The Hindu : Cable operators seek more channels in basic tier

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Apr 26, 2003

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Cable operators seek more channels in basic tier

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI APRIL 25. Wary of being crowded out by the foreign-based channels beaming into India once the Conditional Access System (CAS) becomes operational from mid-July, Indian broadcasters of free-to-air channels today asked the Information & Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry to increase the minimum number of channels prescribed in the basic tier.

Heads of Indian channels such as Aaj Tak, Sab and Sahara today met the Union Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting, Ravi Shankar Prasad, and made out a case for increasing the minimum number of channels in the basic tier from the present 30. Though a notification is awaited, Mr. Prasad had last week disclosed in Chennai that the basic tier under CAS would have a minimum of 30 channels at a maximum of Rs. 72 per month.

Also, according to the Indian broadcasters, some of the Multi-System Operators had begun demanding huge amounts as carriage fees for free-to-air channels. In such a scenario, their apprehension is that the foreign-based channels would have an upper hand as the cable operators would in all likelihood not provide more than 30 channels in the basic tier though the law allows for more. The free-to-air tier includes three Doordarshan channels and allows the cable operators to decide on a mix of channels with regard to the remaining 27. To access the pay channels, consumers would have to install a set-top box (STB) and cough up the charges fixed by the private broadcasters.

Earlier this week, many of the broadcasters had met the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Information Technology — examining the CAS regime — and advocated a staggered introduction of the system instead of introducing it in the four metros simultaneously on July 14. With the four cities together having an estimated 68-lakh cable households, their contention was that the market would not have enough STBs by mid-July to cater to all existing cable homes. Their estimate was that the STB manufacturers would be able to cater to only 4.5 per cent of the existing cable homes by July 14. Given this situation, these broadcasters said CAS ought to be introduced first only in Delhi and then to the other metros as per availability of STBs. Also, they sought a three-year freeze on custom duty on STBs, which currently stands at 50.8 per cent.

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