Aishwarya Rathore –
Published on August 06, 2021, 04:34 IST
The Supreme Court postponed the hearing on New Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Amendments that set a restriction on the MRP of individual channels, till August 18.
The Bench was hearing the Indian Broadcasting Foundation’s (IBF) plea against the Bombay High Court’s decision upholding the constitutionality of the amended New Tariff Order (NTO 2.0) passed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
The Bench remarked, “I am not going to take up this matter today. The petitioners have filed 200 volumes of files. Yesterday, we had to engage a lorry to carry large volumes of files. You all sit together and file a brief compilation.”
The Bench ordered the matter on August 18.
The Bombay High Court had upheld the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s amendments to the New Tariff Order, which outlines how TV channels should be charged, which the regulator issued in January 2020.
They claim that the Bombay High Court’s order that broadcasters have a right to freedom of speech and expression, but that it is not absolute, infringes on their fundamental right to freedom of speech.
According to the New Tariff Order, consumers can choose the TV channels they want to watch and pay only for them at maximum retail prices (MRPs) set by broadcasters, instead of the pre-set bouquets offered earlier.
To bring down the cost of entertainment for the end consumer, the TRAI had announced amendments to the NTO on January 1, 2020.
By upholding NTO 2.0, though it did strike down one of the pricing conditions, media experts said the High Court verdict would essentially compel broadcasters to either lower prices of channels offered on a la carte basis or reduce the number of channels they offer as part of a bouquet.
The resultant possible shift by customers to a la carte channels (because of lower prices) would lead to greater precedence for mass-driven channels and not bode well for Niche, English language or Infotainment genres.
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