Broadcasters are seeking a meeting with the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and IT following their exclusion from discussions that shaped the report, ‘Regulation of Cable Television in India’, by the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF).

Expressing concerns over being sidelined from crucial deliberations, the IBDF conveyed its intentions in a letter dated February 13. The foundation highlighted its plan to present a comprehensive representation to the parliamentary committee led by Shiv Sena MP Prataprao Jadhav, emphasizing the report’s inaccuracies, data misinterpretations, and omissions of vital information, The Economic Times reported.

Sidharth Jain, Secretary General of IBDF, articulated the foundation’s stance in the letter addressed to Jadhav, stating, “We shall be shortly submitting a detailed representation on the subject matter, which we would respectfully request the Hon’ble Committee to kindly take on record.”

Jain further added, “We would be grateful if you could also kindly grant us an opportunity to meet the Hon’ble Committee in person to present our views at your earliest convenience.”

The exclusion of broadcasters from the discussions drew criticism from IBDF, which comprises 56 broadcaster members representing nearly 450 channels. The decision to only invite the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), and the All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) for inputs was perceived as a limitation on diverse perspectives.

“The exclusion of broadcasters from the deliberations represents a missed opportunity for informed decision-making and risks the adoption of regulatory measures that may have unintended consequences for broadcasting industry stakeholders, especially consumers,” Jain remarked.