TRAI Is Working On New Set Of Proposals On Media Ownership, Says P D Vaghela The telecom and broadcast regulator had, earlier this year, floated a consultation paper on issues related to media ownership

Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) chairman P D Vaghela, on Wednesday, said that the TRAI, which is the regulator for both the telecom and broadcast sectors in the country, is working on a new set of recommendations on media ownership. As per reports, the telecom and broadcast regulator had, earlier this year, floated a consultation paper on issues related to media ownership.

"The concentration of media ownership has been identified with a number of problems. The most significant of these is the threat it poses to freedom of expression and democracy," said Vaghela, while speaking at the CII Big Picture Summit in New Delhi.

The statement comes at a time when the domestic media sector is seeing a takeover battle between the Adani Group and promoters of NDTV. As per reports, Sebi has given its nod to Adani Group's open offer next week for additional shares in NDTV after the group revealed its plans in August regarding the 29.18 per cent stake acquisition in the company.

The TRAI chairman also mentioned the challenges faced by the television broadcast sector due to the new tariff order 2.0, which has capped pricing of standalone channels from INR 10 to INR 12 and also introduced new conditions on bundling and distribution of channels.

"Our recent consultation on tariff-related issues for television channels and bouquets is a result of multiple discussions with each group of stakeholders, broadcasters, multi-systems operators, DTH players and local cable operators. Soon, we expect to issue amendments to the tariff order and interconnection regulations in line with our stated policy of light touch regulation. We expect the industry to respond with tariffs and prices that do not put undue burden on consumers," said Vaghela.