New policy will phase out small players and create monopoly, says Telangana OOH industry body

For an industry that significantly contributes to the government kitty, the out-of-home (OOH) advertising industry seems unduly vulnerable to policy related challenges. These range from arbitrary, and sometimes draconian, rules and regulations, to lack of clarity, constant revisions, and more.  

The latest policy related issue to have made headlines is the Telangana government order (GO) 84 issued recently, which has drawn the ire of the Telangana Media Owners Association (TOMO). The local OOH industry body staged a protest last week during the Assembly session. Interestingly they made use of the OOH media – Metro Pillars in this case – to get their point across.  

According to TOMO, GO 84 if implemented will impact the livelihood of over one lakh people. The industry’s understandable grouse, apart from the obvious impact on the livelihood of people working in the industry, is that the new regulations have been introduced without adequate consultation with the industry stakeholders.  

The industry association’s contention is very clear-  the Government Order (GO) 84 based on the newly approved  Comprehensive Outdoor Advertisement Policy is designed to favour the big players and will lead to monopolistic situation, which is not healthy for the industry as a whole.       

As Jagadish Rai, Managing Director, Impression Advertising, Hyderabad, says without mincing words, “A kind of crony capitalism has come into the trade now, favouring a few. Even a monopolistic situation is fine, as long as it’s the result of a fair and open tender process. But when the policy itself is framed to favour a few big players, then it’s not right. This is obvious in the eligibility criteria and other rules framed in the new policy.   

“We are not against policy, we are in favour of it, but policy should take care of small vendors. Development should be inclusive, not exclusive. But the new policy issued through GO 84 is designed to favour the few, whether in terms of the rules or the eligibility criteria. It threatens the livelihood of small and medium industry players, it will in fact phase them out,”  says Ganesh Kumar,  Proprietor, Ad Space Communications, while reflecting the overall view of the association.     

Ajay Joshi of Zero Degree,  echoes similar sentiments, “The new GO definitely will severely impact the industry, especially the smaller players, and something needs to be done to protect the local OOH industry and the livelihood of people associated with it. We have appealed to the authorities to take into account our concerns and suggestions. But it remains to be seen what will happen.”     

The background  

The issue essentially began with the Government Order (GO) 84 released last month, which was based on the newly approved Comprehensive Outdoor Advertisement Policy for the Core Urban Region (CURE). GO 84 reportedly introduces stricter regulations, zoning norms and technology-based monitoring of hoardings and outdoor advertisements across the Hyderabad metropolitan area. 

The new advertising policy includes rules related to display of QR Codes on ads linked to permit details, allotting  of advertising rights  on public spaces and government infrastructure through open auction or tender, tenure of rights,  action on illegal hoardings, payment delays, permitted formats (billboards, unipoles, advertisements on bus shelters, metro infrastructure, wall paintings, temporary banners and advertisements on moving vehicles) and digital and LED displays, among others.  

Reportedly, the government will constitute an Advertisement Regulatory Committee (ARC) as the nodal authority to approve and regulate all outdoor advertisements in CURE and no advertisement will be allowed without ARC approval.  

The policy will apply to CURE across the jurisdictions of GHMC (Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation), Cyberabad Municipal Corporation and Malkajgiri Municipal Corporation. One of the points of contention for TOMO is to do with the expansion of the corporation area, which will  impact small media owning businesses. These are media owners who had earlier relocated to different municipalities, following the G.O 68 issued in 2020, which mandated the removal of 2,600 + rooftop hoardings, and closure of 209 businesses. With these municipalities having been merged into GHMC now, and with the proposed new State Outdoor Advertisement Policy prohibiting traditional rooftop hoardings across Telangana, these media owners once again come under pressure.    

As Ganesh Kumar points out, “Rooftop hoardings are affordable and viable for small businesses. They have been around for so many years and are among the oldest OOH formats.  With their removal, the survival of thousands of small business players is threatened.” 

Jagadish adds, explaining the whole background,  “Things seemed to be fine till 2020, the Corporation too used to generate a lot of revenue from advertising. But in 2020, citing aesthetics and safety reasons, they banned hoardings beyond 15 feet, with the result that there were no hoardings at all. When we approached the new government, they said they were coming up with a new policy, and we were hopeful that there was finally light at the end of the tunnel. But this looks to be worse, aimed at benefitting only a few.”  

As these industry players point out, GOs were issued to relax rules selectively with the result that only a few are eligible to participate in the tenders as per the new policy, whether in terms of hoardings, unipoles, LED’s or metro pillars.   

Industry’s appeal & suggestions  

The other, more important issue, is that the GO was issued without consulting the industry body, despite a court order directing the municipal body to consult industry players before releasing it. The High Court order dated 20.02.2026 had indeed directed consideration of the industry inputs/objections regarding the proposed new outdoor advertisement policy after affording an opportunity of hearing to all stakeholders.           

Members of TOMO had written to the Principal Secretary, Municipal Administration & Urban Development (MA&UD) Department, Government of Telangana, with request to permit rooftop hoardings with safety norms in line with the earlier JNTU recommendations, including rooftop displays upto 30’×25’, ground/wall sites up to 40’×25’, with floor/height limits, mandatory structural stability certification by JNTU/empanelled engineers, periodic inspections, wind-load compliance and insurance, as evident in the documents made available to Media4Growth. They also submitted new engineering design models for hoarding structures which incorporate modern safety standards and improved city aesthetics. The Order however was issued without discussion with the industry players.    

In the latest reported development, the Principal Secretary of Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) has been issued contempt notices for alleged violation of earlier court directions on the state’s Outdoor Advertising Policy-2026.  

With the hearing now set for April 9, as per the notice issued by the Telangana High Court to the Municipal Administration and Urban Development’s Principal Secretary, it remains to be seen what will happen next.  A fair policy rooted in transparency and which leads to healthy competition would benefit the OOH industry in the long run.       

Sharing his take, H V Surendranath, COO of Prakash Arts, says, “There needs to be better clarity, especially with regard to rooftop hoardings on private properties/terraces, considering that many small media owning businesses had relocated following the last policy, which removed rooftop hoardings. Also with the likely formation of a large committee, as announced in the new GO, longer delays can be expected for all approvals.” 

Ganesh Kumar adds, voicing the industry body’s appeal, “We just urge the authorities to take our views and frame a policy where both the small and big players can work hand in hand, there is space for all.”  

Jagadish says, summing it up while highlighting the impact , “For the last two and a half years, we have been trying to appeal to the authorities. The livelihood of many workers including electricians, mounters, printers, etc is threatened with the new policy. The government has to at least think about them, if not us.”  

Will the authority body finally pay heed to the industry body’s concerns?