The Hindu : Where cable TV operators rule the roost

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jan 11, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu-Chennai

Where cable TV operators rule the roost

By K. Manikandan

Chennai Jan. 10. Residents of a west Velachery, who ignored the demand for hike in cable TV charges and supported an alternative operator offering only free channels, are facing threats.

A two-wheeler was allegedly set on fire by miscreants on Thursday night, to warn the residents that more subscribers did not switch over to the new operator.

Lakshmi Hayagriva Nagar in west Velachery is one of the few areas in the city opted to switch over from the dominant cable operator. Cable TV rates were hiked sharply in many parts of the city over the last several months, touching Rs. 275 or even Rs.300 per month.

The residents told this reporter today that a local operator, Athipathy, charged Rs. 70 per month for a connection. He gradually hiked it to Rs. 100 and even as residents tried in vain to get the rate rationalised, he increased it to Rs. 125 per month in 1998. It was only in April 1999, with the entry of a rival operator, Chitra, who offered cable connection at Rs 75 per month, that the existing player slashed his fee to Rs 70 and the rates continued till March 2002.

The following month, both the operators hiked the rate to Rs. 140 and the residents felt thoroughly let down by the competitor. Encouraged by the new dominance, the operator enhanced the rate to Rs 150 in December last year and the residents paid the higher rate.

However, they were in for a shock, when they were asked to pay Rs 200 as the monthly fee for January, a few days ago. When subscribers complained of the `unjustified hike', they were told by the operator to "pay up or disconnect". The operator further made it clear that the deposit would not be refunded, residents of the First Main Road said. A retired DGM of a State Cooperative Bank was insulted by a group of urchins right outside his house only because he dared to question the rationale behind the fee hike.

They were unable to approach the competitor as areas of operation had been clearly demarcated by now, eliminating multiple operators. The residents decided that they would no longer be at the mercy of operators making unjustified demands and supported the venture of a third player, Saranya, who offered 19 free channels at just Rs 50 per month. Soon after launching his operations, the third operator now has nearly 50 subscribers.

The two-wheeler of A.Ramaswamy, a retired tahsildar and general secretary of the Federation of West Velachery Residents Associations, was burnt down on Thursday night. Mr. Ramaswamy, who was in the LLA Branch library at Brindavan Street at the time, managed to put out the flames with the help of local residents. In his complaint to the Adambakkam police station, he suspected those opposed to his public service.

Mr. Ramaswamy, along with a few other residents in the area, had for long been vocal, criticising the attitude of the cable operators as well as their utter disregard for subscribers' interest and freedom of choice. He complained that taking advantage of the absence of a regulatory body, subscribers were at the mercy of the cable operators, who were periodically hiking their rates.

The Tamil Nadu State Cable TV Operators Welfare and Protection Society, led by R. Mano, said in a statement today that the Chennai Corporation was losing heavily in revenue from some dominant operators, as only Rs. 29.46 lakhs was the officially declared revenue for July 2000 to April 2002.

The city had not less than 12 lakh connections, assessed by independent surveys, indicating an entertainment tax revenue demand of Rs. two crores a month. The civic body had lost about Rs. 60 crores, over a period of 30 months, due to the under-reporting of subscriber base, Mr. Mano claimed.

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