Thakur
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In a judgment expected to have far reaching consequences on the Indian broadcasting industry, theTelecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) today said that headend-in-the-sky (HITS) players should be treated on the same level as pan-India multi-system operators (MSOs) for commercial purposes.
In a judgment on a petition filed by the Noida Software Technology Park Ltd (NSTPL) against Media Pro and others, the Tribunal said its judgment would come into effect from 31 March, 2016 by which time the relevant reference interconnect offers will be revised wherever necessary.
Expectedly, the judgment will also help Hinduja Group’s HITS platform NXT Digital, which entered into the fray earlier this year.
TDSAT chairman Justice Aftab Alam and members Kuldip Singh and B B Srivastava said both Taj TV and Star India would have to draw up fresh RIOs to deal with the HITS players.
But the NSTPL remains bound by agreements already entered into, the Tribunal told a packed court-room.
It also made clear that all future deals between broadcasters and MSO/HITS players will be bound by the RIO agreements.
The Tribunal said that the principles of freedom of contract and copyright law did not come in the way of interconnect agreements as these were subject to statutory interpretations.
While the case was initially filed against Media Pro in mid-2014, NSTPL had subsequently in December last year filed another petition against Star India and Taj TV.
http://www.indiantelevision.com/regulators/tdsat/hits-platforms-to-be-treated-at-par-with-pan-india-msos-tdsat-151207
In a judgment on a petition filed by the Noida Software Technology Park Ltd (NSTPL) against Media Pro and others, the Tribunal said its judgment would come into effect from 31 March, 2016 by which time the relevant reference interconnect offers will be revised wherever necessary.
Expectedly, the judgment will also help Hinduja Group’s HITS platform NXT Digital, which entered into the fray earlier this year.
TDSAT chairman Justice Aftab Alam and members Kuldip Singh and B B Srivastava said both Taj TV and Star India would have to draw up fresh RIOs to deal with the HITS players.
But the NSTPL remains bound by agreements already entered into, the Tribunal told a packed court-room.
It also made clear that all future deals between broadcasters and MSO/HITS players will be bound by the RIO agreements.
The Tribunal said that the principles of freedom of contract and copyright law did not come in the way of interconnect agreements as these were subject to statutory interpretations.
While the case was initially filed against Media Pro in mid-2014, NSTPL had subsequently in December last year filed another petition against Star India and Taj TV.
http://www.indiantelevision.com/regulators/tdsat/hits-platforms-to-be-treated-at-par-with-pan-india-msos-tdsat-151207
