Government has decided to remove the 12-minute advertisement duration cap for television channels. Information and Braodcasting Ministry said in a statement that the decision shall come into effect from the date of notification of the amendment in the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994 in the Gazette. It said that in view of the changes that have occurred in the TV broadcasting sector, a need was felt to revisit the stipulations relating to advertisement duration.
The statement added that in India, the sector is heavily dependent on advertising, irrespective of whether a channel is ‘pay’ or ‘free-to-air’. It said there was a non-level playing field for traditional TV channels vis-à-vis digital media, where no such stipulation on advertisement cap regulation exists.
Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is of the view that adequate competition exists in the market within the TV industry and between the TV industry and digital media. The advertisement duration cap for Television was introduced in 2006 under the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994.