I&B Ministry
India has 11.7 cr cable TV subscribers: I&B minister
MUMBAI: Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, the Information and Broadcasting minister Prakash Javadekar said that there are 11.7 crore cable TV subscribers in India as on 30 November 2019. The ministry has accumulated the data through seeding data available from MSOs/LCOs.
However, accurate figures haven't yet emerged since 100 per cent digitisation is yet to be achieved. Javadekar also mentioned that 100 per cent digitisation of cable TV network has been achieved in
Phase-I (4 metro cities), Phase-II (38 cities with population of more
than 10 lacs) and Phase-III (All other urban areas municipal
corporation/ municipalities). In Phase-IV (Rest of India), it is about
more than 90 per cent at present.
The government had adopted an ambitious digitisation plan a few years back to ensure proper flow in the cable TV system that would allow better revenue to be channeled and reduce piracy.
MUMBAI: When the numbers go silent, the noise on screen gets a little harder to measure. Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has extended the suspension of television rating data for news channels, directing Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) to withhold TRPs for another four weeks. The latest order, issued on March 31, 2026, builds on an earlier directive from March 6 that had paused ratings for a month. The ministry has clarified that the blackout will continue for four weeks or until further instructions are issued whichever comes earlier keeping the industry in a prolonged state of data drought.
The reasoning, officials suggest, lies far beyond domestic screens. With geopolitical tensions in West Asia continuing to escalate, the government has flagged concerns over how such developments could influence news consumption and presentation. The move is aimed at curbing excessive sensationalism and speculative coverage during what it describes as a sensitive global moment.
For the broadcast ecosystem, the absence of Television Rating Points (TRPs) is more than symbolic, it removes the industry’s primary scorecard. Ratings dictate advertising flows, shape editorial strategies and fuel the competitive pecking order among news channels. Without them, broadcasters are effectively operating without a public performance benchmark.
The timing only adds to the complexity. Amid a high-intensity global news cycle, channels must now navigate audience engagement without the weekly feedback loop that typically drives programming decisions. Advertisers, too, are left recalibrating, leaning on proxies such as brand strength, reach and distribution instead of hard viewership data.
While framed as a temporary regulatory intervention tied to maintaining public order, the extended suspension underscores a broader unease about the tone and direction of news coverage. For now, the ratings race is on pause but the battle for attention continues, just without a scoreboard.
