ITV

Tag: Hinduja Group MSO

  • INDigital also reworks STB package; to offer 70 channels in FTA tier

    MUMBAI: Even as the Zee Group announced a new improved scheme for its set-top box, Hinduja Group MSO INCableNet also offered an “introductory deal starting from 15 June — Digital STBs at a deposit of Rs 999/- plus a daily rent of Re 1.
    The Pay TV services will be provided under the brand name of ‘INDigital’ and will be available to its Cable TV subscribers in Mumbai and Delhi.
    And in a major initiative to allay fears that have been expressed about the dreaded carriage fees, INCableNet has gone on record to say that it will, within the basic tier price of Rs 72 (excluding local taxes), provide 70 free-to-air channels. This goes way beyond the government mandate that the cable service provider must offer a minimum of 30 channels in the FTA basic tier package.
    A company statement said INCableNet has already placed firm orders for all the other equipment necessary for implementation of CAS, such as digital headends and subscriber management systems.
    The introductory offer is valid up to the third week of July, to pass on the benefit of the custom duty concessions announced by the government to customers. INCableNet says it has several more schemes in the pipeline to provide STBs on soft terms.
    INCablenet also said it would soon be announcing a helpline number on which consumers can ask their questions regarding the schemes, box promotions, etc.

    Also Read:
    INCableNet brands conditional access service ‘INDigital’

  • Switch-off scenario averted in Mumbai as Star, INCableNet agree to continue talking

    Switch-off scenario averted in Mumbai as Star, INCableNet agree to continue talking

    After a day of hard negotiations, Star India and Hinduja Group MSO INCableNet this evening appeared to have bought themselves some time to arrive at an agreement on the terms of a new contract after the current one expired on 30 June. 

    Executive V-P distribution Tony D’Silva said Star had given INCableNet a proposal and the MSO was supposed to revert back on it within 48 hours. D’Silva was however, quick to point out the latest round of talks were not confrontationist in nature and that he felt reasonably confident that it would not come to a scenario of Star switching off the INCableNet feed. D’Silva said the proposal Star had put forward was valid for a limited one-month period during which a final agreement would have to be arrived at. 

    Rajiv Vyas, newly promoted COO of IndusInd Media & Communications Ltd (IMC), of which INCableNet is the operations arm, spoke in a similar vein while stating the two sides had worked out a month-long bridge period in which to resolve all outstanding issues and come to an agreement which would be beneficial to both sides. Vyas added that Star had sent them a proposal in which they’d sought a response in 48 hours. It was not an ultimatum, Vyas said.

    The scene was a sea change from the one existing at the beginning of the day where it had almost seemed as a certainty that there would be a confrontation between the two sides. Big ads in yesterday’s edition of The Sunday Times of India and Sunday Mid-Day detailing INCableNet’s litany of woes vis–vis broadcasters, but with particular reference to Star, appeared to point to the fact that consumers could expect a switch-off any time in the next few days. The advertisement said Star had issued a notice to INCableNet that unless the MSO increased monthly payments, it would not be able to provide signals w.e.f. tomorrow, 9 July.

    The ad also made a strong plea for the introduction of conditional access systems (CAS) at the earliest as the only way to resolve this matter in the long term. 

  • InCableNet does its math in the papers on subscription hikes

    InCableNet does its math in the papers on subscription hikes

    Two can play at the game. With the Bombay High Court expected to issue a ruling tomorrow on the ongoing spat between the Hinduja Group MSO InCableNet and sports broadcaster ESPN Star Sports, an advertisement appeared in leading Mumbai afternooner Mid Day today detailing how costs for airing all channels have spiralled 475 per cent in the last four years.

    InCableNet took the newspaper ad route and gave a detailed breakdown of costs explaining how the current subscription rates were untenable unless conditional access systems were introduced giving viewers the freedom to select what they wished to see.

    Earlier it was ESPN Star Sports that took out newspaper ads and distributed leaflets through vendors criticising cable operators as being unreasonable for not signing on to its new subscription rates.

    Headlined “What’s your problem Dubeyji (referring to the the local cable operator)?”, the flier asks the question – “How can you say 80 paise a day is too much?” – (which is what the new monthly subscription rate of Rs 24 for the two channels works out to).

    With both sides playing out their battle through the media, the court’s ruling in the matter has become that much more crucial.

  • InCable files contempt case against ESPN; court hearing on Monday

    InCable files contempt case against ESPN; court hearing on Monday

    The battle between InCableNet and ESPN Software over increased subscription rates entered the courts today after the Hinduja Group MSO filed a contempt of court case against it and its managing director Manu Sawhney, and Sricharan Iyengar, V-P, distribution & affiliate sales.

    The case – filed in the chambers of Justice Patil of the Bombay High Court – was on ESPN’s request adjourned to Monday afternoon, an InCableNet release says.

    “The contempt notice was a result of ESPN/Star Sports switching off their signals to InCableNet depriving viewers of feed with effect from the night of 5 January, 2002. The Hon’ble Bombay High Court, had by an earlier order dated 12 June, 2001, directed switching on of the signals of ESPN/Star Sports on an additional payment of Rs 4 lakhs (400,000) per month, until further orders of the Court,” the release says.

    An ESPN spokesperson said: “It is InCableNet which has approached the Hon’ble Bombay High Court alleging that ESPN Software has committed contempt of its order. The court has granted time to ESPN to clarify its position. We would not like to comment further as the matter is sub judice.”

    The standoff between the two sides (which shows no signs of letting up) arose after the MSO refused to sign on to the increased subscription package that went into effect from 1 January where the monthly tariff for the ESPN and Star Sports channels was pegged at RS 24 from the earlier RS 16.