People
TRAI directs Internet Service Providers to obtain explicit consent before providing chargeable Value Added Services
The Authority today issued a Direction making it mandatory for Internet Service Providers to obtain explicit consent of the subscribers before making Value Added Services chargeable. TRAI had earlier issued similar Direction to the Fixed and Mobile operators.
2. The Direction is in the context of instances that have come to notice where Internet Service Providers charge the subscribers for Value Additions without obtaining their explicit consent. A prominent Internet Service Provider had recently provided Value Additions in the form of ‘unlimited access’ at a monthly fee. The service was activated to all dial-up customers with the condition that unless the customer calls the Customer Care of the operator on a specific number and un-subscribes the service, the monthly charge gets automatically applicable.
3. In the cases as cited above, the onus of declining the chargeable service is put on the customer. There could be a possibility that in case the customer fails to un-subscribe for the service due to any reason, he starts getting charged without his concurrence. This amounts to offering and charging for a service without the explicit consent of the customer. With this Direction, the Authority intends to put an end to such practices.
( M. KANNAN )
ADVISOR (ECO.)
People
Devika Prabhu joins Sony Pictures Networks India as business head – Hindi movies
Former Disney Star executive returns to SPNI to steer the network’s Hindi movie business
MUMBAI: Devika Prabhu is heading back to familiar turf. The veteran media executive has joined Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) as business head – Hindi movies, marking a return to the broadcaster where she began her early leadership journey.
Prabhu announced the move on LinkedIn, calling it both a new beginning and a homecoming. Earlier in her career, she spent several years at SPNI—then Multi Screen Media—working on strategic planning for Sony Entertainment Television.
The appointment brings to SPNI a media strategist with more than 25 years of experience across content, programming, brand strategy and platform growth. Most recently, Prabhu served at Disney Star as vice-president and business head – kids, youth and infotainment TV, where she led the Disney Kids and National Geographic portfolios following the Disney–Fox merger.
During her tenure, she oversaw a Rs 400-crore P&L while pushing digital expansion, partnerships and operational efficiencies. Earlier roles at Disney Star included leadership across programming, acquisitions, marketing and product strategy for multiple networks, including the UTV movie channels and youth brands.
Prabhu’s career has also spanned building cross-platform intellectual property, developing kids and family content ecosystems, and forging international format partnerships. She was closely involved in bringing global formats and franchises to Indian audiences and is widely credited with helping shape India’s anime fandom into a mainstream youth phenomenon.
At SPNI, she will now lead the Hindi movies business at a time when film channels are rethinking their role in a fragmented viewing landscape. With audiences discovering cinema across television, streaming and digital platforms, the challenge is not just programming films but reimagining how they reach viewers.
Prabhu believes movies still hold a unique cultural power, sparking conversations and creating shared moments long after the credits roll.
Now back where part of her journey began, she is set to write the next act, this time from the business seat of Hindi movie television. Lights, camera, strategy.
