News Broadcasting
Trai fixes revenue share for stakeholders; carriage fee to stay with MSOs
NEW DELHI: The Indian broadcast regulator has finally legitimised carriage fee or the payment TV channels make to be on tunable bandwidths and cable networks. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has also set the revenue sharing model for industry stakeholders.
Trai said today that from the revenue generated from pay channels, broadcasters will keep 45 per cent, multi system operators (MSOs) 30 per cent cable operators 25 per cent.
Additionally, carriage fee is to be retained fully by MSOs, while the basic tier services fee will be retained fully by local cable operators.
MSOs, according to Trai, can operate throughout a CAS area without any restriction on area of operation.
The objective of having standard interconnection agreements is to ensure that implementation of CAS does not get delayed in case service providers fail to enter into mutually acceptable interconnection agreements through negotiation within the stipulated time.
In a statement, the regulator said that apart from providing standard interconnection agreements, those dated 10.12.2004 have also been amended to prohibit such clauses in interconnection agreements that would require a distributor of TV channels using an addressable system to pay a minimum guaranteed amount as subscription fee.
Some of the highlights of the standard interconnection agreements are as follows:
# The service providers are at a liberty to enter into mutually acceptable interconnection agreements which are different from the standard interconnection agreements
# If any of the service providers in the CAS areas are not able to arrive at a mutually acceptable interconnection agreement within a time-period specified by the Authority, then they shall be required to enter into interconnection agreements as per the standard interconnection agreements
# The standard interconnection agreements between broadcasters and multi system operators have been provided only for pay channels.
# Term of standard interconnection agreements to be 12 months.
# All service providers in CAS areas who do not have pre-existing interconnection agreements as on the date of issue of this Regulation and who are not able to arrive at a mutually acceptable agreement shall enter into interconnection agreements as per standard agreements within 10 days of the receipt of permission by MSOs from the government.
# All the service providers in CAS areas who have a pre-existing interconnection agreement appropriate for operating in a CAS area as on the date of issue of this regulation, but are unable to arrive at a mutually acceptable agreement within 30 days of the expiry of the pre-existing interconnection agreement, shall enter into standard interconnection agreements within 30 days of the expiry of the pre-existing interconnection agreement.
Other details of the regulator’s latest directives on interconnect are available on www.trai.gov.in.
News Broadcasting
Kamlesh Singh receives Haldi Ghati Award from MMCF
India Today Group editor honoured for three decades of journalism at Udaipur ceremony.
MUMBAI- Kamlesh Singh just turned a lifetime of sharp words into a shiny shield because when journalism wakes up a society, even the Maharana of Mewar wants to pin a medal on it.
The Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation (MMCF) conferred its prestigious Haldi Ghati Award on Kamlesh Singh, a senior editor at the India Today Group, during a ceremony in Udaipur on 15 March 2026. The national award, instituted in 1981-82, recognises “work of permanent value that initiates an awakening in society through the medium of journalism.”
Singh, who leads several editorial initiatives including Aaj Tak Radio, the Teen Taal community and The Lallantop, was presented the honour by Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar, Managing Trustee of MMCF. The citation highlighted his three decades of contributions to Indian media, innovations in digital journalism, mentoring young reporters, and his popular podcast persona “Tau” on Teen Taal, which fosters thoughtful public discourse.
The Haldi Ghati Award, named after the historic Battle of Haldighati symbolising valour and resilience, is one of four national awards given annually by MMCF. Past recipients include Tavleen Singh, Piyush Pandey and Raj Chengappa.
Other honourees this year included Padma Vibhushan Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Vedamurti Devvrat Rekhe, Treeman of India Marimuthu Yoganathan, Vir Chakra Capt Rizwan Malik, and US-based researcher Molly Emma Aitken, who received the Colonel James Tod Award for contributions to understanding Mewar’s spirit and values.
In an era where headlines often shout louder than substance, the MMCF quietly reminded everyone that real journalism isn’t about noise, it’s about the quiet, persistent work that stirs society awake, one thoughtful story at a time.
