Arnab goswami-writ-petition

IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW D~LHI
(CIVIL EXTRAORDINARY WRIT JURISDICTION)
Writ Petition (C) No.
IN THE MATTER OF:. 2 .1 6 ".:g: (I,
T.V Today Network Ltd.
Versus
Union of Indiaos Ors.
of2017
... Petitioner
... Respondents
MASTER INDEX• d, ; (. . ,i'" S.,
VOLUME-I
SL. NO PARTICULARS PAGE(S)
1. Notice of Motion 1
2. Urgent Application 2
3. Memo of Parties 3-4
4. Synopsis & List of Dates 5-16
5. Petition ' .under Article 226/227 of the
Constitution of India seeking a writ or
direction from this Hon'ble Court requiring .
that TRP ratings of any news channel which 17-46
is in violation of the TRAI regulations, 2017
shall not be released by BARC along with
supporting affidavit.
6. Annexure P-l: The true copy of the, ~ - " t i
47
Resolution dated 09.02.2017 of TVTN.
7. Annexure P-2· Colly: The true copies of the, ,.' . '.. ~, _•.,., , _ t "" ~ I •
Regulations, 2017 and its memorandum of 48-107
explanation.
I I I 'I rill'! 'Ill ~H""fIt .Ii l'l

Il_,
$L. NO PARTICVLARS PAGE(S)
8. Annexure P-3 Colly: The true Copies of up• • ,r',- ., '. ,d"," .' .'" '.
108-159
to date relevant policies, guidelines, EULA.
9. Annexure P-4: The true copy of the details.". i·; ~ .". ,
.'
of Republic TV as per the Ministry of 160
Corporate Affairs website.
10. Annexure P-5 Coll,y:True Copy of the.. , 'I " ..,,1 ,i ,j ,
Regulations, 2012 along with its 161-187
memorandum of explanation.
11. Annexure P-6 Colly: True copies of the First$ ",i.,; # , . , . " ',r ..
Amendment, 2012 along with its 188-192
,
12. Annexure P-7: True Copy of the data
193
released by BARC.
13. Annexure P-8 Colly:" True Copies of the
screen grabs of varIOUS violations by 194-215
Republic TV.
14. Annexure P-9: True Copy of the complaint
216-219
dated 12.05.2017 filed by NBA
15. Annexu~e P-I0 Colly: True Copies of the
220-221
notices issued by TRAI
VOLUME-II
16. Ann~x¥r~ P-l,l, Colly:True copies of several
newspaper articles demonstrating the hype 222-226
attempted to be created by Republic TV.
17. Annexure P-12: True Copy of the screen," , .... t ' .'. " , ", .
227
shot of the chrome mailer.
18. Annexure, P-13: True Copy of the Interview5 .....
228-229.
for Sun TV
, ! "! '1"1 'l'!~lI'Tmn iiii!',

19. Annexure P-14: True Copy of the DAVP,_" _. x '_ '...
230-231
rates determined by TRP
20. CM No. Application under
Section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure,
242-245
1908 for interim directions . along with
Affidavit in support.
1908 seeking exemption from filing original/
246-249.
typed/ clear/ certified ·copies with markings
or margins on the documents along with
Affidavit in support.
1908 seeking permission to file lengthy list 250-252
of dates and synopsis along with Affidavit in
support.
23. Vakalatnama 253
24. Court Fee 254
25. Proof of Service,
~----
LPl 8t Partners LLP Advocates &. Solicitors .
Qffice:- A-62, FF, Defence Colony, New Delhi- 110024, INDIA - T: +91 11
41051167
Chamber:- No.103, A. K. Sen block, Supreme Court, New Delhi-110001,
INDIA - T: +91 11 23381351
E:office@lpjpartners.comW: www.lpjpartners.com
Through: Mr. Prasouk lain (D/1182/11 - L.: 0120- 4237719)
Place: New Delhi Date:17.05.2017
..:
,r: ..:
..i ".

IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
(CIVIL EXTRAORDINARY WRIT JURISDICTION)' .
Writ Petition (C) No.
IN THE MATTER OF:t. .._}, _ i.' " j • ,4
Versus
Union of India& Ors.
of 2017
... Petitioner
... Respondents
VOLUME-I
, ",
1. Notice of Motion 1
2. Urgent Application 2
3. Memo of Parties 3-4
4. Synopsis & List of Dates 5-16.
5. Petition under Article 226/227 of the
Constitution of India seeking a writ or
direction from this Hon'ble Court requiring
17-46that TRP ratings of any news channel which
is in violation of the TRAI regulations, 2017'
shall not be released by BARC along with
supporting affidavit.
6. Annexure P-l: The true copy of the,'. :t;,".
47
Resolution dated 09.02.2017 of TVTN.
7. Annexure P-2 Colly: The true copies of the& _', x" • _ ,.' " __~
Regulations, 2017 and its memorandum of 48-107
explanation.
8. Ann~.xure P-3Colly: The true Copies of up
108-159
to date relevant policies, guidelines, EULA.
, I 'I 'I" II'!~n'T~m i!WI

9. Annexure P-4: The true copy of the details
of Republic TV as per the Ministry of 160
Corporate Affairs website.
10. Annexure ; P-5 Colly:True Copy of the, ; '.' t . ({ " . ..... . , .
Regulations, 2012 along with its 161-187
11. Annexure P-6 Colly: True copies of the First•. ' ''',' ( _ . . ,.'p 'r.,·
Amendment, 2012 along with its 188-192
12. Annexure P-7: True Copy of the data
193
released by BARC.
13. Annexure P-8 Colly: True Copies of the
screen grabs of vanous violations by 194-215
Republic TV.
14. Annexure P-9: True Copy of the complaint
! 216-219
dated 12.05.2017 filed by NBA·
15. Annexure P-IO Colly: True Copies of the
220-221
. notices issued by TRAI
CONTO•• VOLUME-II
LPJ 8r. Partners LLP Advoc es ollcltcrs
Office:- A-62, FF, Defence Colony, New Delhi- 110024, INDIA - T: +91 11
410~1167
INDIA - T: +91 11 23381351
E: oftice@lQjpartners.comW: www.lpjpartners.com
Through: Mr. Prasouk Jain (D/1182/11- L.: 0120- 4237719)
Place: New Delhi . Date:17.05.2017
; I "! !I'! I'!'n"nm 'Ii'"

,lillT 7l1illioJl.i,L. I, III, I ,
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",~.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI ,
(CIVIL EXTRAORDINARY WRIT JURISDICTION)
Writ Petition (C) No. Of 2017
MEMO OF PARTIES. " ( ' . Ii '"
IN THE MATTER OF:j ; . ;: •
T.V. Today Net~ork Ltd.
Through its Authorised representative
Dr. Puneet Jain
Having its Regd, Office at:
F-26. First Floor, .
Connnaught Circus,
New Delhi- 110001
...Petitioner
Versus
1. Union of India
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting(MIB)
. Through itsSecretary
Dr Rajendra.Prasad Rd, Shastri Bhavan,.. . .
• to· .
New Delhi- 110001
2. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)
Through its ,Chairman . :.
Mahanagar Doorsanchar Bhawan
Next to Zakir Hussain College
Jawaharlal Nehru Marg (Old Minto Road)
New Delhi- 110 002
3. Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC)

iJU: li~illHiiii, ~,II I I ,
ttf·
Through it Chairman
Rose' Cottage
Next to Citi Tower
61, Dr. 8.S, Rao Road,
Pare1(East), Mumbai- 400 '.012
..
4. ARG Outliner Media Asianet News Pvt. Ltd.
Through its Director
B-1701/1702 Raheja Atlantis CHS,
Ganpatrao Kadam Marg,
Lower Parel Mumbai, Mumbai City
Maharasthra- 400 013 .'.
"
...Respondents
Through
IrFi IJ16t.it
H1H.lt
Caolum
LPJ & Partners LLP AdVO~~iOffice:- A-62, FF, Defence Colony, New Delhi- 110024, INDIA - T: +91 11
41051167
Chamber:- No.l03, A. K. Sen block, Supreme Court, New Oelhi-110001,
INDIA - T: +91 11 23381351
E: office@lpjpartners.comW: www.lpjpartners.com. ' . ' ...
Through: Mr. Prasouk Jain (D/1182/11 - L.: 0120- 4237719)
Place: New Delhi Date 17.05.2017

, ,
" .
(CIVIL EXTRAORD1NARY'WRIT .JURISPICTIQN)
..,
.,'
.;.
Writ Petition '(e)·:No. . '. of2017
.~ ~ Petitioner
... Respondents
·Versus "
IN THE MATTER OF:; • i
Union oflndia& Ors.
. .
Amendment to the TRAI Regulations. in 2012, allowing each
6th May 20.~7. It pertains to the violation of the regulations
contained in the TRAI Regulations, 2017 and the First
TV which has been launched as an English news channel on
. . ' .
SYNOPSIS AND'LIST OF:DATES,
unlawful and unethical acts of Respondent No.4 - Republic
" . . .
The present, Writ Petition' has been filed by the Petitioner
drawing the attention of this Hon'ble Court towards the
channel to .be liste~. under.'?nly one genre and appearing at
one place as part of one Logical Channel Number (LCN) in 'a
distributor's Electronic Program Guide (EPG).
Republic TV has violated these Regulations byregistering itself
under different genres and .getting itself listed on multiple
LCNs. This has been done. to artificially hike the Television
Rating Point (TRP), which is an indicator of and positively co-
'".,ii .. ,JI ,., •••. -ii, ,,,~.• i •.;, •..•.. (,. I, ! .• ,", .. ,., •.'•.• ' '.,•..••,.1.,)._ ••.•:. :')!:~":~'·'·'·1'IS~l.~P ~•• t·. ,E••.•..• .•.1:::'1'i':.~~;7'""--: . " .. '.~.."' .."

" '
,
relates to the revenue, advertisements and overall market
share.
The Petitioner has approached this Hon'ble Court with a sense
of urgency to prohibit Respondent No.3 (BARC) from releasing
the TRP ratings of Republic TV specifically and any other news
channel generally, which are in violation of not only the TRAI
regulations, 2017 and 2012 hut also in violation of the Code of
Conduct, Principles of Fair, and Permissible Usage and End
Users License.Agreementtgtfl.A] of BARC. BARC releases its
TRP ratings on a weekly basis but for some reason best known
to it has not released any new ratings since May 5th 2017.
BARC is scheduled to release its latest ratings on May 18th ,
, ,
2017. If BARC"is allowed to release the TRP ratings of Republic
TV, then it will have the. irreparable d~age of distorting the
ratings of all the English ..news channels based on faulty and
..
corrupt data, arrived at "without discounting the hike in
viewership due to usage of multiple ,LeN, in violation of rules.
The effect of such a release Will continue for weeks after the
initial TRP ratings, thereby caus~hg continued cause of action.
It will also wrongly.incentivize other' 'news channels to follow
suit and fall foul of the TRAI regulations to increase their TRP
ratings'.
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Further, any action taken' 'retrospectively either by TRAI or
BARe will not be sufficient to provide restitutioadinieqrum to
the Petitioner as a leading news channel. .:
Therefore, the Petitiorter prays. for ..an .interim relief, amongst
Hence the present petition.
advertisers arid general people alike..
others, requiring that the Respondents should collectively and
theissued2No.
LIST OF DATES AND EVENTS
..
1997 (hereinafter referred to as "TRAI Act")
was promulgated due to the tremendous
The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act,
. ..
growth in services by private operators with
respect to various kinds of telecom services
Respondent
which necessitated a Government body with all
the statutory powers like TRAI.
.'
.Telecorpmuriicatibn (Broadcasting and Cable
': Services) Interconnection (Digital Addressable
..'..
..- :,
. .' ..
individually ensure that the TRP ratings of any news channel,. "
."
1997
30.04,2012
. in violation of.the TRAI regulations should not be allowed to be
released in public domain, to the disadvantage of the industry,
);
H__~~..~..'~~~""""""---'-""""""""""""""'''''''''''''''''''''''''''' '''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''-''''-'''''-'''''''''''''''..-,,.....,.'~..,'''''-''n""",=.....-r-r-.. ..,.,'.....",.. ,.",...".....,...,......•. ,.....,.,.....----:'"'."""'.•.•,:".~~"... : .' .;,.,.~

2012").
;.;
>..:
:}
The Respondent No..·2 .amended the 2012
regulations ",,' by 'way of a notification dated
1.4.04.20 12~ The, said amendment notification
the "First Ameridme~t, 2012"). The said, .
.' amendment was brought forth to amend the
Regulation 5 of the 2012 regulation as follows':
• In regulation (5) of the princiI?al regulations,
after sub-regulation (14),', the following
subregulationshall.be inserted, namely:-
Services)
Amendment)
Telecommunication
Cable
(first
the
~d
,Systems)'
(Broadcasting
(((14A) Every broadcaster shall declare the
Devotional or'·General Entertainment
was called
genre 0/its channels and such genre shall. ; .
Lifestyle or Movies or Religious or
be either News, and Current Affairs or
,Infotainment or Sports or Kids or Music or
Regulations, 2012 (Hereinafter referred to as
interconnection (Digital Addressable Cable
'..
.:Television
.." .
if. ..,,', ",.""~' '"3.' ...' " ,' '..·.·;· ,.."..,,',, '0":••••,'.'.,.••, ;.:".., ;.. ;.: .. :..: ",.:" ,.,:." ,..:.:,.,.:.. : :., , , '.' ..'.Ii...•.. I '.' ; '.: · ·:'._.l:w'; ,~:.w<.."..·.·.·..·. '..'.. ' .' .'.-."1:',. "-.-,,: .: '.

..
(Hindi) or General Entertainment (English)
language). (Emphasis Supplied)
••••.• •• •• • .. :(1
(regional
. .
General . Eniertainmeni: or
,.;.
.{
"
14(B) Tne multi system operator shall
:':;
:.;
.:."
, ,
" '
place the channels of a broadcaster in the
genre declared by such broadcaster.
14(C) No broadcaster shall demand from
: the multi-system operator. to assign a
particular number to its channels. »
• In regulation (5) ofthe principal regulations)
. after proviso to sub-regulation (15), the.' .
following sub-regulation shall be inserted,
riamelut-
(((1 SA) Every multi system operator shall
displau, in. his Electronic Programme Guide)
• . i. •
all the' channels offered by "him, 'in the same
genre in which a. particular channel has been
. .
indicated. by' the broadcaster and one
. '.
channel.shall appear in only one genre. JJ
(Emphasis Supplied)
The said First Amendment, 2012 was brought
.forth by the Respondent No. 2 to specifically.. , .
" .
deal with the eventuality of a channel' being
~.~;
:.'~.:,:"j.. ' ,.. .,. . ... '. '." . ", ..• , ,..':" e, '.J .,'••••••••• ' ••.••. ' ••• '." ', •.' '., ••' .•, ••..' ••••••>z-;, •.••. , ":,,=~~,,,,,",,~, ~,~.":J':.~~~.'m.~~:;."':""':" ":"':•• ,~'••,.,.,..,~••.~'.•.-:::-:.:•• :!0':':..:.07":".•:: -; ,. ,•••••Pi.. ,i.,.·.· ··: .'•.•;t'.I}:v: :•..:.:'..:.~..~.::.:.:.: ......•.•. ~ :...'.•:.:~-:~::.::.:::._;.~ ~ ..•..•••. :.:

to
placed in a' disadvantageous position as
compared to another channel of the same
.: genre by a Distributor. The same was done by
.making. mandatory provisions' for a
broadcaster to indicate the genre of the
channel arid th~' Multi System Operator
",
:~:
(Hereinafter referred to "as "MSO") to include
..
", '
comments, counter-comments, and VIews
"
(Hereinafter .referred to "EPG") by listing all
. Thisstakeholders.
4" "1 . ' I .,,c••.O f •••.• ; '0' .•••• i" ••• ".:;:" - •.••...•.• I', ,,', •• J ._.
by
I,
the provisioning of Cable Services after
more user friendly.
That as per .. the. roadmap notified by
Respondent No.1 for the Broadcasting Sector,
31.03.2017 was 'permitted through Digital
Addressable .Systems only and decided to focus
towards digital India and started consultation
besides being fair to the broadcaster also
streamlined the Electronic Programme Guide" ,
channels of.the same genre together making it
on Interconnection framework for Broadcasting
Systems and after ,detailed analysis .of the
expressed
TV Services distributed through Addressable
:. "the broadcaster in, .the genre declared. This
03.03.2017
~---"""""""".,.=,,,"":.,, ., , ,.',..' " .

, ,
finallyculminated into the Respondent No. 2
I ,
· ,:-:,
ServicesCable)
Telecommunication
and
, '
publishing, ','" the
[Broadcasting
.:;
-:
','
, ;,., , •••-, '. , •••• ' •• , j ' l. [... '. ••.• I E. I !..,,'. '" . " .. , I.,.•.
" ,
'Miscellaneous'.
Every
Systems)
'General
(1)
or
guide.-
'(Addressable
'Devotional'
programme
"
its channels and such genre shall be
broadcaster shall declare the genre of
and currenz ,Affairs' or 'Sports' or
Entertainmen~' or 'Infotainment' or
'Kids' or 'Movies' or 'Music' or 'News
(2) Itshall be mandatory for the distributor
to, place ,: channels In the electronic
,"18", Listing' 'of channels in electronic
, either
Interconnection
Regulations, 2017 (Hereinafter referred to as
"Regulations, 2017").
That a perusal of Regulation 18 of the
Regulations, 2017 would reveal that it lays
down the same guidelines laid down by the
First Amendment, 2012. Relevant extract of
the 'Regulation 18 of .the Regulations, 2017 is
reproduced herein below: '
"
, ,
" '
"
, .
" '

• • '. : •• -:.; -. 1
:;"
.;
. .
'..
, .'..
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, programme guide, in such a way that the
television channels of same genre, as
declared by the broadcasters, are placed
together consecutively «r&d pne chq.nn"l
shall apRear a.t'one place only:C .. i . •
Provided, that all television channels of
, .'
sam~, lanquaqe within the same qenre
, , '
,shall appear together consecutioelu in the
electronic programme guide: '
Provided further that it shall be'
permissible',. to, the distributor to place a
: channel under sub-genre within the genre
declared for. the .channel by the
broadcaster. ':
. (3) Every distributor of teleuision
channels shall assign a unique
channel number' for ea.ch teleuision
channel available on the distribution
:network.
(4) The channel number once assigned to a
particular television channel shall not be
..' .
...altered by the distributor for a period of at
.: least' one year from, the date of such

Provided that this sub-requlaiiori shall not
unavailable on the distribution network:
Agreement (Hereinafter referred to as the
EULA) with' BARC, and has last released its
CouncilResearch
(E~phasis Supplied)
apply in case the channel becomes
Provided further that if a broadcaster
chang,~ the genre of Cl channel then
the channel number assigned to that
changed': to place such channe;
together with t!'te ch~nitels of new
genre in 'the electronic program
particular television channel shall. be
Broadcast Audience
guide.'"
(Hereinafter.' referred to as the BARe) releases
weekly data every Thursday with respect to
BAARC is set to.' release its weekly data on
data into thepublic fora till 05.05.2017. That
as TRP) of different channels that prescribe to
, the data by entering into an End Users License
, , '
:. "Television Rating Po~t (Hereinafter referred to
, ,
" ,
'05.05.2017
'"
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,
15.05.2017 That based on the, Complaint made by NBA
.;.
,.:
06.05.2017
12.05.2017
, ,
", ,
18.05.2017 which TVTN feels will be greatly
.: prejudicial to the interest of all the channels in
'. '
'News and Current Affairs' genre since
Republic TV would have an unfair advantage of
"being onvdual Logical Channel Number
(Hereinafter referred to "LeN").,
The Respondent No. 4 launched "Republic TV"
"
- an English news channel which is allegedly
viol~ting . Regulation .. 18 of' the Regulations,
2017 by obtaining more than 1 LCN at
multiple MSO's,/ Distributors.
That .TVTN' and various other broadcasters
feared foul play and tampering of the data

maintained by BARC and accordingly decided
to approach the News Broadcasters
Association (Hereinafter referred to as "NBA")
to take up the' issue with the .concerned
authorities. That accordingly based on the
proof of'violation being submitted to NBA a
'. ," .
.complaint regarding the' infractions of Republic
TV was made. to TRAl.
against the. infractions of Republic TV with
. ' ,
::': .1, 1. ; I ' .. PI.l ,·.·.• 1 , .--... , _ .' " .j••••••

, ,
" , IS-
tacit support of MSO's/ DPO's/ Distributors,
........ '..:
TRAI issued a show cause notice to some of the
.:~
MSO's/ OPO's/ Distributors asking them to
furnish their detailed comments on the
violation of transmission of a TV Channel on
multiple LeN's under different Genre within a
period of 3 days. It is pertinent to note at this
. '.
juncture that despite a. complaint being made. . ' .
by NBA against the Republic TV, no notices
have been. issued. by TRAI against Republic TV
so far,
.:
:.>.
" '
,:multiple LeN's by.' several MSO's/ DPO's/
Distributors which will further effect the
establishedwellits
Ii ·.U •.r ; •• - . •-----..,...----;. ,
contravention to
Republic TV, various other channels have also
That following suit of the illegal actions of
followed suit and they are also getting listed in
interest orTVTN unless. TVTN also follows suit
principlesof adhering to the law laid down by
the Respondent Authorities.
. .
Moreover the data maintained by BARe which
... . .
is recorded by' its ': watermarking technology
does not weed out viewership' emanating out of
"m
•.• c .u .... · .c•..•• t •• -••
May 2017

· .'..
"the malpractice of dual LeN and QJ1Y data
generated-by' BRAC without disregarding the
mal-practitioners would bring doubt to the
authenticity of the data and in very least
benefit the wrongdoer TV Channels by placing
them higher than the _law abiding channels.
Hence this Petition.
DRAWN & FILED BY:
: ~~4LPl &. Partners LLP Advocate icitors
Office:- A-62, FF, Defenc . Colony, New Delhi- 110024, INDIA - T: +9~ 11
41051167
INDIA - T: +91 11 23381351
E: office@lpjpartners.comW: www.lpjpartners.com
Through: Mr. Prasouk lain (D/1182/11 - L.: 0120- 4237719)
, ! "I !!"T T!'H'ffirii i1!!

(CIVIL EXTRAORDINARY WRIT JURISDICTION)-:
-:
~.:
.:
Writ Petition (<?) No. of2Q17
.....' .. ·t.··..·.
associations like the News Broadcaster Association and
Today Brand. It is an :active member of responsible. . '
scrupulously abides by the rules and regulations issued. . ,
. .... Petitioner
... Respondents
The humble petition of the
Petitioners above named
To, .
Versus
The Hon'ble ChiefJustice and his
Companion Judges of the .:
High Court of Delhi at NeW: Delhi
IN THE MATTER OF:,
Union of India& Ors.
1. That the Petitioner Company is a responsible news
agency that strives to 'give quality programming to all its
viewers and' is backed by a 40 year legacy.of the India
MOST RESPECTFULLY SHOWETH:
::,..'' ".' ".;..,' "-,' ..'.•.._ ,.S'..,.' .'.Il,'. "'~".' •.... ' •...".j ' ••••• • •• fl.·•.•'),1.:.'1 .i.'~. '...... ..;, ' ',.,.' .'. .. . . . .. '.' ., :. i.i,.·"' '. ., :·, ,,~:l..:: !~.~ c. .i"'·. ," :.:.: .) ) ,.. " .,.: ' .

by different Government agencies. with respect to
,'.:
:~
broadcasting and responsible journalism.
2. That the present petition is, being filed by the Petitioner
namely T.V.' Today Network Ltd. (Hereinafter referred to
as "TVTN") through Dr. Puneet Jain who is its
authorized representative as, per" the resolution dated
"
09.02.2017. The true ,"copy of the Resolution dated
09.02.2017',bfTVTN is annexed as ANNEXURE P-l.
-.1:
3. ,That by way of the present Petition,TVTN seeks
implementation of the Telecommunication (Broadcasting
and:,'Cable) : Services .Tnterconnection (Addressable
Systems) Regulations, 2017 published by the Respondent
No. 2 vide notification dated '03.03.2017 (hereinafter
, ,
referred to as.the "Reg~lations, 2017").The true copies
of the Regulations, 2017 and its memorandum of
explanationare annexed herewith as, ANNEXURE P-
2Colly.
4. That the Respondent' No. '1 is Ministry ofInformation and
Broadcasting a department in the Union of India which
regulates and' frames policy for"the' broadcasting of the
entire nation,
, ,
5. The Respondent No.2 is Telecom Regulatory Authority of
India (hereinafter referred to' as "TRAI") and is the Nodal
, ,
" .
~""""""'''''''''''''--''''''';''''''''''=''''7'""''''.. ,' ' l •. ·.-.;.J «, • , •••. " . " ••• , •• " ••• ,,, " • ,' , ' II :. t; : "~.' .' t._ , ' , . . . • ' •••( ••••••••••.:"1; ,', .. ,',,''..

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Authority for establishing a uniform regulatory
environment in·· ~e .. broadcasting sectorunder the
Respondent No. 1 ~d was created as statutory Authority
under the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act,
1997 (hereinafter referred to as "TRAI Act").
, .
6. The Respondent No. 3 IS the Broadcast Audience
Research Council (hereinafter. referred to as "BARC") is
joint industry body for the measurement of broadcast
audiences and was formed .by three apex industry
'.' .
associations in the broadcasting sector namely IBF, ISA
and AAAI. It claims'that its structure imposes extremely
high standard ofProbityethicality and accountability of
the body. The true Copies of up to date relevant policies, .
guidelines, EULAare annexed herewith as ANNEXURE p.
3 Colly.
7. That the Respondent No.4·: is a private corporation
(hereinafter .referred to as "Republic TV") which owns
the broadcasting' rights, or'the..channel Republic TV which
.. .
was first launched on 06.05.2017. The present petition
seeks directions by this Hon'ble Court to the other
"
respondents tostop the illegal practice of Dual LeN. The
true copy of the details of Republic TV as per the Ministry
, ,
" '
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of Corporate Affairs :website. is, annexed herewith as, ' ,
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ANNEXURE P-4.
BRIEF FACTS PERTAINING TO.THE CASE:, ;
.8. That the ,TRAI Actwas promulgated in 1997 due to the
tremendous growth 'in services by private operators with
,resp<?~t to various kinds .of telecom services.It was
'..
. . . ' .
necessitated by the Government to create a body with all
the statutory powerslike TRAI. .
9. On 30.04.2012 the Respondent No. 2 issued the
Telecommunication (Broadcasting '. and Cable Services)
Interconnection (Digital Addressable Cable Television
Systems) Regulations, 2012· (Hereinafter referred to as
the "Regulations, 2()12"). True Copies of the
.'
Regulations, 2012'" along .with its' memorandum of
explanation is annexed herewith as Annexure P-5Colly.
10. The said Regulations,.: 2012 was amended on 14.05.2012
by the .Responde'nt No.2 through a notification dated
14.04.2012. The said amendment notification was called
the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable
Services) interconnection [Digital Addressable Cable
, '
..
TelevisionSystems] (First Amendment) Regulations, 2012
,W:
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21
(Hereinafter referred to ae the "First Amendment,
2012").
.' In regulation. (5) of the principal regulations,. I
after sub-regulation (14), the following
subreguletionshad be inserted, namely»
"(14A) Every broadcaster shall declare the
• In regulation (5) of the principal regulations,
. ,
" ,
, ,
" '
"
genre of its' channels and such genre shall1 ' 4 ;
be eith~r Neuis and Current Affairs or
Infotainment or Sports or Kids or Music or
.. .
.Lifestyle or Movies or Religious or
Devotional or General Entertainment
(Hindi) or General Ent~rtainment (English)
.', ,
or General Entertainment (regional
: l~nguage).(Emphasis Supplied)
1,4(B) The multi system' operator shall
place the. channels of a broadcaster in the
. genre declared by such broadcaster.
14(C) No broadcaster shall demand from
the multi-system operator to assign a
particular numberto its channels."
after. proviso to sub-regulation (15),
c.
.:'''''''''='." ='",.-;.,-c.:".,",.,',.=.:~ :.~,.:,:""".J,I!-,18'''''''',-:-c..';'1 , ~.,.':.,-,' ;., .' ·,.';.: -,I:.:.lf; :.:..:,:"I:':"':':~I:l.::" : " " ~ .' I. ...•• ,.. ",,' ~~"7.::"'." ::"":""~ " .• :""'" e-,>:".'•..'., :..:' ~.' ,.'..-, " '"I'I'.':~':::':';'" '.. -0- . ,', .. ',':'

"(15A) Every multi system operator shall
. inserted, namely»
shall besub-regulationthefollowing
.:
display, in his Electronic Programme Guide,
, ,
" ,
all the channels offered by him, in the same
genre in which it par-ticular channel has been
indicated by the broadcaster and one. . . . , "
channel 'shaF appear in only 9ne g~71r$?' "
. (Ernphasi~. Supplied)
The said Firat Amendment, 2012 was brought
, ,
forth by the Respondent. No. 2 to specifically
deal with the eventuality of a channel being
placed i~' a disadvantageous position as
compared to another channel of the same
genre by a Distributor: The same was done by
" ,
aforprovisions
" i. " • :'i('·.l ...... ,i.....~. ,I' .~".. ,. ;
mandatory
.•.•. ,.l ••. ·· ',' ••.. ,.
broadcaster to indicate one genre of the
(Hereinafter referred to as "MSO") to include
channel and the, Multi System Operator
besides being fair to the broadcaster also
channels of the same genre together making it
streamlined the Electronic Programme Guide
" [Hereinafter referred. to "EPG") by listing all, . ,
,:the broadcaster in .the genre declared. This
o
:;J..P . ,. ,',' .,.,';"';";. ''''." .,( }ti ~tJ J .. )" ...... ,', )"..: ","'/"1,, ....';,· •. ' .•.~.l.' .. , " '. <,J, .. i.:

"
'more user friendly. True copies of the First
....,... ,.....
Amendment, 2012 along with its memorandum
of explanation IS 'annexed herewith as
Annexure P-6 Colly~
, ,
'. ,
. .
11. That as per the roadmap notified by theRespondent No.1
for the Broadcasting Sector, the. provisioning of Cable, "
Services after 31~03.'2b1~ was. permitted through Digital
., .
Addressable Systems 'only and decided to focus towards
digital India and started consultation on Interconnection
framework for Broadcasting TV Services distributed. '.
through Addressable, Systems and after detailed analysis
of the comments, 'counter-comments, 'and views
expressed by stakeholders, This finally culminated into
"
the Respondent No.2 publishing the Telecommunication
(Broadcasting and Cable), Services Interconnection, .
"
(Addressable Systems) .Regulations, 2017 (Hereinafter
referred to as "Regulations, 2017").
12. That a perusal of Regulation 18 of the Regulations, 2017
. ..'
would 'reveal that if lays down the same guidelines laid
down by the First Amendment, 2017). Relevant extract of
the Regulation 18 of the Regulations, 2017 is reproduced
herein below:
.: tt18. Listing of channels in electronic
, "
. .
.......... ' .. ' e, i .... . II . . .

proqramme .guide.--- (1) Every
..' ..
broadcaster shall declare the genre of
its channelS and. such genre shall be
either. 'Devotional' or 'General
.;
/
.,
" '
Entertainment' or 'Infotainment' or
'Kids' or 'Movies' or 'Music' or 'News
and CUrrent A//airs' or 'SpoTts' or
" 'Miscellaneous'.
(2) It shallbe mandatory for the distributor
to .place channels in the electronic
programme guide, in such a way that the
.television channels of same genre, as
declared by the broadcasters, are placed
together consecutively and one channel; ;:: +,
shall appear at one place onlll:. .
Provided that all television channels of
same language ,'within the same genre
shall appear together consecutively in the
electronic programme guide:
,Provided : further that it shall be
permissible to the distributor to place ,a
channel'under sub-genre within the genre
declared for the channel by the
'"
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broadcaster.
(3) Every" di$tri.butor of television
channels $hall assign a unique
cha~n~l. number for each television
.channel 'available on the di$tri.bution
network.
(4) The channel number once'a.ssigned. to a
· particular television channel shall notOft. . . ..
altered by the distributor for a period of at
least one: year from. the date of such
'.
assignment:
Provided that this sub-regulation shall not
apply in' case the channel becomes
unavailable' on the distribution network:
· ProVided further: that if a broadcaster
changes the genre of a channel then
the channel number assigned to that
· particular ~levision channel shall be
, ,
change,d to ,place· such cha.nnel
.: together with, the channels of new
genre in the electronic program
guide."
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(Emphasis Supplied)
13. That the Broadcast" Audience Research Council
1
(Hereinafter referred to as the "BARC") releases weekly
.
data every Thursday With respect to Television Rating
Point (Hereinafter, referred' to as TRP) of different
, ,
channels that ,pres~rib~ to the data by entering into an
End Users License Agreement' (Hereinafter referred to as
the "EULA") with' BARC, and has last released its data
into the public fora till 05.05.2017. That BARC is set to
release its' weekly data on 18.05.2017 which TVTN feels
will be greatly prejudicial to the interest of all the
channels in 'News and Current Affairs' genre since
Republic !V would have an unfair advantage of being on
.. .. 0.. .
dual Logical Channel Number (Hereinafter referred to
"LCN"). True Copy of the data released by BARe till date
is Annexed herewith as Annexure P-7.
.'
14. That on 06.05.2017 'the Respondent No. 4 launched
"Republic TV" -an' English news channel which is
allegedly violating Regula~q~ 18 of the Regulations, 2017
by obtaining more" than '''I J;CN at multiple MSO's/
Distributors,

'.;
.
··l
....
, ,
" .
15. That TVTN and various other broadcasters feared foul
play and .tampering ofthe data, maintained by BARe and" . "
accordingly" decided to' 'approach the News Broadcasters
Association (Hereinafter referred to as "NBA") to take up
the Issue with the cO,ncemed,' authorities. That
accordingly', based .on the .proof of violation being. ' . , .
submitted to NBA a complaint regarding the infractions
of Republic TV was made to TRAI. True Copies of the
screen grabs of'various. violations by .Republic TV are
annexed herewith as Annexure P-8 Colly.
"
16. That accordingly NBA filed a, complaint against Republic
TV to TRAI on 12.05.2017. True Copy of the complaint
Ail
dated .12.05.2017 filed by N]3.A is annexed herewith as
, '
" '
Annexure p-g.
17. That based on the Complaint made by NBA against the
infractions of Republic' TV with tacit support of MSO's/
. ,
DPO's/ Distributors, TRAI issued a show cause notice to
some of the MSO's/ DPO's/ Distributors asking them to
furnish their detailed comments .on the violation of
transmission of a TV Channel on multiple LeN's under
different Genre' within a period of 3 days. It 'is pertinent
to note' at this juncture that despite complaint being
made by NBA, against the Republic TV no notices have
........; ...
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?;~(:-'~ii£}~~~;tu~~~.i;;~.~o;~i~,.~,:;i~~~~j.J;.E~~~;':;'~~f::1. ~:i~~~~;~~...;.;~~,~~;~~j~U!.~~hi.;~~~o£:i;~:';;i:: ~.i,:),::;.:::::.~~:..!.I;I;'::,.''. :",,"
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been issued. by TRAI against them so far. True Copies of
,
the notices issued by !~ are annexed herewith as
interregnum nor has it 'been issued a show cause notice
following suit; various other 'channels have followed suit
and they are also getting listed in multiple LCN's by
several lYfSO's/ DPO's/Distributors which will further
adhering to the law laid down. by the Respondent
in contravention to. its well . established principles of
effect the interest of TVTN unless TVTN also follows suit
18. That since Republic TV has .not been injuncted in the
..;.
.
Annexure P-l0 Colly.
Authorities.'..
. .
out viewership' emanating out of the malpractice of dual
LCN and any data. generated by BRAC without
disregarding the mal-practitioners would bring doubt to
the authenticity of the data. and in very least benefit the
law abiding channels. .
wrongdoer TV Channels by placing them higher than the
extraordinary jurisdiction of this Hon7JJle court, which as
19. Moreover the data maintained by BARC which is
recorded by its watermarking technology does not weed
20. Hence In the backdrop'o'of the aforesaid narrated facts
that the :petitioner' .is constrained to' invoke the
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.'
per the humble submission of the Petitioner is warranted
and necessitated on the following amongst other grounds
which are taken without pr~judi.ce to each another:
GROUNDS
A. BECAUSE ..the conscious' actions of Republic TV by
placing itself in more than one LCNs, is in clear violation
of Section 18 (1) of the Regulations, 2017 which provide
that each channel can only be listed under one of the
" .
genres mentioned in Regulation 18 (1). Regulation 18 (1)
reads thus:
"Regulation 18(1):'. Listing of channels In electronic
programme gUide.-(l) -Every broadcastershall declare the'. "
genre of its channels and such genre shall be either
'Devotional' or 'General Entertainment' or 'Infotainment' or
'Kids' or 'Movies' or 'Music' or 'News and Current Affairs'
or 'Sports/or 'MisceWlnepus"'(Emphasis Supplied)
B. BECAUSE Republic: TV' has also consciously
violatedRegulation 18(2) of the Regulations, 2017 which
."
provide that one channel shall appear at one place only
by placing itself in more than one Logical Channel
Number (LCN). Regulation 18' (2) reads thus:
. '
'..

, ,
~;~~;;£J~~:~~~L~.~~~~~~~~.;~;~~i~:;;:~~;;i~~~:~.~;:~~~;::;,:L;:~j:':;::~;i:;:~:::::~1~~:~:~;:;;~~.:::!~};~~~:~~;!':<~3~i;~~,:;·:::~.:;i~{~~·:·;: :~;:.::.."::::;:.::;"" .:;"~"'...'-;..
30
.,
"
"Regulation 18,(2): It shall be mandatonj for
the distributor to place channels in the
. , .
electronic programme guide, in such a 'way
;.;
that the television channels,ofsame genre, as
declared by the' broadcasters, are placed
::: together consecutively and one channel
" .
, '
" '
'"
Supplied)
genre "within the genre declared for the
Provided further thai it shall be permissible to-
the distributor to place a channel under sub-
shall appear at one place only:
Provided that all television channels of same
lanquaqe within the same ,fjenre 'shall appear.. . .
together consecutively in the electronic
programme guide: :'
channel by the broadcaster" (Emphasis
channels shall assign a, unique channel
"Regulation 18(3):Every distributor of television
, , '
provide that each television channel should be assigned a
..
unique channel number and Republic TV is being
distributed '6n differentchannel ~umbers. Section 18 (3)
reads thus:
C. BECAUSE Regulation 18 (3) of the' Regulations 2017, also
,;
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number . for', each' 'television channel
available on the distribution
:;
"
. .
network."(Emphasis 'Supplied)
D. BECAUSE the said violation of Regulation 18 of the
Regulations, 2017 by Republic' TV is in contravention of
." '. I.,.
'.' .
been qiueti a complete freedom to declare the
genre of their channels, and .in terms of the
regulations) it has' been mandated that a
Distribution. Platform: Operator lDPoi shall place
((98. In these regulations the broadcasters have
consecutiuelu in the E,PG.:. In order to curb the
within the same genre shall appear together
manner that all TV channels of same language
place the channels of the same genre in such a
practice to frequently change LeN number} it
the channels in the EPG under the respective
genres so declared by the broadcasters. Further
-it has' also been mandated that DPOs shall
the Regulations, 20 i 7 which are also reproduced herein
below.
in the relevant parts of the Explanatory Memorandum to
the requirement to follow a uniform Electronic
Programme Guide (EPG) cluster policy which is explained
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has been mandated that LeN number once
allocated will not be changed for duration of at
-least one .year.. Ther~fore, the placements of
channels have been adequately regulated
and necessary protection, has been granted
to the broadcaster so that their channels
are:.:.not placed' at any disadvantageous
position in the EPG. Hence a~ such there is no
requirement for a ~rocuicaster for asking for a
specific position. -ui the EPG~(Emphasis
Supplied)
138.' The issue of qente classification was well
articulated in the' corisuliatiori paper titled as
"Tariff Issues related. -to TV Services'}. In the
draft Tariff Order, seven genr~s were proposed
and' complete freedom was given to the
broadcaster to classify their channels in any of
the proposed .genre. In terms of these
regulations, the DPOs have been mandated to
place the channels in the genre so declared by
the broadcasters. There are around 800 TV". . .
channels in the country. If every broadcaster is
allowed to'.create 'its oum. genre, then there

.. • •..·0'.
"ioould be an' unmanaqeablq large number of
qenres; which would cause 'gr~at hardship and
inconvenience to the consumers as it would be
-:
':.
' .
.''.'
:.:
'~
next to impossible for a consumer to scroll
~hrough EPG having lot' of genres on their TV.. . '
channels from time to time based on the
channel on the, basis of TRP is not being
createwill~ating, point which. ,
'..
broadcasters should declare the genre of its
139. Proper listing ofchannels in the EPG helps
create their' own genres unll be impracticable.
r •
Therefore, th¢ Authority, has mandated that the, '
, ';
channel in any ofthe specified eight genres. To
sets. Thus the proposal to allou: broadcasters to
miscellaneous genre has also been specified.
may cause change in the position of the
the -'basis of Television Rating Point (TRP) then it
provide the flexibility to the broadcasters,
annoyance to the subscribers who generally
remembers the. pO$ition of the channel in the
television
EPa.. under a qenre. Therefore, the listing of
the subscribers -in. selecting the channel for the
purpos,e of viewing. Ifthe channels are listed on. . '
)
.~.~
:;,.;
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mandated and it is left open to the distributor to
decide listing of channels withir: the prescribed
framework. The Authority is in agreement
with the views ofsom« (:)f the stakeholders" ,
" '
, ,
that sub-categorisation will help the
consumer in 'sel~cting th~ channel of its
cho~,ce jor. Viewi~g ,and therejore the
Authority has mandated the DPO to place
channels in the EPG, 'in such a way that
the TV channels oj s~me'genre, as declared
by the broadcaster; are p laced together
. .. ,
consecutively and all TV channels oj same
language ,within ,the same , genre shall
appear tOgether" consecutively in the
electronic' programme, guide. "(Emphasis
Supplied)
Therefore the acts of Republic TV are illegal and in clear
violation of the Regulations, :2017 as no channel can be
" '
registered under more than one genre and be given
multiple LCN by' a ','single distributor for a particular
location.
E. BECAUSE the content of the Regulations, 2017 are also
covered in the earlier' amendment (First Amendment,

2012) and therefore the action of Republic TV are in
.violation of Regulation 14A· and Regulation 15A of the. . , .
First Amendment, 2012, which are reproduced below:
" '
"
, .I,.,.t1.1 '" ?.•,}.',;.'"',~:. I" '.:. ,'.",. 'I, .~ , ,:v.,·..,v:·:•.•:•••••,I.':'.'.'li. :.v:.:'.'.!._, .,,/ I.,.., ",:.:"", ',' :-:.':',J•• ;'~'. ". " • ::- ." .••.••! ',:','" .;.;..•; :.:';•.....•..:.:.:.:.:.:..•;;: ",:.,<, : :..: ",.. ':';.' ':':~':Ij:.:.:.·-:.·;~·":'.: :; <', -.
Generaloror .DevotionalReligious
. , .
in his Electronic Programme Guide) all the
number to its channels.11
mulii-sustem. operaior to.' assign a'. particular
(15A) Every multi ..sy~tem operator shall display)
language).
.ojits channels and such genre shall be.either
News and Current Affairs or Infotainment or
"(14A) Everybroadcaster shall declare the genre
(English) or General Entertainment (regional
Entertainment (Hindi) or General Entertainment
Sports or Kids or Music or Lifestyle or Movies or
channels offered by him) in the same genre in
which' a particular channel has beeri indicated
by the broadcaster and one channel shall
'14(C) No broadcaster shall demand from the
14(B) The multi system operator shall place the
"channels of 9- broadcaster in the genre declared
by such broadcaster.
....
;::;
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:;

t<il~:;<;i;';;;;;':i.;;';';:,;j;,!.::;::i:Y;·::·:W;;·::~: "':";:"':"':':"i;:;;,:.;:;:;!~;~:~i;;i,+;;;i;?;;~!>. :',:;;;;} ,.,:.:..:,:;'':.';';'',:,,,:::', ".: :,-:.: :;.::.: . .' .',. ..:;';:.::':';'..;-; ;.;.;.;.;:.:.;,;; ;.;.:.;;..:,,":'" .., .o-. ., ..<.,: '.. ". , .. .
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appear in only one genre.'1Emphasis
..'..
Supplied)
:~.
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F. BECAUSE Republic TV has indulged in violation of
Regulation 18. of the Regulations, 2017 deliberately,
intentionally and with the dishonest motive of presenting
a false and fabricated TRP rating, in order to boost the
.' .
image of its newly found Tvchannel.
G. BECAUSE BARC ratings on Republic TV, if released, will
be based on corrupt .data, .obtained due to listing of
Republic TV on more. than one LCN by different
distributors"; thereby affecting all the top English news
channels in India and presenting a false, fabricated and
misleading picture 'to the general public.
, ,
" .
H. BECAUSE releasing TRPs ratings which are evidently
false and fictitious, by reason .of being manipulated by
Republic TV by placing itself on multiple Logical Channel
. Numbers (LCNs), must ~ot be permitted to be put in the
public domain-in any manner as it will. not only mislead
the public at large but also deceive the advertisers.

..'..
I. BECAUSE Republic TV has been building a hype in the
social. media by releasing statements claiming to obtain
the maximum TRP ratings on its launch, and due to its
foul practice of violating the Regulations, it will be
cheating the public at .Iarge .at?-d the members of News
"
"
"
, ,
ofmalpracticeemanating but" of the
, .
'. '
viewership
'.
technology does not permit them to isolate or weed out
channels on a weekly basis but their watermarking
simultaneous dual ,LCN or. retransmission of a channel
market share. True copies of several newspaper articles
demonstrating' the '.' hype, attempted to be' created by
Republic TV are annexed herewith as Annexure P-ll
Broadcasters Association (N;BA) by showing the false
Colly,
on multiple LCNs (frequencies) under different genres by
a broadcaster, and colluding Multiple System
Operators/Distribution·Platform Operators/Distributors.
market share which shows' the gross abuse caused by
. '
week disclose Republic TV controlling at least 600/0 of the
J, BECAUSE BARCmeasures viewership of broadcast
K. BECAUSE a perusal of rating given by Chrome for last'.,
. ,
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use Dual LCN. True Copy of the screen shot of the
chrome mailer is'anne~e(f:here~ithas Annexure P-12.
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L. BECAUSE BARC's ratings are used by the relevant
market players, advertisers 'and.. people' fit large to assess" .
a channel's popularity and is' followed keenly in the
media and telecom industry, it will be a travesty of justice
to let BARC release' the ratings of Republic TV without
clarifying why' it has not released any ratings since 5th
May 2017, and how it plans on addressing NBA's and the
Petitioner's claim that it's technology does not take into
account the difference in TRP due to listing on different
M.BECAUSE irreparable, damage will be done if BARC's
weekly ratings' are allowed to be r,eleased on Thursday,
18th May 2017, as it will, distort the TRPs of all the other
.
English channels and Will continue to 'affect the market
for the coming weeks. In this regard, any action taken
, "
subsequently ,and, retrospectively by any disciplinary
committee ofBARC will not serve the purpose.
'. ' ..•.,._,...'h) ..·•·. '..~,t.... ,.1 .

::~~~'Bi;~;·:~,~~:~~;~;~,4;{~!i~::1;:;~)::t:}:H:):;':.;.:~:f~;'::;;~;':;,:~::;;:.~!~;;i:~;~~~~;~~g;E:.~ ;}:E::~~~:~:'.::" ::',;.:;:::j::;.;:~i~:::,,~;~:~;:;;>~';:':'::;.::::'~":~~...,:~~.:;~::~;.}:':,:.:{.'.::~•.•:.;,;.:.:..::,..' .::~;;:::.:;~ ,......~:>;.,;'; ....;:' '. .• ~••'•.••", ••."" 'M·~'M'·.. · , • '.' .... '. • '. ..
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N. BECAUSE violation of the Regulations, 2017 and First
Amendment, ~012 are· 'not limited to the End User
O. BECAU~E not prohibitingBARC from releasing the TRP
License Agreement that may have been signed between
BARC and: Republic TV as' it concerns all the other
English channels,:- advertisers and. public at large,
disadvantageously.
ratingsPetitioner'stheaffecting'including
:.;
of Republic TV will provide a negative incentive to other
news channels to indulge in similar. practices and falsely
fabricate their TRP ratings. Infact it has come to the
knowledge of the. Petitioner that other news channels
. '" ' . '
including Times Now' have also been falsely hiking their
TRP based. on a similar. practice of listing itself on more
than one, LCN ~d'i~ being proceeded against by the
Petitioner through other redressal mechanisms.
P. BECAUSE BARC's own guidelines ori 'Principles of Fair
and Permissible Usage' .reqyire that before claiming
leadership in the-market, it is pertinent that·
- The period of comparison must cover at least four
consecutive weeks of data.
-,"The peri~d of comparison must cover at least four
consecutive clock-hours of data. (Annexure P-3 Colly)
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Q. BECAUSE BARC in its policy declares that it has 'zero
tolerance policy .towards .any-attempts to influence the
:~.
integrity of the Ratings and requires that it subscribers
follow the code of conduct, adhere to the terms of EULA. "
and do' not .engage in: any viewership malpractices.
(Annexure ~-3 Colly)
R. BECAUSE the egregious and brazen violation committed
.by ~.~sponde~t No. -4 is resulting in immediate and
serious prejudice to the Petitioner's business, inasmuch
as the Petitioner' would lose its well earned position as a
premium channel.va 'position which has been reached
basedon objectively collected TRP~ by BARC.
S. BECAUSE TRPs are like scores given by a rating agency
namely Respondent No. 3', which attests to the popularity
of the channelandIts programs amongst the viewers; it
is therefore critical that only credible and honest figures
collected by Respondent No.3 without any manipulation,
, .
fabrication . or other wrongdoing are released to
advertisers and to the public in general.
..
'..
::~,.~.:..j~::~:~, '," .. """. " ...••.•..............,..-.., ," ',..•., " ,.'..:.'.:•.•".•.•..,•.•..' ,.•......'. '. ..','." .",,' '.'.w.,'...... • •": .. .. . "- . n... . .:.:.::. ;:.:.,~::..~,.., , ,. '.: .:.:J,~.!.!.:I.S~.' , ;;:.:~,.:.~•.••• :.:•.~.. ,.. ; '...••.::;;:::'?~~:-.-:- ' ..' .' : .

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",T. BECAUSE the conduct 'of Respondent No.4 is dishonest. ..

and unfair, to the pointof disqualifying Respondent No.4
from uplinking/downlinking Its television channel under
permission from Respondent No.1.
I.
U. BECAUSE the main relief claimed in the present petition
is against Respondents Nos.. 1 and 2, who are required to
. enforce the said regulations; however the said
.respondents appear not to have taken any interim
measures to prevent the dissemination of false,
fabricated and fictitious TRP figures in the public
domain. 'That for reasons best known to TRAI, even
though it is in knowledge of the alleged violation of the
Regulations by Republic TV,' it has only send notices to
the distributors viz. Hathaway Digital Pvt. Ltd. And Den
Networks Limited videletters dated 15th March, 2017 and
not to Republic TV itself.
..
V. BECAUSE by contravention of the Regulations, 2017 and
First Amendment, 2012, Republic TV stands to gain
dramatically and artificially on the viewership of its
channel, thereby impacting the viewership shares of the
competitive set, resulting in windfall revenue generation
..
" ,

for itself and a consequential loss to the competitive set
as viewership is strongly correlated with revenue.
W.BECAUSE there are serious financial repercussions of
releasing the TRP ratings of 'Republic TV based on faulty
and hiked data and can irreversibly harm a Rs, 2100
'crore:.:p.ews industry; by revealing a: distorted picture
of the market share and sending a wrong signal across
the industry about the 'relative competitiveness of the
main market players hi the English news channel genre.
X. BECAUSE it is Widely 'known and accepted that TRP
rating does influence the overall performance of a, .
channel and can help it to emerge as a dominant player
. . . .
in the market 'by attracting the revenues from multiple
sources including advertising, That BARC ratings do
propel further growth is an accepted and known
phenomenon in the .industry.. That the problem attains
serious dimensions especially in the English News genre
category, as its overall share' amongst TV channels is
small, and minor variations in TRP ratings can wildly
swing and dramaticallyaffect the leadership position in
the market. In fact the same is evident from the DAVP
,""'=",....,.,..."...,.,....,.....,....".,...".",...,..,,.,..,.,,,"'""",,,...,........,.,..,...........-.,.....,.,",,>••••<.':'.' ..,....,..,.."'""""' _~~~~~===,...".....~ __~.,.,.= ' c '.(0 ..
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r < '. ,.: '.C.h•• "', .• ,',t>•. 'n .' .•• "" I ,.,0,., , rl:: ~ " " .o. , •• t. I .

rates which clearly show that the higher the TRP the
better the rates a channel gets for advertisements. True
. .' . '
Copy of the Interview for Sun TV and the DAVP rates
",
,',
':',
determined by TRP are annexed herewith as Annexure P-
13 andAnnexure P-14, respectively.
.. ,
Y. BECAUSE serious and irreparable harm, prejudice and
financial loss will be caused to the Petitioner if the
..
immediate interim relief ,of preventing Respondent No. 3
from disseminating TRP :ratings ,relating to Respondent
No.4 are not issued by this Hon'ble Court.
Z. BECAUSE Republic TV TRP should be released only
when the erring channels, cures the violation with a
cooling period o~ 10 weeks, considering that the after
"
effect of such violation will take time to normalize.
AA.BECAUSE urgent steps need to be taken to ensure that
'Republic TV does not obtain an unfair advantage due to
violation of the Regulations, ,2-917, from a viewership,
. market position and revenue stand point.
'. . .
AB.Thatthe Petitioner,' reserves ,its right to raise any
, additional grounds' orplead additional facts by way of an
. I . I" .' .,.. '..i"{' ... ' •••.•.• _..., •."{,,.,-.

affidavit if deemed 'necessary during the course of
arguments.'
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AC.Thatthe Petitioner is registered in Delhi with its office in
Delhi and all the Respondent Authorities are located in
..
", '
Delhi, therefore this Hon'ble Court has the territorial
jurisdiction to adjudicateupon the present matter.
AD.That the Petitioner has not filed any other or similar
petition in'any other courts for similar relief.
PRAYER
In view of the submissions made above it is, therefore, humbly
prayed that this Hon'ble Court may graciously be pleased to:
A. Issue an appropriate ·writ/. order'; direction to
Respondents No.1, 2 arid 3 to ensure that any
broadcaster, TV·. channel or distributor who is in
..
violation of the TRA,I Regulations should be proceeded
,"
against'as per the procedure in law.
B. Issue an appropriate writ lorder Idirection prohibiting
Respondent No. 3 (BNRC) from releasing the TRP
rating of any TV Channel not in compliance with the, ., '
'..
TRAI Regulations.
C. Issue an appropriate. writ .I order I direction
prohibiting Respondent No... 3 (BARC) from releasing
..
the TRP rating of any TV Channel found in violation of
..-,'.~
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B '.
W~ ~.
:i{!Ii~::.:<.:..f,;1". '".; ..'! ,:.·.,)~H:,··::.;; : ..;:.::..·.!·,.::I!1!:!::·,..:I:.l:..<~:: ,;;. , :: ".: ,..;' ,..-":.:;-:-:,;..""'':"""-.:, ,f~ :~.~~=""~=~~--=-=''''''' ,',"

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,
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'1Sthe Regulations, 2017 for atleast 10 weeks till such
violation is rectified.'
D. Issue an appropriate writ/ order/ direction to
. , '
.Respondents No.3 to clarify and suitably modify its
procedure as regards the effect of dual LCN or multiple
LCN on its TRP ratings.
E. Pass such other and further orders which this court
may deem fit and proper In the facts and
circumstances of the case.
F. Pass such other and further orders which this court
may deem fit ,', and ,prop.er In the facts and
circumstances of the case.
AND FOR THIS ACT OF KINPNESS, THE PETITIONERS
AS IN DUTY BOUND SHALL EVER PRAY.
DRAWN & FILED BY:
{)/~---------------LPl &. Partners LLP AdvocatJ~ & so~s
Office:- A-62, FF, Defence Colony, New Delhi- 110024, INDIA - T: +91 11
41051167
INDIA - T: +91 11 23381351
E: office@lpjpartners.comW: www.lpjpartners.com
Through: Mr. Prasouk lain (0/1182/11 - L.: 0120- 4237719)

of2017Writ Petition (C) No.
(CML EXTRAORDINARY WRIT JURISDICTION) ..,.
>? :
IN THE MATTER OF:
T.V Today Network Ltd. ... Petitioner
Versus
Union of India& Ors. ... Respondents
AFFIDAVIT
I, Dr. Puneet Jain S/o Sh. R. S. Jain aged about 44 years
working as the Group Chief Corporate Affairs Officer and
Group Chief Law and Compliance Officer of T.V. Today
Network Ltd. having its registered qifice at F-26, First Floor,
Connaught Circus, New Delhi- 110001do hereby solemnly
affirm and declare asunder:
1. I say that I am the authorized representative of Petitioner
Company in the present petition and as such I am
conversant with the facts and circumstances of the present
case and I am competent to swear to this present affidavit.
2. That the contents of the accompanying Petition is true to
e ,"'fA.r,¥ e best belief and knowledge of the deponent herein.
,f') ,. __~( ,
~~~;/..... , ~:~ ha all annexures annexed with the petition and the
~~ l_·tI',.", ,'," 1,(
(~ ~n'~, 1;8.Ji:~::in::~liA¥~rEssT1fb true cOPies.:{~,el~~~ _
, "....') ncun ~NEJNTQo --''':;'' ~ "v''l'.... ..~t.l-' .0.
f. ',. lcation: 17 MAY '2017
Ri;~r·1 I '1 fll",~ 'I1r~H'f.IIIIII"m_-.., , I

•
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.. .'
TV TODAY NETWORK LTD,
Indl~ TodjlyGroupMediapJell
Fie 8, Sector16A, FUm City,Naida- 201301
Tel:+91 1204908600 Fall; +91 1204325028
Website: www.aa~ek.in
CIN No: L922000L1999PLC103001
' ..
CERTIFlEn EXTRAcT OF THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF'THE BOARD OF
DIRECTORS OF T,V, TODAY NETWORK LIMITED HELD ~ON THURSDAY, 09'h
FKI3RUARY, 2017 AT 11.00 A.M AT TAJ PALACE, 2 SARDAR PATEL MARG
DIPLOMATIC ENCLA¥E, NEW DELHI,;, 1,0021.
......
•
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'•
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•••
Registered Office: F-26, First Floor, Connaught Place, New Delhi - 110001
"RESOLVEDFURTHER THAT in partialmodificatlon of'the' earlierresolution passed inthe
Board meeting heldon Sitl
! February, 2012 ,in thisbehalf, Dr, PuneetJain, existing designation as
Company Secretary, Vice President (IA) and Group Chief Law & Compliance officershall be
.replaced with Group Chief Corporate Affairs Officer and Group Chief Law & Compliance
officer .and will be hereJr singly authorized, for and on behalf of the Company, to moveany
cou~t ofJaw, ofcompetentjul'isdiction to .insdtute"prol!ec'!lt~, represent the. Company, defend any
legal proceedings fOI'/4,gainst the C<>mpany or any'of its officers or otherwise concerning the
affairs of theCompany andto actonbehalfofthe Company in all matters relating to thebusiness
or the Company in such Courts, to engage lawyers, to sign" verify and, file plaint, written
statement, replication, affidavit; counter affidavit, rejoinders, declaration etc" to revoke the
same, to represent the ,Company before any Court, to' inspect. any filefs), to file appeals,
objections, to depose, makes,tl:itenW:Iitl1 ~n.d, ~9d'l,Jc,e .evidence in,anysuch case and to do anysuch
•other act, deed or thing necessary and. incidental to the legal proceedings Including authorizing
any other person to represent the Company on all the matters as aforesaid, on a case to case
basis, as they may deem tit inthe best interest of theCompany,"
;::.:
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:/L", ',t•••"". " ••• ,r, '.' ••••••' ••• , I,t , ••••• ,. -r.:••4••"·••••..; o.·.·.'•••• •••.•••.'·.~·" .,' '." ,," .. '" I ;.'. ", --, : -. < " " ~•••••:':.:••.: ,•••••:.$I,.:.:".•;.. '.•....!.!•••.•~:"..... . . . ......" "'.,

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TO BEPUBLISHED IN THE GAZETTE OF INDIA, EXTRAOR,DINARY,
PART nr, SECTION 4
TELECOM ~GULATORYAt;JTHOIUTY OF INl)IA.
NOTIFICATlON
New Delhi,03/03/2017
F. No. 21-4/2016-B&CS.- In exercise of the powers co~ferred by section 36, read with sub-clauses (ii), (iii)
and (iv) of clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 11 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997
(24 of 1997), read with notification of the Central Government, in the Ministry of Communication and
Information Technology (Department of Telecommunications), No. 39,-
(a) issued, in exercise of the powers conferred upon the Central Government under clause (d) of sub-section (1)
of section 11 and proviso to clause (k) of sub-section (I) of section 2 of the said Act, and
(b) published under notification No. S.O.44 (E) and 4S (E) dated the 9th
January, 2004 in the Gazette of India,
Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3,-
the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India hereby makes the following regulations, namely:-
THE TELECOMMUNICAnON (BROADCASTING AND CABLE) SERV~CES
INTERCONNECTION (ADDRESSABLE SYSTEMS) REGULAnONS, 2017
(No.1 of 2017)
Page lofllO
',:', •••• j •••

CHAPTER-I
PRELIMINARY
•...
;~I
1. Short title, extent and commenc.ement.-'-;'· (1) These regulations may be called the Telecommunication
(Broadcasting andCable) Services Interconnection (Addressable Systems) Regulations, 2017.
'.
(3)These regulations sballcomeintoforce fromthe.dateof theirpublication in theOfficial Gazette.
"active subscriber" for the purpose of these regulations, means'a subscriber who has been
authorized to receive signals of television channels as per the subscriber management systemand
whoseset topboxhasnot beendenied signals;
"addressable system" means an electronic device (which includes hardware and its associated
software) OF more than one electronic device put in,'an integrated system through which
" 0 · · .
transmission of programmes 'including re-transmission of signals of television channels can be
done in encrypted form, which can be decoded by the'device or devices at the premises of the
subscriber within the limits of the authorization made, on the choice and request of such
subscriber, by the distributor oftelevision channels;
(b)
(c)
Page 2'of 110
(t) "average activesubscriber base"means the number arrived by averaging the activesubscriber base
count in themanner specified intheSchedule VII;
(e) "Authority" means theTelecom Regulatory Authority of Indiaestablished undersub-section (1) of
section 3 of theTelecom Regulatory Authority of IndiaAct, 1997 (24 of 1997);
(g) "bouquet" or "bouquet of channels" means an assortment of distinctchannels offered together as a
groupor as a bundle and all its grammatical variations and cognate expressions shall be construed
accordingly;
(d) "a-la-carte" or "a-la-carte channel" 'wi!h reference to offering of a television channel means
offering thechannel individually on astandalone basis;
(h) "broadcaster" means a person or a groupofpersons, or bodycorporate, or anyorganization or body
who,afterhavingobtained, in its name,downlinking permission for its channels, fromthe Central
Government, isproviding programming services;
2. Definitions.- (1) In these regulations, unlessthecontext otberwise requires:-
(a) "Act" means theTelecom Regulatory Authority oflndia Act, 1997 (24of 1997);
• (2) These regulations shall cover commercial and technical arrangements, among service providers for
interconnection, for broadcasting services relating to television provided through addressable systems
throughout theterritory of India.
"J

·ii
(:0).......
(i) "broadcaster's share of maximum retail price" with reference to a pay channel or a bouquet of pay
channels means any fee payable by a distributor of television channels to a broadcaster for signals
of pay channel or bouquet ofpay channels, as the case may be, and for which due authorization has
been obtained by such distributor from that broadcaster;
(j) "broadcasting services" means'the dissemination of any form of communication like signs, signals,
writing, pictures, images and sounds of all kinds by transmission of eleciro-magnetic waves through
space or through cables intended to be received by the general public either directly or indirectly
and all its grammatical variations and cognate expressions shall beconstrued accordingly;
(k) "cable service" or "cable TV service" means the transmission of programmes including re-
transmission of signals of television channels through cables;
(I) "cable television network" or "cable TV network" means any system consisting of a set of closed
transmission paths and associated signal generation, control and distribution equipment, designed to
provide cable service for reception by multiple subscribers;
(m)' "carriage fee" means any fee payable by a broadcaster to a distributor of television channels only
for the purpose of carrying its channels through the distributor's network, without, specifying the
placement of such channels onto a specific position in the electronic programme guide or, seeking
assignment of a particular number to such channels;
(n) "compliance officer" means any person designated so, who is capable of appreciating requirements
for regulatory compliance under these regulations, by a service provider;
(0) "direct to home operator" or "DTIf operator" means any person who has been granted licence by
the Central Government to provide direct to home (OTIf) service;
(p) "direct to home service" or "DTH service" means re-transmission of signals of television channels,
by using a satellite system, directly to subscriber's premises without passing through an
intermediary such as local cable operator or any other distributor oftelevision channels;
(q) "distribution fee" means any fee payable by a broadcaster to a distributor of television channels for
the purpose of distribution of pay channel or bouquet of pay channels, as the case may be, to
subscribers and it does not include carriage fee;
(r) "distribution platform" m~ans distribution network of a DTH' operator, multi- system operator,
HITS operator or IPTV operator;
(s) "distributor of television channels",. or "distributor" means any DTH operator, multi-system
operator, HITS operator or lPTV operator;
(t) "electronic programme guide" or "EPG" means a program guide maintained by the distributors of
television channels that lists television channels and programmes, and scheduling and programming
Page3 of 110
Y • '•.

",',
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,',
.:'
information therein and includes any enhanced guide that allows subscribers to navigate and select
such available channels and programmes;
(u) "free-to-air channel" or "free-to-air television channel" means a channel which is declared as such
by the'broadcaster and for which no fee is to be paid by the distributor of television channels to the
broadcaster for signals ofsuch channel;
(v) "head end in the sky operator" Or "HITS operator" means any person permitted by the Central
Government to provide head end in the sky (HITS) service;
(w) "head end in the sky service" or "HITS service" means transmission of programmes including re-
transmission ofsignals of television channels-
(i) to intermediaries like local cable operators or multi-system operators by using a
, " satellite system and not directly to subscribers; and
(ii) . to the subscribers by using satellite,system.and its own cable networks;
(x) "interconnection" means commercial and technical arrangements under which service providers
connect their equipments and networks to provide broadcasting services to the subscribers;
(y) "interconnection agreement" with all its grammatical variations .and cognate expressions means
agreements on interconnection providing technical and commercial terms and conditions for
distribution of signals of television channel;
(z) "internet protocol television operator" or "IPTV operator" means a person permitted by the Central
'Government to provide IPTV service;
(aa) "internet protocol television service" or "IPTV service" means delivery of multi channel television
programmes in addressable mode by using Internet Protocol over a closed network of one or more
service providers;
(bb) "local cable operator" or "LCO" means a person registered under rule 5 of the Cable Television
Networks Rules, 1994j
(cc) "maximum retail price" or "MRP" for the purpose of theseregulations, means the maximum price,
excluding taxes, payable by a subscriber for a-la-carte pay channel or bouquet of pay channels, as
the case may be;
(dd) "multi-system operator" or "MSO" means a cable operator Whohas been granted registration under
rule II of the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994 and who receives a programming service
from a broadcaster and re-transmits the same or transmits his own programming service for
simultaneous reception either by multiple subscribers directly or through one or more local cable
operators;
(ee) "network capacity ~e" means the amount, excluding taxes, payable by a subscriber to the
Page 4 of110
.,.. , .. " , ,.' ," .,.. ',' " , , ._.•. , .. , ·.. ·.·,·;.·.·.'.. ·3.·, ••••••••••1.1 .

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distributor of television channels for distribution networkcapacitysubscribed by that subscriberto
receivethesignalsof subscribed television channels and it doesnot include subscription fee forpay
channel or bouquet af pay channels, as the casemaybe;
(ff) "pay broadcaster" means a broadcaster whichhasdeclaredits one or morechannelsas pay channel
to theAuthority undertheprovisions ofapplicable regulations or tarifforder,as thecase maybe;
(gg) "paychannel" meansa channel which is declared as such by the broadcaster and for whicha share
of maximum retailpriceis to bepaid to thebroadcaster by the distributor of television channelsand
for which due authorization needs to be obtained from the broadcaster for distribution of such
channel toSUbscribers;
(hh) "programme" meansanytelevision broadcast and includes-
(i) exhibition of films, features, dramas, advertisements andserials;
(ii) anyaudioor visual oraudio-visual liveperformance orpresentation,
andtheexpression "programming service"shallbe construed accordingly;
(ii) "QoSRegulations" means the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable)ServicesStandards of
QualityofServiceand Consumer Protection (Addressable Systems) Regulations, 2017;
ill) "reference interconnection offer" or "RIO" means a document published by a service provider
specifying termsandconditions on which theotherserviceprovidermayseek interconnection with
suchserviceprovider;
(kk) "service provider"means the Government as a serviceproviderand includes a licensee as well as
anybroadcaster, distributor of television channels or localcableoperator;
(11) "set topbox" or"STB" meansa device, whichis connected to or is part of a television receiverand
whichenablesa subscriber to viewsubscribed channels;
(mm) "subscriber" for the purpose of these regulations, means a person who receives broadcasting
services, from a distributor of television channels, at a place indicated by such person without
further transmitting it to any otherperson andwho doesnotcausethe signalsof television channels
to be heard or seen by anypersonfora specificsum of moneyto bepaid by suchperson,and each
set top boxlocated at suchplace,for receiving the subscribed broadcasting services, shallconstitute
onesubscriber;
(nn) "sub~c';iber management system"meansa systemor device whichstoresthesubscriber recordsand
details withrespect to name, address andotherinformation regardin~ the hardware beingutilizedby
the subscriber, channels or bouquets of channels subscribed by the subscriber, price of such
channels or bouquets of channels as defined in the system,the activation or deactivation datesand
time for any channel or bouquets of channels, a log of all actions performed on a subscriber's
Page 5 of110
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record, invoices raised on each subscriber and the amounts paid or discount allowed to the
subscriber for each billing period;
(00) "tariff order" means the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services (Eighth)
(Addressable Systems) Tariff Order, 2017;
(Pp) "television channel" means a channel, which has been granted permission for downlinking by the
Central Govex;n!Dent under the .policy guidelines issued or.amended by it from time to time and
reference to the term 'channel' shall be construed as a reference to "television channel",
(2) All other words and expressions used in these regulations but not defined, and defined in the Act and
rules and regulations made thereunder or the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 (7 of 1995)
and the rules and regulations made thereunder, shall have the' meanings. respectively assigned to them in
those Acts or the rules or regulations, as the case may be.
Page 6 of 110
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CHAPTER II
INTERCONNECTION
3. General obligationsof broadcasters.- (I) No broadcaster shallengage in any practice or activityor enter
intoany understanding or arrangement including exclusive contracts withanydistributor of television channels
that prevents any otherdistributor of television channels from obtaining signals of televisionchannel of such
broadcaster fordistribution.
(2) Every broadcaster shall, within sixty days of receipt of written request from a distributor of television
channels for obtaining signals of television channel or within thirty days of signing of interconnection
agreement with the distributor, as the case may be, provide, on non-discriminatory basis, the signals of
television channel to the distributor or convey the reasons in writing for rejection of the request if the signalsof
television channel aredenied to suchdistributor:
Provided that imposition of any term or condition by the broadcaster, whichis unreasonable, shall be
deemed toconstitute a denial-of request:
Provided further that this sub-regulation shall not apply to a distributor of television channels, who
requests signals of a particular television channel from a broadcaster whileat the sametimedemands
carriage fee fordistribution of thattelevision channel orwhois in default of payment tothe broadcaster
andcontinues tobe in suchdefault.
(3) If a broadcaster, proposes or stipulates for; directly or indirectly, placing the channel in any'specified
position in the electronic programme guide or assigning a particular channel number, as a pre-condition for
.providingsignals, suchpre-condition shallalsoamount to imposition ofunreasonable condition.
Explanation: Forremoval of doubt, it is clarified thatif a pay broadcaster offersdiscount, in non-discriminatory
manner, through itsreference interconnect offeronthe maximum retailpriceof paychannel, within the limitas
specified in sub-regulation (4) of regulation 7,.to distributors of-television channels for placingthe channel in
anyspecified position in the electronic programme guideor assigning particular channel number, such offerof
discount shallnot beconsidered a pre-condition.
(4) Nobroadcaster shallpropose, stipulate ordemand for,directlyor indirectly, packaging ofthe channel in any
particular bouquet offered bythedistributor oftelevision channels to subscribers.
(5) No broadcaster shall propose, stipulate or demand for, directly or indirectly, guarantee of a minimum
subscriber baseora minimum subscription percentage forits channel or bouquet·.
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Explanation: F9r removal.~ doubt, it is clarified that the subscription percentage of a channel or bouquet refers
to the percentage of subscribers subscribing to a specific channel or bouquet out of average active subscriber
base of a distributor.
4. General obligations of distributors of television channels.- (1) No distributor of'television channels shall
engage in any practice or activity or enter into any understanding or arrangement including exclusive contracts
with any broadcaster that prevents any other broadcaster from obtaining access to the network of such
distributor for distribution of its channel.
(2) No distributor of television channels shall engage in any practice or activity or enter into any understanding
or arrangement including exclusive contracts with any local cable operator that prevents any other local cable
operator from obtaining signals of television channels from such distributor for further distribution.
(3) Every distributor of television channels shall declare coverage area of each distribution network as a target
market:
Provided that it shall be permissible for a distributor to declare, in non-discriminatory manner, any area
within the coverage area of distribution network as a target market.
Explanation: For the purpose of this regulation, each Head-end or Earth Station, as the case may be, and its
associated network used for distribution of signals of television channels shall constitute one distribution
network.
(4) Every .distributor of television channels shall, within thirty days from the commencement of these
regulations or within thirty days from the commencement,of its operations, as the case may be, on its website,
publish-
(a) target markets as declared under sub-regulation (3) of this regulation;
(b) the total channel carryin~f capacity of its dtsrributicn network in terms of number of standard definition
channels;
(c) list of channels available on the network;
(d) number ofchannels for which signals of television channels have been requested by the distributor from
broadcasters and the interconnection agreements signed;
(e) spare channel capacity available on the network for the purpose of carrying signals of television
channels; and
(t) list of channels, in chronological order, for which requests have been received from broadcasters for
distribution of their channels, the interconnection agreements have been signed and are pending for
distribution due to non-availability of the spare channel capacity:
Provided that the list of channels in chronological order, under clause (t), shall be prepared on the basis
ofdate and time of receipt of the written request from the broadcaster:
Page 8 of 110
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Provided further thatfor the purpose of calculating sparechannel capacityof the distribution network,
onehighdefinition channel shallbeequaltotwostandard definition channels:
Provided further that spare channel capacity available on the network under clause (e) shall be the
difference between the total channel carrying capacity of the distribution network and numbers of
channels available onthedistribution networkintermsof standard definition channels:
Provided further that any subsequent change, due. to addition or reduction in total channel carrying
capacity of thedistribution n~twork or due"to addition of channels onthe distribution network or dueto
discontinuation of existing channels available on distribution' the network, shall be reflected in the
sparechannel capacity:
Provided also thatanychange in the information, pubhshed underthisSUb-regulation, shall be updated
onthewebsitewithinsevencalendar days from thedateofoccurrence of suchchange.
(5) Every distributor shall allocate everyalternate spare channelcapacity on its network to the channels, in
sequential manner, listed underclause(f) of sub-regulation (4),fordistribution of thetelevision channels.
(6)Nothing contained in thesub-regulation (5) shallapplyifnorequestfordistribution of a television channel is
pending underclause (f) of sub-regulation (4).
(7) Subjectto the availability of sparechannel capacity on the distribution network, underSUb-regulation (4),
everydistributor ~ftelevision channels shall,withinsixty days of receiptof writtenrequestfrom a broadcaster
for distribution of television channel or withinthirtydaysof signingof writteninterconnection agreement with
the broadcaster, as thecasemaybe,carry,onnon-discriminatory basis,thesignalsof suchtelevision channel or
convey the reasons in writingforrejection of request if the distribution of such television channel isdeniedto
thebroadcaster:
Provided that imposition of any term or condition by the distributor of television channels, which is
unreasonable, shallbedeemed to constitute a denial of request:
Provid~d. further thatnothing contained in this'sub-regulation shallapplyto a broadcaster who refuses
to pay the carriage fee to the distributor of television channels or who is in default of payment to the
distributor andcontinues to be insuchdefault.
(8) It shallbe permissible to thedistributor of television channels to discontinue carrying of a television channel
in case the monthly SUbscription percentage for that channel is less than five percent of the monthly average
active subscriber base of th~~ distributor in the target marketspecified in the interconnection agreement, in each
of theimmediately preceding sixconsecutive 'months:
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Provided that for the purpose of calculation of monthly subscription percentage for high definition
television channel, the monthly average active subscriber base shall be of subscribers capable of
receiving high definition television channels.
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(9) A distributor of television channels shall not be under obligation to carry a channel which has been
discontinued as per sub-regulation (8), for a period of one year from the date ofsuch discontinuaiion.
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(10) If a distributor of television channels, before providing access to the network for distribution oftelevision
channels requested by a broadcaster, directly or indirectly, proposes, stipulates or demands for a minimum
guarantee for period or number of channels, as a pre-conditiorr for providing access to the network, such pre-
condition shall also amount to imposition of unreasonable condition.
Provided also that a local cable operator shall not be treated as being in default of payment to a
distributor if it has made payment of all bills of preceding six months,
Provided that imposition of any term or condition by the distributor of television channels, which is
unreasonable, shall be deemed to constitute a denial of request:
Page10 of 110
Provided further that in case, it is not feasible to provide signals of television channels at a location
where the signals have been requested by the local cable operator, the distributor oftelevision channels
shall inform the local cable operator within thirty days from the date of receipt of request the reasons
for such non-feasibility;
Provided further that this sub-regulation shall not apply in case of a local cable operator' who is in
default of payment of a distributor oftelevision channels and continues to be in such default:
(II) Every distributor of television channels shall, within sixty days ofreceipt of written request from a local
cable operator or within thirty days of signing of written interconnection agreement with the local cable
operator, as the case may be, provide, on non-discriminatory basis,' sigr;als of television channels to such local
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cable operator or convey the reasons in writing for rejection of request if the signals are denied to such local
cable operator;
(12) No distributor of television Channels shall, for providing signals of television channels to a local cable
operator, propose, stipulate or demand for, directly or indirectly, guarantee of a minimum subscriber base.
(13) Nothing contained in the sub-regulation (II) and sub-regulation (12) ofthis regulation shall apply to a DTH
operator,
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S. General obligations of senice providers.- (I) No service provider shall, directly or indirectly, prohibit
another service providerfromproviding its services to any.subscriber or in any geographical area. as the case
maybe.
(2) No service provider shall,propose, stipulate or demand for, directly or indirectly, payment of a minimum
guarantee amount byotherservice provider forproviding signalsof television channels or access to the network,
asthecasemaybe.
(3) Everyservice provider shallissuemonthly invoice, to theotherserviceprovider withwhominterconnection
. .
agreements havebeenenteredinto,for collection of payment and-such invoice shallclearlyspecifythe current
payment duesandarrears, ifany,alongwiththeduedatefor payment.
(4) Any claim for arrears by the service provider under these regulations, shall be accompanied by proof of
service of invoices for theperiods towhichthearrears pertain.
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Page11'of110
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CHAPTER III
REFERENCE INTERCONNEGJ'lON OFFER
6. Compulsnry offering of channels on a-la-carte basis.- (I) Every broadcaster shall offer all its television
channels on a-la-carte basis to the distributors of television channels:
Provided that the broadcaster may also offer its pay channels, in addition to offering of pay channels on
a-la-carte basis, in form of bouquet:
Provided further that such bouquet shall not contain-»
(a) any 'free-to-air channel'; and
(b) High definition (HO) and Standard Deflninon (SO) variants of the same channel.
7. Publication of reference int~rconnection offer by broadcaster for pay channels.- (I) Every broadcaster
shall publish, on its website, reference interconnection offer, in conformance with the regulations and the tariff
orders notified by the Authority, for providing signals of all its pay channels to the distributor of television
channels-
(a) within sixty days of commencement of these regulations; and
(b) before launching ofa pay channel.
and simultaneously submit, for the purpose of record, a copy of the same to the Authority.
,
(2) The reference interconnection offer, referred to in sub-regulation (I), shall contain the technical and
commercial terms and conditions relating to, including but not limited to, maximum retail price per month of
pay Channel, maximum retail price per month of bouquet of pay channels, discounts, if any, offered on the
maximum retail price to distributors, distribution fee, manner ofcalculation of 'broadcaster's share ofmaximum
retail price', genre of pay channel and other necessary conditions:
Provided that a broadcaster may include in its reference interconnection offer, television channel or
bouquet of pay channels of its subsidiary company or holding company or subsidiary company of the
holding company, which has obtained, in its .name, the downlinking permission for its television
channels from the Central Government, after written authorization by them.
Explanation: For the purpose of these regulations, the 'definition of "subsidiary company" and "holding
company" shall bethe same as assigned to them in the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of2013)..
(3) Every broadcaster shall declare a minimum twenty percent of the maximum retail price of pay channel or
bouquet of pay channels, as the case may be, as the distribution fee:
Provided that the distribution fee declared by the broadcaster shall be ~niform across ,all the distribution
platforms.
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(4) It shall be permissible to a broadcaster to offer discounts, on the maximum retail price of pay channel or
bouquet of pay channels, to distributors of television channels, not exceeding fifteen percent of the maximum
retail price:
Provided that the sum of distribution fee declared by a broadcaster under sub-regulation (3) and
discounts offered under this sub-regulation in no case shall exceed thirty five percent of the maximum
retail price of pay channel or bouquet of pay channels, as the case may be:
Provided -further that offer of discounts, ifany, to distributors of television channels, shall be on the
basis of fair, transparent and non-discriminatory terms:
Provided also that the parameters of discounts shall be measurable and computable.
(5) Every broadcaster of pay channel shall mention in' its reference interconnection offer the names of persons,
telephone numbers, and e-mail addresses designated to receive request for receiving interconnection from
distributors of television channels and grievance redressal thereof.
(6) The terms and conditi?,!s mentioned inthe reference interconnection 'offer shall include all necessary and
sufficient provisions, whi~h' make it a complete interconnection agreement on signing by other party, for
distribution of television channels.
(7) The Authority, suo-motu or otherwise, may,examine the reference interconnection offer submitted by a
broadcaster and on examination if the Authority is of theopinion that the reference interconnection offer is not
in conformance with the provisions of the regulations and, the tariff orders notified by the Authority, it may,
after giving an opportunity- of being heard to such broadcaster, direct such broadcaster to modify the said
reference interconnection offer and such broadcaster shall amend reference interconnection offer accordingly
and publish the same within fifteen days of receipt of the direction.
(8) Any amendment to the reference interconnection offer shall be published in the same manner as provided
under the sub-regulations (I), (2), (3), (4), (5) and (6) of this regulation.
(9) In the event of any amendment to the reference interconnection offer by a broadcaster under sub-regulation
(8), the broadcaster shall give an option to all distributors, with whom it has written interconnection agreements
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in place, within thirty days from the date of such amendment arid it shall be permissible to,such distributors to
enter into fresh interconnection agreement in accordance with the amended reference interconnection offer,
within thirty days from the date of receipt of such option, or continue with the existing interconnection
agreement.
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