TN govt to take control of cable TV ops

CHENNAI: In an apparent challenge to the Maran brothers, the Jayalalithaa government on Friday announced its intention to nationalise the Rs 1,200-crore cable television operations in the state. Sumangali Cable Vision (SCV), part of the Sunnetwork Group owned by Kalanithi Maran, Union minister Dayanidhi Maran's brother, enjoys a near monopoly in several parts of the state. There are 2 crore cable television subscribers in Tamil Nadu. But the government's plan to nationalisethe cable operations could be a long drawn out battle as the distribution iscontrolled by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and all cable TVrelated issues are dealt with by the information and broadcasting ministry inDelhi. In his address to the state assembly, Tamil Nadu governor S SBarnala said the state-run Arasu Cable TV Corporation, formed by the previousgovernment, will be revived in public interest. There was an overwhelming demandfrom the public for the immediate revival of Arasu Cable TV Corporation (whichhad gone into cold storage) to provide services at reasonable rates, he said.Interestingly, Arasu Cable was started by the DMK regime following afamily feud between DMK president M Karunanidhi and his grandnephews, Kalanithiand Dayanidhi. Arasu Cable was then meant to counter SCV's clout in thebusiness. Now, the corporation has come in handy for chief minister JJayalalithaa to take on the Maran brothers."This government willrevive its activities in the public interest and nationalize the private cableTV operations in the state without affecting the interest of the last-mile localcable operators," the governor said.Other key Multi-System Operators(MSOs) in state are the Royal Cable Vision (RCV), which has the blessings ofUnion minister MK Alagiri's son Durai Dayanidhi, Jak Cable Network and PolimerCable Vision. Cable network operations come under the Unionbroadcasting ministry. MSOs are licensed by the TRAI or head post offices intheir respective district headquarters and the Cable TV Regulation Act 1995states that a group 'A' officer of the central government has power to take anyaction against cable TV operators if they are found guilty of violations.However, a section welcomed the government's move. "The stategovernment should revive the Arasu Cable, which should act like a super operatorand distribute signals to small MSO's like us," PV Kalyana Sundaram, MD ofPolimer Cable Vision, an MSO in western TN said. He suggested that thegovernment get into a partnership with smaller MSOs for effectivedelivery."Arasu TV getting back to business is welcome as this isthe first time in recent history that a government is getting into business tobreak a monopoly, but it is not a viable venture as cable business is somethingwhich will die sooner than later as the world is moving towards direct-to-home(DTH)," pointed out an operator on condition of anonymity. The government couldwell end up investing huge amounts of funds with little returns, hesaid.Arasu Cable TV Operators Association (an association of cableTV operators who signed up when the DMK government mooted Arasu TV) said it wasimportant to re-start what was left unaccomplished. "The state set up controlrooms in Thanjavur, Coimbatore, Tirunelveli and Vellore, but it did not takeoff," N Yuvaraj, president of the association said.