TVs Shut, Thanks To Cable Operators

Cable operators in Trans-Yamuna area late on 19 January night went on one-day blackout in protest against the “unfair and unworkable” revenue-sharing formula under the digital addressable system.

The strike began at 11 pm on 19 January 2013. The areas affected by the strike include - Yamuna Vihar, Dilshad Garden, Timarpur, Nehru Vihar, Seelampur, Babarpur, Jagatpuri, Dilshad Colony, Seemapuri, Brahampuri, Shastri Park, Nand Nagri, Shahdara, Khajoori Khas, Bhajan Pura, Karawal Nagar, Sadatpur, Brijpuri, Durgapuri, Welcome, Zafrabad, Kardampuri, Mustafabad and Maujpur.

Consumers fumed at cable operators for total blackout without prior notice. However, Jai Prakash of JPS Cable Communication told reporters that rate of the packages of channels being offered by broadcasters and multi-system operators are very high. It comes around Rs 350 per STB which the consumers would not be able to pay.

“They are getting huge loss in cable business,” Jai Prakash said, adding that cable operators association has given several memorandums to excise department and Information and Broadcasting Ministry to redress the issue but in vain.

West Delhi Cable Operators Association Roop Sharma stated that the Government had issued an order that made digitisation of cable operation mandatory but the issue relating to the pricing of channels was not resolved.

“The main purpose of this digitisation was to bring transparency, choice to consumers and more taxes to Government but things are back to square one since the policy is yet to be implemented fully,” Sharma said, adding that installing STBs is the 15 per cent process of the digitisation.

“They installed 40 to 45 lakh STBs in the Capital but revenue of the excise department remains the same. After the digitisation, prices of several pay channels have gone up,” she said.

On the other hand, the excise department is contemplating to take action against MSOs for not disclosing their subscribers. Senior excise official said that the department has written MSOs to disclose their subscribers other face action.

“The excise department has a limited role to collect entertainment tax. The licenses were given by Government of India to MSOs,” he said. The excise department also denied that cable operators have given memorandum pertaining to 24 hours strike in trans-Yamuna areas.

Source: http://cablequest.org/news/digitization-news/item/1019-tvs-shut-thanks-to-cable-operators.htmlSource: http://cablequest.org/news/digitization-news/item/1019-tvs-shut-thanks-to-cable-operators.html