Regulatory Competition & Economic Regulation
Competition & Economic Regulation
No need for duplicate regulation of media ownership, CASBAA tells TRAI
Thursday, 11 April 2013 17:47
TRAI Consultation -- Indian Media Ownership
CASBAA made a detailed submission to India's TRAI on proposed restraints on media ownership. CASBAA, backed by an authoritative report on international precedents from London consulting firm FTI Consultants, told TRAI that such rules were high-risk, and poor decisions now would warp the structure and development of India's media industry for decades to come. Therefore, the potential risks and benefits of policy choices had to be carefully assessed – which had yet to be done in India. The consultants at FTI warned that in the absence of adequate analysis of potential policy impacts "there is a significant risk that India could embark on a regulation that is not fit for purpose and based on outdated market research. Far from correcting a market failure that has not been demonstrated, the result could be significant damage to markets."
Other main points of the CASBAA submission:
The TRAI consultation paper was a solution in search of a problem – it jumped immediately into asking about details of solutions, without setting forth the nature of the issue which needed resolution. It never considered a range of possible approaches including "no change." As such, CASBAA commented "we do not find the approach in this paper to represent an acceptable base for proceeding with a major regulatory intervention."
The Consultation Paper was completely backward-looking; it took no account of the massive growth in online consumption of news and other media even in the four years since TRAI had last taken up this issue. Convergence is the future of the media industry, and regulations considered now must address convergence.
The TRAI proposals made no mention of the comprehensive competition policy rules administered by the Competition Council of India. "Indian law gives the CCI ample authority over this sector (and all others) and no case has been made that the media sector requires additional or different regulation," said CASBAA.
The result of international considerations of media plurality issues, including an exhaustive consultation process by Ofcom in the UK, has tended to the conclusion that media plurality assessments must be based on a full view incorporating many measures. "Mechanistic" bars to ownership would risk stifling investment at a time when the media sector is vibrant and changing.
Discussion in the TRAI paper of a number of the international precedents was skewed. For example, the US FCC, having relied on "diversity indexes" to try to calculate plurality, moved away from these in 2006 stating it had concluded such an index "is an inaccurate tool for measuring diversity". FTI Consultants observed that "the international media regulatory landscape as it affects ownership and plurality is far more diverse and complex than the selected examples presented by TRAI."
India already has policies in place (e.g. "must provide") to prevent vertical restraints that affect competition and India needs the efficiencies and economic benefits to consumers than can flow from vertical investments. TRAI has not presented a case justifying additional general restraints against vertical integration.
See the CASBAA complete submission here
See the Report by FTI Consulting here
Singapore Revises Sports Sharing List
Friday, 11 January 2013 18:06
Singapore’s MDA has announced the conclusion of its consultation process on revision of that country’s designated content list. (This is a list of specific sporting events that must be offered for broadcast on FTA television. Singapore adopts the Australian practice of calling this an “antisiphoning” list, though the relevancy of that term outside Australia is questionable.)
The revisions continue a practice in effect since 2003. In the latest revisions, the government made use of existing legal authorities to divide the list into two parts: Category A, for which FTA television must be offered rights for live or near-live broadcast of the full event, and Category B, for which live broadcast may be only on pay-TV, but FTA TV must be offered rights for delayed broadcast (defined as after 48 hours after the event, unless the parties agree otherwise.)
A few items were removed from the 2003 list, including the local S-League soccer matches and the Winter Olympics (downgraded from Category A to Category B). A few new items were added, including the final rounds of the FIFA World Cup and the F1 race in Singapore.
The outcome of the consultation is broadly in line with recommendations made at an earlier stage by an industry expert panel (which included both CASBAA and the two leading Singapore pay-TV platforms). The pay-TV industry had sought an even shorter list. That said, the conclusion of the process still leaves Singapore in the position of having a carefully defined and well-thought-out list that is limited in scope and balances national interest with commercial considerations in an equitable manner – far from the intrusive and one-sided policies adopted in some other markets in the Asia-Pacific region.
MDA issued a “Closing Note” to the consultation, (download here ) as well as a public notice, downloadable here.
CASBAA Urges Thai Regulators to Adopt Market-Friendly Approach
Monday, 03 September 2012 15:57
CASBAA submitted views to the Thai National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) on proposed rules for licensing companies in the television business. CASBAA’s submission stressed the need for an industry-friendly licensing regime for international TV channels, and also urged tightening of provisions designed to ensure respect for intellectual property rights. CASBAA also suggested the NBTC seek over time a relaxation of 2008 legislation containing excessively strict limits on pay-TV advertising, and on foreign investment in Thai pay-TV companies.
Download here:
CASBAA Fact Sheet on Essential Content Lists
Monday, 13 August 2012 15:16
This paper provides background information on the practice adopted by some governments of requiring “essential content” to be shared among TV operators. It includes a table showing the content sharing lists of governments in Europe and Asia, and takes account of latest developments in Malaysia and Singapore.
Full Article here
MIC plans cable TV restructuring, eliminating tens of service providers
Tuesday, 03 July 2012 17:58
3rd July, 2012
VietNamNet Bridge – The Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) is considering restructuring the cable TV market. It is expected that only three national enterprises and five local enterprises would be retained instead of 40 currently.
To read more: http://en.baomoi.com/Info/MIC-plans-cable-TV-restructuring-eliminating-tens-of-service-providers/6/279986.epi
Thai pay-TV galvanized by ads
Friday, 01 June 2012 16:33
Between 2006 and 2008, Thailand removed the ban on broadcast of advertising which had handicapped the pay-TV industry for 15 years. With hindsight, the results are now clear and they are striking: a vast flowering of new indigenous channels, lower consumer rates, and a more stable funding model for growth in satellite and cable television. The attached briefing paper describes the beneficial outcome for Thai consumers and the pay-TV industry.
Downoad the briefing paper:
ADB Study: Cultural Promotion is Fine, but Quotas Should Be Avoided
Monday, 30 April 2012 10:05
The Asian Development Bank has released a thoughtful study on issues surrounding trade in Audio-Visual Services (which includes the international pay-TV industry). The paper (“Audio-Visual Services: International Trade and Cultural Policy”) was discussed at an ADB /OECD seminar in New Delhi in January 2012.
The paper concludes there may be good reasons for governments to promote their own audio-visual industries and maintain local cultures. But it also says that some types of measures are less likely to damage economic growth than others. Subsidies for local production, and even-handed constraints on media control and concentration were cited as more beneficial; quotas restricting international trade as more damaging. The paper notes that.
The entire paper can be downloaded here
Don’t Rush to Regulate, CASBAA Tell TRAI
Thursday, 29 March 2012 09:57
Proposals to reduce the allowed advertisements on TV channels in India were premature and not carefully considered, CASBAA told the TRAI in a submission. Before considering any action, the government should wait to see if planned cable digitization really has the desired effects on subscription revenues to channels. And even then, CASBAA said, why shouldn’t India use the self-regulation model, instead of heavy-handed government intervention?
Download the full submission here.
Indian Cable Digitization
Monday, 16 January 2012 09:57
CASBAA Urges Rate Decontrol, Strong IP Measures -- In a filing to India’s TRAI, CASBAA maintained that there is substantial retail pay-TV competition in India that will restrain tariffs, and urged TRAI to forbear from regulating retail tariffs now and in the future. TRAI had set the right course with its July 2010 tariff order refraining from regulating retail rates of addressable systems (cable as well as DTH), CASBAA said, and it should stay the course. CASBAA also said that revised “interconnection” regulations governing relations between content providers and pay-TV platforms should make it clear that all players should cooperate in active antipiracy programs.
See the complete submission here.
See submissions by CASBAA member companies here.
Facts about Regulation of Pay-TV Rates
Wednesday, 27 July 2011 10:05
One frequently-discussed issue in pay-TV regulation is government control of retail rates. CASBAA produced an up-to-date “Fact Sheet” describing rate regulation practices in Asia and Australasia. Much more info on pay-TV regulatory policies will be published in CASBAA’s “Regulating for Growth 2011” study, to be released in late September. See the Fact Sheet on Rate Regulation here.
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