TRAI's new year bonanza: Now you get more channels at lesser price
To protect consumer interests, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) on Wednesday has released amendments to the New Tariff Orde r (NTO). According to the new order, number of free-to-air channels has increased, pricing for pay channels has reduced and TRAI has capped the number of bouquets of pay channels offered by broadcasters. Analysts say this move is likely to lower the average revenue per user (ARPU) for TV operators. It had surged by close to 60 per cent, on an average, after the NTO took effect. This would mean a lower share of revenue for broadcasters, who used to get almost 50 per cent share after the NTO came into being in February last year. It will negatively impact broadcasters’ revenue, which had grown 30-40 per cent year-on-year due to the higher share and increased ARPU. At present, direct-to-home (DTH) or cable TV operators provide only 100 channels for a network capacity fee (NCF) levy of Rs 153. Now, cable operators will have to provide 200 ch