INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NEW DELHI: Broadcasters and regional cable/multi-system operators on Sunday exchanged barbs over the New Tariff Order (NTO), which entered
into force in February 2023
3 leading broadcasters, Disney Star, Zee Entertainment Enterprises and Sony Pictures Networks India Ltd, have already stopped supplying feed
to cable television operators which have not signed fresh agreements with increased prices under the New Tariff Order (NTO) 3.0
The Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF) in a declaration on Sunday charged All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) members
of making unreliable remarks relating to the new cost program and conjuring up customer belief
AIDCF, the pinnacle body of digital cable television players, hit back, declaring that broadcasters have substantially increased their
channel prices and bouquet costs by approximately 18 - 35 per cent which will definitely impact the customer price
Average price boost across various locations of the nation anticipated to be in the range of Rs 30 to Rs 100 per month depending upon the
channels/bouquets opted by the customer, stated AIDCF statement adding it will lead to an expense of near to Rs 5,000 crore to Rs 8,000
crore per annum to customers which will mainly benefit the broadcasters
Earlier IBDF, a body which represents the broadcasters and digital streaming platforms, said under the brand-new pricing routine, the
subscriber has the flexibility of option on whether to pick one channel or an arrangement of channels.The optimum monthly subscription fee
for a channel to be consisted of in an arrangement is Rs 19/- which is significantly lesser than the cost of essentials in the country
The attempt of the AIDCF to invoke customer belief on the cost boost is belied by their effort to increase that portion of the consumer
costs that goes just to the AIDCF members, i.e
Network Capacity Fees (NCF), it said.Three leading broadcasters - Disney-Star, Sony and Zee - have actually switched off their channels
from Saturday morning to the cable operators, which have not signed fresh contracts with increased rates under the New Tariff Order (NTO)
Previously, the broadcasters provided notices on February 15 to cable television operators/Multi System Operators to sign the new Reference
Interconnect Offer (RIO) for New Tariff Order (NTO) 3.0 released by the sectoral regulator TRAI.However, cable company did not follow it
leading to the disconnection of signals by the broadcasters
Nearly 45 million homes are impacted who are unable to see the channels from these broadcasters, it said including Now, broadcasters are
urging customers to go through the hassle of changing their provider for their own limited advantage
However IBDF said NTO 3.0 was brought by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) after a substantial consultative procedure
AIDCF and its members also participated in the consultative process and were plainly knowledgeable about the timelines prescribed by TRAI
They understood that the law mandates that the television channels might just be provisioned under a signed interconnect contract, it
said.As these days, all DTH service providers and the majority of the cable operators, including some AIDCF members, have actually executed
the amended regulatory framework
Consequently, more than 90 percent of the DPOs have signed the modified adjoin arrangement released by the broadcasters, thereby choosing to
adhere to the law and making sure that the service is not interfered with for the majority of the customers, IBDF said in its statement.It
even more stated the broadcasters are under no legal responsibility to supply any extra opportunity to the AIDCF members, they used such
DPOs additional 48 hours to sign the modified adjoin contract in order to continue getting TV signals without disruption, keeping in mind
the interest of the subscribers
The broadcasters, for that reason, had no legal recourse however to disconnect TV services from the DPOs that declined to adhere to the
regulatory structure, it said.While AIDCF said the association and MSOs have actually challenged NTO 3.0 before the High court of Kerala
asking for remain on this TRAI modification
Various LCO associations have actually also submitted their asked for to put a remain on this TRAI change, it included
