121 non-news channels & 28 news channels have violated ad cap: TRAI

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released a list of news and non-news pay channels that have carried more than 12 minutes average duration per hour of ads during peak hours (7 pm to 10 pm) for the period September 28 to December 27, 2015.

As per the list, there are 121 non-news channels and 28 news channels that have violated the ad cap rule during the said period.

Among the news channels, NDTV 24x7 has longest duration of ad breaks of 22.66 minutes during an hour of programming during peak hours. CNBC TV18 Prime HD had the minimum ad duration of 12.42 minutes.

Among the non-news channels, the biggest violator was B4U Movies with 23.99 minutes of ad break per hour of programming. Sun TV Network’s Adithya channel had the shortest ad duration of 12.13 minutes.

Meanwhile, TRAI has clarified that the information is based on the data submitted by the broadcasters and that the regulatory authority bears no responsibility for correctness of same.

As is known, TRAI had issued a directive wherein a cap of 12 minutes of ads was imposed per hour of broadcasting as contained in the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995.

This has been contested by the News Broadcasters Association and some other channels. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for March 29, 2016.

https://www.trai.gov.in/WriteReadData/WhatsNew/Documents/Non_news_report.pdf