Long Duration Plans by DTH Providers to Be Soon Replaced by Trai Mandated Plans

However, instead of introducing all new pricing schemes, they could continue with the mega packs, but for that to happen the amount which the DTH companies are paying to the channel owners should be less than what they are getting from the consumers for them to make a profit.

DTH operator, Dish TV remarked about this situation, saying, “The new regulations are applicable to all customer with effect from December 29, 2018,” the company further added, “We are working to ensure there is the least disruption to your viewing experience.”

Madras High Court Strikes Down on New Mandate

The Trai drafted new mandates keeping in mind that this way, consumers would have more choice in their channels. However, Madras High Court has struck on a new part of the tariff order thus outlining that the cable operators and DTH companies would receive channels from owners one-by-one instead of them taking all the channels at once. This would also be evident on the consumer front as the consumers would be able to order channels of their choice sequentially instead of buying bundled plans with unnecessary channels on them. In this case, the order passed by the Madras High Court makes the Trai mandate somewhat futile, since the order sets the pricing of the channels high when they are bought individually, thus promoting bundling.

In this regard, the regulator has approached the Supreme Court saying that pricing bundled channels lower than individual channels promotes the buying of more and more additional channels by the DTH providers and consumers alike. This, in turn, catalyses an anti-competitive environment since many channels from a handful of owners hog the carrying capacity of DTH networks.

Starting December 29, consumers will be able to choose their packages from broadcasters like Zee, Star India, Viacom18 and Sony in addition to choosing packages from their DTH providers.