Calling it arbitrary, discriminatory, unreasonable and unjustified, leading broadcasters like Sun, Zee, Star, ESPN and others have dragged the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) before the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) on its recent tariff order for all addressable platforms. In their plea, broadcasters have sought relief from TDSAT including setting aside the Trai tariff order issued in July.
Not only this, the leading broadcasters have challenged the legality, validity and correctness of the Trai tariff order itself. TDSAT will hear the matter on Monday. This is significant for the broadcasters as the Trai order comes into effect from September 1. Broadcasters have alleged that the enforcement of Trai?s tariff order will lead to huge financial losses.
Last month, Trai had come out with the order which reduces pay ceiling for television content in DTH platform to 35% of the existing tariff across cable homes (non-CAS) from the existing 50% formula. This means, after September 1, pay broadcasters will have to price their channel on DTH platforms at 35% or lesser rates fixed for the analogue cable homes. Which means, if a channel is priced at Rs 50 per subscriber per month in the non-CAS market, post September 1, it cannot be priced at more than Rs 17.50 while the earlier formula gave the broadcaster a mandate to price the channel at at least Rs 25 per subscriber per month on the DTH platforms.
?The ceiling of 35% of non-CAS rates for addressable platforms like DTH is arbitrary, discriminatory unreasonable and unjustified without there being any basis or material for Trai to come to such conclusion,? Zee TV and other broadcasters have said in their petition filed before the TDSAT.
Broadcasters allege that Trai also being a broadcast regulator has not initiated measures for ensuring proper declaration of cable consumers in the non-CAS areas. In fact, a leading broadcaster has termed the Trai?s 35% tariff formula for DTH platform has legitimised under-declaration for addressable platforms like DTH.
?By stipulating the 35% ceiling of non-CAS rates, Trai has in fact brought even the subscription revenue from addressable system to the level of the non-CAS area, thereby not only legitimising the under-declarations prevalent in non-CAS areas, but has also extended the same illegality to addressable system,? a leading broadcaster said in its plea to TDSAT.
Broadcasters like Sun, Zee, Star and others have claimed that ?misconceived? bases for fixing the 35% ceiling for broadcasters for DTH platform goes against the basic premise of introducing addressability in the cable sector.
?As per Trai?s own acknowledgement, addressability would ensure proper subscriber revenue generation for the broadcasters by accounting for the 100% of the subscriber base receiving the broadcasting services. Therefore, the entire approach of Trai in adopting the 35% tariff formula for DTH platform and linking it to the non-addressable, analogue cable platform is manifestly unjust, arbitrary and untenable,? a top executive of IBF said.