Despite a temporary injunction order by the City Civil and Sessions Court against the Karnataka State Cable Television Operators’ Association (KSCTOA), cable operators in the State have decided to go ahead with a blackout on Thursday.
Cable television customers across south India will not be able to view programmes between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. with the South India Federation of Cable Operators’ Associations deciding to blackout channels as a mark of protest against the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s order on new tariffs.
The temporary injunction order stated that it is ‘restraining them [KSCTOA], their agents, henchmen and representatives’ from going ahead with the blackout.
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However, V.S. Patrick Raju, president, KSCTOA, said, “I have not received the injunction order. The blackout has been called by the South India Federation of Cable Operators’ Associations. Cable operators are switching off channels voluntarily.”
Stating that the TRAI order is against the interests of both operators and subscribers, Mr. Raju said, “As per the new order, consumers will end up paying more for fewer channels. The rates will go up owing to the proposal of a GST rate of 18% on channels.
“The TRAI order is unfair to cable TV operators. Films have a GST of only 5%.”
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The association is demanding a rollback of the order by January 31. “If TRAI fails to do so, we will launch an indefinite, nationwide blackout,” said Mr. Raju.
Cable television operators have been opposing the TRAI order on the new tariff structure, which says that consumers will pay only for the channels they wish to watch.
Consumer rights activists and groups have opposed the decision of the operators.
Y.G. Muralidharan, founder-trustee of Consumer Rights Education and Awareness Trust (CREAT), said TRAI’s order is beneficial to consumers.
“Till now, cable operators were charging anywhere between ₹300-₹500. Subscribers were not given any choice. A complaint redressal mechanism was absent. The new regulation will set all this right,” he said.
The Consortium of South India Consumer Organisations claimed to have got an injunction order from a city court on Wednesday.
“The blackout called by cable TV operators is uncalled for, illegal and misleading to consumers. The TRAI order is pro-consumer and protects Right to Choose,” said Somashekar V.K., founder-patron of the consortium.