New Cable TV Rules Applicable From March 1st; Pay 58% More For Star Plus, Zee TV, Sony & Other Premium Channels

TRAI, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has announced that there will be no delay in the implementation of NTO 2.0 and it will be launched on March 1 as planned before.

This means that your cable TV expenses will rise, and get ready to pay Rs 19 or 58% more for premium channels like Sony, Zee TV, Star Plus and more.

Meanwhile, residents of Kolkata will no longer be able to enjoy the discounts and benefits that telecom operators offered. These discounts were initially introduced to brace the users from the sudden hike in the prices of television bills. But this stops now.

What will happen now with the new cable TV rules? 

What will happen to Kolkata cable users, since the operators have refused to continue with the discounts? Find out all the details right here!

TRAI All Set To Implement NTO 2.0 From March 1; No Delay Or Stay From The Bombay HC

TRAI has not budged on its decision of implementing the new tariff rules from March 1, despite the seven hearings held by the Bombay HC and the stay demanded by the television broadcasters.

The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) had approached the Bombay HC against the TRAI’s new tariff order which was issued in December 2018 and implemented in Feb 2019. The new rules issued by TRAI affected users a great deal and in an attempt to hike down the cost, TRAI announced amendments to the NTO on January 1. 

However, the TRAI has declared to the Bombay HC that the implementation of the new amendment will not be deferred.

As per the new changes, TRAI has reduced the cap on the MRP of individual channels to Rs. 12 from Rs. 19 per month. This means for premium channels such as Sony, Zee TV, Star Plus and others, some users may have to shell out upto 58% more money, since the cable operators have removed this channel from the bouquets.

No More Discounts For Kolkata Television Viewers; Broadcasters To Withdraw Offers

TRAI had introduced some major changes in the television pricing last November, which hiked the costs of television channels greatly. To brace the customers from burning a sudden hole in their pockets, television operators had offered some appealing offers. But they have now decided to withdraw the offers on the various entertainment, edutainment and sports channels.

This means that there will be as much as Rs. 20 increase in the monthly subscription of a Kolkata cable TV viewer.

This will affect the pricings of popular entertainment channels including Star Plus, Sony TV, Star Jalsha, Zee Bangla and SAB TV, edutainment channels like National Geographic and sports channels like Star Sports 2,3 and Star Sports First. These channels will now cost Rs. 19 again, which was Rs. 12 for ala carte subscribers.

Mrinal Chatterjee of MSO Bengal Broadband has revealed that if a subscriber used to pay Rs. 360, he will now have to pay Rs. 20-30 extra. However, this wont affect th package subscribers, only those who opt for ala carte channels.