The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has promulgated a new set of rules for the broadcast sector, wherein TV viewers only need to pay for channels they wish to watch. The overall bill for consumers may change depending on the channels they choose.

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The new pricing policy is aimed at bringing in transparency and empowering the audience who were earlier offered packs by DTH and cable operators without much choice.

A recent report by CARE Ratings said Trai's new tariff regime is likely to push up the DTH bill. However, total bill amount can be reduced if a subscriber selectively chooses only the channels which he views on a regular basis, it said.

Comparison of billing before and after the TRAI’s tariff order:

Scenario 1: Before the TRAI’s tariff order came into effect, a subscriber situated in the urban area would be billed at about Rs 400-500 for on an offering of about 800 SD channels.

Scenario 2: Billing under the new tariff order:

TV viewer chooses SD packs with popular channels, which includes a mix of various genres including general entertainment channels (GEC), lifestyle, movies, music, kids, news, sports, etc.

"On comparison of scenario 1 and 2, it can be concluded that at a similar price, greater number of channels were being offered to a subscriber before the tariff order, compared with what is being offered today (after the implementation of tariff order)," the report said.

Trai extended the deadline till March 31 for selection of channels by customers and subscribers old plan will continue till it makes the choice.

The regulator also directed that customers who don't exercise choice will migrate to 'Best Fit Plan.'

The new tariff could lead to consolidation among the multi-system operators (MSOs) and local cable operators (LCOs) shortly, the report said.

"Content cost will now be a pass-through for distributors and be borne by broadcasters, which was earlier being shared between broadcasters and distributors in a mutually decided ratio. This could lead to an improvement in

margins of distributors which will also lead to consolidation among MSOs and LCOs in the coming months," Care Rating said.

The report further noted that distributors, who are already facing pressure due to increasing penetration of OTT players, may start offering heavy discounts to combat competition and sustain, which can benefit subscribers whose bill amount can come down.

For broadcasters, the agency also expects content to drive the channel

selection and unpopular channels may go off the air if they are unable to generate enough subscriptions and ad revenue.

First Published:Feb 12, 2019 7:55 PM IST