Breaking NTO 2.0 To Be Implemented From 1st February 2023

[Akash Solanki]

 

[dino29]

Yeah That's What TRAI Says But Broadcasters Have Other Ways Buddy,,,,

I Can't Explain In Forum But I Know How They're Doing It,,,

So Just Chill And Enjoy NTO 2.0

I can chill anna but operators cannot as i am fully sure that such kind of thing will easily be caught. Just like recently government ordered CAG Audit for all DTH operators after they had been requesting for licence fee waiver citing constant reduction in subscriber base over last few years similarly if government suspects any wrongdoing or incorrect data being put forward they will order another such audit which will bring out all the true facts and if operators r found to b indulgent in violating any rules or falsifying data then they will stand to be penalized. I don't think any operator will b willing to take a risk like the one u have mentioned about

 

[dino29]

If tenure of Ex Head of TRAI Mr. RN Sharma would have still been ongoing then i am sure he would not have agreed to certain demands of broadcasters which could have lead to somewhat older Pre NTO framework guidelines coming into play in the revised NTO 2.0 order. He was just so straightforward and direct in approaching this matter that consumers should get the option to get channels at correct pricing be it in bouquet or a-la-carte basis. He really stood strong & confident with the guidelines he had formulated alongwith his team & other stakeholders, somehow that same attitude/approach/decisiveness seems to b somehow missing now in TRAI but i am still hopeful that the revised rules will b of some benefit to customers

 

[Sukh Singh riar]

 

[dino29]

So basically if price ceiling of a-la-carte channels is set at Rs. 12 then also it is too low for operators and they more channels out of broadcaster bouquets and if it is kept at higher ceiling of Rs. 19 still they consider it low and keep some channels out of bouquet .

TRAI should more carefully examine and they will notice that channels r not being kept out of bouquets not bcoz of price ceiling but actually broadcasters want the old Pre NTO system back where they were able to give more discounts on bouquet price and keep a-la-carte prices high so that less number of subscribers opt for latter option hence they r inflating a-la-carte price of many channels right now to make it seem that it is bcoz of NTO rules that prices r going up and structuring bouquet in a way which will seem again expensive and unattractive to subscribers.

If broadcasters were able to provide huge discounts in long term deals they signed with operators in Pre NTO regime then why cannot they practice the same policy now with a regular / monthly cycle wherein subscribers will opt for their favorite channels on standalone basis or thru bouquet mode and pay accordingly. As per my understanding It seems quite clear that broadcasters r not confident about content on their channels and somehow just force subscription of maximum channels onto subscribers thru highly discounted bouquet price which i think is not the right approach and even in long run will hamper growth of Pay TV industry as people will continue to ditch Pay TV where they will not get more varied / good content and hence continue to shift to DD Free Dish or OTT platforms. Instead of reinventing, innovating, giving fair options to subscribers to opt for channels & competing with new age platforms one can see broadcasters r taking easy older route which won't reap any benefits to any stakeholder. Just like they thought taking their channels off air will help stop or drastically reduce churn rate of Pay TV operators and help increase their subscription revenue but all all this turned out to b futile and infact adversely impacted broadcasters post which they r now relaunching their channels on DD Free Dish platform, similarly at some later stage they will realise that they r being wrong for wanting to adopt same old Pre NTO era rules.

Mr. RN Sharma would have surely stood by current NTO 2.0 guidelines with minor changes where extremely necessary as i noticed that he used very carefully examine things before taking a decision and not fall for any bluff. Still i believe the changes brought about by almost 3 years od implementation of NTO have brought in major changes to viewing & choice pattern of people hence broadcasters won't succeed by taking older Pre NTO strategy and can only prosper if they think afresh

 

[Vadirocks]

I can chill anna but operators cannot as i am fully sure that such kind of thing will easily be caught. Just like recently government ordered CAG Audit for all DTH operators after they had been requesting for licence fee waiver citing constant reduction in subscriber base over last few years similarly if government suspects any wrongdoing or incorrect data being put forward they will order another such audit which will bring out all the true facts and if operators r found to b indulgent in violating any rules or falsifying data then they will stand to be penalized. I don't think any operator will b willing to take a risk like the one u have mentioned about

I Have Given My Answer On This Already

It's Happened, Happening And Will Happen Bro!

You'll See

 

[Ajith 100]

NTO 2.0 Amended Again

Now Completely In Favor Of Broadcasters

@Vadirocks bro, This will cause any Problem for SUN DIRECT??? because we all know many Pay & Carriage Fee Channels are not available in Sun Direct compared to other DTH Companies!

 

[Ashok Varma]

I Have Given My Answer On This Already

It's Happened, Happening And Will Happen Bro!

You'll See

Are GEC/Sports channels a-la-carte MRP reduced to Rs.19 from Rs.25?

 

[Sukh Singh riar]

 

[dino29]

Thanks for sharing the above information @Sukh Singh riar bro.

Great observations by TRAI, covers all important things. I am sure they will review all the things properly before coming out with final guidelines, they do fully understand how consumer's interest need to kept paramount and they should get option to choose channels or bouquets at affordable pricing and there should not be a case where broadcasters create a situation where broadcasters keep bouquet pricing highly discounted while inflating a-la-carte thereby in a way forcing bouquet subscription onto subscribers