BDF and NBDA appeal withdrawal of TRAI’s Draft Broadcasting Amendments

Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF) and News Broadcasters and Digital Association (NBDA) have strongly opposed the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) proposed amendments to broadcasting service regulations, calling for the immediate withdrawal of the Draft Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services Interconnection (Addressable Systems) (Seventh Amendment) Regulations, 2025. Industry stakeholders argue that the regulator’s piecemeal approach—separating revisions on audit practices, the audit manual, and infrastructure sharing—has introduced serious regulatory ambiguity. The proposed framework, they claim, is riddled with procedural flaws, jurisdictional overreach, and conceptual inconsistencies.

A central concern is the proposed change to Regulation 15(2), which broadcasters say undermines their authority to audit distribution platform operators (DPOs). This, they believe, weakens transparency and oversight in content distribution agreements. The TRAI’s recent consultation paper, released under the Telecommunications Act, 2023, aims to establish a framework for broadcasting service authorizations. However, NBDA contends that the inclusion of broadcasting services within the broader telecom authorization regime is inherently flawed.