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 […]
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 […]
The Bombay High Court has not granted any stay on TRAI’s modified tariff order for TV channels that is scheduled to come into effect from March 1. Instead, the bench of Justices SC Dharmadhikari and RI Chagla posted the matter for February 12 and 13. This is the third time that broadcasters have had to […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Even as the channel owners today took TRAI to the courts over changes to channel pricing rules, the regulator has issued a statement responding to their concerns. Broadly, it said the latest changes were required to overcome ‘teething problems’ associated with such a radical shift to a choice-oriented television distribution regime, but also criticized some […]
With just two days remaining for a deadline to file amended TV channel tariffs, a case filed by India’s big broadcasters in the Bombay High Court has been listed for hearing tomorrow in front of Justice SC Dharmadhikari. Broadcasters, including Star India, Zee Entertainment, Sony Networks and others, have come together under the banner of […]
Media and telecom sector regulator TRAI has amended its 2017 tariff order — which came into effect a year ago — introducing a new price-cap of Rs 12 per pay channel, down from Rs 19 earlier. It also introduced new safeguards and conditions to curtail the practice of forcing unwanted channels upon consumers. However, these […]
Telecom regulator TRAI is unlikely to recommend floor pricing for voice and data services in India due to ideological as well as practical reasons, according to industry officials. The telecom regulator today came out with a consultation paper saying it wants to broad-base the discussion on setting minimum price for data and voice. At present, […]
An average Airtel Digital customer spent 4.1% more money on their DTH service in July-September period compared to the previous three months, beating back the seasonal effect of the monsoons and indicating that customers may be gradually spending more on their cable and DTH bills. The monsoon season tends to see smaller recharges by prepaid […]
Media regulator TRAI will come up with a modified set of rules to increase transparency in the pricing of television channels in the next 20-25 days, Chairman RS Sharma said on the sidelines of the open house discussion on the subject in New Delhi. Sharma’s statement comes in the wake of widespread complaints about broadcasters […]
Zee Entertainment Enterprises CEO Punit Goenka reassured investors that the recent cut in the price of some of its popular TV channels, such as Zee TV, is short-term in nature, and won’t leave any long-term impact on the company. Zee Entertainment, Star India, Sony India and TV18 Broadcast have cut the a-la carte prices of […]
TV18 Broadcast, which operates channels like Colors and News18, has reported a dip of Rs 71 cr in its revenue after a shift from free to pay for some of its entertainment channels and a soft economy hurt advertising sales. “Macro-weakness and shift of channels from DD Freedish to Pay ecosystem continues to drag ad-revenues […]
Den Networks, one of India’s top cable feed providers, reported better profit margins for the three months ended September after it was able to keep a lid on payments made to broadcasters like Star, Zee and Sony. The company has been seeing a lot of volatility and uncertainty over its margins and financial performance after […]
Some of the popular television channels owned by major broadcasters like Star India, Zee Entertainment and TV18 have seen their prices reduced on a temporary basis as the broadcasting regulator puts the final touches on a new law aimed at bringing down individual channel prices and curbing anti-competitive practices. The cuts come barely a week […]
Reliance Jio, India’s largest telecom operator by revenue, said it has decided to charge 6 paise per minute for calls made to other operators like Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea due to TRAI’s decision to possibly continue with the six-paise-per-minute termination charge. TRAI had, two years ago, announced that the ‘termination charge’, paid by one […]
Discovery Communications, the country’s most popular provider of reality-based television programming, has come out strongly against TRAI’s current rule that requires channel owners to treat all cable and DTH operators equally. Media regulator TRAI had earlier this year implemented Tariff Order of 2017, under which broadcasters like Discovery, Zee and Star have to offer channels […]
Tata Sky, a premium satellite TV provider in India, has unveiled a scheme by which heavy customers can bring down their monthly network fee by up to Rs 300. However, to get the lower network charge — also known as network capacity fee or NCF — a subscriber must buy some television channels picked by […]
