Mumbai: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has once again extended the deadline for comments and counter comments on the consultation paper related to issues of media ownership. The new dates to submit comments are 28 June and 5 July, respectively.
The consultation paper issued on 12 April seeks the views of the stakeholders on the need, nature and levels of safeguards with issues relating to media ownership, particularly cross-media ownership and vertical integration in the broadcasting sector.
The regulatory authority had received a reference from the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) seeking reconsideration of its 2014 recommendations and issuance of a fresh set of recommendations in the light of the emerging changes in the media & entertainment industry, particularly with the advent of new digital technologies such as over-the-top (OTT) platforms.
An industry analysis by KPMG shows that the media industry is undergoing a declining trend in terms of revenue generation from print, TV and radio while digital media is seeing a significant surge in revenue. Digital media revenues have grown from Rs 3,200 crore in 2014 to an estimated Rs 21,800 crore in 2021.
Furthermore, Broadcast Audience Research Council (Barc) India’s TV Universe study highlights the changing TV distribution sector and the market share of cable, pay direct-to-home (DTH), free DTH and terrestrial. The data shows that the cable TV market share has declined from 63 million to 40 million while the share of pay DTH has increased from 23 million to 38 million between 2016 to 2021 (estimation). Free DTH has also doubled its market share from 12 million to 22 million (estimation) during the same period, as per the study.
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“The M&E industry has undergone a drastic change owing to technological developments, particularly those related to Intellectual property (IP) technology and increased use of packet-switched digital communications which have made converged services possible,” said Trai.
The telecom networks can now provide access to the internet and broadcast content in addition to telecommunication services. “The technological convergence has manifested itself in changed consumer choices which, in turn, reflect the evolving dynamics of the M&E Sector,” remarked Trai.
In its consultation paper, Trai has asked stakeholders if there is a need to monitor cross-media ownership and control & whether there should be a common mechanism to monitor ownership of print, television, radio and other internet-based news media. Currently, regulatory agencies such as the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) monitor and regulate mergers, acquisitions and takeovers. Trai asks stakeholders whether there is a need to monitor takeovers and acquisitions of media companies, especially news media companies & which government agency/ministry should be entrusted with data collection, regulation and monitoring.
