According to the Broadcast Audience Research Council over 197 million Indian households had a television connection in 2019.1 As of July 31, 2020 the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) had permitted 920 TV channels to operate. The television broadcast ecosystem has three stakeholders: broadcasters, distributors, and consumers. Broadcasters make content for TV and distributors provide it to consumers using one of four technologies: cable, direct to home (DTH), head-end in the sky (HITS) or internet protocol (IPTV).
A complex web of actors regulates the broadcast ecosystem in India, including the MIB, TRAI the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India, and self-regulatory bodies such as the Broadcasting Content Complaints Council and the News Broadcasting Standards Authority. The Department of Space and the Department of Telecommunications’ Wireless and Programming Coordination Wing regulate the use of satellites and spectrum.
The Telegraph Act 1885 and the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act of 1933 require broadcasters and distributors to register their service. The Cable TV Network (Regulation) Act of 1995 (CTN Act) formalized this registration. At the last mile, local cable operators register with post offices in their territory. State governments have empowered Monitoring Committees at the state and district levels to enforce provisions of the CTN Act– mainly its programme and advertising codes.
Since 2004 the broadcast sector has been regulated by TRAI. The central government expanded the Authority’s powers in 2011 through an amendment to the CTN Act, which together with a 2004 notification from the erstwhile Union Ministry of Communications and Information Technology empowers TRAI to regulate tariffs, including the MRP of channels, the terms of interconnection between broadcasters and distributors, and standards for quality of service at the consumer end.
TRAI’s legacy in the broadcasting sector is one of excessive economic regulation and restrictive price controls. Having expanded its regulatory remit over broadcasting the State did not enhance expertise or capacity, within TRAI or the quasi-judicial Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT). The result has been formulaic, TRP driven television content, and higher costs for subscribers3 and there is no mechanism to enforce quality of service at the last mile.
Since the CTN Act in 1995, Parliament has thrice considered a specialised regulator for the broadcasting sector. On numerous occasions Parliament and specialised committees such as the Nariman Committee have backed the proposal for a specialised regulator, and seminal judicial pronouncements including the ‘Airwaves Judgment’ have highlighted the need for a specific law and a specialised regulator for the sector. Despite these efforts TRAI continues to regulate the broadcast sector, although its oversight was meant to be temporary. This brief explores the history of attempts to introduce a parallel regulatory regime for broadcasting in India, which may help explain why governments have always preferred to expand TRAI’s powers rather than establish a specialised regulator for broadcasting.
Attribution: Varun Ramdas, “History of TV Broadcasting Regulations in India,” Policy Brief No. 204, Oct. 2020, Esya Centre.