12-minute ad cap to remain on Indian TV channels

A 12-minute per hour ad cap on television channels in India is set to remain, according to reports.

IndianTelevision.com reports that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has no plans to make any immediate changes to this. It said that a notification issued by the Authority can only be amended through another notification after the issuance of a consultation paper and consultation with stakeholders. When his attention was drawn to the reported statement of a union minister to the effect that the ad cap served no purpose, the source said that TRAI had not received any instructions in this regard and would in any case take its own decision. He also drew attention to the fact that the matter was pending in court.

In May, it was reported that 140 channels in India were not complying with the regulations. This included 39 news and 101 non-news channels.

A similar strategy is in place in the UK, with Ofcom not permitting more than 12-minutes of commercial airtime during a clock hour.