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Tag: Rakesh Dutta

  • Cable TV strike call fails to make an impact

    Cable TV strike call fails to make an impact

    NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: The cable operators’ strike has evoked mixed response in most big cities, including the metros, with the blackout of TV channels happening in areas where monopolies (meaning one cable op servicing the area) exist and life as usual in places where there is competition and more than one cable network available.

    For example, in Delhi, in places like Punjabi Bagh (North Delhi), Hauz Khas, Green Park, Safdarjung Enclave and Safdurjung Extension (South Delhi) and Jor Bagh (partly in Central Delhi) the blackout of TV channels is almost 100 per cent. Reason: existence of monopolies. In most of these places mentioned The Rajan Raheja-controlled Hathway Datacom is the sole service provider. However, in some other places like Cannuaght Circus or Rajiv Gandhi Chowk, Janpath (Central Delhi), Saket, Maharani Bagh, Ashram, Nehru Place, Friends Colony and New Friends Colony, cable TV services are on because of the presence of independent cable ops, most of whom have not sided with the All India Cable TV Forum.

    While the supporters of the strike have claimed success, independent cable operators and head of various cable bodies like Vikki Chowdhry, Rakesh Dutta and Roop Sharma (head of Cable Operators’ Federation of India) dismissed the strike as a failure.

    So much so that in a joint statement these three have pointed out that “some people (MSO and their distributors) in the Indian cable industry, just because of their vested interests, are trying to instigate the operators to go on strikes in order to protest against the increase in service tax.”

    The blackout did not affect Mumbai as many of the city’s cable operators continued with their service. The fact that the dominant Hinduja Group MSO InCableNet distanced itself from the strike didn’t help the strike call either.

    Cable Operators and Distributors Association (CODA) president Anil Parab said CODA backed out from the strike last night after the finance ministry called for a meeting to discuss the issues.

    “We will decide our future course of action after the talks with the ministry,” Parab said.

    Consumer Action Network chairman Ahmad M Abdi pointed out that the strike call by India Cable TV Forum was against a 2003 Mumbai High Court order which banned cable TV blackouts and mass disconnections.

    The All India Cable TV Forum, a body comprising some big MSOs and industry bodies in various states, yesterday gave a call for an indefinite strike in the cable industry to protest against the imposition of service tax on the industry and bringing with the tax net MSOs too from this year. While INCablenet stayed away from the stir call, Chowdhry, Dutta and Sharma have said that the last mile operators are already paying a tax for the last four years and this service tax is levied on consumers. Therefore, it is the consumer bodies that should come forward in opposing these taxes, the joint statement says, adding, “the MSOs are unnecessarily opposing the service tax issue, as now only they have been brought under the tax net.”

    Interestingly, Star, which is a minority equity stakeholder in Hathway Datacom, according to industry sources, has dashed off a letter to the Raheja company seeking clarifications on the reasons leading to it supporting the strike call. It has also been pointed out that Star was not consulted while the decision to support the stir was taken by Hathway.

  • Cable ops say can’t pay, threaten to black out Ten Sports

    Cable ops say can’t pay, threaten to black out Ten Sports

    NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: On the eve of the departure of the Indian cricket team to Pakistan, the heady cocktail of sports and politics is threatening to derail the Indo-Pak friendship initiatives and electoral plans of many a politician if the cricket matches vanish from a majority of TV sets in the country.

    Like an expert brew mixer, a la Tom Cruise in the film Cocktail, the cable operators, led by Roop Sharma and Vikki Choudhry, today came up with a deadly mix. Their poser to Ten Sports, the government (read I&B minister Ravi Shankar Prasad) and the public, in general: What can we do if Ten Sports is arm-twisting us, the government is refusing to intervene and the (cable TV viewing) public not willing to pay any extra money for cricket?

    “We have no option, but to shut shop or attempt stealing a bank to meet Ten Sports’ unfair demands (on increased connectivity),” Anil Upadhaya, a cable operator from Prime Minister AB Vajpayee’s constituency Lucknow told journalists today during a press conference, adding for good measure that the “present government is useless” as Vajpayee did not have time listen to the woes of the cable ops from Lucknow itself.

    Upadhaya, echoing the sentiments of 30-odd cable operators from different parts of the country, further said, “If the government and politicians don’t intervene, then most parts of the country would have to do without the cricket matches.” Why? Unable to come to a compromise on the issue of payment, theoretically, most cable operators stand to be switched off by Ten Sports and its distribution agent, Modi Entertianment Network and both are firm on the demands on increased connectivity.

    Pramod Pandya, a cable operator from Gujarat, pointed out it is was Ten Sports that is blacking cable operators who are “unable to meet the unjust and unfair demands of the sports channel.” According to him, the government must intervene or would face a backlash in the forthcoming elections.

    “If the government starts a Samjhauta Channel (on the lines of a bus service from Delhi to Lahore) and airs cricket on that, we’d happily show the channel at no extra cost,” he grandly suggested to cheering from the crowd mostly comprising cable ops.

    10-15% HIKE OK

    Most cable operators today grudgingly admitted that if Ten Sports agrees to a hike in payment (due to increased connectivity) ranging between 10-15 per cent for the duration of the Indo-Pak series, they would try to manage that without passing it on to the consumer.

    “The cable operators can manage a hike of 10-15 per cent, but it would amount to fleecing them if asked for payments at par with ESPN-Star Sports,” Cable Operators federation of India’s Roop Sharma said, adding, “They’ll find it difficult if asked to cough up money for six months or one year.”

    Though Amarjeet Singh, a cable operator from Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh, would tend to agree with Sharma, he pointed out that even a 10 per cent hike would tell financially on a cable operator like him because in the city he operates consumers would not pay up anything extra and could destroy his equipment if the matches are not shown.

    Singh says that he used to pay Rs 57,000 for 12,000 connections to Ten Sports. But after the Indo-Pak series was announced, he says, the demand has gone up to Rs 250,000 for a subscriber base between 25,000-30,000. “I don’t have that sort of money to pay, nor that many subscribers. There is no option but for the government to intervene,” he added.

    Cable Networks Association’s Rakesh Dutta feels that the demands that Ten Sports is making would amount to almost a 400 per cent hike , which is not tenable. “The pro-broadcasters stance of the regulator and the government is very clear when CAS was postponed,” he added.

    TEN STANDS ITS GROUND

    Amidst this entire hullabaloo, Ten Sports and Modi Entertainment Network (MEN) maintained their earlier stand that the cable ops should pay up according to increased connectivity, though in Mumbai the cable operators’ federation has not yet come to a final conclusion on the future course of action. MEN is Ten Sports’ distributor in India.

    Referring to the situation in Mumbai, where Ten is off most networks, MEN advisor RK Singh says: “The ball is in Coda’s (Cable Operators and Distributors Association) court. They are the ones who have blocked our signals. We will not accept a 25 per cent increase in declaration, which is what the cable ops are asking for. If we accede to this, what we would be getting effectively is only 3 per cent of the actual connectivity.”

    Singh added, “What we want, as I have stated earlier, are declarations comparable to what ESPN Star Sports, Star or Sony are getting.”

    What does the Shiv Sena-backed Coda have to say? Anil Parab, president Coda and proprietor of Dattatray Cable, told indiantelevision.com that a meeting was held today, but no conclusions were reached.

    “We have given our proposal to the government and we feel that the government should intervene in this matter. The match should be shown on DD too as it is a national channel and has a greater reach than Ten Sports. There is no cooperation from Ten Sports till now. If a mid-way is not reached, then the country will not see the matches as we will not air the channel. We hope to reach some conclusion tomorrow after the government gives its decision.”

    However, Ravi Singh, president, Mumbai Cable Operators’ Association bared another side to the whole story when he said that the matches would be shown irrespective of Ten’s latest demands.

    “Right now Ten Sports has not blocked us out, we have blocked it because we are opposed to the four to five times increase in subscriber base that is being asked for. We will try to amicably sort out everything before the (cricket) matches start and if there is a problem, we will teach them a lesson after the series is over. But regardless of anything the matches will be shown.”

    While this soap opera is being played out, the Central and the state governments are yet to firm up their mind on the issue. A senior minister in the government told indiantelevision.com that various tactics have been tried, but “beyond a point” even the government cannot do anything as a third party’s (Ten Sports) commercial agreements are involved.

    Meanwhile, arguments continued in a case filed in the Chennai high court last week where the petitioner had pleaded that the court give directions to the broadcast and cable regulator Trai to see that DD also gets to air the matches. The arguments continue tomorrow.

  • MSOs promise all channels in Rs 222

    MSOs promise all channels in Rs 222

    NEW DELHI / MUMBAI: On Wednesday it was the big broadcasters (excluding Zee Telefilms) that threw their “pricing spanner” in the works of the conditional access roadshow.
     
     
    Today saw the cable trade delivering their riposte. The MSOs have announced their own pricing structure that will be applicable for subscribers who opt for pay channels post-14 July, which is the deadline for the rollout of CAS in the four metros.

    In an attempt to give the broadcasters a fait accompli scenario, the pricing model that they have thrown up promises the pay TV subscriber all channels for a total cost of Rs 222, excluding 8 per cent service tax and entertainment tax (Rs 30 per cable point in Mumbai and Rs 20 in Delhi). 

    According to the cable ops, the cost break-up is Rs 72 for the free-to-air (FTA) channels, Rs 75 for pay TV distribution costs (the cost that it takes to re-distribute pay channels, including subscriber management systems) and Rs 75 as the total tab that will come for all the pay channels.

    Announcing the rates, Vikki Choudhry, president of National Cable & Telecom 
    Association (NCTA) and an independent cable operator of Delhi said, “In the 
    absence of any indication from the broadcasters, we have calculated that the 
    broadcasters’ share ought to be Rs 75 per subscriber. Now, it is up to them to price their pay channels accordingly.”

    Going by this pricing model, all broadcasters would have to share amongst 
    themselves Rs 75 per subscriber per month. And if Choudhry is to be 
    believed, then there are 32 pay channels at the moment, which means that Rs 
    75 between 32 pay channels would mean that a pay channel would have to cost 
    an average of Rs 2.34.

    When Choudhry was asked to comment on the outcome if the broadcasters rejected the suggested pricing, which will also have to be intimated to the government, he said: “Well, according to the notification, if pay channels don’t fall in line or announce their prices, they’ll get blanked out automatically.”

    There is an obvious glitch in this pretty picture painted by the MSOs, of 
    course. If the government and the MSOs rejected the price plan circulated by 
    Star/ Sony/ ESPN Star Sports on Wednesday as being unsigned and not serious 
    in intent, the Rs 75 figure for all pay channels that the cable ops have 
    arrived at is even more meaningless without broadcaster support.

    Be that as it may, Zee Telefilms additional vice-chairman and head of SitiCable Jawahar Goel went even lower on the pay channel pricing front. Goel says: “In support of the Central government’s initiative (towards CAS), SitiCable has instituted an introductory offer that will deliver all pay channels to CA enabled subscribers at Rs 128.” This offer will be valid until the assembly elections due in November, Goel said.

    Those who attended today’s press conference to show solidarity included 
    representatives from INCableNet, Spectranet, SitiCable (represented by Zee Telefilms additional vice-chairman Jawahar Goel), Roop Sharma of Cable Operators’ Federation of India, Rakesh Dutta of Cable Networks Association and Dr AK Rastogi of the Avishkar Dish Antenna Sangh.

    If Goel used the platform to announce SitiCable’s own introductory offer and indicate that “a bugle has to be sounded” in support of reduction or total waiver of entertainment tax (Delhi collected a mere Rs 60 million as entertainment tax from cable operators in the last financial year), Roop Sharma went a step ahead to say that the government is meting out step-motherly treatment to the cable fraternity.

    “A complaint against a cable operator by a consumer in any police station is 
    a cognizable offence. If that is so, then the same type of law should be 
    applicable to the broadcasters also, most of who have been been going 
    against government diktat and not announcing the individual prices of the 
    pay channels,” Sharma lashed out, even as Goel, who is also the additional 
    vice-chairman of Zee Telefilms, sat beside her and kept on smiling.

    Hitting out at broadcasters for being responsible for “frequent hikes in 
    rates and not the cable operator”, Sharma said confusion regarding DTH has 
    been spread by some broadcasters on CAS as they are preparing for an 
    alternate mode of delivery, direct-to-home (DTH) that has the potential of 
    finishing off the last mile operator totally.

    And in an action that had a symbolic touch to it, cable trade representatives gathered at Delhi’s Intercontinental hotel (where the announcement was made) had a cake ready – the icing on the top of course being the “consumer-friendly” price break-up.

    Sharma also asserted that set top boxes would get sold in the market if the content on television channels was good enough.

    The official statement released on the occasion by the MSOs urged the 
    government to control pay channel broadcasters by “fixing price limits for 
    them too and making any violation of this policy a cognizable offence as has 
    been done in case of cable operators.”

    The MSOs have also asked the government to strictly implement the programming and advertising codes in respect of all broadcasters who have 
    shown no regard for any government policies. “All their programmes and advertisements violate the rules blatantly by showing women in bad light, 
    liquor ads, surrogate ads for alcohol and cigarettes and obscene programmes 
    and advertisements. Unless, the government takes strict criminal action 
    against these erring broadcasters, they will keep on diluting the social 
    norms of the country and fleece our public with their high prices,” the MSOs 
    said, taking a high moral ground. Of course conveniently overlooking the smut that is shown on home video channels by cable operators at times.

    Pointing out that broadcasters have not yet declared their individual channel prices to harass the public so that it pressurizes the government to delay implementation of CAS, the statement from the cable fraternity said that the government “should make strict rules and regulations to discipline the broadcasters and curb their monopolies.”

    The operators also feel that it is because of them that a massive Rs 60 billion worth of industry for mass infotainment took birth in the country 12 year ago. Today there are more than 70,000 cable operators engaged in providing cable TV services to 44 million households employing 1.5 million people.

  • Pay channels say they will remain ‘pay’

    NEW DELHI: Star India today conveyed to the government-piloted task force on conditional access system (CAS) that it would take another three to four weeks time to finalise its strategy for a post conditional access regime, while the cable operators assured that adequate number of set-top boxes (STBs) would be available in the metros on and after 14 July.
    The government (read the information and broadcasting ministry) on its part allayed fears expressed in some quarters that the CAS rollout deadline may be deferred due to political pressure building up in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)—- as reported in a section of the media — that leads the present coalition Indian government.
    Contacted by indiantelevision.com, Star India CEO Peter Mukerjea, one of the four broadcasters who attended today’s meeting here, admitted that he had told the task force Star would need some more time to finalise its strategy for a post CAS regime. However, he still expressed his reservation on the assurances on STBs given by cable ops at the meeting.
    The representatives of companies like Star, ESPN-Star Sports and Zee Telefilms, according to sources in the task force, also said that their respective pay channels would remain so, while Sahara TV president Mahesh Prasad said that Sahara Manoranjan would continue to be a free to air channel even after CAS is implemented.
    Yesterday, the broadcasters had a meeting where it was decided that the pay channels would remain ‘pay’. A group of broadcaster representatives would meet the additional secretary in the I&B ministry Vijay Singh tomorrow.
    But the issue of set-top boxes (STBs) kept coming back at today’s task force meeting that had been called to do a reality check on the CAS preparedness of various stake holders of the industry.
    One of the independent cable ops on the task force, Rakesh Dutta is reported to have asked Star India about the number of households it gets paid for in the metros. When being told the subscription money comes for over a million houses, Dutta is understood to have quipped, if that is taken as the benchmark, then the cable industry would make available one million STBs in the metros.
    Those who attended today’s meeting, chaired by a joint secretary in the I&B ministry in the absence of Rakesh Mohan, included representatives from ESS, Sahara TV, Hathway, INCableNet, Siti Cable, Zee and independent cable ops from Kolkata and Delhi, amongst others.
    However, one of the participants, according to the sources, left broadcasters with something to chew on when he said that most of the time task force meetings are all about STBs and their availability, while the issue of individual prices of pay channels is never discussed in detail.
    This particular member of the task force also asked whether there is any validity on the deadline for broadcasters to announce the price of individual pay channels. Most broadcasters, according to the sources, kept mum on the issue refraining from spelling out details on the issue.
    Questioned on this matter, one of the directors on Zee Telefilms board and a younger brother of Subhash Chandra, Jawahar Goel, told indiantelevision.com after attending the meeting: “Zee has already announced its prices of the bouquet and would now wait for others to come up with the individual prices of pay channels in their respective bouquets before Zee does the same.”

    Also read:

    NCTA gives memo on CAS to the Indian president, the prime minister and deputy prime minister

  • Cable ops divided on opposition to Rs 72 FTA rate

    Cable ops divided on opposition to Rs 72 FTA rate

    NEW DELHI: On one side the smiles have broadened, while on the other side the scowls have deepened.
     
     
    Broadcasters, specially those managing pay channels, may have reasons to smile amidst tensions since late last week when the government finalised the rate of the basic tier of free to air cable channels at Rs 72 per month, 67 paise more than what had been recommended by task force on conditional access. Some cable operators, on the other hand, have definitely got busy with legalities to find loopholes in the relevant rules so as to move the court.

    A notification to this effect is now expected soon, though till late in the evening government sources had no idea when the notification would be finally issued that would formalise the price of the basic tier. Information and broadcasting minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told journalists in Chennai late last week that his ministry has cleared the price of the basic tier at Rs 72.

    Though broadcasters are tightlipped on the developments — there’s an Indian Broadcasting Foundation meeting tomorrow here after which more information may tumble out — a section of cable operators are almost up in arms.

    Cable Networks Association’s Rakesh Dutta, Cable Operators Federation of India’s Roop Sharma (both members of the task force on CAS) and Vicky Chowdhry of the National Cable and Telecom Association may not have much love lost amongst them, but on one issue today they are unanimous: the price of Rs 72 for the basic tier is too low and that some legal action may have to be taken.

    Speaking to indiantelevision.com from Kolkata, Sharma, one of the oldest leaders of cable ops though she is no more a cable operator herself anymore, said, “We are exploring all options, including seeking legal redressal on the issue.”

    Sharma added that she has organised a symposiums and meet in Kolkata today and tomorrow after which a similar thing would be done in Mumbai too to awaken the cable ops to their fundamental right to carry on a business to earn a livelihood, which would become difficult if the government sticks to its stand on Rs 72 per month per household for the basic tier of cable service.

    Both Dutta and Chowdhry also added that they are consulting lawyers to study the ground on which the pricing issue can be challenged in court. This may include the confusion that still prevails over set-top boxes and their availability, despite assertions to the contrary made by the likes of Siti Cable’s Jawahar Goel.

    However, there is also a section of cable operators that feels no step should be taken that would delay the implementation of CAS, which is in “national interest.”

    “Moving courts on CAS may be playing into the hands of those vested interest who are trying to delay its rollout,” AK Rastogi, an independent cable operator in Delhi, who also runs an industry cable magazine called Avishkar, said.

    Meanwhile, the broadcasters would meet tomorrow under the aegis of the IBF to chalk out an action plan (related to CAS, of course) for a meeting some broadcasters have sought with a parliamentary panel day after tomorrow.

  • Consensus eludes CAS task force

    Consensus eludes CAS task force

    NEW DELHI: As they say in cricket, something’s about to give way.

    Either the Indian government will buckle under pressure from various factions of the broadcasting and cable industry on the issue of basic tier’s price, or it may just go ahead and declare the price. The likelihood of the latter happening on Tuesday is high.

    The task force meet on conditional access held today, once again, failed to arrive at a consensus on the issue of pricing of the basic tier and the parameters taken to arrive at various figures being bandied around.

    The chairman of the task force is understood to have conveyed to other members, specially cable ops, that if there is no unanimity on the pricing issue in the meet tomorrow, then the government would have no choice but to go ahead with the figure cobbled together by the finance ministry- Rs 45.90 (exclusive of local and entertainment taxes) — even if certain sections feel the figure is far removed from ground realities.

    The government has also told all stakeholders that the details of costs, backed by relevant documents, should be submitted for a final round of hearing on the cost issue by 11 am tomorrow.

    The frustration and confusion in the task force is evident from the fact that a survey undertaken by an independent body- Becil/ORG Marg- too has not been able to bring smiles on everybody’s face. Rather the report done at the behest of the government and the industry was today literally shredded to pieces by the cable operators in the task force.

    According to Rakesh Dutta, an independent cable op and a task force member, “The way things are moving, it is becoming increasingly difficult to arrive at any consensus. The cost of the basic tier being suggested by the government and others would not be acceptable to cable ops who’ll have no option but to down shutters and suspend cable services.” Other cable operators also echoed similar sentiments.

    Some of the figures and data presented in the survey are quite contrary to what the cable industry has been representing, it seems. For example, on the issue of cable ops use using standardised equipment, the report states that in cities like Delhi and Kolkata mostly local equipment sans the ISI mark are used, while in Mumbai in certain pockets branded products are used.

    The survey, according to some figures made available to indiantelevision.com, states that a franchisee cable operator in Mumbai on an average has 2,555 subscribers per sq. km, while the corresponding figures in Delhi is 1031, Kolkata 1266 and Chennai 1383.

    It seems the ORG-Marg conducted survey for Becil is highlighting the fact that cable operators do have large subscriber bases, but their cost is not much as being proclaimed. Reason: standardised equipment is not used by all. In case of Chennai, for example, the report states that no details were forthcoming where equipment and their standardisation was concerned.

    Though some representatives of broadcasting organisations did raise doubts over the authenticity of the survey and its findings, the doubts were laid to rest quickly as the chairman is understood to have said that the terms of reference for the survey was limited and decided upon earlier.

    Interestingly, the lone person representing free to air channels in the task force, Sahara TV president Mahesh Prasad, raised an important issue: carriage fee for free to air channels in the basic tier.

    Prasad, rightly so, pointed out that post-CAS it should be ensured that free to air channels don’t have to pay carriage fees (mostly to MSOs) considering the minimum number of channels in the basic tier is being specified at 30.

    Though the issue did not receive the attention it should have, in days to come carriage fee would rear its head as channels would jostle with one another to occupy limited bandwidth and capacity of an average TV set to receive the number of channels.

  • Cable ops call off indefinite stir

    Cable ops call off indefinite stir

    NEW DELHI: The temperatures have cooled a bit on the the vexed issue of the introduction of conditional access systems (CAS) among the cable fraternity. Mollified by the assurances extended to them by information and broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj on the matter, cable operators who had gathered in the capital this evening decided to call off the indefinite strike that had been scheduled to kick off from midnight. 

    The cable operators, after their meeting with Swaraj, were initially undecided on whether to continue with the day-long strike or be content with a token hour-long blackout which they have been resorting to in Delhi and Mumbai.

    “We will decide amongst ourselves whether to continue with our planned day-long strike or withdraw our agitation after the minister’s assurance,” Rajiv Vyas, chief operating officer of HTMT told indiantelevision.com after attending the meeting with the minister. The meeting was attended by about six people, which included independent cable operators too like Delhi’s Rakesh Dutta and Vikki Choudhry and Naidu from Hyderabad.

    Well the decision appears to have been that there will be a three-hour blackout from 9 pm tomorrow night to midnight. However, the indefinite strike that was initially planned has definitely been called off.

    Yesterday, the cable fraternity had threatened that if no decision were taken by the government on the CAS issue by today, the cable ops would resort to an indefinite blackout from midnight tonight. The decision had been taken unanimously and was supported by distributors owing allegiance to all MSOs in the Mumbai. In the capital, MSOs had adopted a similar strategy since last Friday, resorting to an hour long blackout every day to protest the delay in the implementation of CAS. 

  • Delhi meet stresses need for stricter norms in cable industry

    Delhi meet stresses need for stricter norms in cable industry

    Requirement of new norms and standards for the cable industry and viewers was the main topic in a discussion on `The Cable Industry and the Viewers: Setting New Norms and Standards’ held in New Delhi on 30 April.

    Organised by the Center for Advocacy and Research (CFAR), the meet aimed to highlight issues currently faced by cable TV viewers in India. Topics ranged from arbitrary increase and inconsistency in cable rates, dissatisfaction with the quality of transmission and the lack of transparency on the part of cable operators in providing information on matters related to cable operations.

    I&B joint secretary Rakesh Mohan was present at the discussion where the cable industry was represented by Rakesh Dutta, Vikki Choudhary, Major Kohli, Roop Sharma and Anil Malhotra from INcable.

    Mohan said the government had chosen an opportune moment to intervene, as an addressable system like CAS as it would provide levels playing field for the broadcasters, cable operators and viewers. He said the government would not inhibit the advancement of technological options like CAS as it has to take care of broadcasters, cable operators as well as viewers. He added that the subscriber would be kept informed in a transparent manner of the subscription rates for each individual “pay” channel.

    He said that government would make CAS mandatory, and those who want to watch the free to air channels could do so through the old system but those who want to watch pay channels would have to buy the set top box.

    The discussion was chaired by CFAR executive director Akhila Sivadas. Participants raised issues like citizens’ inability to get information from cable ops, the right to participate in the decision making process related to technological options and the need for regulation to ensure a level playing field to viewers vis-a-vis other stakeholders of the cable industry.

    Malhotra, who represented INcable, said that it was the broadcastrs and not the cable operators who had increased the margins. Claiming that it was channels like Star that had increased its rates by 10,000 per cent in the past five years, he said that broadcasters were bundling many channels into the pay channel section, resulting in viewers being forced to pay for channels they don’t watch. He stressed on the formation of a regulatory body which was necessary to prevent vertical monopolization by broadcasters.

    Rakesh Dutta, another cable operator, said that there was no regulatory body to monitor how much revenue was being generated by the channels, how advertisements were being paid and whether they were being made according to the RBI guidelines. Claiming that it was not the duty of the cable operators alone, he urged the print media to play a pro- active role in educating viewers. He maintained that CAS would enable genuine competition among broadcasters and provide viewers with better content and maximum retail price, reducing the number of pay channels and increasing the number of free to air channels, as revenues from advertisements would come down in pay channels.

  • The broadcasters’ viewpoint

    The broadcasters’ viewpoint

    The enabling provision giving the government powers to modify the The Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 to incorporate CAS raises questions which beg answers. Legislators and politicians will do well to take a closer look at some of these issues before moving on CAS. Many of these issues will affect broadcasters, some of them will have an impact on consumers, some on cable TV operators.

    What will constitute the basic cable TV tier? Will set top boxes be acceptable to viewers?Who will pick up the tab for educating consumers about CAS? What should the price of the set top box (STB) be? Will they become available early within the set timeframe and in substantial quantity? What technology should be followed? Will CAS encourage or curtail piracy?

    On the basic cable package, one view is that will finally end up consisting of Doordarshan channels (except DD Sports), MTV, Sahara TV, SABe TV, BBC, Aaj Tak and regional language channels like Sun TV and Enaadu TV. Mass entertainment channels will be left out of the basic tier because they have gone pay in recent times.

    Points out Rakesh Dutta, an independent cable operator in Delhi and an office bearer of Cable Networks Association, The basic service will exclude the mass-based entertainment channels like Star Plus, Zee TV and Sony which are all pay channels.

    Adds Vicky Choudhary, another independent cable operator and a vocal member of a newly-formed National Cable & Telecom Association, Either these channels like Star Plus will have to revert to being free-to-air or they will stand to lose a substantial chunk of their advertising revenues, where ad sales is done on the basis of the fact that they reach maximum number of (38 million-odd ) cable TV homes in he country.

    Moreover, CAS will also mean that broadcasters will face problems bundling and selling comparatively weaker channels like Animal Planet, some Alpha channels and the National Geographic Channel to advertisers.

    Who will pick up the tab for educating consumers about CAS and will broadcasters face an ad squeeze? While Choudhry feels that broadcasters and cable operators can still sit across the table and thrash out various issues like educating viewers on premium services through set-top boxes, a fellow player from the cable industry and a senior executive of the Rajan Raheja-controlled Hathaway says, It may not be so gloomy for broadcasters either. If the big broadcasters like Star, Zee-Turner and Sony (all overseeing pay channels) can digest the slight slump in ad revenues for a couple of months (subsequent to implementation of CAS), the viewing public will realise the importance of popular serials on mass-based channels and force the cable and broadcasting fraternity to come to a compromise which will benefit all.

    One issue that could really impact the progress of CAS is the cash that will be needed by the cable TV trade and consumers to toe the government line on addressability. According to figures available, about 70 per cent of TV homes still have black & white sets which cost anywhere between Rs 2,500- 3,500. The remaining have colour TV sets which cost anywhere between Rs 8,000 and RS 21,000.

    According to rough and ready estimates, the cost of an analogue STB is between Rs 3,500 and 4000 – though the government has been talking of a Rs 1,500 STB – while the cost of a digital STB is likely to be, even if subsidised, between Rs 9,000 and Rs 18,000.

    According to estimates an affordable CAS will cost cable TV ops about Rs 10,00,000 (Rs 1 million) per headend, considering that decoding and encoding equipment and subscriber management systems will have to be installed. Some networks will also have to upgrade their distribution equipment. Additionally, cable TV ops will have to change in the way they manage their networks and subscribers. CATV will become more of a service business calling for retraining of employees.

    The total amount that will have to be spent by consumers nationally to buy STBs at today’s CATV penetration levels of 38 million homes to comply with CAS is an obscene (Rs 15,200 crore or Rs 152 billion – 38 million x Rs 4,000 per box). The total investment that cable TV ops will have to pump into in their headends to provide addressability is estimated at around RS (Rs 1,500 crore or Rs 15 billion – considering that there are 15,000 headends which will have to be upgraded at Rs 10 lakh per headend).

    But wait let’s get answers to a basic question: who will pay for the STBs? The Rakesh Mohan committee feels that a subscriber will pay for it. The cable industry is still not fully organized to mobilise such big investments needed for CAS and broadcasters will not jump in with the moolah as they do not have direct `relationships with cable households.

    So, who will foot the bill for CAS? Certainly not the government, which is pushing for it.

    Given such huge numbers it is quite a large part of the populace – a majority of the population has low purchasing power – will be deprived of quality entertainment and information if CAS is implemented.

    Even more basic questions need to be answered on the availability of the STBs. Though Delhi-based HFCL has said it is negotiating with the government to manufacture cheaper STBs and the likes of Philips, the BPL group and Videocon have the capability to manufacture STBs, at present there is no or very little manufacturing capacity or indigeneous technology available in India.

    Therefore it would be safe to conclude that the time span of six months (as per the Rakesh Mohan task force’s recommendations) is too short for manufacturing capacity to service the 38 million cable TV homes and it may take four years to supply STBs to each C&S home by which time it is quite likely the technology will have changed.

    A problem that could arise if the government mandates and industry goes in for a low cost CAS system is that of security – even expensive systems have been hacked, rudimentary low cost systems will be broken into easily. This could lead to an increase in piracy as cable TV ops may chose to install STBs for each encrypted channel and make a mini control room to illegally transmit encrypted signals to those households which may find the STB sticker price too high.

    It is also quite likely that cable TV ops will continue to fudge subscriber figures – despite SMS – to stay out of the tax and broadcasters nets. If this happens, it is quite likely that the government will lose out on revenue, as will broadcasters.