TDSAT Rejects Stay on DD Free Dish Pay Channel Regulation, Sets Deadline

The broadcasters opposing the regulation of July 8 by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India have filed an application seeking stay from the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal, which has denied the request. The tribunal has further directed broadcasters to abide by the regulation by publishing a new Reference Interconnect Offer within the next two weeks.

After the Supreme Court directed the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation to challenge the new amendments in broadcast tariff regulations, the body approached TDSAT. Earlier, the Kerala High Court rejected IBDF's petition basing its orders on the approach that TDSAT was the right forum for the matter.

 In simple words, the debate over the regulation is that all channels must be made available freely on all private distribution platforms, otherwise the channels would be pulled out of DD Free Dish as a requirement to continue being pay channels.

The argument presented by IBDF in its petition was that since DD Free Dish does not levy a subscription fee on consumers, it cannot be equated with other Distribution Platform Operators. Conversely, all private DPOs charge subscription fees.

The High Court of Kerala formerly had instructed TRAI not to take any punitive action against broadcasters for not publishing RIOs under the amended regulation. The All India Digital Cable Federation, DTH operators such as Tata Play, Dish TV, Airtel Digital TV, and Sun Direct, as well as Prasar Bharati, have filed impleadment applications before the Kerala High Court seeking to join the case.

In its petition dated August 14, IBDF had raised apprehension that stringent conditions of TRAI might make the reach of the channel less. In that case, a broadcaster is either forced to withdraw its channel from DD Free Dish or go ahead with making it FTA on the other DPOs, thus excluding them from pay channel bouquets.

DPOs have long claimed that broadcasters unfairly charge for channels which are available free-to-air on DD Free Dish. Currently, there are over 15 pay channels available in various genres on that platform.

TRAI and DPOs maintain that tariff regulation applies only to television broadcasting but not to DD Free Dish. The DPOs also point out here that while DD Free Dish is functioning like any commercial platform but not as other private operators, in the sense that it does not charge consumers subscription fees.