SC asks broadcasters opposing Trai tariff to file affidavit

The Supreme Court today asked broadcasters and multi-system operators (MSOs), who are opposing Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (Trai) proposal to cap monthly cable charges at Rs 250 across India, to file affidavits within a month.

A bench comprising Justice P Sathasivam and Justice B S Chauhan directed the broadcasters including Sony Group, Star India, Zee Turner and MSOs to file their affidavits.

The court also directed the Trai to file reply on the objections raised by the broadcasters and MSOs in two weeks' time.

On July 22, filing a draft regulation before the apex court, Trai had proposed to cap the monthly charges at Rs 250 across the country, except for pockets where conditional access system (CAS) is implemented.

In an affidavit to the Court, Trai had proposed to divide cable services into three pricing slabs.

The first one was to have a monthly charge of Rs 100 for a minimum of 30 free-to-air (FTA) channels, including the mandatory Doordarshan channels.

For the second, basic package (which includes Doordarshan channels) with up to 20 pay channels, the monthly bill was to be fixed at Rs 200.

For the basic package with more than 20 pay channels, the subscribers will have to pay Rs 250 per month.

Earlier, there were no limits on the number of FTA channels, but the monthly charge was fixed at Rs 83, while a maximum of Rs 260 was fixed for a basic package plus pay channels.

On the issue of allowing MSOs and cable operators to choose channels on an a-la-carte basis from broadcasters, Trai said it would not be possible in non-CAS regulated areas, where feeds are still given in the analog mode.

"In the analog, non-addressable environment, Trai is of the view that a-la-carte should not be mandatory at the wholesale level, as technological constraints in any case make it impossible for the benefits of a-la-carte provisioning to be passed on to the subscriber," said Trai.

As far as the carriage fees charged by MSOs and area/local cable operators from broadcasters for airing their channels on their networks, Trai said it is not feasible to place any cap on carriage and placement fees and it should be left to the players.

"The authority is of the view that all carriage and placement fee transactions should be part of the interconnection agreement between the broadcasters and MSOs/LCOs," said TraiI, adding that all such agreements between broadcasters and MSOs/LCOs should be filed before it.