NTO 2.0: Time ripe for developing a broadcaster self-regulatory body

An alternative to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) or a mechanism that is in sync with the changing times is the need of the hour, say industry experts, given the kind of intrusive ways in which the broadcast industry continues to be managed. Calls for an alternative mechanism gains even more prominence, especially in view of the controversies surrounding the New Tariff Order (NTO 2.0). Industry stakeholders are of the opinion that deregulating the industry will be the best way forward.

A veteran broadcaster asserted that TRAI’s alacrity in regulating pricing will eventually kill the TV industry. “Already, we can see gradual migration of TV customers to digital. OTT is gaining prominence. TV should co-exist along with OTT players. There should be space for every player; it is not in the best interest of the industry to let one segment grow at the cost of the other. So, it is not prudent for TRAI to have an overriding control over the pricing of channels. And it doesn’t make sense when TRAI says that it is for the best interest of the consumers that they are exerting the control. Where can you see a similar kind of regulation happening? Is the cement industry or automobile industry bogged down by such levels of controlling?,” he asked.

According to him, TRAI’s efforts in this regard will only accelerate cord-cutting on a massive scale as we have seen in the West.

According to Paritosh Joshi, Principal, Provocateur Advisory, the duty of TRAI as the sector regulator is to protect consumer interests. “What has it done? As long back as in 2006, TRAI said it would progressively move to forbearance in pricing because market forces will decide it. In 2021, TRAI is more intrusive than it was in 2006. However, it is not protecting consumer interests. Consumers’ cable billing has gone up as broadcasters have now been constrained to increase the price of their bouquets. In the process, the only person to get hurt is the end consumer. Infotainment and other niche channels will be marginalised. They will start switching their content to digital platforms. Nobody in the value chain – the broadcaster, the consumer, or the distribution service operators – stands benefitted. Today, as a cable consumer I can cut the cord and go completely digital,” said Joshi.

According to him, NTO 2.0 is another unfortunate example of micro-managing tariffs. Adding further, he said that TRAI has become a regulator by accident, not by design, after a Delhi High Court ruling, which was meant to be temporary. In 2004, the Delhi High Court ruled on a matter involving the MSOs Alliance involving the implementation of CAS.

“At that time there was no statutory body who understood the broadcast sector. The Delhi High Court believed that if they cannot find a sector specialist they would find a sector adjacent specialist, which was TRAI. The issue with regulatory bodies or bureaucrats in general is that once they get some authority, they will never give it up. Time may be ripe to develop a broadcaster self-regulatory body. In the case of TRAI they did not even have a challenger. There is no alternative time that may be ripe to develop a broadcaster self-regulatory body,” he maintained.

Joshi affirmed that the industry should be put on a path of deregulation and systematically start rolling back on tariff and other restrictive regulations. India is no stranger to that. He pointed out, “In many industries over the last several years there has been deregulation. That should happen here as well. Systematically unwind those things that have been put into place one by one. One part of that, very clearly, is tariff regulation. They should only be worried about the quality of service to consumers. That should be discriminating about what they regulate. Regulate by exception, not exhaustion.

The overzealousness with which TRAI goes about regulating the industry doesn’t augur well for the broadcasting industry in general. What then is the way out?

It’s time we take a cue from countries like in the West, says an industry observer, who has been critical of the ways in which the broadcast industry in India is regulated. It’s not prudent for a country like ours to remain regressive when the world moves at a frenetic pace, he maintained. What is needed, according to him, is a convergence of departments such as IT, telecom, and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. According to him, deregulation is the key in the best interest of all the players in the value chain – broadcasters, advertisers, distribution players, and consumers.