The National Broadcast Policy has been grabbing attention for nearly a year now, and discussions around it show no signs of abating. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) will now meet stakeholders to take stock of their views and objections.

After TRAI came out with its recommendations on the National Broadcast Policy (NBP) last month, MIB is likely to meet industry stakeholders – broadcasters, cable operators, broadband, DTH, content producers etc., to listen to their concerns before it is officially put up for implementation.

The ministry will meet the various departments separately from mid-July to express their views on the TRAI recommendations on the policy.

TRAI issued a pre-consultation and a consultation paper to get stakeholders' views and held an open house discussion with them this May.

The regulatory body came out with its recommendations on NBP on June 20, saying that a transparent, credible and technologically advanced audience measurement system was crucial for all stakeholders but several industry observers had questioned its silence on issues like creative freedom, level playing field, and regulation of OTT and DD FreeDish.

TRAI has also recommended a multiple rating system with the intervention of the government for transparency in audience measurement, on which some experts had said it needed more clarity in terms of capturing diverse demographics, including rural and underserved regions, providing a comprehensive view of audience preferences and implementing strong data protection measures to safeguard consumer privacy while collecting viewing data.

TRAI had floated a pre-consultation paper on 21st September 2023 to elicit the issues needed to be considered for the formulation of ‘National Broadcasting Policy’.

Written comments on the pre-consultation paper were invited from the stakeholders by 10th October 2023, which, at the request of the stakeholders, was further extended up to 7th November 2023.

TRAI received 28 comments from various associations, companies, service providers, individuals and consumer advocacy groups.

The authority, after examining various issues emanating from the written submissions of the stakeholders in the pre-consultation paper, discussions and submissions received from various meetings across the country, issued the Consultation Paper (CP) titled as ‘Inputs for formulation of National Broadcasting Policy-2024’ on 2nd April 2024.

On May 15, TRAI held an open house discussion (OHD) with the industry stakeholders pressing for creative freedom and level-playing field for all. The discussion also saw contrasting views and strong opinions put forward by stakeholders, who were divided over the existing audience measurement system of linear and OTT platforms, with some asserting that BARC was enough to avoid confusion and conflict of interest. Meanwhile, others had sought multiple agencies to ensure accuracy.

During the OHD, Indian Broadcasting & Digital Foundation (IBDF) asserted that the existing audience measurement agency BARC was enough, and there was no need to bring more agencies as it could cause bigger problems.

Expressing a contrasting view, some news broadcasters said that BARC was not good for news ratings and it was time that the news genre got its due attention.

Seeking a level playing field for all stakeholders, IBDF had urged TRAI to ensure freedom for content creators and that broadcasters were not under pressure.

During the discussion, held in the presence of TRAI Chairman A K Lahoti, some stakeholders urged the regulator to suggest to the MIB “how to ensure we attract private investment into the sector and how to protect the investments already made”.

“India cannot lose the cable industry, which is providing jobs to thousands of people,” one stakeholder had said, noting that the number of cable TV subscribers was declining, adding that the policy should ensure a level playing field for all.

However, some experts had said that people have cut the cord and are not watching cable due to the quality of content. They also urged for an enabling environment for creators to push boundaries of art and to ensure that high quality content is supported.

Making his submission, a representative of a major broadcaster urged TRAI to ensure that the policy addresses the long-standing need to create a sustainable public-private partnership model in the media and entertainment industry.