The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology (SCCIT) on Thursday urged the central government to bring in a comprehensive Act for regulating the industry and creating a level playing field for all broadcasting services.

The panel made the recommendations while expressing concerns over a continuing decline in cable TV subscribers.

In its 56th report on ‘Regulation of Cable Television in India’, submitted in both Houses of the Parliament, the standing committee told the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) that the Cable TV industry needs to be regulated through a comprehensive Act.

“As submitted by MIB, there is an urgent need for creating a level playing field for all broadcasting services as well as for addressing the need for satellite-based technologies, which are being regulated through the old legislation. The Committee believes the Cable TV industry needs to be regulated through a comprehensive Act and therefore it recommends the ministry to ensure that the proposed ‘Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023’ sees the light of the day at the earliest since it will go a long way in resolving the concerns of this industry,” the parliamentary panel said.

The committee has also asked the ministry to ensure adequate consultations are done with all concerned stakeholders.

It has recommended that all aspects concerning the cable industry must be taken into consideration while bringing in the comprehensive bill.

One of the biggest concerns of the cable TV industry has been pricing of channels by broadcasters and the negative impact on the cable tv industry, the panel said.

Peeush Mahajan, President AIDCF, said: “We are extremely thankful to the Honorary Parliament Committee on Communications and Information Technology for their detailed examination on the issues plaguing the Cable TV Industry. The Committee has correctly observed that the Cable TV industry has been seeing a steady decline and is struggling for its survival, majorly due to the drastic increase in prices of pay TV channels (in some cases as high as 600%) by the Broadcasters in the last 4-5 years. Coupled with the price hikes, the broadcasters have also forced bundling of their channels on the consumers which has effectively robbed them of the freedom of choice.

“Consumers have been forced to opt for bouquets of channels which have a few popular channels bundled with channels which are not as popular and not relevant to the specific market. We urge the honourable TRAI to bring in a holistic consultation and resolve the issues as recognised by the Parliamentary Committee at the earliest and to ensure the survival of the lakhs of people employed in the sector.”

Considering the challenges put forward by All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF), the committee noted that the main concern within the purview of Cable TV Regulations is about the prevalent practice of broadcasters implementing substantial discounts in the pricing of bouquets while maintaining elevated individual prices for a-la-carte channels.

“The committee was informed by AIDCF that TRAI has given complete forbearance to broadcasters to price their channels at any level (except for a notional capping at Rs. 19 if the channels are to be included in Bouquet).

“This is being misused by broadcasters as they have significantly increased their Pay TV channel prices by up to 600 per cent after the implementation of the New Tariff Order in 2019 and a further hike of up to 200 per cent in some cases after the implementation of NTO 3.0, by force-bundling all their channels, which is eventually becoming a burden on Pay TV subscribers,” the panel noted.

According to AIDCF, a broadcaster makes a bouquet of channels (which include one or two driver channels and about 7-8 unpopular channels) and demands MSOs and DTH players to sell the same bouquet to a minimum of 90% of the subscriber base without breaking the bouquet.

An MSO does not get the incentive if 90 per cent subscribers do not subscribe to the bouquet intact, the panel noted, adding that it means a common man pays for 7-8 unwanted channels which include English channels, sports channels (which have important events only 2-3 months in a year).

“AIDCF also submitted that the Cable TV monthly prices for the consumers have significantly increased from Rs. 200-300 in 2017-18 to Rs 350-450 in 2022- 23.

“DPOs are forced to sell broadcasters bouquets and a-la-carte prices of the channel are artificially hiked, so that consumer is also forced to purchase bouquets only. They have also stated that the TRAI consultation paper in 2019 have pointed out this, but no action was taken to correct it,” the committee said.

The Committee has acknowledged that the current practice of compelling subscribers to opt for predefined bouquets offered by broadcasters acts as a hindrance to consumer choice.

“While the committee does not question the broadcasters' intent, it perceives that this practice does not align with the interests of consumers,” it said, recommending that Distribution Platform Operators (DPOs) be granted the authority to select individual channels from broadcasters' bouquets in order to safeguard consumer interests and promote freedom of choice.

Further, to ensure that consumers have the flexibility to subscribe only to channels of their interest, fostering a more personalized viewing experience, the committee has recommended that DPOs should only be permitted to choose channels based on consumer preferences and remit to broadcasters the proportional price of the selected channels. “The committee wishes to be apprised of the action taken in this regard,” it said.

Following are the other recommendations of the SCCIT:

1. Demarcation on the advertising guidelines between Pay TV and free-to-air channels: The Committee considered that there is a need for a thoughtful examination of such issues to safeguard consumer interests. The Committee, therefore, call upon for a categorization of channels as either Pay-TV or Free-to-air (FTA), based on the respective sources of revenue.
2. 1. Issue of reduction in employment and job losses: The Committee while taking note that the decline in the work force in Cable TV sector is one of the inevitable effects of the advancement of technology, called upon the Ministry to apprise about the measures envisaged to address this issue.
3. 1. Impact of OTT platforms on cable TV:  The Committee observed that there is a need to rectify the existing disparity between Cable TV and OTT Platforms. With the aim of eliminating content disparities across various content delivery platforms, the Committee recommend the Ministry to enact a comprehensive regulatory framework. This framework should compel Broadcasters to make their content accessible on all available platforms, ensuring a level playing field for cable television and analogous technologies. Such measures, would aid in promoting fairness, diversity, and accessibility in the content distribution landscape, benefiting both consumers and industry stakeholders.
4. 1. The Committee recommended for initiating a comprehensive consultation focused on the costing methodology of TV channels. This consultation should also aim to tackle the issue where consumers, who are essentially paying subscription fees, find themselves subjected to advertisements for a significant duration of their viewing experience.
5. 1. The Committee would further like to engage in constructive discussions regarding the proposed draft legislation at a more mature stage of its formulation. The Committee also desire to be apprised of the timeline by which the Ministry would table the Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023 for the consideration of the Parliament. The Committee desire to be apprised of the progress made in this regard.