Covid-19: A syndicate of Free-to-Air broadcasters demand waiving of Prasar Bharti’s fee

A syndicate of free-to-air broadcasters have sought relief in the form of a full carrier fees waiver due to Prasar Bharti for the first quarter of the financial year, and 50 per cent for the second-quarter, for channels who have secured MPEG-2 slots on Prasar Bharati’s free dish platform during the recently held 44th E-auction.

Commercial advertisements being the sole revenue stream for free-to-air channels, they are struggling to deal with a steep de-growth, and the biggest impact is on advertising revenues that are likely to see a 70-80 per cent pullback, the broadcasters said in a statement.

“Amidst the national crisis, when the whole nation is under a lockdown and people are staying indoors, the only source of engagement is a television and in this the role of free-to-air TV,