Mumbai: Television broadcasters are considering moving the Supreme Court against the Delhi High Court‘s order upholding the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India‘s (Trai) authority to enforce a 12-minute-per-clock-hour cap on television advertising, people with knowledge of the matter said.
The industry is worried because the ruling could hurt revenues and significantly expand the regulator’s oversight over broadcasters.
The Delhi High Court on May 29 dismissed petitions filed by broadcasters in 2013 challenging Trai’s advertising regulations.
Broadcasters argue that strict enforcement of the advertising cap could hurt business at a time when the television industry is grappling with falling pay-TV subscriptions and sluggish advertising growth.
“Broadcasters across the board are planning to challenge the Delhi HC order before the Supreme Court since implementation of the ad cap will be detrimental to their business,” said a lawyer aware of the deliberations.
India’s television broadcasting economy remains heavily dependent on advertising. In 2025, the linear TV industry generated nearly ₹62,000 crore in revenue, including ₹26,300 crore from advertising and ₹35,400 crore from subscriptions, according to a Ficci-EY report.
Industry estimates suggest that pay broadcasters derive 50-70% of their revenue from advertising depending on the genre, while free-to-air channels rely entirely on it. As of December, India had 335 pay channels and 576 free-to-air channels, according to Trai.
The Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation and the News Broadcasters and Digital Association were parties to the case before the Delhi High Court.
