The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has repealed the regulation that capped television advertising at 12 minutes in a clock hour, following the Central government’s removal of the corresponding provision under the Cable Television Networks Rules.
TRAI issued the Standards of Quality of Service (Duration of Advertisements in Television Channels) (Repealing) Regulations, 2026 on Thursday, formally withdrawing the 2012 regulation and all orders and directions issued under them. The underlying provision under the Cable Television Networks Rules was removed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting through notification published in the Official Gazette last month.
The development is significant as the change will give broadcasters greater flexibility over how commercial inventory is packaged and scheduled at a time when TV advertising has been declining owing to the growth of digital advertising. Channels will no longer be operating under the specific 12-minute-per-hour ceiling that governed advertising duration for more than a decade.
The move, said experts, also signifies that both the TRAI and government are on the same page when it comes to providing flexibility to broadcasters. The change is also expected to alter the economics of television advertising, giving broadcasters more room to monetise high-demand programming and allowing advertisers and channels greater flexibility in structuring commercial inventory.
The removal of the ad cap also comes as the festive season kicks off in the country, a time when advertisers across sectors begin to promote their goods and services aggressively.
The 2012 TRAI regulations had prescribed a ceiling of 12 minutes of advertisements in a clock hour during the broadcast of a programme. They also empowered TRAI to issue directions to service providers to ensure compliance and protect subscriber interests.
The regulations were primarily intended to monitor and enforce the advertising-duration ceiling under Rule 7(11) of the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994.
Experts say that while the removal of a formal ceiling does not by itself establish how much advertising individual channels will carry, broadcasters are expected to focus on viewer tolerance, audience behaviour and market demand in no-ad cap environment.
The government said the removal of the cap was driven by significant changes in the television broadcasting sector, increased competition and consumer choice, as well as the objective of enabling fair competition and ease of doing business.
With the government having removed the statutory ceiling, TRAI said continuing its corresponding 2012 regulation would be inconsistent with the amended Cable Television Networks Rules.