-By ArdorComm News Network
February 20, 2023
Due to pricing concerns following the introduction of the New Tariff Order 3.0, Zee Entertainment, Star, and Sony, India’s three leading television broadcasters, have gone off the cable network.
Almost 45 million consumers to cable TV operators are estimated to be impacted by this latest action, which has disrupted the Indian media sector.
In November of last year, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) restored the maximum retail price (MRP) of a TV channel to be included in a bouquet. With its order, the television channel’s pricing for the bouquet increased by roughly 10–15%.
A number of channels were taken off the air as a result of pricing issues caused by the NTO 3.0, which went into effect on February 1 with a price rise in the range of 10–25%. This caused problems between broadcasters and local cable operators.
The All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) said on Saturday that its members will not be signing the new agreements as a protest against the broadcasters’ exorbitant pricing.
The Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF) also stated in a statement that some cable operators were forced to terminate their services after giving proper notice because they did not sign new agreements.