New Delhi: There is going to be a big change for TV viewers. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has removed the nearly 20-year-old rule limiting the duration of advertisements on TV channels to 12 minutes per hour. The government says that there has been a big change in the TV broadcasting sector and now more channels and platforms are available than before. After this decision, TV channels may get more freedom than before in showing advertisements.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has abolished the rule limiting the duration of TV advertisements to 12 minutes per hour. This limit was imposed in 2006 under the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994. According to the ministry, there has been a lot of change in the TV broadcasting sector in the last two decades. In 2006, there were only 62 TV channels in the country, whereas now their number has increased to more than 900. The ministry said that cable TV has been completely digitized and platforms like DTH, Cable TV, HITS and IPTV have increased the options for viewers.
The ministry says that there is now enough competition in the TV broadcasting sector and consumers have the option of hundreds of channels compared to before. Also, TV channels, whether paid or free-to-air, depend heavily on advertisements. According to the government, the 12-minute limit did not allow for level playing field between traditional TV and digital media, as there is no such uniform limit on advertising duration on digital media. For this reason, the government has decided to remove the old rule, so that doing business becomes easier and competition improves.
The decision to remove the 12-minute limit will come into effect from the date on which the amendment to the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994 is notified in the Official Gazette. This decision has come at a time when a legal dispute was going on for a long time regarding the limit of TV advertisements. The Delhi High Court had recently upheld telecom regulator TRAI's service quality rules, which had a maximum advertising limit of 12 minutes per hour. In this, 10 minutes were allotted for commercial advertisements and 2 minutes for the channel's own promotion. Petitions regarding this matter were pending for about 13 years and the broadcasters were considering challenging the High Court's decision in the Supreme Court. It is yet to be decided separately what effect the new decision of the government will have on the related service quality rules of TRAI.