Carriage fee, the money paid by broadcasters to MSOs for carriage of channels on distribution platform to reach the viewers, had been a largely unregulated domain till now.
As per the new TRAI regulations, "Every Multi System Operator shall publish in its reference interconnect offer the carriage fee for carrying a channel of a broadcaster for which no request has been made by the MSO."
The regulations also lay down that carriage fee shall be uniform for all the broadcasters and shall not be revised upwards for a minimum period of two years.
Before issuing rules on "carriage fee", TRAI had sought views of broadcasters, MSOs and local cable operators (LCOs) on this contentious issue.
In an explanatory note released along with the regulations, TRAI said the News Broadcaster Association (NBA), which represents leading news channels, favoured regulation of carriage fee.
The NBA, however, expressed the view that if a "must carry" clause was mandated, the question of carriage fee would not arise. Many broadcasters were not in favour of regulation of the carriage fee and suggested that it should be based on the mutual negotiation between the broadcaster and MSO.
Others suggested that carriage fee could be regulated on parameters like subscriber base of the MSO, number of STB installed. MSOs and many LCOs did not favour regulation.
Considering all aspects, TRAI has now authorised MSOs to charge a carriage fee from broadcasters but stipulated that carriage fee would be transparent and any channel which wants to reach viewers can use the platforms offered by the MSO by paying the carriage fee.
TRAI also has reserved the authority to intervene in case it is felt that the carriage fee is unreasonable. (MORE) PTI ADS SC VSC
SCY
