Chennai: Tamilaga Cable TV Operators Association has announced complete shutdown of cable TV tomorrow to protest against Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI’s) new regulatory framework for television channels.
The association said the telecast will be cut between 6 am and 10 pm. The shutdown will take place throughout Tamilnadu, Puducherry, Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh as many petitions to TRAI have been left unanswered, said association president P Sakilan.
TRAI’s regulatory framework for television channels which came into effect 29 December left the country in a confused state. While TRAI said the new rules brought transparency, broadcasters alleged that they might lose many customers due to high tariffs for many good channels.
According to the new framework, consumers can pay for only for the channels they want to view. TRAI has prescribed a basic fee of Rs 130 plus 18 per cent GST, which is called Network Capacity Fee (NCF), by paying which a consumer can select 100 channels, including 26 mandatory Doordarshan channels.
S/he can get 25 more channels in this category by paying additional Rs 20. While these channels include both Free-To-Air (FTA) and pay channels, consumers will have to pay the MRP fixed by broadcasters over and above the NCF to view pay channels.
Apart from this, viewers can choose individual pay channels, a la carte or bouquet (multiple). TRAI has fixed a price range of Re 1 to Rs 19 as MRP for pay channels.