Government Scraps 12-Minute TV Ad Cap: What Does New Rule Mean for Broadcasters and Viewers?

New Delhi, August 22: The central government has officially scrapped the 12-minute-per-hour advertising cap for television channels, giving broadcasters full flexibility over how much commercial time they air. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting notified the Cable Television Networks (Amendment) Rules, 2026 in the Gazette on August 21, bringing the change into immediate effect.

What The New Rule Says

The amendment removes Rule 7(11) of the Cable Television Networks Rules, 1994, which formed the legal basis of the so-called "10+2" advertising rule. Under the earlier provision, channels could carry up to 10 minutes of commercial advertisements and two minutes of self-promotional content within a single clock hour, adding up to a 12-minute cap. Why Has the Government Removed the 12-Minute Advertisement Cap on TV Channels?

The official notification simply states that sub-rule (11) of rule 7 "shall be omitted," effectively doing away with the decades-old restriction altogether.

Why The Cap Is Being Removed

The advertising limit was first introduced in 2006, at a time when India had only 62 television channels. The Ministry noted that the broadcasting landscape has changed dramatically since then, with the sector now home to more than 900 channels. UP Government Plans INR 50,000 Financial Aid Scheme for Women Ahead of Assembly Elections 2026.

According to the government, the television market has moved from a largely analogue, limited-capacity system to a fully digitised one, with Direct-to-Home (DTH), Cable TV, Headend-in-the-Sky (HITS) and Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) platforms now carrying anywhere from 300 to 500 or more channels. This expanded capacity, officials said, has created far greater competition within the broadcasting market, making the older cap outdated.

Industry Had Pushed For Change For Over A Decade

Broadcast networks and industry bodies had challenged the advertising cap for more than ten years across regulatory forums and courts, arguing that statutory limits on commercial time restricted revenue growth and disrupted content flow during peak viewing hours.

Delegations representing broadcasters, including the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF) and the News Broadcasters & Digital Association (NBDA), had met with the Ministry in recent weeks to press the case for greater flexibility.

During these consultations, stakeholders had proposed several alternatives short of full deregulation, including raising the permitted advertising time, creating different norms for different genres of television, and moving toward a more market-driven framework. The government's eventual decision to remove the cap altogether went further than the calibrated relaxation the industry had initially expected.

What This Means For Broadcasters And Viewers

The removal of the ceiling allows television channels to dynamically adjust the length of commercial breaks based on content demand, live sports broadcasts, and high-traffic prime-time programming.

However, industry observers note that broadcasters are unlikely to immediately fill every additional minute with advertisements. Channels will still need to weigh audience tolerance, since excessive advertising clutter could affect viewing time and ratings, in turn making it harder to attract advertisers in the long run.

For news broadcasters in particular, the added flexibility could ease financial pressure linked to the cost of running round-the-clock newsrooms, live reporting operations, field networks and technology infrastructure.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 22, 2026 06:11 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).