TRAI‘s new rules regarding DTH and cable TV will come into effect from February 1, 2019, with 31 January being the deadline for customers to choose their new channels.
After 1 February, subscribers will pay only for the channels they have chosen rather than paying for a pack of channels most of which they don’t watch.
However, TRAI’s new regulations are still facing some legal hurdles with DTH providers like Tata Sky, Sun Direct TV, Bharti Telemedia Limited which owns Airtel TV. All of these providers have filed a petition in the Delhi court against the new regulatory regime.
The final hearing on the case will take place on January 23, which is tomorrow. If the Delhi High Court happens to rule in the favor of the regulator then the new rules will come into effect at its given time, though the companies can then plead to the Supreme Court. If the Delhi Court rules in favor of these companies then the new tariff rules might be stalled.
While providers like Dish TV, Hathaway, and even Airtel has been asking subscribers to choose their 100 channels, Tata Sky, which is the biggest DTH operator has provided no information on the rules. Given that the deadline is arriving soon, this refusal from Tata Sky to provide proper information has left customers confused.
While Tata Sky has filed a petition against the regulator, TRAI, too, has asked Tata Sky to provide the necessary information on time. TRAI has asked Tata Sky to file a status report over the implementation of the new rules, which will let viewers select and pay for the channels they want to see. There have been a number of complaints from customers against Tata Sky regarding this matter.
According to a PTI report, TRAI allegedly said that Tata Sky is misleading its consumers by informing subscribers that “TRAI has extended the date of implementation of new regulatory framework”.
Subscribers have “also pointed out that the customer care center of Tata Sky as well as the (ticker’ running on Tata Sky platform channels are misleading the subscribers by informing that the TRAI has extended the date of implementation of new regulatory framework”, TRAI noted in its letter.
In this situation, the ruling from the Delhi High Court would be crucial in deciding if the rules will be implemented or not.
TRAI’s new rules for the DTH and cable TV state that the customers can choose 100 or more channels and pay exactly what the service provider is charging for these channels, void of any extra fee. Customers can choose 100 base channels(more channels can be added although it will increase the prices) from a range of free-to-air channels(which are free). Customers can also pick their favorite paid channels or the broadcaster bouquet. The base pack will include 100 channels and will be available for a fee of ₹130/month. The base pack will only include Standard Definition channels. Customers can choose any 100 channels among a variety of free-to-air channels.
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