GECs

Star raids Siti headends, SET back on Win

Published

23 years ago

September 16, 2002

NEW DELHI: The cable operators-broadcaster face-off in the Capital is lurching from one controversy to another. While Win Cable-Hathway and Sony Entertainment TV India have called a truce here, Star India got some Siti Cable franchisee operators raided late last week on the ground that they were airing pirated Star signals.

“SET India executives came to us late Saturday and opened up talks on restoration of the Sony bouquet feeds for Win Cable in Delhi. We told them that they had switched us off, so first the service should be restored before talks can be taken forward,” a senior executive of Win Cable told indiantelevision.com.

SET distribution head Shantonu Aditya, meanwhile, while refusing to discuss specifics, said that an agreement had been reached that was agreeable to both parties.

The Win Cable executive, however, said that the services were restored on Sunday, much to the relief of Win subscribers here, “without payment of any amount of money as had been demanded by SET India.”

SET India had demanded about Rs 2.5 million from Win-Hathway in Delhi for the feeds of the Sony bouquet recently, which was opposed by the multi-system operator, subsequent to which SET switched off the feed to the MSO.

A meeting between SET and Win Cable relating to the Delhi episode is slated to be held sometime next month.

Meanwhile, an official spokesperson for Star India confirmed that raids had been conducted in Delhi on cable operators who happened to be Zee group cable arm Siti Cable franchisees on Saturday because they were airing pirated signals of Star and re-distributing them to their subscribers. The spokesperson, however, refused to divulge any more details.

Siti Cable, in an official response has refuted the charges, saying only one operator was showing the Star Channel and that too through a direct arrangement from the adjacent cable operator in the vicinity and had made financial arrangements accordingly.

But industry sources here said the genesis of the raids lay in the switching-off of two head ends of Siti Cable in West Delhi, Paschim Vihar & Janakpuri (9th September night) for upgradation of paid subscribers. As a protest Siti Cable had “blacked out” all Star channels in Delhi. About a week before that Haryana Communications was switched off due to an issue of default in payment.

It has also been indicated that before the switch-off, in order to rationalize the subscriber base of Siti Cable Networks in Delhi, which Star feels is long overdue, talks were initiated with the headends concerned and meetings were held not only with Siti Cable’s JV’s but also with the senior management of Siti Cable. The meetings were not fruitful for the company as the results were way below Star’s expectations. As a result, Star India had to go for a switch-off.

Admitting that some franchisees may have been airing pirated signals of Star, a senior executive of Siti Cable today said, “Raids cannot be a precursor to talks which is aiming at solving the matter, not complicating it. If Star continues to be arrogant, then we don’t see a solution very soon.”

The Siti Cable executive also maintained that Star raids also included some cable operators who had “duel feeds.”

Industry sources alleged that subsequent to the switch-off, Star channels were being pirated by some Siti Cable franchisees all across Delhi.

Left with no option, Star India decided to conduct anti-piracy raids to ensure that its channels were not pirated on the networks switched-off. A plan was chalked out with the distributor to conduct raids on the Siti Cable franchisees in Paschim Vihar.

Three franchisees were raided for pirating Star channels and the raids were conducted by Star’s distributor M/s Shiv Enterprises, along with lawyers and the local police.

Two persons have been arrested and booked under section 37, 51 and 63 of the Copyrights Act and a third person has been declared absconding. The equipment being used for piracy has also been seized. An FIR (No. 540/2002) has been lodged with the Paschim Vihar Police Station in New Delhi against the three networks. The three networks raided are Universal Cable, Amba Cable, and Galaxy Cable.

The raids seem to have sent a clear message in the market that Star is in a no-nonsense mood. But for the Delhi cable viewers, these face-offs only mean doing without their favourite programming.

SITI CABLE SAYS READY FOR INDEPENDENT AUDIT OF ITS BOOKS This is what Siti Cable had to say regarding the charges brought against it by Star:

Siti Cable has been the leading MSO in the city of Delhi and in Northern India. It has been bringing different channels to the houses via its franchise cable operators. However, in recent times Star TV has been demanding more & more subscription revenue by either increasing its rates which have increased from Rs. 5/- a few years back to Rs 40/- or by increasing the number of subscribers it is being paid for by Siti Cable.

Siti Cable would like to clarify here that it has been paying more than its paid connectivity to Star allegations by Star that Siti Cable is paying only 20 per cent is not correct and the fact is that Siti Cable is paying for 120 per cent of its paid connectivity to Star. Effectively, the channel is costing Siti Cable not Rs. 40/- as being mentioned by Star but Rs. 58/-.

Siti Cable on various open forums has always been inviting Star to come and have a look at its books through any independent reputed audit firm, something Star has been evading. Star has been taking hiding under the cover of IRS figures which are merely an estimate and a tool to market the channels to the advertising fraternity, whereas the records reveal the actual facts.

It is our endeavour to bring to the viewers the entertainment they desire at a right cost and it is an international norm that Content Providers are entitled to 30 per cent of the subscription revenue and balance 70 per cent is attributed to the distribution elements in the value chain. The scenario in the Indian context is entirely reverse. Here the content provider charges 120 per cent of the published rates and leaves the distribution chain to fend for itself. Today the cost of delivery of pay channels from Siticable to its franchisees is Rs 240/- per subscriber per month and does not includes the entertainment tax, service tax and other maintenance costs of the end operator.

Siti Cable has been advocating the cause of introduction of Conditional Access System which will bring in transparency and will end the day-to-day disputes between the content provider and the operators. This persistent dispute deprives the consumer of his/her right to pay for what they watch and thus reduce the outflow from the consumers. Everyone is privy to the happening in Parliament on the CAS bill which was sabotaged by patronising the political parties in this regard.

Siti Cable has switched off Star from its network in Delhi and is keeping the Star channels off in its networks in northern India from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm as a mark of protest against Star’s high handedness and insensitive attitude towards consumers’ needs and the cable operator fraternity. The other MSO of the area has also joined in this as they are also being extorted.

Some raids were facilitated on few cable operators with the help of local police by Star TV distributors with an allegation of picking up the signals of Star from the line of adjacent cable operator. Siti Cable has made inquiries and found that only one cable operator was showing the Star Channel with direct arrangement from the adjacent cable operator in the vicinity and had made financial arrangements accordingly.

About 200 franchisee of Siti Cable and other cable operators of Delhi had visited the Siti Cable office in Delhi and had pledged that they are not in a financial position to continue the arrangement with Star and impressed upon us that cancelling the agreement of Siti Cable Distribution Companies with Star despite was the only option. This was despite Star’s threat to sponsor new cable operators who have the muscle power in their respective areas.

We hope Star will soon come forward in appointing an auditor of repute to audit our records, which will put paid to the extortionist behaviour in the industry & bring in transparency as a whole.

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GECs

Sun TV posts steady revenue, profit dips amid rising costs

Published

4 weeks ago

February 7, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

CHENNAI: It appears there is still plenty of Sun to go around in the Indian broadcasting landscape, even if a few clouds have drifted across the financial horizon. Sun TV Network Limited, the Chennai-based behemoth that dominates airwaves across seven languages, has tuned into a steady frequency for the quarter ending 31 December 2025. While the numbers show a resilient revenue stream, the company’s latest broadcast reveals a few static-filled spots in its profit margins.

For the quarter in question, Sun TV’s total income climbed by approximately 3.31 per cent, reaching Rs 958.39 crores compared to Rs 927.66 crores in the same period last year. Revenue from operations also saw a healthy bump, rising 4.32 per cent to Rs 827.87 crores.

The real star of the show, however, was domestic subscription revenue, which surged by 8.86 per cent to Rs 472.99 crores. This growth highlights the enduring appetite for Sun’s diverse content, which spans everything from daily soaps in Tamil and Telugu to its burgeoning OTT platform, Sun NXT.

Despite the revenue growth, the picture quality of the profits was slightly blurred by rising costs. Eitda for the quarter stood at Rs 409.79 crores, a dip from the Rs 432.14 crores recorded in the corresponding 2024 quarter.

The profit after tax followed a similar downward trend, settling at Rs 316.44 crores against the previous year’s Rs 347.17 crores. Advertisers also seemed to have switched channels slightly, with advertisement revenues sliding to Rs 291.94 crores from Rs 332.17 crores.

Sun TV isn’t just playing on home turf; its sporting ambitions are becoming increasingly global. The network now owns three major cricket franchises: SunRisers Hyderabad in the IPL, SunRisers Eastern Cape in SA20, and SunRisers Leeds Limited in The Hundred (UK).

The foray into British cricket saw the company acquire a 100 per cent stake in Northern Superchargers Limited (now SunRisers Leeds) for approximately £100 million. While these franchises brought in Rs 14.61 crores this quarter, they also incurred corresponding costs of Rs 19.89 crores. Over the nine-month period, however, the cricket business is a major player, contributing Rs 487.64 crores in income.

The company’s bottom line took a minor hit from exceptional items, including a Rs 4.23 crore charge related to India’s new Labour Codes, which consolidated 29 existing labour laws. Additionally, the consolidated results reflect the amalgamation of Kal Radio Limited with Udaya FM, a move that became effective in May 2025 and required a restatement of previous figures.

To keep investors from reaching for the remote, the Board has declared an interim dividend of 50 per cent, that’s Rs 2.50 per equity share. This comes on top of earlier dividends of 100 per cent (Rs 5.00) and 75 per cent (Rs 3.75) declared in August and November 2025, respectively.

With a massive cash reserve and a dominant position in the South Indian market, Sun TV continues to shine, even if the current quarter required a bit of fine-tuning. For now, shareholders can sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

GECs

SPNI hires Pradeep M with responsibility for standards and practices in the south

Published

1 month ago

February 3, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks India has hired Pradeep M to handle standards and practices for its southern market, bolstering its compliance bench as content rules tighten across platforms.

Pradeep, who has nearly 13 years in the entertainment media industry, takes on responsibility for content standards in a region that is both linguistically diverse and regulatorily sensitive. His brief spans television, OTT, sports and digital platforms.

He specialises in content review and compliance across shows, commercials, on-air promotions and international feeds, ensuring alignment with broadcast, OTT and advertising codes. He has also handled brand approvals and sponsorship integrations for heavily regulated categories—including online gaming, cryptocurrency, NFTs and lottery brands—offering guidance shaped by fast-evolving rules.

Before Sony, Pradeep worked at Jiostar as assistant manager for content regulation from November 2024 to January 2026. Earlier, he spent nearly seven years at Viacom18 Media, rising from senior executive to assistant manager in content regulation between 2018 and 2024. There he served as a key compliance touchpoint for the network.

His career began on the creative side. Between 2013 and 2018, he worked as executive producer on feature films and television shows, gaining hands-on exposure to production. He also had a stint as a non-fiction show director at Star TV Network in 2017. That mix of creative and regulatory experience gives him a dual lens—how content is made and how it must be managed.

As regulators, platforms and advertisers all tighten the screws, broadcasters are investing more in gatekeepers who can keep creativity within the lines. Sony’s latest hire shows where the industry is heading: in the streaming age, compliance is content’s quiet co-star.

GECs

Colors Gujarati rolls out two new shows from 2nd February

Published

1 month ago

February 2, 2026

indiantelevision.com Team

MUMBAI: Colors Gujarati has unveiled two new prime-time shows as part of its push to strengthen culturally rooted storytelling for regional audiences. The channel will premiere the devotional saga Gangasati–Paanbai at 7.30 pm, followed by the romantic family drama Manmelo at 9.30 pm from February 2.

Inspired by Gujarat’s spiritual and literary heritage, Gangasati–Paanbai: Shyam Dhun No Navo Adhyay draws from the timeless bhajans and poetry of saint-poetesses Gangasati and Paanbai, weaving devotion and human values into a contemporary narrative aimed at younger viewers.

In contrast, Manmelo explores love and responsibility across social divides, tracing the lives of three middle-class sisters whose relationships with three affluent brothers reshape their futures. The show delves into ambition, emotional conflict and the realities of married life, offering a layered family drama.

A Colors Gujarati spokesperson said the new launches reflect the channel’s commitment to authentic Gujarati entertainment that blends cultural values with modern storytelling.