Now Reading: Government Removes 12-Minute Hourly Ad Cap for TV Channels
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Government Removes 12-Minute Hourly Ad Cap for TV Channels
The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has decided to remove the 12-minute-per-hour limit on television advertisements. The change will take effect after an amendment to the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994, is notified…
The Story in Brief
The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has decided to remove the 12-minute-per-hour limit on television advertisements. The change will take effect after an amendment to the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994, is notified in the Gazette. The existing rule allows 10 minutes of commercial advertising and two minutes of channel promotion each hour.
The ministry said the rule, introduced in 2006 when India had 62 television channels, needs review as the sector now has more than 900 channels and competes with digital media, which faces no equivalent cap. The Delhi High Court upheld the restriction in May, saying broadcasters had no constitutional guarantee of unlimited monetisation of public resources.
The Indian Opinion
The claim that the cap alone made television unviable is too sweeping, just as the idea that its removal will automatically improve competition is too simple. Digital platforms and television do not operate under identical rules, but viewers still bear the cost when advertising becomes excessive. The practical test is clear: how many minutes of advertising will channels actually schedule, and will the ministry track complaints about misleading or disruptive commercials after notification?
Source: timesnownews.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
