3 days ago
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The Delhi High Court connected Friday (May 29, 2026) upheld the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) regulations capping advertisements connected tv channels astatine 12 minutes per timepiece hour, rejecting a batch of petitions filed by starring broadcasters, quality channels, and determination tv networks.
A Bench of Justice Anil Kshetarpal and Justice Amit Mahajan ruled that TRAI acted wrong its statutory powers portion introducing the “per timepiece hour” advertisement headdress successful 2013.
It is the lawsuit of the petitioners that the headdress is violative of Articles 14 and 19 of the Constitution. The communal crushed of situation pertains to the fixation of a clip ceiling of 10+2 minutes per timepiece hr for broadcasting of advertisements, with a 10-minute headdress fixed for commercialized advertisements and a 2-minute headdress pertaining to self-promotional advertisements.
Restriction affects economical viability
Some of the determination broadcaster argued that with subscription gross being negligible, they deduce the overwhelming portion of their income from advertisements. They said immoderate regularisation connected the duration of advertisements straight threatens its economical viability and continued beingness arsenic a broadcaster.
While distinguishing the effect of people media and broadcast media, TRAI argued that television, dissimilar people media, operates successful a time-bound format wherever viewers cannot debar advertisements inserted mid-programme, including scrolls and overlays.
Such favoritism necessitated the regulatory involution successful the involvement of viewers, it said. TRAI said the regulations were introduced pursuant to wide user complaints, to guarantee compliance with licence conditions and support Quality of Service (QoS). The regulator argued that the prescribed clip ceiling straight addresses excessive commercialized interruptions that degrade viewing experience.
The court, successful its 68-page judgment, agreed that successful a mean specified arsenic television, wherever contented unfolds successful existent clip and interruptions are inescapably experienced, the frequency, duration arsenic good arsenic density of advertisement breaks are integral to the prime of the viewing experience.
The tribunal highlighted that “excessive oregon uneven commercialized intrusion is not simply an economical concern, alternatively it constitutes a nonstop impairment of the close of consumers to a just and tenable viewing experience”.
It said broadcasters cannot assertion an “unfettered close to exploit spectrum for commercialized purposes”.
Underscoring that India’s 12-minute headdress is neither utmost nor novel, the tribunal pointed to planetary practices successful countries specified arsenic Argentina, Croatia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, and the U.K., which broadly person a ceiling of 9 to 12 minutes per hour.
“To conclude, the impugned regulatory model represents a constitutionally dependable workout of the state’s authorization to modulate a scarce nationalist assets successful furtherance of the communal good,” the tribunal said portion rejecting the plea.
