PremiumNEW DELHI: The Bombay high court has upheld the constitutional validity of the new tariff order introduced by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), according to a report by legal website Bar & Bench.
It has, however, struck down two pricing conditions as unconstitutional - one, which said the sum of the a-la-carte rates of pay channels forming part of a bouquet shall not exceed one-and-a-half times the rate of the bouquet. And two, the a-la-carte rates of the pay channels shall not exceed three times the average rate of a pay channel of the same bouquet.
According to the new tariff order (NTO), consumers could choose the TV channels they want to watch and pay only for them at maximum retail prices (MRPs) set by broadcasters, instead of the pre-set bouquets offered earlier. The new tariff order was expected to make channels cheaper for the consumer and offer more choice. However, on ground, the opposite has happened as the cost of like-to-like channel options went up.
The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), a representative body of television broadcasters in India, had moved the Bombay HC against the amended NTO. Meanwhile, the telecom regulator had filed caveats in all major high courts against issuing a stay without hearing what it has to say in the matter.
To bring down the cost of entertainment for the end consumer, Trai announced amendments to the NTO on 1 January, 2020. As part of the amendments, the regulator reduced the cap on the MRP of individual channels, which can be part of any bouquet, to Rs12 from Rs19 per month, which the IBF says has not been backed by any logical rationale or consumer insight. The regulator also sought to impose twin conditions for bouquet formation, effectively introducing a cap on bouquet pricing, which broadcasters feel will limit the number of channels in the bouquet and reduce the value delivered to consumers.
Broadcasters that have come together under the IBF umbrella to take on Trai include Star India, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd, and Sony Pictures Networks.
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