Leading broadcasters, including Disney Star, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, and Sony Pictures Networks India Ltd, have stopped providing feed to cable operators who have not signed fresh agreements with increased prices under the New Tariff Order (NTO). This action has resulted in depriving around 4.5 crore cable TV families across the country from being able to watch channels transmitted by these broadcasters.
Under NTO 3.0, which is to be implemented in February, prices of popular channels have been increased by 15 per cent. However, the All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF), the apex body of digital cable television players, said they have declined to sign the agreement as it would increase the cost from 25 per cent to 35 per cent and put an additional burden on consumers and are considering legal recourse over it.
“Indications are that the proposed increase in prices by the broadcasters would be exorbitant and the increase in prices for the customers could be as high as 60 per cent,” said AIDCF.
According to AIDCF, besides its members, various independent MSOs have also been disconnected by these broadcasters since most of the large and medium MSOs have refused to sign the RIOs with this increased price.
The AIDCF president said that the broadcasters are going to gain 25 to 35 per cent more under the new NTO regime. This would also increase the price hike and put additional burden on the consumer. AIDCF members have a combined market share of over 80 per cent.
The matter is sub-juice, as the federation has challenged the NTO 3.0 before the Kerala High Court, and the hearing would commence next week. The AIDCF president said that they would pursue legal action and give a new representation to TRAI to roll back NTO 3.0 and allow the old regime to continue.
Commenting over the development, Karan Taurani SVP of Elara capital said the reason for this blackout is that these broadcasters are demanding a price hike of approximately 25-30 per cent on the packages, which the MSOs have not agreed upon as they believe their customer base is more price-sensitive than the DTH base.
“We believe this is a big dampener for TV broadcasting growth rates which are already struggling due to the constant threat from consumption shift towards digital,” Taurani added.
This interim blackout will have a “significant negative impact on ad revenue” for the broadcasters, apart from a hit on the subscription revenue, he added.
NTO 3.0 was to be implemented in the month of February 2023, and most broadcasters wanted to go for a price hike, as they had not increased the prices in the last three years due to uncertainty over NTO implementation.
(Inputs from news agency PTI)
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The Chenab Times News Desk
