1049 multi-system operators non-compliant as of April'25, only 842 remain registered: Ministry of I&B
According to the latest data from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, as of April 30, 2025, 114 applications of MSOs have been cancelled/rejected, or closed due to suppression of vital information/non-payment.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has released updated figures on the status of Multi-System Operators (MSOs) in India. According to the latest data, as of April 30, 2025, only 842 MSOs remain registered with the Ministry of I&B. Meanwhile, a total of 1,049 MSOs have had their registrations either cancelled, surrendered, expired, or deemed non-operational.
The data follows the Ministry’s continued push for stricter compliance and operational transparency in the cable distribution space.
In March, 1,045 MSOs were found non-compliant, while 845 were registered with the Ministry.
Read more: I&B Ministry cracks down on MSOs: 1,045 found non-compliant as of March'25; only 845 registered
As of April 30, 114 MSO applications have been cancelled, rejected, and closed by the Ministry over issues such as suppression of vital information, failure to submit documents, negative net worth, or non-payment of processing fees, the Ministry revealed. The figures highlight the growing regulatory scrutiny within the cable television ecosystem, with the Ministry tightening the noose on non-compliant operators.
In August 2024, there were over 850 registered MSOs, and a year prior, the number stood at 998.
One of the terms and conditions of the MSO registration is that MSOs shall comply with the provisions of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act. 1995, and the Rules made there under, as amended and adhered to all the terms and conditions of the registration. Failing to do so, the permission granted is liable to be cancelled or suspended. MSOs are also required to submit a list of their subscribers and other details as per the requests made by the Ministry from time to time.
Further, according to Regulation 15(1) of the Interconnection Regulations, 2017, it is mandatory for every distributor of channels to conduct an audit of their system once in a calendar year; if they fail to do so, they are marked as 'non-compliant'. Following which, MSOs have to provide the requisite information or make any reference to the Ministry regarding their compliance status. In absence of the same, in exercise of powers conferred under Section 4(7) of the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995, the MSO registrations of the scheduled MSOs are cancelled with immediate effect.
In the past, via one of its advisories, the Ministry had stated that all MSOs who provide their own programming service to their own subscribers directly or through one or multiple Local Cable Operators must register to the platform services.
