Govt removes 12-minute advertisement duration cap for television channels

New Delhi, Aug 14 (AHN) The government has decided to remove the 12-minute advertisement duration cap for television channels to enable fair competition and ensure ease of doing business, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting on Friday.

The advertisement duration cap for TV was introduced in 2006 under the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994. Since then, the TV broadcasting sector has undergone significant changes. In 2006, there were only 62 TV channels, compared to more than 900 channels at present, the statement noted.

At that time, Cable TV, the main platform for delivering TV channels, was analogue and had limited carriage capacity, offering consumers very limited choice. Following the complete digitisation of the Cable TV sector, all TV distribution platforms, including DTH, Cable TV, HITS and IPTV, are now digital. These platforms currently carry 300 and 500 channels or more, meeting diverse consumer needs and enabling greater variety. Consequently, there is now adequate competition in market dynamics, the statement said.

In view of the changes that have occurred in the TV broadcasting sector, a need was felt to revisit the stipulations relating to advertisement duration. In India, the sector is heavily dependent on advertising, irrespective of whether a channel is ‘pay’ or ‘free-to-air’. Furthermore, there was a non-level playing field for traditional TV channels vis-a-vis digital media, where no such stipulation on advertisement cap regulation exists.

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting is of the view that there exists adequate competition in the market within the TV industry and between the TV industry and digital media. Consequently, the government has decided to remove the advertisement duration cap to enable fair competition and ensure ease of doing business, the statement said.

The decision will come into effect from the date of notification of the amendment in the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994, in the Gazette, the statement added.