Reliance Jio‘s free telecast of Indian Premier League (IPL) matches on JioCinema has prompted Bharti Airtel to method Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) for a one service-one charge system. Airtel has sought a regulatory mechanism prohibiting differential pricing by telecom operators for content material on their apps if it is usually out there on DTH and Cable TV channels.
JioCinema has the digital rights for IPL matches, whereas the broadcasting rights are with Disney-Star. Whereas the matches could be considered on JioCinema without spending a dime, Disney-Star can not provide the identical as Trai’s tariff order has fastened channel worth at Rs 19. For an entry-level cable TV bouquet, a shopper must pay round Rs 325 per 30 days and if the bouquet doesn’t have Disney-Star, an extra Rs 19 must be paid for it to be added.
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Airtel mainly needs the differential tariff regulation, which presently applies to telecom service suppliers for his or her apps, to be made relevant in the event that they select to broadcast content material out there on DTH and cable TV. For example, the telecast of IPL matches must be on the similar worth by cable/DTH and a telecom operator.
“Regulatory framework should embrace all modes of supply of broadcast content material throughout all platforms regardless of underlying know-how used. Similar content material must be out there throughout all platforms at similar worth and there must be pricing parity regardless of know-how,” Airtel has written to Trai.
“Apply the authorized framework of cross-media possession (vertical integration) to all platforms (together with the digital platforms) regardless of underlying know-how,” it has stated.
Underneath differential tariff regulation for the telecom sector, a telecom service supplier can not have totally different expenses for any of its apps for its personal subscribers and customers of different service suppliers, if the app is out there on the net. For example, Airtel has to maintain the costs similar for its leisure app Wynk for its personal customers and people of different operators, because the app could be downloaded from the net. The identical precept applies to JioCinema.
Reliance Jio, nevertheless, is against Airtel’s stand, sustaining that any such a transfer is just not attainable with rising convergence and such a regulation will hinder convergence between totally different applied sciences in future. For example, firm officers informed FE such a regulation would imply the entire YouTube mannequin of exhibiting all types of content material without spending a dime would collapse.
“Any change in coverage or regulatory construction should make sure the continuity of provision of companies by utilising the infrastructure created by present investments, each by telecom operators and broadcasters. Subsequently, with the intention to have regulatory certainty, we advise that the minimal required modifications within the current regulatory panorama must be carried out to handle the challenges arising from convergence of carriage and technological upgradation,” Jio has written, countering Airtel’s stance.
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“There appears to be no have to re-engineer the present regulatory and administration processes. Additional, because the telecommunication legal guidelines are already being recast beneath the draft Telecommunication Invoice 2022, any change in regulation must be proposed solely after there’s a full readability within the proposed telecommunication legislation,” it has added.
Bharti’s stand is that whereas all broadcast companies — DTH, cable TV, IPTV — are beneath tariff regulation, there must be no exemption for telecom operators in the event that they select to broadcast the identical channels by way of their apps. OTT platforms like Netflix or Amazon Prime Video don’t fall in the identical class as they present unique content material, it stated.
In any case, pure-play OTT platforms like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video don’t come beneath Trai’s regulatory purview.
Trai is presently finishing up a consultative course of to control converged digital applied sciences and companies. It is usually scheduled to return out with a separate session paper on regulating communication-based OTT service suppliers like WhatsApp, following which the federal government will take a coverage choice in the direction of this finish.
Trai officers informed FE that on the time of framing rules for telecom service suppliers and broadcasting channels, no person had thought that the 2 would converge within the method they’ve completed at present, due to this fact the present regulatory framework must be reworked.
