Change in Long Duration Packs The latest direction by the regulator says that the DTH operators like Tata Sky, Airtel Digital TV, Dish TV and more would have to continue the long duration packs to their original validity. To recall, a lot of these DTH providers were selling these long-duration plans as late as in December 2018. Going by the new rule, if a subscriber had purchased the long duration pack on December 2018 for one-year validity, then the DTH provider would have to serve the subscriber as per the original terms till December 2019. This new direction hurts the DTH providers financially. The new Trai mandate means that the charges which the DTH providers are paying to the channel owners have gone up. In such case, if the long duration subscriber pays the old price, then it is going to mean a financially less-viable deal for the DTH players. Trai in its statement has also said that in case the subscribers of the long duration plan make their channel selection, then they should be migrated like the other subscribers, and their monthly rental should be adjusted against their paid amount month on month. Trai Asks DTH Providers to Keep Long Duration Packs Trai in its statement said, “The Authority further reiterates that subscribers who have taken long term packs will continue to avail the services for the contracted period. However, they have the freedom to choose the channels of their choice under the new regulatory framework and in case if they exercise this option, money for the remaining period shall be adjusted for their future use.” It is worth noting that Trai had started discussing the new tariff mandate back in the first half of 2018, but still DTH providers continued with selling the long duration packs as further into the year in December. The DTH providers, being fully aware that they will face the problem in case the new mandate is implemented, went on with selling these packs.
