Price hike of TV channels put on hold till June?

The broadcast industry in India is going through a crucial phase now. Whether the proposed broadcast policy, mega mergers & consolidations or the incessant battle between broadcasters and cable operators, there are myriad of developments shaping the sector.

One continuous bone of contention between broadcasters and cable operators has been the increase in prices of TV channels. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) new tariff order or NTO 3.0, which came into effect last year, allows broadcasters to hike prices of channels that are a part of the bouquet to Rs 19 from Rs 12 earlier.

Cable operators, who have constantly been opposing the price hike, recently met TRAI Chairman Anil Kumar Lahoti to discuss the concerns regarding the price hike by broadcasters.

According to sources, TRAI has requested broadcasters to not increase prices of TV channels till June this year to avoid any kind of action and reaction from cable operators during Lok Sabha elections.

“Due to elections, TRAI wants broadcasters to not increase prices of their channels till June this year. They don’t want any disturbance during this crucial time. So, the RIOs that were announced in January by some broadcasters will now have to be delayed till June,” a source said on the condition of anonymity.

According to an expert from the cable industry, TRAI has no control or regulation over price hikes by broadcasters, a fact seconded by TRAI as well.

“The challenge still remains for us as this price hike has just been put on hold. What happens after June? We will again face the same troublesome situation as hiking prices of channels puts a burden on us. We are forced to buy the bouquet of channels as per the increased prices which is increasing our operational cost and reducing the distribution margin, which is fixed by TRAI,” said the expert.

For the last one year, cable operators have been demanding that they should not be forced to buy the bouquets fixed by broadcasters at increased prices as that is increasing their operational cost, increasing financial burden on consumers and then causing them to migrate from cable to OTT.

Earlier this year, Network18 and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) had announced new RIOs (reference interconnect offer) which was to come into effect from February 1.

In the new RIO, IndiaCast terminated some of its previous bouquets and launched new ones. It also modified the pricing of some channels. The distributor discontinued over 25 bouquets, including Colors Wala Hindi Budget and Colors Wala Hindi Budget Plus (which were priced at Rs 25) and Colors Wala Hindi Value that was priced at Rs 28.

The distribution arm had introduced several new offerings, including Colors Wala Hindi Value priced at Rs 34, Colors Wala Hindi Value Plus Sports priced at Rs 45 and Colors Wala Marathi Value priced at Rs 40.

Network18 had increased the pricing of some channels including Colors Marathi which was earlier priced at Rs 10 and is now priced at Rs 15. Similarly, Colors Cineplex which was priced at Rs 3 earlier has now been priced at Rs 19.

ZEEL had revised a-la-carte pricing of some of its channels, including Zee Cinemalu and Zee Picchar. Both the channels were earlier priced at Rs 10 and are now priced at Rs 15. Also, ZEEL has discontinued its infotainment channel LF HD.

ZEEL had also revised bouquet pricing and discontinued two packs from the last agreement. Zee Family Pack Hindi SD is now priced at Rs 47; it was earlier priced at Rs 43. Similarly, Zee all-in-one Hindi SD pack is now priced at Rs 62; it was earlier priced at Rs 59.

ZEEL and Viacom18 had last updated their pricing in December 2022 after TRAI amended the new tariff order (NTO). The other networks that had revised the pricing then were Sun TV, Discovery Communication India, Disney Star India, and Culver Max Entertainment. The revised RIOs were filed on December 16 and became effective on February 1, 2023. Pitchonnet