The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released a draft amendment to its broadcasting rules that could significantly change how television distributors are audited and how shared systems are managed. Under the new proposal, audits will be aligned with the financial year, from April to March, rather than the earlier calendar year (January to December) system, and reports for the previous year must be shared with broadcasters by September 30.
For the first time, smaller distributors with 30,000 or fewer subscribers may opt out of the annual audit, although broadcasters will still have the right to request one if they suspect irregularities.
“Further DPOs [distribution platform operators] with significantly low subscriber base have informed TRAI in various meetings verbally that they find difficulty in causing audits of their systems every year as they have capacity constraints in terms of manpower as well as financial resources. Further representations were also received from a few small DPOs with requests to exempt them from audit due to their inability to afford audit fees,” noted the draft regulations.
The draft also requires that only TRAI-approved auditors can conduct these checks, and they must certify their independence before starting work.
If a broadcaster finds gaps in an audit report, it can raise objections within 30 days, after which the auditor will have another 30 days to respond or issue a revised report. In cases where disputes persist, TRAI may allow a special audit, while failure to meet the September 30 deadline would open the door for broadcasters to commission their own audit, which must be completed within four months.
The draft also looks at the way many distributors now share technology through shared systems instead of running their own. In the draft regulation, shared systems mainly refer to the backend technologies like Subscriber Management System (SMS), Conditional Access System (CAS) and Digital Rights Management (DRM). These shared systems handle things like customer records, billing, and controlling which channels people can watch. TRAI wants each distributor’s data to be kept separate so that audits can be done without confusion.
On screen security, the rules say that a watermark must be added to the signal by the company providing the shared system, while the local distributor can still put its own logo through the set-top box. Viewers will not see more than two logos at once.
TRAI says the changes are meant to resolve long-standing issues of audit delays, high compliance costs for smaller operators, and technical confusion in shared networks.
While many small cable operators have welcomed the relief, big broadcasters have expressed concern that exempting small players from mandatory audits could lead to under-reporting.
“Non-audit by certain DPOs may lead to unauthorized distribution of services and non-declaration of correct number of subscribers being serviced by those DPOs, and hence it would not only deviate from the principal of transparency but also effect the implementation of digitization,” according to a view expressed during the consultation process, adding that it may lead to an increase in piracy and fixed fee deals. “Further, some of the bigger DPOs may take advantage of this loophole and take multiple licenses and would keep the size in the category of smaller DPO and would not conduct the audit.”
TRAI has invited comments on the draft until October 6, and the new rules, once finalized, are expected to take effect from April 1, 2026.
