As per the revised timeline, the new channel and bouquet pricing for the subscribers will be effective from April 1, 2022.
Broadcasters will have to submit their Reference Interconnect Offer (RIO), which includes the MRP of their channels and bouquet, as well as other terms and conditions of the interconnect agreement, by December 31. Broadcasters who have already published RIOs in compliance with NTO 2.0 can also revise and submit new RIOs by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Distribution Platform Operators (DPOs)- DTH And cable companies The channels and bouquets will have to submit their distributor retail price (DRP) and other details by January 31, 2022.
TRAI has given time to DPOs to receive requests from consumers to subscribe to channels of their choice between February 1 and March 31 and implement the new regulatory framework from April 1.
In a letter dated November 10, Arvind Kumar, advisor (broadcasting and cable services) at TRAI, had informed broadcasters and DPOs about the new deadline.
ET has seen the copy of the letter.
In the letter, Kumar said that broadcasters who did not comply with the provisions of the new regulatory framework by October 12 were asked to comply within 10 days, Trai also received representations from several service providers, which they called for some “practical ” raised. issues” with reference to the lack of time in creating an ecosystem related to the implementation of the new framework in the system and the transfer of consumers to the new tariff plan.
“The Authority, after considering the concerns expressed by various stakeholders and in particular with regard to the time frame for migration of customers and taking their choice, is of the view that paucity of time does not stand in the way of smooth implementation of the new regulatory framework. In search of informed options for over 15 crore pay TV consumers,” Kumar wrote in the letter. “Therefore, sufficient time should be given to the service providers to upgrade their IT systems and incorporate different channels/bouquets before offering the same to the consumers.”
ET first reported on October 18 that the top four broadcasters – Star & Disney India, Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEE), Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) and Viacom18 had updated their channel prices in compliance with NTO 2.0 , resulting in at least 50% jump in the monthly cable bill of the subscribers from 1st December.
Under NTO 2.0, TRAI has capped the price of channels that are part of the bouquet to Rs 12. However, broadcasters are allowed to pay higher prices for their channels being kept out of the bouquet.
In their respective RIOs, the top four broadcasters kept all popular channels out of the bouquet and priced them between Rs 15 and Rs 25 per month.
Recently, a delegation of broadcasters under the aegis of Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF) met the Chairman of TRAI, who assured them to review the existing issues keeping in mind the best interests of all stakeholders in the broadcasting value chain. Gave.