The Parliamentary standing committee on communications and information technology has expressed concern over a significant increase in television channel pricing by broadcasters and recommended more freedom of choice to consumers for selecting individual TV channels.
In its 56th report on the regulation of cable television in India, the committee said that the central concern within the purview of cable TV regulations pertains to prevalent practice of broadcasters implementing substantial discounts in pricing channel bouquet. On the other hand, pricing of a-la-carte channels, which are outside of the bouquet, continue to see increase in prices by broadcasters, the committee said.
The observations have come after the implementation of the new tariff order (NTO 3.0), which came into effect from February 1, 2023. The panel echoed the argument by the All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) that the broadcasters have significantly increased their Pay TV channel prices by up to 600% after the implementation of the New Tariff Order in 2019 and a further hike of up to 200% in some cases after the implementation of NTO 3.0.
Further, AIDCF also alleged that broadcasters have misused the tariff order by force bundling all unwanted channels, which is eventually becoming a burden on Pay TV subscribers.
According to AIDCF, the broadcaster makes a bouquet of channels (which include one or two driver channels and about 7-8 unpopular channels) and demands multiple-system operators (MSOs) and DTH (direct to home) players to sell the same bouquet to a minimum of 90% of the subscriber base without breaking the bouquet. Therefore, in order to safeguard consumer interests and promote freedom of choice, the Committee recommended that DPOs/MSOs should be granted the authority to select individual channels from broadcasters’ bouquets and offer them to the consumer.
The same will ensure that consumers have the flexibility to subscribe only to channels of their interest, fostering a more personalised viewing experience. MSOs act as intermediaries between broadcasters and local Cable TV operators. The latter then provides services to consumers. Peeush Mahajan, president of AIDCF said, “the Committee has correctly observed that the Cable TV industry has been seeing a steady decline and is struggling for its survival, majorly due to the drastic increase in prices of pay TV channels (in some cases as high as 600%) by the broadcasters in the last 4-5 years”.
Cable TV monthly prices for the consumers have increased from Rs 200-300 in 2017-18 to Rs 350-450 in 2022-23, AIDCF said. The panel has also recommended initiating a comprehensive consultation focused on the costing methodology of TV channels.
This consultation should also aim to tackle the issue where consumers, who are essentially paying subscription fees, find themselves subjected to advertisements for a significant duration of their viewing experience, it said. Among other things, the panel also recommended to rectify the existing disparity between Cable TV and OTT platforms.