NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has extended the time for stakeholders to respond to its Consultation Paper on issues relating to advertisements on television channels to 5 April.

Noting that this was being done at the request of stakeholders, the regulator said counter comments can be filed by 10 April. Earlier, Trai had set 27 March and 2 April respecrtively as the deadline date.

The paper seeks the views of stakeholders on prescribing an upper limit for the duration of advertisements on clock hour basis, and defining time gaps between consecutive advertisements breaks during telecast of movies and other programmes among other issues. It also wants views on different maximum limits for the duration of advertisements in FTA and Pay channels on a clock hour basis.

The paper has been issued suo motu with the primary objective of striking a balance between giving consumers a good TV viewing experience, and protecting the interests of all the stakeholders of the television industry. Trai took up a review of existing regulations on duration of advertisements and their format of presentation in television channels in India.

In its own view, Trai feels that the limits for the duration of the advertisements shall be regulated on a clock hour basis – that is, the prescribed limits shall be enforced on clock hour basis.