Parliament panel, concerned at decline of cable TV reach, seeks single window regulation

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The committee headed by Pratap Rao Ganpat Rao Jadhav has said in its report that cable TV subscribers were 98.5 million in the year 2018, which reduced to 67 million in the year 2022.

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By Our Special Correspondent

New Delhi, February 8: Cable TV is an important part of the media and entertainment sector in the country. But in recent years, due to changes in digital media, technology and OTT platforms, the number of cable TV consumers has declined. Expressing concern over the decline in the number of subscribers, several important recommendations have been made in the report of the Standing Committee of the IT Ministry presented in Parliament on Thursday.

The committee headed by Pratap Rao Ganpat Rao Jadhav has said in its report that cable TV subscribers were 98.5 million in the year 2018, which reduced to 67 million in the year 2022. Stakeholders working in this field are facing many problems, the biggest problem of which is the existence of many laws regarding the rules of cable TV, said the report, calling for clearing the bottlenecks.

To regulate cable TV, ‘Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995 (CTN Act)’ and ‘Cable Television Network Rules 1994’ have been enacted, which are under the Ministry of Information. As per the notification of ‘Broadcasting Services and Cable Services’ becoming ‘Telecom Services’ issued in the year 2004, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has been given the authority to regulate broadcasting and cable services.

The report noted that there are not only several acts, rules, guidelines, etc., to regulate the cable TV industry but also several regulatory bodies like Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIV), TRAI, DOT, etc., For example, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting acts as the registering authority for MSOs, while the head post office of the area acts as the registering authority for local cable operators.

Additionally, as per the information provided to the Committee by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the report stressed that there is an urgent need to create a level playing field for all broadcasting services and to meet the needs of satellite-based technologies which are being regulated through the old legislation.

It added that the Committee has stated to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting that the cable TV industry needs to be enacted by a comprehensive Act and therefore the Committee recommends that the Ministry ensure that the proposed ‘Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023’ should be implemented soon as it will prove to be a milestone in addressing the concerns of this industry.

The report said that while bringing the ‘Broadcasting Services (Regulation) Bill, 2023’, all aspects related to the cable industry should be kept in mind. To regulate cable TV, ‘Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995 (CTN Act)’ and ‘Cable Television Network Rules 1994’ have been enacted, which are administered by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

The report has suggested that a comprehensive law should be made for cable TV regulation. Due to the existence of many laws, one has to face many problems. The Committee has asked the Ministry to ensure that there is proper consultation with all concerned stakeholders and that all aspects related to the cable industry are given due consideration while formulating the Bill.

Develop comprehensive digital solutions:

The Committee also recommended coordination with the Ministry of Information Broadcasting, Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to develop a comprehensive digital solution to address the problems of under-reporting of cable TV subscribers and absence of monitoring mechanisms. The Ministry should also identify and resolve problems arising as bottlenecks in the monitoring mechanism to ensure compliance with relevant regulations/guidelines, added the report.

Need to create registering authority

The Standing Committee has recommended that a registration authority should be created to address the complaint of under-reporting of cable TV subscribers. According to the information provided to the Committee by the All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF), some of the concerns related to the cable industry include declining number of subscribers, abuse of channel pricing freedom by broadcasters and excessive increase in channel prices in the cable TV sector. The livelihood of the working employees is at risk, said the report.

Make grievance redressal mechanism more consumer friendly

The Committee has also recommended to the Ministry that the grievance redressal mechanism should be made more consumer friendly and an awareness campaign should be conducted among consumers about the grievance redressal mechanism. Because doing so is essential for a strong and responsive cable TV eco-system. The committee has also asked the ministry to inform it about the progress report of the action taken in this regard.

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