TRAI TARIFF ORDER: Calcutta High Court lifts stay, gives breather to LCOs

The Calcutta High Court has vacated the stay it imposed on the implementation of the new tariff scheme by TRAI, even as it gave extra time for cable operators to negotiate a deal with their feed suppliers. The stay was imposed two days ago after cable operators said that the new rules would hurt them […]

Cable operators accuse TRAI of trying to hijack customers, HC orders stay

The Calcutta High Court said it will decide whether to lift its stay on the implementation of TRAI’s new TV channel regulations on Thursday after ascertaining if cable operators genuinely have a right and wherewithal to negotiate with their feed providers. The court came to this conclusion after the TRAI disputed the complaint given by […]

Tata Sky vs TRAI: Delhi High Court issues no stay

The country seems to be all set for the implementation of a new pricing regime for cable and DTH services from Friday, with Delhi High Court posting the next date in the Tata Sky vs TRAI case without any stay order on the implementation of the 2017 tariff order. Tata Sky, Bharti Airtel and Discovery […]

Pune Cable Operators fail to get stay on TRAI tariff rollout

The Bombay High Court refused to stay the 2017 TV channel tariff order by TRAI in a case filed by the Pune Cable Operators’ Association. The new tariff scheme is scheduled to come into operation from Friday across the country, except in West Bengal. The Pune Cable Operators’ Association tried to get a stay today […]

Calcutta High Court may lift stay on new TRAI tariff rules

Calcutta High Court will hear at 2 PM today an application by broadcast and telecom regulator TRAI seeking a vacation of the stay imposed on the roll-out of the new tariff system from Feb 1. The High Court had yesterday imposed a stay on the implementation of the tariff order after cable operators in Kolkata […]

TRAI TARIFF PLANS: How to deal with higher TV channel prices

With only 36 hours to go for TRAI’s deadline to implement new tariff plans for cable and DTH platforms in India, all DTH providers and most cable users are faced with the dilemma of how to choose the channels and packs they are going to watch in the new regime. The new system was supposed […]

TRAI TARIFF: Tata Sky waives network charges on some channels

With Sun Direct offering zero incremental network charge on all its channels, including free, paid and HD, market leader Tata Sky too is offering waive network charges, but only on select channels. As reported earlier, Sun Direct is offering all its channels without network charges, provided the user pays the minimum amount of Rs 130 […]

TRAI RULE: Sun Direct beats Tata Sky, Airtel, D2h by offering all channels for Rs 153 network fee

Sun Direct, the smallest of the six DTH players in India, has bowled a googly at its rivals like Tata Sky and D2h by offering all its channels at a network charge of Rs 154 only. In comparison, other DTH and cable firms give only the first 100 channels for Rs 154. In other words, […]

Tata Sky cancels all long-duration packs, yearly plans

Tata Sky, India’s second largest DTH provider, has canceled all the long-duration packs it was offering to consumers and will move the users to monthly packs. This applies to all its users, including those who purchased long-duration packs this week. Many users had got special offers on long-term recharges, such as those that are valid […]

TRAI says no extension on new tariff plan deadline, issues reminder

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has urged consumers not to fall for rumors about any extension of the deadline for the implementation of the new tariff scheme for TV channels, and asked them to shift to the new packs as soon as possible. The regulator also shot off letters to all broadcasters, cable operators and […]

Tata Sky gives in to TRAI, announces new channels and packs

Tata Sky, India’s second largest TV channel distributor, finally unveiled its channels and packs under TRAI’s new tariff rules — and offered support to almost all broadcaster’s plans and packs. Tata Sky consumers can log on to mytatasky.com or packselection.tatasky.com to modify their existing packs and packages and select the new bouquets and packs under […]

Jio GigaFiber moves closer to reality as Reliance’s Den acquisition gets approval

Jio GigaFiber, the wired service from Reliance Jio, moved closer to its mega roll-out plan after it received a crucial approval from the Competition Commission for the company’s purchase of Den Networks and Hathway Cable & Datacom. The approval by the Competition Commission was seen as the main, if not the only, crucial regulatory approval […]

TRAI Rules: D2h adds support for Star channel packs

D2h, the DTH service from Dish TV India Ltd, has added support for several channel packs from Star India, in an apparent deviation from its earlier stance. The DTH operator had, like rival Sun Direct, omitted all channel packs from Star India when it came out with its list of supported broadcaster packs. There have […]

JIO GIGAFIBER: Reliance reiterates commitment to partner small cable operators

Reliance Jio, which today announced another quarter of strong growth in its 4G wireless services, reiterated its commitment to working with small cable operators as it rolls-out broadband-cum-IPTV network GigaFiber. The company also said that it is in the process of connecting homes to its fiber-to-the-home service, based on the requests received via its website. […]

Can Netflix avoid going Apple’s way in India?

As Netflix inches closer to saturation point in its North American home market, it is desperately looking for growth abroad. India being the only billion plus market where it can operate with ease, it is no wonder that its push is aggressive here. However, as Netflix’s market share stagnates, does it risk meeting the same […]

Channel Tariffs: TRAI ‘clarification’ creates massive confusion

A clarification by broadcast regulator TRAI intended to stop cable and DTH operators from forcing ‘junk channels’ on customers has created massive confusion, with media outlets failing to understand what the regulator was trying to say, and in turn confusing their readers. TRAI had, on January 10, clarified that there was no rule that the […]

TRAI denies media report on offering 100 pay channels for Rs 153 under new tariff rule

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has denied a news report published by a major daily in India, claiming that the Authority has issued an order giving 100 free or pay channels for Rs 153. An official pointed out that the Authority has issued no such new rule, and that it is not possible to provide […]

2019: The Turning Point for Indian M&E?

Growth trends of last decade show that Indian M&E can act as an important contributor to India’s economic growth, but the sector continues to be a dwarf compared to its global peers. Can 2019 prove to be a point of inflection and kick-start next decade of explosive growth? The year was 2009 when Indian media […]

CHANNEL PRICES: TRAI botches new tariff rollout; could hurt BJP in 2019

The curious case of TRAI’s implementation of the its 2017 Tariff Order, which threatens to add yet another negative factor for NDA in upcoming polls, can be an excellent case study of what ails India’s legal and regulatory system. The saga started almost two years ago with four companies — Star India, Discovery Communications, Tata […]