Trai Consultation Paper on Tariff Regime Correction Could Hurt Small Niche Channels and Broadcasters

It has not been a lot of time since the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) implemented the new tariff regime in the country and now the regulator is already looking towards amending the new regulatory framework. After it faced a backlash from the consumers and some sections of the industry like the MSOs, Trai decided to bring some changes to the new rule. For this, Trai has floated a new consultation paper which invites comments from the industry stakeholders. In this consultation paper, Trai has outlined some issues that the industry is facing currently. As per Trai, the sector is currently facing three major issues, and these include the bundling of channels under bouquets, excessive discounts on the channel bouquets and the lack of consumer choice. However, the new corrections that Trai is proposing might hurt the small channels from Lifestyle, travel and niche television broadcasters.

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Trai Suggests Capping of Discount on Channel Bouquets

Trai has also talked about the likely measures that it can take to patch up the issues plaguing the industry. Firstly, Trai has stated that it can cap the discount that can be applied to a channel bouquet. Currently, some of the bouquets are even providing discounts that run up to 50% of the collective price if counted individually. Trai finds a skewed pricing tactic in such a move and is looking to fix it by introducing a discount cap. Another way that Trai might bring a solution is by keeping an eye on the upper cap for individual channel pricing, which is currently set at Rs 19.