News Broadcasters hail Jaitley's stand on 10+2 ad cap
Broadcasters hope to implement this ad cap, as imposed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), once the subscription model is fully introduced
Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley’s statement that he is against 10+2 ad cap per hour in TV news channels has created a debate. Broadcasters are happy with Jaitley’s stand. However, there has been no official announcement from the minster on this.
Broadcasters hope to implement this ad cap, as imposed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), once the subscription model is fully introduced.
Ashok Venkatramani, Chief Executive Officer of MCCS, has welcomed the move. He said, “The Minister said this in a private function, but it needs to be translated into action. I think changes on the ground are needed. His point of view has strengthened our case.”
When asked if the issue was likely to be resolved this year, he said, “It depends on the court to solve the matter.”
The Delhi High Court has scheduled a hearing on broadcasters’ plea regarding the 10+2 ad cap for today (January 21). The issue has been pending for the past one-and-a-half years. Ad cap case: Delhi HC adjourns hearing to January 21
“The Minister said he believed that an ad cap interfered with the right to freedom of speech and expression, and therefore, it must go. We are happy with the minister’s support and understanding. In an environment, where dependence on advertising revenues is near absolute, subscription revenues are hardly there and carriage fees are also high, ad cap threatens the very survival of news organisations. I hope the matter will be put to rest now. We have spent too much time, money and energy in combating this restriction,” said KVL Narayan Rao, former NBA Chairman and Vice-Chairperson of NDTV Group.
Anurradha Prasad, Chief Executive Officer of BAG Network, says the minister’s point of not favouring ad cap is a viable thing to do. She said, “By putting this ad cap, the industry is not making money at all. The government needs to discuss the issue with stakeholders and create a business model for this, which will help the industry grow.”
The COO of a leading news network also voiced a similar opinion, he said “Why should there be an ad cap in electronic media when there is no such limitation in print?”
It seems that this ad cap is taking a toll on the news broadcasting sector. With the digitisation process going on at an average pace, it is obvious that broadcasters will rely more on advertising model than the subscription model.
The broadcasting fraternity had earlier said that they were happy to implement the 10+2 ad cap per hour, once the subscription model flowed in and revenue started coming in.
