TARIFF HIKE FOR CABLE TV SERVICES

Aimed at providing inflation-linked adjustments in tariff ceilings, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on 26th Dec' 08 announced a seven per cent increase for cable TV services in CAS and non-CAS (conditional access system) areas and a reduction in the security deposit and monthly rental for set-top boxes in CAS areas.

With a seven per cent rise, the ceiling of MRP of pay channel has been increased to Rs. 5.35 per pay channel per month at the subscriber end (excluding taxes), and the basic service tier may cost up to Rs. 82 a month to the consumer (excluding taxes). At the existing tariff, the ceiling was at Rs. 5 (excluding taxes) per pay channel and Rs. 77 (excluding taxes) per month for the basic service tier consisting of a minimum 30 free to-air channels in the CAS notified areas.

REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR BROADCASTING IN INDIA

Ministry of Information & Broadcasting 

 Policy, Licensing of broadcasting sector, Content regulations, spectrum allocation.

TRAI Releases Consultation Paper On Interconnection

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has on 15 December 2008 released a consultation paper on interconnection issues relating to Broadcasting & Cable Services. 

TRAI had issued the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable Services) Interconnection Regulation on 10th December, 2004 and The Register of Interconnect Agreements (Broadcasting and Cable Services) Regulation was issued on 31st December, 2004. These Regulations have been amended from time to time to cover some new issues. However, the broadcasting & cable services sector is evolving at a fast pace. There has been a marked increase in deployment of addressable platforms for distribution of TV channels in recent past. IPTV services and Voluntary CAS have been rolled out by many service providers. In near future, head-end in the sky (HITS) and mobile TV services are also likely to be available. The number of subscribers being served by the DTH services has also gone up significantly.

Adios 2008

Another year passes by! The financial crisis at the fag end of the year brought the cheers down for the industry which for the whole year demonstrated a very upbeat and vibrant mood. Financial crisis have affected the industry causing reduction in advertising revenues and not the subscription revenues which are still going northward. Subscriptions have increased both, in DTH as well as Cable TV. Cable Industry is also feeling the heat due to reduced carriage fee paid by the broadcasters. All imported equipment has become costly. DTH operators are paying more for the STBs and increasing subsidies to the subscribers to meet the competition, piling up more losses. But a silver lining in the dark clouds is that demand is still increasing everyday. Getting one million subscribers a month is not a joke.

January 2009

Friday, January 02, 2009 -- Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira demanded a CBI inquiry into the capture of cable network business in Punjab by SAD supporters.

Keep Up The Morale

The terrorist attacks in Mumbai has left us shattered and angry. Hope we can get over this tragedy soon. This tragedy is very different from many others we had seen in our country because firstly it lasted pretty long and secondly the Television Media gave us a feel of it all 24x7 for the 60 hours and still continue to do so let us pray for all those who gave their life for the country and who lost their life in such a mindless act. When the US financial melt down started two month ago, we were given the impression that India was not much affected. When the sensex crashed for the first time, we were still given the impression that Indian banks were safe and business would go on as usual. However, very soon the malaise spread allover, first the inflow of FDI installments to many companies was stopped . Then we saw companies cutting down on their expenses. Many employees lost their jobs, Even some CEOs were given the pink slips. And now the studio workers are on a strike demanding higher wages. This has halted the production business in the industry resulting in heavy losses. Trai has given their recommendations on the entry of other entities in Broadcasting. If cleared by the government, this would annoy many political parties and state governments who either already had such ventures or are planning to start one because TRAI has not recommended political parties and religious organizations to get in to broadcasting. Even the ARASU cable network started by Tamilnadu government recently will have to be wound up. Content code is once again in the lime light with the Supreme Court directing the government to submit a code on the lines of a draft submitted by the IBF. This subject was also discussed in the FOCUS 2008, a summit on the business of entertainment organized by ASSOCHAM last month. Mrs Sushma Singh, in her inaugural speech in that summit talked about every issue being considered by the government including HITS, IPTV, DTH etc but was quiet on implementation of CAS in cable TV. I think the government does not have the will to do it or they are under immense pressure by some lobby to keep the issue pending under some excuse or the other. TDSAT also held a seminar in Ranchi on the subject of consumer complaint redressal in the broadcast and telecom industry. It has promised to spend its own funds for hepling small and rural area cable operators to fight their cases. Good news in the last month was NDS announcing the investment of 150 million dollars in India to enhance their presence in every field, when all other companies were cutting down on their investments. 

December 2008

Monday, December 1, 2008 -- TRAI issued a consultation paper on quality of service (Qos) issues for cable TV services in Non-CAS areas and for DTH services.