New Cable TV Rules: 7 Questions Which Every Cable TV User Is Asking In India

And, the D-Day has finally arrived.

Effective February 1st, TRAI’s new cable TV rules will be implemented pan-India, which effectively changes everything about the cable and DTH industry in India.

The new Cable TV rules, which were originally planned for December 28th, was postponed to February 1st as customers were not aware of the actual changes.

But now, no extension will be made, and the deadline is final.

Here are 7 questions and their answers which every cable TV user should be aware of, effective February 1st, 2019:

I have selected longterm/annual plans. What will happen now?

All long term and annual plans have been canceled, effective February 1st. This means that if you have selected a 2-year plan as on October, 2018, then the plan is now nullified, and canceled.

However, don’t panic. The remaining amount, on a prorated basis, will be refunded back to your respective DTH/Cable account, which can be used for selecting a new plan and new channels.

You won’t lose a single penny.

I have not selected any new plan. What will happen now?

In case you fail to choose any new plan based on the new Cable TV rules, then there won’t be any blackout. TRAI has assured that users that DTH/Cable companies cannot blackout your TV after February 1st.

In case no plan is selected, you will be transferred to the basic pack of Rs 130 plus GST, which is Rs 154, wherein you will be eligible to watch 100 channels. As you have selected no pack, there will be no pay channels or bouquet in this base pack, and you can watch only 100 FTA channels.

What Is Base Pack? What is à la carte system?

Base pack is the technical term for the minimum fees which cable TV/DTH user needs to pay to access channels. This is Rs 130 plus GST, which comes to Rs 154.

Hence, base pack is the minimum amount which needs to be paid to access cable tv.

A` la carte system is when you choose your own channels, individually: Every pay channel has an MRP, which you need to pay separately.

What is the new Cable TV Tariff? Explain Like I Am Five

The new Cable TV Tariff is the new, revolutionary way to access TV channels.

Govt. has mandated that a network connect fees or the base pack has to be paid by every user, which is Rs 130 plus GST (Rs 154). After paying this, the user will be able to access 100 channels.

These 100 channels can be FTA (Free to Air) or pay channels. FTAs are free, but for pay channels, you need to pay the respective amount for each channel.

Hence, if you choose 5 pay channels, whose individual price is Rs 5, then you will need to pay: Rs 130 (plus GST) + Rs 25 (5*5).

If you want to access more channels, above 100, then you need to pay as per slabs: Rs 20 for 25 extra channels.

What If I select all the channels available in India?

Rs 6137 is the total charge, if a customer subscribes to all the channels available in India. However, if he uses bouquets and packs offered by DTH and broadcasters, then the expense can come down to Rs 5023.

There are total of 559 FTA or Free to Air channels, and 330 pay channels. The FTAs also include the mandatory 25 DD channels.

Will my Cable TV expense come down? Or go up?

This is a tricky question.

As per TRAI’s and BARC’s research, an average household only watched 50 channels.

As of now, the customer is paying on an average Rs 350-400 for accessing 300+ channels, while he watches only 50 or even less. Hence, it is expected that once the customer is able to freely add/delete channels from the base pack of 100 channels, the overall cost will come down.

TRAI has repeatedly said that the overall cost of cable TV will now come down.

But again, it depends on case to case.

How Will the invoice be generated now?

From now on, there will be two parts of the invoice: a) Network connect fees of Rs 130 plus GST and b) Content charges for the pay channels.

Tata Sky has removed the network charges for some additional channels, and Sun Direct has removed additional fees for all channels.

More details here.

(Disclaimer: This post is still under development. We will keep updating information, as it come)

Also read:

Complete List Of 230 + Free-To-Air (FTA) Channels Under The New Cable TV Rules