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New Delhi: The Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF), a representative body of television broadcasters, has withdrawn the petitions it had filed in the Supreme Court challenging the new tariff order (NTO) 2.0 introduced by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India in January 2020, said two people, requesting anonymity.
A copy of the application for withdrawal of Special Leave Petition has been seen by Mint. It said that although the SLP was listed for final disposal before Supreme Court, Trai has postponed the implementation of the Regulatory Framework to 1 June and has assured stakeholders that it proposes to initiate fresh exercise in consultations.
It said, in view of the representation made by Trai to the member broadcasters of IBDF, the petitionersseek to withdraw the present appeal. However, they added that the withdrawal “may be permitted without prejudice to the Petitioners’ right to raise, in future proceedings, all issues, questions of law as well as the questions of interpretation of the constitutional /statutory provisions."
While the details of the discussion between the regulator and the broadcasters are not known, a senior executive at a TV network said the petitions were withdrawn ‘in the spirit of consultation’ and “is a way for Trai to admit its mistake".
“Trai will come out with a short-term consultation paper to capture existing problems, and come up with recommendations, before working on a long-term solution." Trai may go back to the drawing board with this regulation, he added.
The Supreme Court has, however, said the broadcasting industry can take up the matter at a future date, if Trai fails to address their concerns raised in the petition.
A Trai spokesperson said it was a welcome step. “Trai will endeavour to implement the regulations and tariff order, protecting the interests of consumers and all service providers," he added.
Queries sent to IBDF did not elicit a response till press time.
Earlier this month, Trai had extended the implementation deadline of NTO 2 from 1 April to 1 June due to covid-led disruptions. The Bombay high court had upheld the constitutional validity of NTO 2 except for one condition which said that the maximum retail price per month of a-la-carte channels forming a part of the bouquet should not exceed three times the average MRP of a pay channel of the bouquet.
When NTO was first introduced and allowed consumers to choose a la carte channels, the cost of entertainment went up forcing Trai to amend its order. NTO 2.0 was announced in January 2020 which capped a bouquet channel price at ₹12 instead of ₹19. IBDF had said this was not backed by any logical rationale or consumer insight.
At a recent event, K. Madhavan, chairman, CII national committee on media and entertainment and president, the Walt Disney Company India and Star India, had said that the new team at Trai is inclined to address the concerns of the industry. “We hope to have a more proactive and positive approach from the regulator. There needs to be light-touch regulation, so as to not hold the industry back," Madhavan had said at the Big Picture Summit.
At the same event, Trai chairman P D Vaghela said that the regulator is committed to ensuring ease of doing business for the telecom and broadcast sector. “Trai’s main motto is to create a level-playing field for all stakeholders...and ensure balance between broadcasters and distribution operators. Transparency in tariffs and service offerings for consumers remain the core objective of Trai, but also unfortunately, slightly controversial. The fact that our tariffs in broadcasting are among the lowest in the world exemplifies that Trai interventions have helped the consumers," Vaghela had said.
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