About 65% of the cable service subscribers and 35% DTH subscribers have exercised the options till date
With rising consumer grievances against the new broadcasting tariff framework, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Tuesday extended the deadline for selecting channels to March 31.
The subscribers who did not exercise their options can do so till March 31, and till then they will be migrated to a 'Best Fit Plan' by their service providers, Trai said in a statement.
The new framework had come into effect on February 1.
Subscribers will be free to change their 'Best Fit Plan' at any date and time on or before March 31 and it can be converted into the desired pack within 72 hours from the time choice exercised. There will be no 'lock-in period' for such subscribers, Trai said.
These plans would be developed as per usage pattern, language, channel popularity. However, the same should not exceed the current monthly tariff plan, Trai said.
There are about 100 million cable service TV homes and 67 million DTH TV homes in the country. As on date, approximately 65% of the subscribers of the cable services and 35% subscribers of the DTH services have already exercised the options.
There have multiple instances where subscribers were not able to exercise their choice or are confused or there are technical issues at the end of service provider.
In some cases, the service providers have not been able to reach out to subscriber to create awareness among them and collect the options. Some subscribers may be required to go to nearest Point of Sale (POS) for exercising their option as they did not have access to IT facility or are not comfortable in using IT system to exercise their options.
A few cases have also been reported where pay channels of the subscribers who have not exercised the options have been deactivated.
A meeting with all stakeholders was held by Trai on Monday to assess the situation.
As per Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) data, more than 90% of TV homes view/flip 50 or less number of channels. There are around 197 million TV homes in India.
The new tariff framework for broadcasting sector has given consumers the option to pay for the channels which they want to see. If a user just wants to watch free to air channels – around 100 – he/she will have to pay Rs 130 plus taxes.
Trai chairman R S Sharma had told DNA Money that the new framework will open up a new stream of revenues for the industry as content will become the focal point and will reduce litigations in the sector by ushering in transparency. "This is for the first time we have removed the cap from the pricing of the channel. One can price their channel in whatever way they want. Just that now a-la-carte channels will be available for consumers. This regulation will ensure that the customer pays only for what he watches and the customer knows the price of the product which he is purchasing. This is the only transaction where the customer or the purchaser is not given the products they want to purchase."
WIDER CHOICE
- About 65% of the cable service subscribers and 35% DTH subscribers have exercised the options till date
- If a user just wants to watch free to air channels – around 100 – he/she will have to pay Rs 130 plus taxes
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