TV channel pricing: Supreme Court refuses to stay Bombay High Court order upholding Trai’s new tariff order

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the Bombay High Court’s June 30 order that upheld Trai’s new tariff order (NTO) that mandated individual pricing for television channels and also capped their prices.

Under NTO 2.0, Trai has reduced the cap on the MRP of individual channels, which can be part of any bouquet, to Rs 12 from Rs 19 per month, which the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) is opposing. The order also sets conditions for formation of channel bouquets, such as putting a price cap on channel bouquets.