The Delhi High Court has upheld the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) rule limiting advertisements on television channels to a maximum of 12 minutes per hour. The court ruled that the regulation is valid and aimed at protecting viewers from excessive advertising interruptions during programming.
A group of 17 petitioners, including broadcasters such as Sun TV Network, 9X Media, B4U Broadcast, and various news broadcasters’ associations, had challenged the regulation. They argued that the restriction on advertising time would significantly impact their revenue streams and violate their constitutional right to carry out business.
However, a bench comprising Justice Anil Kshetarpal and Justice Amit Mahajan dismissed all the petitions. The court observed that the Constitution does not guarantee unlimited profit-making rights, nor does it permit unrestricted use of public broadcasting infrastructure without reasonable regulation.
The court further clarified that TRAI is within its authority to regulate advertising duration, as the quality of service includes the overall viewer experience. It held that continuous and excessive advertisements adversely affect audience engagement, and therefore regulatory intervention is justified.
The ruling applies uniformly across all categories of television channels, including news, entertainment, free-to-air, and paid services. The court specified that channels may broadcast up to 10 minutes of commercial advertisements per hour, along with 2 minutes of self-promotional content, bringing relief to viewers who frequently face ad interruptions.