MUMBAI: The News Broadcasters Association (NBA) has requested the government to either remove or reduce the goods and services tax (GST) on advertisements in par with the print media industry as part of the stimulus package, amid the COVID-19 pandemic in India.  

NBA president Rajat Sharma, in his letter to union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, said, “Advertisements are an integral and essential part of the business and the main source of revenue for the news broadcasters which has come under severe pressure during this lockdown due to the virus pandemic.”

The NBA statement mentions that ad agencies are putting huge pressure to defer the payments to broadcasters and to allow more time over 60-day credit period; the recovery of bills is going to be hugely challenging, while facing an even bigger task of almost zero income in the next 30-90 days.

“While the news broadcasters are coping with the financial problems of dues’ recovery, we are also facing serious problems of advertising inventory/release orders being cancelled and inventory bookings being than 50 per cent for even the top-rated news channels,” said Sharma.

News channels have gained all-time viewership in recent weeks, as per Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India. However, the exponential rise in viewership has failed to get the ad and inventory sales.

The statement also read, “The news broadcasters have had to take various steps, make alternate arrangements within and outside the premises for newsgathering, reporting purposes. This has resulted in an increase in the operating costs of the news channels during the lockdown.”

Moreover, “Poor recovery and lack of future income would mean that the news broadcasters would have to weather the storm for two-three quarters and hope for a partial recovery towards the end of the financial year,” mentioned the association.