SC dismisses 15% discount cap on tariff order; DPO’s question value chain

Yesterday, The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) withdrew its special leave petition filed with the Supreme Court to reinstate the 15% discount cap on the channel bouquets under the new tariff regime. The Madras High Court had set aside their judgment on the discount cap when Star India had filed a plea challenging the authority of the regulator. With broadcasters offering up to 55% discounts on their bouquet offerings TRAI had put forward the 15% discount to cap the bouquet pricing. However, now that the SC has dismissed the petition broadcasters will no longer have to change their bouquet pricing.

This has put DPOs and first level providers in a bind as they cannot compete with broadcasters with their own channel bouquets as they cannot offer the same price value offered by broadcasters' bouquets. They will have to pay broadcasters on a A la carte basis for their channels to build their own bouquets.