Service Channels on DTH must have Exclusive Content only, says GTPL

GTPL has told Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) that various platform service (PS) channels available on DTH should only have Exclusive content and they must be considered as satellite TV channels to follow the same rules and pay the same annual or registration fee.

Replying to the consultation paper released by TRAI on Platform Services offered by DTH Operators, GTPL said that since these PS channels are priced as high as Rs. 75 per month their programs must be exclusively available to only one DTH operator without any ads.

The cable operator submitted that the recording of PS channels should be kept for 90 days and a written log of such programs should be maintained for a period of 1 year. GTPL suggested that the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) should be the only monitoring authority and all guidelines of MIB for satellite TV channels should be applicable on platform services of DTH operators also.

GTPL added that the number of PS channels also needed to be restricted to 2% of the total number of satellite channels carried by DTH operator so that small broadcasters get an opportunity to cater large subscriber base.

The operator said that a separate genre should be created for PS channels with heading “PS” and placed after the other genres declared mandatory by the regulator. To distinguish them from regular TV channels, the name and the sequence number of PS channels should be in a particular font size/colour/type, the cable operator suggested.