A broadcaster can offer a maximum discount of 15 while offering its bouquet of channels over the sum of MRP of all the pay channels in that bouquet so as to enable customer choice through a la carte offering and also prevent skewed a la carte and bouquet pricing refer example 1 .
channels to the customers only as a bouquet and number as a la carte.
In order to ensure that prices of the a la carte channels are kept reasonable, the maximum discount permissible in formation of a bouquet has been linked with the sum of the a la carte prices of the of pay channels forming that bouquet.
The Division Bench companysisting of M. Sundar, J. and Chief Justice Indira Banerjee differed in their companyclusions.
This marketing strategy based on bouquets essentially results in perverse pricing of bouquets vis vis the individual channels.
the carriage aspect of broadcasting, and does number have the power to regulate the companytent of the broadcast i.e. the channel and or its companystituent programmes ?
Subject to sub clause 1 of clause 4, a distributor of television channels shall number increase the network capacity fee for a period of six months from the date of such numberification Provided that a distributor of television channels, before making any change in the network capacity fee, shall at least thirty days prior to the scheduled change a inform the Authority and b inform the subscribers by running scroll on the channel.
It shall be permissible for a distributor of television channels to offer bouquet s formed from pay channels of one or more broadcasters and declare distributor retail price s , per month, of such bouquet s payable by a subscriber Provided that such bouquet shall number companytain any pay channel for which maximum retail price per month declared by the broadcaster is more than rupees nineteen Provided further that the distributor retail price per month of such bouquet of pay channels shall number be less than eighty five percent of the sum of distributor retail prices per month of a la carte pay channels and bouquet s of pay channels forming part of that bouquet Provided further that the distributor retail price per month of a bouquet of pay channels offered by a distributor of television channels shall, in numbercase, exceed the sum of maximum retail prices per month of a la carte pay channels and bouquet s of pay channels, declared by broadcasters, forming part of that bouquet Provided further that such bouquet shall number companytain any free to air channel Provided also that such bouquet shall number companytain both HD and SD variants of the same channel.
No such restriction on on a la carte basis.
As per M. Sundar, J., it was held 8 a .
Every distributor of television channels shall offer to all subscribers each bouquet of pay channels offered by a broadcaster, and for which interconnection agreement has been signed with that broadcaster, without any alteration in its companyposition and declare the distributor retail price, per month, for such bouquet payable by a subscriber Provided that the distributor retail price, per month, payable by a subscriber to a distributor of television channels for subscribing to a bouquet of pay channels offered by the broadcaster shall in numbercase exceed the maximum retail price, per month, declared by the broadcasters for such bouquet of pay channels Provided further that such bouquet shall number companytain any pay channel for which maximum retail price per month declared by the broadcaster is more than rupees nineteen Provided further that such bouquet shall number companytain any free to air channel Provided also that such bouquet shall number companytain both HD and SD variants of the same channel.
Every broadcaster, before making any change in the nature of a channel or in the maximum retail price of a pay channel or in the maximum retail price of a bouquet of pay channels or in the companyposition of a bouquet of pay channels, as the case may be, shall follow the provisions of all the applicable Regulations and Orders numberified by the Authority, including but number limited to the publication of Reference Interconnection Offer.
1 Every distributor of television channels shall declare network capacity fee, per month, payable by a subscriber for availing a distribution network capacity so as to receive the signals of television channels Provided that the network capacity fee, per month, for network capacity upto initial one hundred SD channels, shall, in numbercase, exceed rupees one hundred and thirty, excluding taxes Provided further that the network capacity fee, per month, for network capacity in the slabs of twenty five SD channels each, beyond initial one hundred channels capacity referred to in first proviso to sub clause 1 , shall, in numbercase, exceed rupees twenty excluding taxes Provided also that one HD channel shall be treated equal to two SD channels for the purpose of calculating number of channels within the distribution network capacity subscribed.
Declaration of network capacity fee and manner of offering of channels by distributors of television channels.
Every distributor of television channels shall offer all channels available on its network to all subscribers on a la carte basis and declare distributor retail price, per month, of each pay channel payable by a subscriber Provided that the distributor retail price, per month, payable by a subscriber to a distributor of television channels for subscribing to a pay channel shall, in numbercase, exceed the maximum retail price, per month, declared by the broadcasters for such pay channel.
Owing to the narrative, discussion and all that have been set out supra, those of the impugned provisions in the said regulations and said tariff order which touch upon companytent of the programmes of broadcasters are liable to be struck down as number in companyformity with the parent Act plenary Act.
Since regulations made under the TRAI Act were under challenge, a writ petition was filed before the Madras High Court in which the main issues that arose before the Division Bench were as follows Whether the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India hereinafter referred to as TRAI has the power to regulate only the means of transmission, viz.
F. NARIMAN, J. The present civil appeals raise a challenge to certain clauses of the Telecommunication Broadcasting and Cable Services Interconnection Addressable Systems Regulations, Signature Not Verified 2017 hereinafter referred to as the Regulation numberified on Digitally signed by R NATARAJAN Date 2018.10.30 163532 IST Reason 3.3.2017 and the Telecommunication Broadcasting and Cable Services Eighth Addressable Systems Tariff Order, 2017 hereinafter referred to as the Tariff Order dated 3.3.2017 made under the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997 hereinafter referred to as the TRAI Act .
