TRAI’s draft amendment eases audit burden for small TV distributors

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has released the draft Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services Interconnection (Addressable Systems) (Seventh Amendment) Regulations, 2025, proposing compliance changes for the broadcasting and distribution ecosystem. 

The draft is open for stakeholder comments until October 6, 2025, and is scheduled to come into effect from April 1, 2026.

It will shift the annual audit cycle from a calendar year to a financial year and is expected to provide relief to smaller distributors.

The regulations propose that television channel distributors must now conduct their annual system audit based on the financial year (April 1 to March 31). The audit report for the preceding financial year must be submitted to broadcasters by September 30th.

Distributors with fewer than 30,000 active subscribers will now have the option to skip the mandatory annual audit. While this aims to reduce the financial and administrative burden on small operators, broadcasters retain the right to conduct an audit of these distributors if they choose to do so.

The new rules introduce a clearer process for resolving audit disputes. If a broadcaster finds discrepancies in a distributor’s audit report, they can raise specific concerns with evidence. If the issue is not resolved, the broadcaster can escalate the matter to TRAI, which may then permit a special audit to confirm the findings.

Distributors who fail to submit their audit report by the September 30th deadline may be audited by broadcasters at the broadcaster's own cost. Additionally, if an audit reveals that a distributor's system does not meet regulatory standards, broadcasters are permitted to disconnect the signals after giving a three-week notice.

The draft regulations provide clear guidelines for distributors who share infrastructure. Each distributor using a shared system must maintain separate records to ensure accurate subscriber numbers. The rules also clarify that in such sharing arrangements, only the logos of the broadcaster and the last-mile distributor should be visible on the TV screen to prevent a cluttered viewing experience.