No more 12-minute ad limit for TV channels as Centre notifies rule changes

The Centre has now officially notified the amendments in the Cable TV Network Rules removing the 12 minute ad duration cap for television channels. Earlier the Information & Broadcasting Ministry had said this decision was taken to enable a level playing field, fair competition and ease of doing business.

Analysts said this is directionally positive for television broadcasters, providing greater flexibility to monetise inventory and to some extent address the regulatory disadvantage compared to digital platforms.

The official notification from the Ministry said, “In the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994, in rule 7, sub-rule (11) shall be omitted,” which refers to the amendment that capped television advertisements at 12 minutes per clock hour.

The advertisement duration cap for Television channels was introduced in 2006, when there were only 62 TV channels. The number has now increased to over 900.

“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. In India, the sector is heavily dependent on advertising, irrespective of whether a channel is ‘pay’ or ‘free-to-air’. Furthermore, 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,” the Ministry said in its statement earlier.

Elara Capital in a report noted that this move is “directionally positive” and could lead to a revenue benefit in the range of 1-3 per cent.

“Most of the industry already operates at or above the cap, with news channels carrying 16– 18 minutes/hour, while live sports offers limited scope to additional inventory. Fundamentally, television’s key challenges relate to declining viewership and content engagement,” Karan Taurani, EVP, Elara Capital stated in the recently released report. Pay -TV households fell at nearly 4 per cent CAGR during FY20–25, while connected -TV, (CTV) households are expanding.

“Where demand and inventory utilisation remain healthy, broadcasters can monetise additional minutes while protecting yields; where demand is weak, higher supply increases advertiser negotiating leverage and pressures rates,” he added.

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