Order, notified two months ago, have come into place. However, as of 8 […]

Tata Sky becomes first DTH to slash prices under TRAI tariff order

Tata Sky, the DTH service from the Tata Group, has become the first DTH platform to put into effect the amended TRAI tariff order, with only hours to go before the March 1 deadline. Other DTH operators are likely to follow suit in the next few hours. NCF REDUCED The first step towards implementing the […]

TRAI Tariff Order to come into effect on Sunday, No stay from Bombay High Court

With the Bombay High Court giving no specific direction or stay on the implementation of the amended TRAI tariff order, the country is all set to see the introduction of the second version of the tariff order on Sunday. Over the past three days, the Bombay High Court had been holding a marathon hearing on […]

TRAI refuses to postpone tariff order implementation

The Indian broadcast and telecom regulator TRAI has refused to postpone the implementation of the amended tariff order on television channel pricing in court. The Bombay High Court had, on Wednesday, asked TRAI to state whether it was open to pushing back the date for the implementation of the amended tariff order by one month […]

Bombay HC asks TRAI if it can defer price cuts by 1 month

Bombay High Court today asked Telecom Regulatory Authority of India if it was willing to postpone the implementation of the amended TV channel pricing regulations by one month. This follows a change in the bench hearing a petition against the new rules filed by some industry stakeholders, including Indian Broadcasting Foundation. The judges who have […]

TARIFF ORDER: TRAI sends reminder on Mar 1 deadline to cable/DTH operators, channels

Broadcast regulator TRAI has sent a letter to all broadcasters, cable and DTH firms reminding them to take “preparatory activities” ahead of regulatory and pricing changes from March 1. From that day, no channel priced above Rs 12 will be allowed to be sold as part of a package. Cable and DTH firms will also […]

Who will get ISRO’s new capacity- Sun, Dish or Tata Sky?

Television enthusiasts in India are eagerly waiting to see which DTH provider will benefit from the recent launch of two powerful satellites by the Indian Space Research Organization or ISRO. The two satellites — called GSAT-30 and GSAT-31 — have been launched over the last 12 months. Originally, GSAT-30 was supposed to be placed in […]

Javadekar supports changes to TRAI tariff order

The recent changes made to the TV channel pricing rules of India by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India to the tariff order on January 1 are targeted at dealing with the problems faced by the consumer and balancing the interests of various industry participants, Minister of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar said today. The […]

TRAI TARIFF RULES: Tata Sky, Dish, others to announce new plans today

India’s major cable and DTH companies, such as Tata Sky, Airtel Digital, Dish TV, Hathway and GTPL, are likely to unveil new plans and TV channel packs today under TRAI’s amended tariff order. According to the amended tariff order — which has not been stayed by any court so far — all distribution platforms (cable […]

Cheaper TV channels likely as court gives no stay on TRAI tariff order

The Bombay High Court did not grant any interim stay on the TRAI’s amendments to last year’s tariff order at the second day of hearing on the matter, making it even more likely that broadcasters will be forced to cut their channel prices soon. Instead of issuing a stay, the High Court has posted the […]

TRAI tariff order, slowdown maul Zee Entertainment’s results

Zee Entertainment, the second-biggest broadcasting company in India, continued to bleed under the combined impact of a slowing economy and the company’s decision to increase channel prices under the new TRAI tariff order. While the slowdown in the economy has resulted in companies cutting down on advertising, this has been exacerbated by Zee’s decision to […]

Most of your TV channel packs will stop working on Mar 1

Most of the channel packs currently available to cable and DTH customers are likely to disappear on Mar 1, given that broadcasters like Star, Sony and Zee have missed a 45-day window for making them complaint to new rules. This means that consumers who are currently subscribed to packs from Star, Zee, Colors and other […]

TRAI TARIFF ORDER: Jaya TV becomes the first to publish prices

Mavis Satcom, which operates channels under the Jaya TV banner, has become the first broadcasting company to comply with regulator TRAI’s order to publish updated channel prices by end of day today. The company published prices of four channels and one bouquet. The channel prices remain unchanged and range from Rs 0.50 for Jaya Plus […]

No plans to sell news channels: TV18 Broadcast

Rahul Joshi, Managing Director of TV18, today said his company has no plans to sell its news business. “We’ve outrightly denied any such story in news. In news, the group remains absolutely committed to grow the business. “As you’ve seen, we’ve committed so much investments in digital, on television. So there’s no question of getting […]

Viacom18 testing Voot Premium with international content

Viacom18, the entertainment-focused joint venture of TV18 Broadcast and US-based ViacomCBS, will launch a new content app focusing on premium, English language content, CEO Sudhanshu Vats said today. Commenting on his company’s third quarter results, Vats said the app is currently undergoing beta testing. Viacom18 currently has two apps, Voot — which largely offers Indian […]

No stay on TRAI’s Tariff Order from Bombay HC, yet

The Bombay High Court did not issue a stay on the implementation of the amended TV channel tariff order issued by TRAI on News Year’s day, but kept the possibility open when it takes up the case again on January 22. Broadcasters, under the aegis of Indian Broadcasting Foundation, had approached the Bombay High Court […]

TV18 ad revenue continues to fall, margins improve

TV18 Broadcast Ltd, one of India’s top three broadcasting companies, reported yet another quarter of declining advertising revenue, but the company’s profits zoomed due to cost cuts. Non-subscription revenue — which is mostly composed of advertising sales — fell by Rs 181 cr (16%) in October-December of 2019 compared to the same quarter of 2018. […]