NTO 2.0 will lead to 1 million job losses in our industry: Cable operators tell govt

Delhi-based Cable Operators United Front (COUF) has urged the government to stop the implementation of New Tariff Order (NTO) 2.0 as it will have an adverse impact on the cable TV business which provides livelihood to millions of people across India.

In a letter to Information & Broadcasting (I&B) Minister Anurag Thakur, the COUF said that the implementation of NTO 2.0 would throw one million people out of jobs as the cable business would become unviable in the wake of tariff hike by the broadcasters.

The COUF said that the tariff hike will make TV subscription unaffordable for a large section of the society which would result in a drop in the overall pay-TV subscriber base. It further stated that the cable TV industry has lost close to 15-20 million subscribers and the new pricing will further add to the pain. Cable TV, it noted, has been continuously losing subscribers to OTT platforms and DD Free Dish.

The cable operators’ body has requested the minister "to stop implementation of NTO 2.0 in its current form and relook into the provisions of the NTO 2.0 a-a-vis the practicality of the implementation of this framework in view of the publication of the Reference Interconnect Offer (RIO) by few broadcasters".

It has also urged the government to put a cap on channel prices as the increase in prices of the driver channels has defeated the very purpose of the regulation. “Hence we request your kind office to take immediate steps to regulate OTT platforms including price capping as in the case of cable TV besides issuing instructions to broadcasters to stop providing pay channels to DD Free Dish and to maintain parity and level playing field by pricing the channels at same price for all platforms," it added.

The COUF contended that NTO 1.0 had resulted in price inflation for consumers while NTO 2.0 will make it even worse. “We, on behalf of all local cable operators, humbly request your kind office to review the implementation of the new regulations in the light of the aforementioned submissions made by us increasing MRPs of their flagship channels the situation will become worse. The tussle and confrontations between the regulator and broadcasters are affecting the common man as well as the LCOs,” the letter stated.