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Tag: Sena supremo

  • Sena supremo to address Mumbai LMOs on 7 September

    Sena supremo to address Mumbai LMOs on 7 September

    MUMBAI: The tiger roars at CAS again. Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray is slated to meet nearly 1,000 Mumbai-based cable operators on Sunday, 7 September 2003. In all probability, the venue of the meeting is the Rang Sharda auditorium at Bandra Reclamation in suburban Mumbai.

    Incidentally, the cable trade (read multi system operators) in Mumbai has got a 10-day grace period from the I&B ministry due to Ganesh Chaturthi and the rollout of CAS is poised to happen only after 11 September, when the festival ends.

    Senior Shiv Sena functionaries have confirmed that the Sena supremo will address the last mile operators in Mumbai.

    Speaking to indiantelevision.com, Shiv Sena member of Parliament Sanjay Nirupam says: “Most probably, Balasaheb will address a meeting of all the last mile operators and address them on Sunday, 7 September 2003.”

    With his clarion call “Humse Panga mat Lo!” (Don’t mess around with us), Nirupam has been one of the most vociferous MP who raised posers about the implementation of CAS in the country in Parliament.

    Shiv Sena Vibhag Pramukh and CODA (Cable Operators’ and Distributors’ Association) spokesperson Anil Parab says: “Nothing is confirmed as yet but Balasaheb will meet the last mile operators before the new deadline for CAS implementation.” Parab, himself a cable entrepreneur (who started Dattatray Cable) feels that the way in which CAS is being implemented currently is against the interests of the consumers and the cable operators.

    There were unconfirmed reports that senior BJP leaders including the deputy prime minister LK Advani were scheduled to meet Thackeray and obtain his support for CAS in Mumbai.

    More importantly, Mumbai is the only city amongst the other metros where the ruling NCP-Congress alliance hasn’t had a say in the CAS rollout – unlike in Delhi where both the BJP (Madan Lal Khurana) and ruling Congress chief minister (Sheila Dixit) have opposed CAS; similarly in West Bengal, the ruling CPI-M has sought clarifications from the central government.

    An Enam Securities report titled India Strategy dated 7 August 2003 says that CAS will change the Rs 80 billion pay TV market. It says that in the pre-CAS era, the LMOs used to get Rs 65 billion, multi-system operators (MSOs) used to get Rs 5 billion and broadcasters will get Rs 10 billion. The scenario, says the Enam Securities report, will change post the implementation of CAS. In the new scenario, broadcasters will get Rs 35 billion plus Rs 10 billion; MSOs will get Rs 5 billion and LMOs will get Rs 30 billion.

    All eyes on the Sena supremo’s meeting with LMOs.

  • No CAS in Mumbai – asserts Sena supremo Thackeray

    NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: Well, it’s almost time to officially bid adieu to CAS (conditional access system) in Mumbai and, in all probability, in Kolkata too. Delhi was pulled off the rollout map earlier this week by the Indian government citing political reasons.
    Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray, whose party wields immense clout in Mumbai, today said that he would not allow rollover to a new CAS regime in Mumbai unless the central government tried it out in Delhi first, thus reiterating his well-known opposition to CAS.
    In a related development, reports filtering from Kolkata said that the Left-oriented West Bengal government has also expressed its reservation on implementing CAS in the city of Kolkata. Senior information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry officials met up with Bengal’s principal secretary today to discuss CAS.
    What’s the government reaction to all these developments? I&B minister Prasad, who was at a round-table on the need for a regulatory body for the broadcasting sector, refused to speak on the CAS issue saying, “Enough has been said.”
    According to reports available in Delhi, the West Bengal chief minister (CM) is understood to have written to the I&B minister Prasad on CAS requesting that its implementation be deferred in Kolkata. However, a senior ministry official today expressed his ignorance about the Bengal CM’s letter.
    Meanwhile, while the Shiv Sena supremo Thackeray was holding forth on CAS in Mumbai, party member of Parliament (MP) Sanjay Nirupam told indiantelevision.com in Delhi just before meeting Prasad early evening, “It looks very difficult for CAS to be implemented in Mumbai after what has happened in Delhi.”
    After the meeting with Prasad, he told waiting journalists that CAS is not about elections; it’s simply not pro-consumer.
    “The government says that CAS has been deferred in Delhi because of elections and since there are no elections to be held in Mumbai, it should be rolled out there. I say, CAS is not about elections. It’s a system that is simply not pro-consumer, at least the way it is being sought to be implemented,” Nirupam asserted.
    Asked whether he and his party oppose addressability as a technology, Nirupam said, “Per se we are not against this, but let there be open CAS and let the market forces decide thereafter.” However, he couldn’t explain convincingly what exactly he meant by ‘open CAS’ and ‘market forces’.
    Nirupam maintained that CAS is a big plan to help a foreign company make some fast buck by selling technology and boxes. A fact that was amplified by his leader, Thackeray when he said in Mumbai, “Somebody has taken an agency for set-top boxes and the government is marketing it. Why compel people to purchase set-top boxes?”
    Thackeray also sounded a warning to the cable operators of Mumbai against acting in a highhanded manner with consumers.
    When asked about the investments made by MSOs on importing boxes, Shiv Sena Vibhag Pramukh and spokesperson on CAS Anil Parab explained,”They must have made investments, but that hasn’t sorted out the deficiencies in the present system. The investments will come handy when CAS gets implemented in a new avatar in due course of time.”
    Now, if three out of the four metros where CAS was to be rolled out from 1 September are revolting, can the fourth one, Chennai, be far behind?

    Also read:

    Bal Thackeray scorns CAS – media stocks slump

  • ‘CAS’e closed – Prasad allays Sena Supremo’s fears

    ‘CAS’e closed – Prasad allays Sena Supremo’s fears

    MUMBAI: “The post-CAS scenario – good interplay of market forces; healthy intervention of the government!” These were the words with which information and broadcasting minister Ravi Shankar Prasad signed off at a press conference held in Doordarshan Kendra in Mumbai this afternoon.
     

    The minister addressed a packed media conference after a delay of nearly two hours – he met Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray (at his Bandra residence). Prior to that, he attended an Indian Merchants Chamber- organised seminar on the conditional access system (CAS) earlier in the day.
    Speaking about his meeting with Thackeray, Prasad said the Sena chief’s concerns were justified and shouldn’t be seen as “opposition”. It may be recalled that on 5 June Thackeray, an ally of the BJP-led coalition government, had warned that the decision to go ahead with CAS would prove an “expensive one”.

    Prasad said that Thackeray’s reservations about CAS revolved around two key issues: 
    a) consumers interests must be safe-guarded and 
    b) the interests of cable operators must be taken care of because the cable operators had spearheaded the cable revolution in India through their enterprise
    (entrepreneurial spirit). 

    Prasad said Thackeray had asked him to focus on these two aspects while implementing CAS.

    Prasad said he had given assurances to Thackeray and his son Uddhav Thackeray on the matter. He also added that he had informed the Sena leaders that the monthly rental cost of the set-top-boxes (STBs) would be as low as Rs 30; as against the initial apprehensions that consumers would have to shell out up to Rs 7,000 for buying STBs outright. Prasad added that he would continue to have further interactions with the Thackerays and would keep them abreast of developments.

    Prasad added that as a step in this direction, he was appointing Shekhar Joshi of Cablevision on the CAS task force. Prasad said that this move would allay the fears of the Mumbai cable trade, which didn’t have any representation on the government appointed CAS task force.

    While reiterating that CAS would soon be a reality, Prasad noted that he was happy with the latest developments wherein MSOs (multi system operators) were willing to offer 70 plus free-to-air (FTA) channels at a monthly price of Rs 72. “I have got confirmation from the MSOs and cable operators that the channels in the FTA bouquet include 25 entertainment channels, 10 news channels, all the Doordarshan and it’s affiliate channels, several film/movie channels, music channels such as Balle Balle, regional channels such as Lashkara amongst others. Consumers will get choice,” Prasad added.

    While talking about pay channels, Prasad said he didn’t foresee any problems in the non-declaration of individual channel rates by several broadcasters as yet. “The broadcasters have asked for some extra time as they need to address several issues and I don’t see any problem or resistance. In the near future, every cable operator will have to display a list of all the pay and FTA channels outside his premises – akin to that of a ration shop,” said Prasad, while expressing the hope that all the constituents of the trade would work unitedly to make CAS a resounding success.

    Prasad expressed confidence that the monthly outgo for consumers wouldn’t exceed Rs 200. He also said that MSOs had given assurances that they would make things convenient for the consumers by giving quality after-sales service – such as warranty; buy back schemes; replacements; receipts amongst others. He envisaged that the post-CAS scenario would entail practicality and scientifically oriented practices into the earlier disorganised nature of the cable business.

    Prasad was optimistic that CAS would go through primarily because the government and ministry had taken care of two important aspects — 

    * Choice of platform – in terms of CAS, DTH, HITS 

    * Choice of content – choice in the FTA as well as pay bouquet

    While answering queries about the need for a regulatory body, Prasad said that he was open to suggestions but decried the fact that there were some
    vested interests pushing for a regulatory body in an attempt to delay and frustrate CAS. “This kind of manipulation wouldn’t be tolerated, as the
    appointment of a regulatory body would be juxtaposed with the wider context of the Convergence Bill,” Prasad said. 

    Referring to the process of educating the consumer, Prasad said several activities had been initiated and more would come. He added that the MSOs would start their helpline (call centres) by mid-June. He also requested the media to avoid creating confusion in the minds of the consumer.

    While answering a query on the issue of licences or monopoly of the cable operator in any given region post-CAS, Prasad said: “Our primary concern is to
    ensure quality of service, choice of content and platform. We feel that the industry constituents will not disappoint the consumer – and the policy makers.

    If a consumer is disillusioned, he can opt for DTH. Even in DTH, we have taken steps to ensure that there is no private monopoly. The national broadcaster
    Doordarshan has been encouraged to start DTH services and attain a big degree of professionalism.”

    Prasad might have inherited CAS from his predecessor but the I&B minister is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that the CAS “project” becomes
    successful.

    Also present at the briefing were several MSO representatives including Ashok Mansukhani (Hinduja TMT), Jagjit Singh Kohli (Win Cable) and others from the Star India-backed Hathway Cable and Datacom.

  • Sena supremo Thackeray condemns CAS

    Sena supremo Thackeray condemns CAS

    MUMBAI: Shiv Sena supremo and an important ally of the NDA government, Bal Thackeray, has warned the government that it will find its decision to go ahead with conditional access system an “expensive one”.

    THE TIGER GROWLS: Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray slams CAS.
    At a press conference at his Mumbai residence a short while ago, Thackeray issued a veiled threat to the government saying his party will take steps to oppose it outright. “I will not highlight what steps we will take in opposition, but go against it we will.”

    He added, “The BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) has not managed to put the Ram Mandir that it committed it would, it has rather set up a Daam (High cost for consumer) Mandir.”

    He pointed out that “CAS is totally anti-consumer. Consumers will have to buy a set top box for each of the TVs in their rooms. That is Rs 6,000 for each TV set. The middle class will not be able to bear this burden.” 

    He basically labeled the move towards CAS as Gapla (translated: racketeering). Thackeray directly accused the government of colluding with an unnamed business magnate based in London, who would benefit in a big way from the implementation of CAS through the offload of set top boxes.

    The announcement should come as a blow to the ruling NDA government. I&B minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has voiced that viewers will be able to get all the pay channels at Rs 200, and that the government had the consumer at the centre of the CAS decision. Already factions within the BJP which leads the NDA government have growled that CAS in its current form was not welcome. Recently Delhi chief minister Sheila Dixit (who belongs to the Congress) had come out against CAS as being anti-consumer. However, that was before the government slashed duties on the import of STBs from 55 per cent to 5 per cent.