TRAI’s Reform Playlist on Repeat—Will MIB Hit ‘Play’ or ‘Pause’?

There is increasing uncertainty in the broadcasting industry. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) continues to make no decisions regarding suggested reforms from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Since 2020, TRAI has made 17 recommendations seeking to update reforms in the broadcasting sector. Among these were recommendations regarding the licensing fees associated with direct-to-home (DTH) services, shared infrastructure between cable and telecom operators, and inputs for a National Broadcasting Policy that is expected to be forthcoming.  Yet industry leaders warn that the lack of action from the ministry really does put a damper on growth and innovation at a time when extreme changes are taking place regarding consumer behavior and technological disruption across the sector. 

 

In particular, a few proposals, including updating the Cable TV Act to allow for infrastructure sharing and revising or phasing out DTH licensing fees by FY27, remain undone. Legal practitioners attest that the relationship between the ministry and TRAI relationship seems to have evolved into a more wary, cautious one, particularly with the Indian government thinking about reviving the new Broadcasting Services Regulation Bill, which could change the regulatory landscape by taking away power from TRAI to create a new independent regulator. 

 

Low in the priority rankings for the ministry are calls from various stakeholders in the industry, leaders among cable services and entertainment services in particular, to act quickly on policy decisions so that the entire sector could come together regarding facilitative policies. They agree reform will not be implemented in bits and pieces; the government would use the massive Broadcast Bill to interweave any possible progress with pending recommendations from TRAI. Other unresolved issues pending and influencing reform are the listing of TV channels on electronic program guides, the modernization of DD Free Dish as an addressable platform when it is historically free, and efforts to promote local manufacturing and ease of doing business in the country.

 

The slowness of reform is hampering job growth, particularly in the side of cable TV operators while they wait to talk about other potential growth in subscriber growth as well. The repeated calls asking the government from cable operators and the All India Digital Cable Federation requesting the government to fast track the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill would confirm this sentiment. There have been some positive developments, like extending the renewal period of MSO services and getting the process for registration better for industry use, both of which have put some support back into the cable industry when it needed it most. However, executives still contend that reform is needed intervention into raising channel prices, forced bundling of services and regulatory tariffs that favor OTT platforms in terms of uneven uniform regulations.

 

The timeline for relevant, decisive mechanisms for reform comes down to a time when the industry will be waiting for a government decision to finally pave the way for future broadcasting reform, or in a worst-case scenario, leave a sector still with only speculation about their stability in the industry.

 

Source: The Economic Times