Those who responded to the recently issued TRAI’s consultation paper on the local cable channels carried by the Distribution Platform Operators (DPOs) have expressed differing views. Many organizations, such as the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), All India Digital Cable Federation(AIDCF), and Citi Networks, are of the opinion that It is better both the MSO and LCO get their local channels registered with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) enabling the ministry to verifying the ownership of the local cable channels they broadcast. However, it was also asked to give a maximum of one year for the completion of registrations.
The Indian Broadcasting Foundation supported TRAI’s recommendation to register as a company. Although the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting opined that the company registration requirement was inappropriate as most of the cable operators run their businesses as sole proprietorship or partnerships, the IBF opposed it. Now that the Indian Companies Act, 2013 has made registration much easier, it reminded that One Person Companies (OPCs) are also a possibility. However, some believe that postal registration is sufficient for cable operators, while provision for MSOs may continue.
Different views were expressed over the number of channels. Most argued that the restriction imposed on DTH was inappropriate for MSOs. Some believe that DTH operators are broadcasting directly through their platform instead of satellite broadcasting, which is reducing government revenue. MSOs said there should be no restrictions on the number of channels carried since they are run on their own network. NXT Digital, the only HITS Operator, has suggested that it should be allowed 80 channels at a time, while upto 60 for MSO and up to 20 for LCOs
Most of the respondents also rejected TRAI’s suggestion that the same broadcasts should not be on separate platforms. They said that the provision laid down for DTH should not be applied to MSOs. They pointed out that when an MSO runs more than one channel, it is natural for them to broadcasts on another channel. Also, rights of some films must have been given to more than one MSO and as such everyone broadcasts the same film. NXT Digital went one step further and demanded that they should not be responsible for the programs they broadcast, and that the responsibility lies with the content supplier
After taking into consideration all these issues, TRAI is expected to send its recommendations to Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It has to be seen how the MIB is going to react and finalize.
