NBA moves TDSAT on cap on ad on TV

News Broadcasters have approached the Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appelate Tribunal (TDSAT) to appeal against TRAI's move to enforce a 12-minute cap on advertisements shown every hour.
Sources said the TDSAT has agreed to hear the matter and asked the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) to file an appeal to which broadcast regulator TRAI would respond.
The NBA has been contesting a recent regulation issued by TRAI which allows TV channels to air only 12 minutes of advertisements and promotional content per hour.
Earlier, representatives of the broadcasting industry had a meeting with top officials of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) where they sought more time before TV channels can reduce the number of ads they can put on air.

Sources said the television industry representatives suggested October 1 from when channels would stick to the TRAI direction of not showing more than 12 minutes of ads.
Taking exception to TV channels not following rules on advertisements, the TRAI had made it mandatory for broadcasters to provide details of commercials telecast in every 15 days.
The regulator's move had at that time drawn stringent criticism from broadcasters, especially the NBA which had termed the new regulation by the TRAI as "an attempt to muzzle the media" by taking away its ability to operate independently.
Sources said the NBA had approached the TDSAT last year over the rule related to the 12-minute cap on advertising every hour but the matter could not be heard while the TRAI issued a new regulation which was aimed at enforcing a strict implementation of the ad limit.