TRAI lists 133 pay channels for flouting 12-min ad-cap rule

A total of 103 non-news channels and 30 news channels telecast advertisements for more than 12 minutes per clock hour

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Mumbai | June 2, 2016

A total of 133 pay channels were listed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for flouting the 10+2 ad cap rule. As per the two lists published by the authority, 103 non-news channels and 30 news channels aired commercials for more than 12 minute in one clock hour.

Within the pay news channels' list, ETV Rajasthan tops the list with 24.83 minutes of advertising on an average per clock hour, while B4U Movies tops the list of non-news channels with 23.41 minutes of ads telecast per clock hour, on an average.

The data was mapped during peak hours (7pm– 10pm) for the period December 28, 2015 to March 27, 2016. TRAI in its update mentioned, “The information is based on the data submitted by the broadcasters and TRAI bears no responsibility for correctness of same. As per information available with TRAI, rest of the pay news channels are carrying less than 12 minutes of average duration per hour of advertisements (commercial and self-promotional) during peak hours (7pm - 10 pm).”

Among the total number of pay news channels, 18 were regional channels with the maximum average duration of ads being on ETV Rajasthan, followed by 24 Ghanta (21.45) and ETV UP (20.43) among others. The national news channels pulled up by TRAI include NDTV India at the top with 20.67 minutes of advertising per hour, followed by Zee News with an average of 18.90 minutes, among others.

In the second flock of pay non-news channels, 56 national channels were listed, the maximum ad duration being on B4U Movies (23.41), E24 (16.20) and Set Max (15.97), among others. The regional channels in the non-news category included Udaya Movies (17.50), Sun TV (17.34) and Sun TV HD (17.34) followed by 44 more channels.

In October 2013, TRAI enforced the 10+2 ad-cap, which meant that none of the broadcasters could air advertisements for more than 12 minutes in one clock hour. This 12-minute duration was divided into 10 minutes of commercial time and 2 minutes for internal promos of the channel. However, the matter is still subjudice and the rule is not strictly being followed.

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