On Tuesday, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) instructed the Tamil Nadu Digital Cable TV Operators Association to dismiss the legal notice filed against it after the Star India adopts a new tariff structure and delays revised prices.
In a letter dated on January 4, 2021, the sector watchdog wrote to the legal counsel for the Tamil Nadu-based cable TV operators group, saying, “In light of the Trai’s letter dated November 10, 2021, M/s Star India Private Limited (broadcaster) has intimated about the deferment of all changes made in its revised Reference Interconnect Offer (RIO) filed on October 15, 2021, and added that because of the preceding, you are advised “to withdraw the said legal notice.
According to the sources, the state’s digital cable TV operators organisation is unlikely to retract the notification, which was issued on October 18, 2021. “Our clients have been shocked and surprised to see the conduct and malafide of the pay channel broadcasters who have wrongly interpreted the New Tariff Order, 2020 and have substantially inflated the prices of the pay channels,” the Delhi-based law firm said in a legal notice on behalf of the TV operators group.
The group’s decision comes in the footsteps of big broadcasters Star & Disney India, Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN), Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEE), and Viacom18 announcing the altered channel pricing from December 1, claiming compliance with the Trai’s modified tariff ruling.
According to the notification, the broadcasters published their reference interconnect offer (RIO), in which one of the most heavily subscribed channels by customers would be inflated by 100 per cent to 200 per cent.
The regulator also stated that, in regards to the implementation of the new regulatory framework 2020, Trai issued a letter to broadcasters and the distribution platform operators (DPO) on November 10, 2021, requesting that all broadcasters report any change in name, nature, language, the maximum retail price per month, and bouquet composition as per the new norms to the authority by December 31, 2021.
The regulator has extended the timeframe for implementing the new tariff order until April 1, 2022.
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