DTH players renew push for broadcast reforms

Telecom and DTH players have renewed their push for sweeping regulatory relief in the broadcasting sector, seeking a rollback of pricing and licensing restrictions that they say have constrained competitiveness and innovation in the sector.

Bharti Telemedia, the DTH arm of Bharti Airtel has maintained a firm stance, particularly on the removal of pricing restrictions such as the rule that prevents bouquet prices from falling below 55% of the sum of individual channel prices. The company earlier wrote to the regulator that such legacy provisions cap discounting and limit competitiveness, and should now be revisited to ensure regulatory parity across traditional and emerging TV distribution platforms