313Blog - Tariff regulation tiff: Big broadcasters to exit DD Free Dish?

Tariff regulation tiff: Big broadcasters to exit DD Free Dish?

Posted on 15th Jan 2025

 

Star India and Viacom18 (now JioStar), SPNI, and TV Today are some of the names planning to pull out their channels from DD Free Dish, say sources

By E4M

 

Major broadcasters, including Star, Sony, and Colors, are pulling their popular channels from Prasar Bharati’s DTH platform, DD Free Dish, sources have informed exchange4media. The decision stems from a tariff regulation dispute with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). 

As per TRAI’s July 8 tariff regulation, pay-TV channels must convert to free-to-air (FTA) status on all platforms if they are available on a free platform like DD Free Dish. Broadcasters challenged this directive, but the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) recently refused to grant a stay on their plea in December. 

 

The exit of these channels marks a significant shift in India’s DTH landscape, potentially impacting millions of Free Dish subscribers. According to sources, broadcasters like Star India and Viacom18 (now JioStar), Sony Pictures Networks India (Culver Max) and TV Today are some of the names planning to pull out their channels from DD Free Dish. 

 

As per the list of running channels on DD FreeDish updated on October 11, 2024, Star Utsav Movies, Star Gold Thrills, Colors Cineplex Superhit, Sony Wah and news channel Aaj Tak are some of the channels available from the above-mentioned broadcasters. According to sources, these channels will be pulled out due to the conflict. 

The move will affect over 5 crore homes that watch DD Free Dish.

 

“If a channel wants to remain on DD Free Dish, it must become a free-to-air (FTA) channel across all other platforms as well. Some broadcasters are unwilling to comply with this condition and have opted to withdraw, as there is no third option. They either transition to FTA status or exit DD Free Dish,” an industry expert, close to the development, told e4m.

“With TDSAT refusing to grant a stay on the broadcasters’ plea, compliance with the regulation is mandatory. It’s a clear choice between Option A or Option B—there’s no option C,” the expert explained.

Another senior expert said, “There have been ongoing discussions regarding concerns raised by DPOs about the dual approach of certain channels. On one hand, these channels operate as pay channels, while on the other hand, they are made available on DD Free Dish free of charge. This practice is seen as a violation of tariff regulations.

“The broadcasters will have no choice; they will either have to leave DD Free Dish, or make their channels free, which they cannot. Another alternative can be to leave DD Free Dish now and then come up with a FTA channel later and put it on the platform,” he said.

 Apart from the above-mentioned big broadcasters, Zee Entertainment has six channels running on DD Free Dish. However, there is no clarity on whether they are withdrawing their channels or not, industry sources said. 

e4m reached out to the major broadcasters before publishing the story. However, no one was available for comment. 

In the past too, some of the major broadcasters, including Zee, Sony, Star, have withdrawn their channels from the platform. 

DD Free Dish bouquet has a mix of Doordarshan channels, Parliament TV channels, private TV channels and educational TV channels. Popular general entertainment, news, music, movies devotional regional TV channels are part of the private TV channel bouquet. In addition, there are 48 radio channels of Akashvani. DD Free Dish DTH service was launched in December, 2004. 

Free-to-Air (FTA) Direct-To-Home (DTH) is the only service where there is no monthly subscription fee from the viewers. It requires a one-time investment of about Rs 2000 for purchasing of set-top-box (STB) and a dish antenna with accessories. 

On July 8, in its regulatory framework for cable and broadcasting services, TRAI had said that the price of a pay channel should be uniform across all the distribution platforms in order to ensure the level playing field among DPOs and non-discrimination among customers.

“The Authority has decided that a channel, which is permitted by MIB and is available at no subscription fee on DD Free Dish platform, shall not be declared as pay channel for addressable distribution platforms,” it said.

TDSAT had refused to grant a stay to broadcasters challenging the TRAI tariff regulation related to pay channels on DD Free Dish. With the refusal, the tribunal gave two weeks to the broadcasters to file a new Reference Interconnect Offer (RIO). The channels did so last week. 

The next hearing in the case is scheduled for February 6, 2025.

The petition was filed by the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF). Direct-to-Home (DTH) operators Tata Play, Bharti Telemedia, and Dish TV, alongside the All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF), have also become a party in the case.

According to the TRAI regulation in question, Free-to-Air (FTA) channels on Prasar Bharati's free DTH platform DD Free Dish cannot be classified as pay channels on platforms like Hathway Cable and Tata Play. The IBDF, in its petition, has argued that DD Free Dish cannot be treated at par with other DPOs as it does not require any subscription fee. The petition states that this TRAI regulation could reduce channel reach.

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