Cable operators oppose rate hike

mumbai: the pitch has been laid and the teams are ready. thirty-eight million spectators wait for the lagaan-esque match between paychannel xi and cableoperator xi to begin. captaining paychannel xi is star, which increased its subscription rate by 40 per cent-from rs 28.50 to rs 40-from january 1. following close behind is espn-star sports, which has increased its rate from rs 16 to rs 24 from the same date.fashion tv, which recently converted itself into a pay channel from a free-to-air one, has capped its monthly subscription rate at rs 7 per household. hbo has raised its rate from rs 10.50 to rs 12.50 and if the grapevine is to be believed, zee and sony are expected to follow suit some time this month. the other side is furious at these developments. with a section of cable operators from bangalore, chennai and kolkata planning a black-out of some of the pay channels, the matter may reach a national flashpoint sooner than expected. mumbai operators are likely to fall in lockstep. ``this time we are united since the mood across india is to boycott the offending channels,'' says ram hingorani, executive vice-chairman, indusind media (which controls in network). he says that the increase will mean that consumers will pay rs 40 more a month on their bills, which now vary from rs 60 to rs 200. concurs a south mumbai-based cable operator, ``if we get indications that other operators are boycotting the pay channels, we will also follow suit.'' he said that operators would even consider going to court ``in the greater interests of the viewer''. his anger is not entirely misplaced. on previous occasions, the local cablewallah has been forced to restart transmitting blacked-out pay channels as he bows to popular demand for those programmes and, more importantly, to beat competition. but this time, a different precedent may be set if thebehind-the-scene activities of some of the top multi system operators-which control several cable operators-are any indication. in cablenet, for instance, has already written to the government explaining its position. says mr hingorani, ``we have recently sent three letters to the government giving a detailed description about the arm-twisting techniques used by these pay channels. matters are likely to reach a dead-end.'' the management of another leading mso has reportedly sent a separate message to all its franchisee operators unitedly to abide by directives on facing the situation that will soon be unveiled. over to the captain of the other side. peter mukerjea, ceo of star india, says that the increase in rates was a ``reluctant decision'' that was forced by cable operators under-declaring the number of subscribers they serve. ``had the cost of increase been shared by 38 million households (actual) and not just six million (declared by operators), the rate per household would have actually come down,'' he says. meanwhile, the spectators-unlike in the match in the lagaan movie-are watching the unfurling of events in silence because they have no real alternatives. ``we consumers can't stop watching cable tv for even a month. because of this and lack of unity on our part, we are not taken into consideration for any decision-making process between the broadcasters and the operators,'' says shailendra shroff, general secretary, consumer guidance society of india. ``we are just taken for granted.''