Even as the December music month is on, the music lovers are in for a shock.
Come December 31, 2009, the WorldSpace satellite radio broadcast service will be terminated for all customers serviced from India.
It will mean no more 24X7 music for listeners - be it Carnatic music on the Sruthi channel or Hindustani on Gandharv or the 'Golden oldies' on Farishta.
The move comes in the wake of financial difficulties faced by WorldSpace India's parent company, WorldSpace, Inc., which has been under bankruptcy protection since October 2008.
The potential buyer of much of WorldSpace's global assets has decided not to buy the WorldSpace assets relating to and supporting WorldSpace's subscription business in India. As a consequence, WorldSpace, Inc. has to discontinue its subscriber business in India, says a company official in a letter sent through email to subscribers.
“Your subscription contract is with WorldSpace, Inc., a U.S. company that is in a bankruptcy proceeding in the United States. The company recognizes that you may have paid for services to be rendered beyond the termination date, but is not in a position to offer a refund for any unused portion of your subscription,'' said Schmitz, Chief Restructuring Officer, WorldSpace, Inc., in the email.
“You may have a potential remedy under the U.S. bankruptcy law. You may file a claim under the claims procedure that is intended to protect creditors of the bankrupt company. Sometime early next year, a claim servicing company will send notice to all creditors listed by the company,'' he further added.
