TRAI kicks off public consultation on national broadcasting policy
Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has issued a pre-consultation paper seeking inputs from stakeholders for the formulation of the National Broadcasting Policy (NBP), which has been in the works for the last four years.
The pre-consultation paper has been issued following a letter from the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) dated July 13 requesting TRAI to give its inputs on the NBP.
The ministry has been putting together a comprehensive policy for the broadcasting sector on the lines of national policies for other sectors like telecom.
The TRAI's pre-consultation paper touches upon aspects like the need to have public service broadcasting and the policies required for TV, print, radio, and digital.
Other key issues that are up for discussion include the promotion of local content, containing piracy, and having a separate regulator for the broadcasting sector, which includes segments like TV channels, cable TV, direct-to-home (DTH), and over-the-top (OTT), among others.
The pre-consultation paper also discusses issues like having a robust grievance redressal mechanism to ensure compliance with the advertising and programme codes.
The regulator has also sought input on issues like strengthening the audience measurement system. The stakeholders have been asked to provide their comments on ways of unlocking growth in the animation, visual effects, gaming, and comics (AVGC) sector.
Stakeholders have to send comments by October 10.
According to the recent FICCI-EY report, TV broadcasting sector revenues dipped 1.5% to Rs 70,900 crore in 2022.
