The Hindu : Many subscribers switch to free-to-air channels

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 11, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu-Chennai

Many subscribers switch to free-to-air channels

By Saptarshi Bhattacharya

CHENNAI MAY. 10. Scores of Cable TV subscribers in the city today resolved to counter the increasing demands of pay channels and multi-system operators (MSO) by subscribing to free to air (FTA) channels only.

Faced with arbitrary hike in subscription fee and bad behaviour by many cable TV operators, including threats and intimidation, subscribers in large numbers turned up for a public meeting in T.Nagar this afternoon to decide on an alternative to the present system.

Speakers at the meeting described Sumangali Cable Vision, an MSO covering a big percentage of the city households as a "monopoly". Huge chunks of consumers' money went unaccounted as the cable TV operators conveniently under-declared the number of subscribers they were catering to, in the absence of proper monitoring machinery, and the MSOs did nothing to change the scenario.

The consumer today was left with no rightful choice other than having to put up with the arbitrary subscription fee and non-refundable initial deposits if they wanted a cable connection. The point of campaign, the speakers stressed, would be to say no to the pay channels which were having the best of both worlds - subscription fee and huge advertisement revenue. The bouquet system of marketing channels also drew a flak as the speakers questioned why subscribers should pay for channels they do not watch.

`Royapuram' R.Mano, Congress councillor in the Chennai Corporation, and S.Ve. Sekar, cine artiste, announced the services run by them - Mano Cable Vision and Sri Sankaraa Vision - which offered only FTA channels. They stressed that if subscribers in large numbers turned away from pay channels and subscribed to FTA channels only, the MSOs would lose their relevance and popular pay channels will have to decrypt to save advertisement revenue. The alternate services offered by them came for a monthly subscription of Rs. 60. All payments would be accepted through cheques and demand drafts which will ensure transparency in the functioning of the establishments.

Many of the residents who attended the meeting readily responded to the proposal of opting for FTA channels as they were unhappy with the high-handedness of the cable TV operators in the city. Srimathi of Pushpa Nagar, Nungambakkam, said the subscribers in her area were being charged Rs. 300 by the operator. When the residents protested, some of their connections were cut. The association was hesitating to take the operator head-on as the latter reportedly threatened some of the residents, she said. The Exnora Founder Chairman, M.B.Nirmal, assured that the association would take up the issue.

As the city moves towards a Conditional Access System (CAS) regime from July 15, the scenario gets murkier in the absence of regulations to standardise the market. The satellite channels and the MSOs too were taking their time to come out with clear-cut proposals post-CAS.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States

Stories in this Section

Many subscribers switch to free-to-air channels

Farewell to Jamwal

Panchayat takes gazette far too seriously

'Desilt temple tanks, promote rainwater harvesting'

Spurt in crimes, a jolt to police machinery