TRAI’s Tariff order Commercial Subscribers has worried all the broadcasters. The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) and Star India have challenged the order in different Courts.
While Star India has challenged the regulation and tariff order for commercial subscribers in the Delhi High Court, the IBF has moved the TDSAT.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) has impleaded itself in the Star case while other broadcasters are also considering following suit in the Star matter.
The HC has not granting a stay to Star and has posted the matter for hearing on 26 September. TRAI has to file its reply before the next hearing.
In the other case in TDSAT filed by IBF, TRAI counsel Saket Singh’s has requested to look at the Delhi High Court order before passing an order on the petition. The matter is posted for hearing on 21 August.
In its petition, Star has contended that the TRAI regulation for commercial subscribers has taken away the broadcasters’ right to provide signals directly to subscribers which was allowed in the earlier regulation. The broadcaster has also argued that while the TRAI has recognised commercial subscribers as distinct category, it has not extended that distinction in the tariff order.
The IBF has alleged that the TRAI has violated the fundamental rights of broadcasters by equating commercial subscribers with residential subscribers. It also contended that there is a separate tariff for commercial customers in other services like water and electricity. So why single out cable TV?
TRAI in its amended tariff order for commercial subscribers had stated that the end consumer, whether at his home or at any commercial establishment, gets to view the same content with the same quality of signals. In both cases, the cost to the content owner (broadcaster) and the distribution platform operator (DPO), for supplying the signals, per se, does not vary based on where the signals are supplied.
It had also said that commercial subscribers cannot obtain television service from broadcasters directly since they are not registered with the government for distributo like cable TV, direct-to-home (DTH), headend-in-the sky (HITS), or internet protocol television (IPTV).
Further, the commercial establishments that do not charge its customers for providing television programmes are to be treated like ordinary subscribers and should be charged on per-television basis as in the digital regime, each connection can be accounted for through the STB.
However, in cases where commercial subscribers specifically charge their customers for providing television programmes using their own headend system the tariff would be as mutually agreed between the broadcaster and the commercial subscriber, TRAI had said.
Source: http://cablequest.org/news/legal-news/item/5746-cq-broadcasters-challenge-trai%E2%80%99s-tariff-order-for-commercial-subscribers.html
Source: http://cablequest.org/news/legal-news/item/5746-cq-broadcasters-challenge-trai%E2%80%99s-tariff-order-for-commercial-subscribers.html
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