In a relief for the broadcasting industry, the Information & Broadcasting Ministry on Friday said that it has decided to remove the 12-minute advertisement duration cap for television channels. The Ministry said the decision was taken to enable fair competition and ensure ease of doing business. This marks a key shift in the regulatory framework that governs broadcast advertising.“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 of I&B is of the view that there exists adequate competition in the market within the TV industry and between the TV industry and digital media. The Government has decided to remove the advertisement duration cap to enable fair competition and ensure ease of doing business,” the official statement sadi.The decision will come into effect from the date of notification of the amendment in the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994 in the Gazette, it added.The ad duration cap of 12 mins per clock hour included 10 minutes of advertisements of brands and products and 2 minutes of self-promotional ads and government messages. The ad cap was introduced under the Cable Television Networks Rules in 2006. The Ministry noted that at that time there were only 62 TV channels, which have now grown to 900 channels.The Ministry said that post the complete digitisation of Cable TV sector, all distribution platforms including DTH, Cable TV, HITS and IPTV, are now digital cna carry 300-500 channels or more meeting diverse consumer needs and enabling greater variety.“Consequently, there is now adequate competition in market dynamics. 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 added.Over the past few years, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had been focusing on enforcement of the ad cap rules. However, this was challenged by broadcasters and industry associations in the courts. Earlier this year, the Delhi High Court had upheld the regulation of limiting television advertising to 12 minutes per clock hour, dismissing a slew of petitions filed by broadcasters that challenged the rule on constitutional grounds. However, now the Ministry has stepped in to scrap the regulation bringing much relief to the industry.Published on August 14, 2026