Govt plans scrapping 12 sec/hour ad cap on free TV channels

September 8, 2014

New Delhi, Sep 8: Viewers of free-to-air TV channels may soon have to bear with longer commercial breaks if the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry goes ahead with its plan to scrap the existing 12-minute advertisement per hour regulation imposed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).

TV channels“We will free all free-to-air channels from the 12-minute advertisement per hour rule,” a top official in the Ministry told Deccan Herald.

The plan is proposed only for the free-to-air channels and the ministry will have to amend the rules to bring it into effect. The move comes following a persistent demand from a section of broadcasters, who claimed that the ceiling on advertisement imposed by Trai is a “draconian step” as it ignored the fact that the free-to-air channels have no alternate source of revenue.

The Trai, on March 22, 2013, notified the regulations restricting advertising time on TV channels to a maximum 12 minutes in any given hour, amid strong protests from the broadcasters. The regulator issued the notification for its strict compliance by the broadcasters, noting that the cap was being imposed to protect the interest of consumers and quality of service being offered to them.

“The duration of advertisements on TV channels is closely related to the quality of viewing experience of the consumers,” Trai noted in its notification.

It also found that most of the TV channels were operating in “brazen breech” of the existing rules notified by the Centre in the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994.

Out of more than 700 channels registered with the government, as many as 548 are free-to-air channels which include both non-news and news channels like India TV and News 24.

A free-to-air channel means a channel for which no fee is required to be paid to the broadcaster for its content. Since the channels are carried through the distribution chain using the infrastructure created for transmission, they have to pay the cable operator the basic service tier charges.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
May 7,2020

New Delhi, May 7: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday hailed people leading the fight against coronavirus and said India is standing firmly with those facing difficult times during the pandemic, both in the country and abroad.

He also said India's development will always aid global growth.

Speaking at a global virtual Buddha Purnima event, Modi said, "People world over working selflessly for others in these difficult times are worthy of praise."

"India is standing strong and selflessly in these difficult times with those facing trouble in India or abroad. India's growth will always be aiding global growth," he said.

Buddha Purnima celebrations are being held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event is being organised in the honour of COVID-19 victims and frontline warriors.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
April 1,2020

Prayagraj,  April 1: Seven Indonesian nationals, one person from Kolkata and one from Kerala who had attended the event at Delhi's Nizamuddin Markaz have been put under quarantine, informed SP (City) Prayagraj, Brijesh Kumar Srivastava on Wednesday.

"Seven Indonesian nationals, one person from Kolkata and one from Kerala, were found at Abdullah mosque here. During the investigation, it was found that they had attended the Markaz gathering in Delhi. These people, along with 28 people who came in contact with them, have been quarantined." he said.

"A case has also been registered against them for not informing the police on reaching here," he added.

Earlier, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain had said that the officials are not certain of the accurate number of people who participated in the event but it is being estimated that 1,500-1,700 people had assembled at the Markaz building.

The religious gathering was held at the Markaz building in Nizamuddin between March 13 and March 15.

The total number of active cases rose to 1466 in the country, while 132 people have been cured and discharged after receiving treatment, as of 9 am.

The number of deaths due to the infection also rose to 38, while one person has migrated.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
April 11,2020

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 11: The effective handling of Covid-19 pandemic by the Kerala Government has received a big endorsement in the International media with the latest being a report in Washington Post which suggests that the State’s success could prove instructive to the entire country.

The Washington Post quoted Kerala Health Minister K K Shailaja Teacher as saying “We hoped for the best but planned for the worst. Now, the curve has flattened, but we cannot predict what will happen next week.”

"The Minister said six states had reached out to Kerala for advice. She, however, noted that it might not be easy to replicate Kerala’s lessons elsewhere," according to the Minister's office quoting the report here on Saturday.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.