Broadcasters, multi-system operators and cable operators have to tell subscribers in simple terms how best to choose channels at a minimum cost in the new tariff regime, mayor Firhad Hakim said on Thursday.

They should ensure that the subscriber be told about channel prices, packages and bouquets of channels, inclusive of GST, Hakim said after a meeting with broadcasters and operators at the civic headquarters. The practice in the industry is to print prices without taxes, which leads to confusion.

The meeting was organised amid complaints that subscribers were not getting channels they had chosen in the new regime.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has said subscribers have to choose channels they want to see and pay only for them.

At the meeting, the mayor, who heads the Cable Network Advisory Committee set up by the chief minister last year, asked broadcasters to run an advertisement explaining the finer points of the new system.

“There are many things that even cable operators do not have a clear idea of... this is why it would help if broadcasters explain them to subscribers directly through their channels,” Hakim said.

The representatives of the broadcasters, which included STAR, Sony and ZEE, told the mayor that they would convey what Hakim said to their parent body, the Indian Broadcasting Federation, and propose a single advertisement for all broadcasters.

The mayor cited the example of the 100 free-to-air channels, for which Rs 130 is being quoted but cable operators are asking for Rs 153, including an 18 per cent GST. “All the prices of channels on every form provided to the subscribers are without GST. This is leading to confusion,” he said.

Cable operators said they would bring out fresh forms with prices inclusive of taxes.

A representative of a national MSO who had flown down from Mumbai, however, said they would not be able to put channel prices with GST on their network because that decision would have to be taken at a pan-India level.