Reports suggest that the government is planning an ordinance to scale up digitisation of the cable and satellite television industry. The move will speed up pay-TV revenues for broadcasters and curtail carriage costs.

G Subramanium, chief finance officer of Hathway Cable and Datacom , in an interview to CNBC-TV18, said that in a bid to meet March deadline, government is contemplating an ordinance to expedite digitisation.

Subramanium expects to see huge growth in subscribers post digitisation. “Carriage fees will go down for broadcasters post digitisation, but subscription revenue will make up for loss in carriage fees,” he added.

Below is the edited transcript of the interview. Also watch the accompanying video.

Q: What material impact does the move of digitisation will have on Hathway in terms of number of disclosed subscribers and the number of paid subscribers that you can actually derive revenues from?

A: There will be substantial growth in subscribers because the number of subscribers, who are declared to us by the local cable operators, is a fraction of the universe that we actually deal with. Therefore, multiple increases in subscribers are expected to be seen.

Q: What is your understanding of the Cable TV Regulation Act, which the government is trying to implement through an ordinance? What kind of timelines are we working with?

A: The government had contemplated timeline starting March 2012 with a sunset date for country-wide digitisation by December 2014. Once the government formalises the process, we will need about five to six months to gear up. Many of us, particularly the multi-system operators (MSOs) have already got prepared. We are making investment in backend systems, we are modernising our call centers.

We, as a company, are fairly well-positioned to take advantage of digitisation as and when it occurs. We not only provide cable television service but we are also a substantial broadband services provider.

Q: Even if you won’t get into specifics in terms of change in subscriber declaration levels, how much of an increase we could likely see because right now the market is working with estimates of seeing a four times jump over the next couple of years once this comes through. Is that too ambitious or would you agree with that point of view?

A: It will be probably north of that. It depends on certain variables. As and when digitisation happens, the customer is going to be faced with a choice of remaining with cable platform or migrating to other platforms.

We believe that cable is a far superior product and when it will be digitised, we will be able to bundle other services with it. The bandwidth, which will be on offer, will be far higher than other platforms like DTH. Therefore, given the superior product offering at price points, which are far lower than DTH, we should be able to garner very good share.

Q: Government may also take a call on removing pricing caps for channels at the retail level. What kind of impact that may have for you?

A: It all comes down to giving consumer a choice when price cap at a retail level would be removed. The TRAI has proposed in its note that there will be a base price of about Rs 150 for the basic tier.

This proposal will encourage subsidy on the set top box and will ensure that the deployment of digital boxes happens rapidly throughout the country. It is a great opportunity for broadcasters to ensure that they invest into content and give the consumer what he wants.

Q: Do you think digitisation will reduce the carriage fees that broadcasters pay to cable operators?

A: Yes because carriage fee is a premium that you pay since there is a scarcity of spectrum in the cable networks. As and when digitisation happens the quantum of spectrum available on those networks will grow manifold, and therefore, the premium that you can place on scarcity will go down. However, it won’t go down to zero. You will still have to pay a premium of 25-30%.

Q: What kind of a churn away from digitised cable to DTH do you expect to see once this transition happens?

A: Digital cable is a far superior platform in terms of technology. It is capable to offer good amount of bandwidth and bundling of services. Thus, I don’t see huge amount of churn in that. In fact, we have seen churns as low as 3-5% in CAS areas, so when digitisation happens, we will be competing on a more-than-equal platform. Hence, I’m confident that the churn will be minimal.

However, it all depends upon how the industry is gearing up to face competition. If we are well prepared, if we invest in those backend systems and we improve the quality of services that we deliver to the customer, then we won’t face that much of a churn. DTH thrives in an environment, where there is an exclusivity of content. In India, we still do not have that sort of a situation, and therefore, both the platforms will compete on an equal footing.

Source: Moneycontrol.com

In a move that will ensure that the cost of cable channels will continue to remain affordable for consumers even after shifting from analogue to digital services, the Supreme Court last week ordered a new tariff formula for all digital addressable platforms.

The apex court has fixed 42 per cent of non-CAS tariffs as the new benchmark for all future commercial agreements between broadcasters, direct-to-home (DTH) firms and MSOs offering digital cable services. This formula will now replace the earlier tariff orders (35 per cent by Trai in July 2010 and 50 per cent by TDSAT in July 2006).

Simply put, this means that DTH, digital cable, and IPTV operators will only pay the broadcasters up to 42 per cent of the tariff fixed in the analogue cable market (non-addressable and un-regulated). This is important because the government has recently oulined December 31, 2014 as the cut-off date for shifting to digital and addressable cable services.

Experts said the new order will not have much impact on the DTH operators as most of them have signed long-term commercial deals with the broadcasters. However, this will help the MSOs get into agreements with broadcasters under a well-defined commercial formula.

The apex court gave the interim-order while hearing a plea of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). The broadcast regulator had gone to SC challenging a TDSAT judgement of December 2010 which had set aside its 35 per cent tariff order for DTH platform. The Trai’s 35 per cent tariff formula was opposed by most broadcasters.

A bench comprising justices RV Raveendran and AK Patnaik stayed the order of the Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), which had set aside Trai’s notification of July 21.

While most MSOs and DTH operators have welcomed the move, the new formula will impact the margins of broadcasters and DTH operators as they will realise lower revenue from digitally addressable homes, experts said.

“The court’s order has removed the tariff-hurdles in the path of digitalisation. As we move towards the complete digitalisation of the cable services, the 42 per cent tariff formula will help all stakeholders in coming years,” said Ashok Mansukhani, president, MSO Alliance, the apex body of leading Multi-Service Operators (MSO).

A top executive of a leading MSO firm said the 42 per cent tariff order will drastically reduce the litigations between broadcasters and cable distributing firms. “Also, there will be a five to six fold jump in the subscription declaration as a result of digitalisation and the clear tariff formula on digital platforms,” the MSO said.

The Shares of Dish TV tumbled as much as 6.5 per cent after the news of SC’s new tariff formula came out. At the close of trading hours on Monday, Dish TV’s stocks were down 2.49 per cent. In contrast, the scrips of MSOs like DEN (5.63 per cent), Hathways (9.87 per cent) and WWIL (4.44 per cent) saw upward movement.

Before the Trai’s 35 per cent tariff order proposal, all commercial deals between broadcasters and DTH operators materialised at 50 per cent of non-CAS rates (a formula given by a 2006 TDSAT judgement). However, in July last year, Trai, after consultation with the stakeholders, had came out with a new tariff order fixing the tariffs on DTH at 35 per cent of the non-CAS rates. This was challenged by most cable distribution firms and broadcasters. In December 2010, TDSAT set aside the Trai’s 35 per cent tariff order.

According to the earlier (50 per cent of non-CAS rates) formula, a channel costing Rs 50/subscriber in non-CAS areas (most of India) was to be priced upto Rs 25/subscriber on the DTH/digital cable platform (50 per cent formula). Now the same channel will can not be priced beyond Rs 21 (42 per cent formula as per SC’s interim order).

Source: Indian Express

Equity analysts feel that the markets have overreacted to TRAI’s recommendation of complete digitisation by 2013. Stocks in the cable distribution and DTH business, DEN Networks, Hathway Cable and Dish TV saw gains in excess of five per cent each.

These gains are unsustainable and only DTH operators would reap the benefits of complete digitisation as individuals feel it is a nuisance to interact with local cable operators, said an analyst from a large broking house. DTH operators like Tata Sky, Dish TV and Reliance Big would do well as it has already been proved beyond doubt that mandatory CAS (conditional access system) implementation has not worked, he added.

But there are contrarian views as well. “Every geography does not support DTH and hence cable operators will survive side by side. Though the TRAI recommendations have been made, implementation is still some time away,” says Mr Anand Shah, Media Analyst at Angel Broking.

Thumbs up

Market players are gung-ho about the implementation of digitisation. They feel the waiver of customs duty on set top boxes for three years coupled with an eight year tax holiday will benefit all players – broadcasters, distributors and MSOs (multi system operators). “Whatever the ratio of cable to DTH, it will benefit all players. Even the government envisages collecting approximately Rs 1,400 crore in the form of service tax, against the existing Rs 75 crore. This would be backed by a steady increase in ARPU (average revenue per user) and a significant increase in declaration levels that was pathetic erstwhile,” added Mr Shah.

Consumers are also voluntarily shifting towards CAS given the quality of reception, say market players.

The preference seems to be CAS wherever the population density is high and DTH in far flung areas.

One cannot replace cable with DTH for the simple reason that cable is very efficient and can also triple up to deliver broadband and telephony services (if regulations permit).

When companies with low declaration levels could register a gross margin of 30 per cent, this move towards digitisation would surely provide a boost to existing players and a 50 per cent margin would not unrealistic to expect.

This is because the business operates on a predominantly fixed cost model with one time expenditure and steadily increasing annuity income, said an analyst.

The recommendations have indicated a funding requirement Rs 55,000- Rs 60,000 crore for full digitisation across India.

This would entail large scale funds being raised overseas through the FCCB/ECB/GDR route by companies.

The cable broadband business is in the same stage of evolution in India that telecom was 10 -12 years ago and hence the entry of large players with deep pockets into this business is imminent, the analyst added.

DEN Networks, Hathway Cable and Datacom, and Dish TV closed 12.29 per cent, 8.53 per cent and 6.19 per cent over their respective previous closing prices to close at Rs 237.25, Rs 211.95 and Rs 49.8 on the NSE.

Source: The Hindu Business Line

The DTH association of India today asked telecom regulator Trai to bring down the wholesale tariff for direct-to-home operators to 10-20 per cent of non-CAS cable tariff from the existing 35 per cent.

Welcoming the new tariff order announced by Trai, the Association noted that the telecom regulator has pointed out that the effective wholesale tariff for a DTH operator was 2.47 times that of non-CAS cable tariff.

“In order to create a level-playing field, we strongly recommend that the ceiling of 35 per cent be brought down to a realistic level of 10-20 per cent of the non-CAS cable tariff,” a statement from DTH association said here.

The association also demanded the intervention of Trai in regulating the HD channel distribution as the absence of regulations governing the wholesale tariff for HD channels could make negotiations between the DTH operators and broadcasters “very difficult”.

They also opposed the proposed nine per cent increase in the wholesale tariff for cable platform.

“The DTH platforms have to compete with the cable platform in the market and the DTH wholesale tariff is linked to the non-CAS cable tariff, so the proposed increase would directly impact the DTH industry,” they said.

On July 22, Trai had announced subscribers of DTH services would be able to pick and choose the channels they want to watch but have to pay a minimum of Rs 150 per month for a bouquet of channels of their choice.

In its tariff order for 2010, the broadcast regulator also included provisions to protect the consumers from rise in rates, like no increase in subscription charges in the first six months of enrolling.

The rates can, however, be decreased in those six months and the consumer can opt for any other service provided by the DTH operators.

With a view to provide some relief to the operators, the order has fixed Rs 150 as the minimum monthly subscription that a consumer will need to shell out for any number of channels. The channels of Doordarshan should be a compulsory part of each bouquet, it said.

Source: Business Standard

Come September and subscribers of DTH services would be able to pick and choose the channels they want to watch but have to pay a minimum of Rs 150 per month for a bouquet of channels of their choice.

In its tariff order for 2010, broadcast regulator TRAI also included provisions to protect the consumers from rise in rates, like no increase in subscription charges in the first six months of enrolling.

The rates can, however, be decreased in those six months and the consumer can opt for any other service provided by the DTH operators.

The composition of the bouquet of channels should also be the same as those for the normal cable subscribers.

“Every service provider providing broadcasting services or cable services to its subscribers using an addressable system shall offer…to its subscribers on a-la-carte basis,” the order, which will come into effect from September one, said.

As of now, pay channels on DTH are not available on a-la-carte or individual basis.

In case DTH operators or cable service providers in CAS areas are not able to offer all its pay channels to its subscribers on a-la-carte basis from September one due to technical reasons, then they will have time till January next year to upgrade their services.

With a view to provide some relief to the operators, the order has fixed Rs 150 as the minimum monthly subscription that a consumer will need to shell out for any number of channels. The channels of Doordarshan should be a compulsory part of each bouquet, it said.

TRAI, however, refrained from fixing the retail tariff for the pay channels. “As the market forces appear to be operating effectively, the authority is of the view that there is no need for regulatory intervention in the matter of retail tariff fixation at present”.

However, the order said the fees that a operator has to pay to broadcasters for a channel should not be more than 35 per cent of that being paid by a normal cable operator.

The broadcaster, the regulating body said, should specify a minimum subscription period not exceeding three months for a subscriber.

TRAI further said that replacement of the consumer’s faulty equipment like set-top boxes and dish antennas and their repair should be done without any payment.

The recommendations said that the broadcaster has to report the rate of individual channel and bouquets of channels on its website. It should also publish such rates on its website.

Any change in prices shall be reported to the authority 30 days in advance and any new pay channel has to be notified 30 days in advance on the broadcaster’s website as well as to the authorities.

Any broadcaster of a free to air channel intending to convert the channel into a pay channel or vice-versa shall, at least one month before the scheduled date of conversion, inform the authority about the intended conversion and give a public notice about the intended conversion.

The information about the intended conversion should also be published in at least two newspapers of which one should be a national newspaper and one in the same language as the channel.

The notification comes a day after TRAI had submitted an affidavit before the Supreme Court informing about its plans to cap the monthly cable charges at Rs 250 across the country, except for pockets where conditional access system (CAS) has been implemented.

Source: Indianexpress.com

MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has capped the a la carte pricing of channels for addressable systems at 35 per cent the cost in non-Cas areas, a step that will bring down the content cost for DTH, digital cable and IPTV operators.

The earlier rate for DTH operators was fixed at 50 per cent of pricing in non-Cas areas.

In its new tariff order today, applicable to all broadcasting and cable services provided to subscribers through addressable systems, Trai said that every broadcaster shall offer all its pay channels on a la carte basis to distributors of TV channels, and specify the a la carte rate for each pay channel.

The broadcast sector regulator said that the charges payable by a cable operator to a multi system operator (MSO) or to a HITS (Headend-In-The-Sky) service provider, as the case may be, shall be as determined by mutual agreement.

Trai said that every service provider providing broadcasting services or cable services to its subscribers using an addressable system shall, from the date of coming into force of the order, offer all pay channels offered by it to its subscribers on a la carte basis and shall specify the maximum retail price for each pay channel.

DTH players, who might be unable to offer all pay channels to subscribers on a la carte basis due to any technical reason, will have to do so by 1 January 2011.

To protect the subscribers, Trai has also said that no service provider, who provides broadcasting services or cable services using an addressable system, can increase the charges for a subscription package for a minimum period of six months from the date of enrollment of the subscriber.

Source: Indiantelevision.com

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: In what could upset multi-system operators (MSOs), the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) plans to cap cable TV pricing at Rs 250 in non-Cas areas while allowing broadcasters an inflation rate of nine per cent and denying cable TV operators to choose channels on a la carte basis.

The broadcast sector regulator is in favour of leaving carriage rates to market forces as it feels capping it would not be feasible.

Trai today told the Supreme Court that it plans to introduce three pricing slabs for cable television, with a maximum cap of Rs 250.

In an affidavit, Trai said it was considering limiting the monthly cable charge to Rs 100 per month for a minimum of 30 free-to-air channels. Subscribers opting for a basic package (which includes Doordarshan channels) with up to 20 pay channels will pay a monthly bill of Rs 200. But those taking a basic package with over 20 pay channels will have to pay Rs 250 per month.

Trai’s affidavit follows the Apex Court’s direction to formulate a comprehensive pricing mechanism for cable services in non-Cas areas after consulting various stakeholders.

The regulator said: “A retail price ceiling — at a reasonable level — that balances the consumers’ interest with the growth potential of the industry is warranted in the case of cable TV services in non-Cas (conditional access system) markets. The Authority is of the view that the retail price cap for pay cable service should be fixed at Rs 250 per connection per month with the actual monthly bill being left to the business model of the individual operator — subject to the ceiling.”

While saying it was not in favour of allowing market forces to determine the rates of pay channels, Trai allowed broadcasters to raise the price of their channels and existing bouquets by nine per cent due to price inflation on the basis of the wholesale price index (WPI).

Upholding the orders of the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) the Apex Court had on 13 May, 2009, directed the regulator to study afresh and issue a comprehensive order on the pricing issue in non-Cas areas of the country.

Later the Court had granted six months extra time in January and directed it to file its report by June 30 2010 following a request by Trai.

The regulator has also filed a draft copy of the proposed Broadcasting and Cable Services Tariff Order, 2010, which would be notified after the Court clears it.

Though there was no limit on the number of free-to-sir channels, the monthly charge was fixed at Rs 83, while a maximum of Rs 260 was fixed for a basic package plus pay channels.

In Cas areas, including South Delhi and parts of Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata, pay channels have been charged at Rs 7 per month.

Trai said it would not be possible to permit MSOs and cable operators to choose channels on a la carte basis from broadcasters in non-Cas regulated areas, where feeds are still given in analog mode.

“In the analog, non-addressable environment, Trai is of the view that a la carte should not be mandatory at the wholesale level, as technological constraints in any case make it impossible for the benefits of a la carte provisioning to be passed on to the subscriber,” said Trai in the 273-page affidavit filed through Counsel Sanjay Kapur.

As far as the carriage fees charged by MSOs and area/local cable operators from broadcasters for putting their channels on their network, Trai said it is not feasible to place any cap on the amount of carriage and placement fee and it should be left to the players to decide among themselves.

“The authority is of the view that all carriage and placement fee transactions should be part of the interconnection agreement between the broadcasters and MSOs/LCOs,” said Trai, adding that all such agreements between broadcasters and MSOs/LCOs should be filed before it.

Trai also said “Such filings of carriage and placement fees will enable the authority to monitor carriage and placement fees regularly and regulate the same through intervention where considered necessary.”

“Keeping in mind the interests of consumers and broadcasters, the authority is of the view that it would be appropriate to allow an increase of 9 per cent over the existing price of the channels/bouquets.”

“The principal risk of allowing forbearance (market-determined pricing) is that it could lead to an increase in price, especially for dominant/driver channels in the short run,” said Trai, adding that it “was premature to allow forbearance”.

MSOs are a disappointed breed. Says Digicable Network MD and CEO Jagjit Kohli, “We are unhappy that we are not allowed to choose channels on a la carte basis. The retail ARPU on pay channels (after Rs 100 on free-to-air channels) is Rs 150 while the pay channel cost for us totals to a huge amount. Broadcasters are provided an inflation of 9 per cent despite them posting strong revenue growth. Besides, there is nothing specific for digitisation. We are terribly disappointed.”

Source: Indiantelevision.com

A major tariff war is about to break out between cable operators and the direct-to-home (DTH) operators with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) considering a reduction of the existing pricing formula for broadcasters on DTH, which is likely to bring down DTH bills by half.

Trai met broadcasters, cable operators and DTH companies last week to discuss the new formula. The regulator is involved in the tariff revision as directed by the Supreme Court over a legal battle between cable operators, broadcasters and DTH firms. Trai has to recommend the revised tariffs to the court before June 30. Sources said that Trai is set to meet again to chalk out the revised tariffs.

According to experts, the new formula means cheaper content on DTH platforms compared to cable services, triggering a price war between cable and DTH operators. As per the current formula, DTH operators have to pay broadcasters at the rate of 50 per cent of the tariff fixed for cable homes by Trai. Sources said that Trai is now looking at a revised formula, to be fixed at 30 per cent of cable tariffs.

Therefore, the six DTH operators will have to pay broadcasters at 30 per cent of cable tariffs fixed for non-CAS homes instead of the current 50 per cent. Simply put, this means if a consumer today pays his cable operator Rs 50 for a cable channel, the same is available for Rs 25 per month on the DTH platform (half of Rs 50 as per the DTH tariff formula). Under the proposed Trai formula, this channel may only cost Rs 15 on DTH (30 per cent of Rs 50).

This means monthly bills for 25 million DTH consumers may come down by at least half and may spur faster DTH rollout. According to sources, DTH operators including Reliance Big TV, Airtel Digital TV and Tata Sky are in favour of lower tariffs. Experts say that such a move will trigger a price war as cable operators will be forced to reduce charges to compete with DTH.

The Indian cable market is estimated to have 90 million subscribers generating around Rs 19,000 crore in annual revenue. However, only around Rs 3,500 crore reaches broadcasters due to under-declarations. In comparison, the 25 million-plus DTH market is pegged at over Rs 5,000 crore with 100 per cent revenue reaching broadcasters. “Be it 20 per cent or 30 per cent of cable tariff for DTH platforms, we would demand the same for the cable sector; else consumers will shift to DTH,” said a leading cable operator from East Delhi.

However, not every one is in favour of a reduction. “Reducing DTH tariffs will mean loss of revenues due to declining average revenue per user. Trai should look at de-linking DTH content pricing from cable tariffs,” a senior executive of a leading DTH company said. Some sports and niche broadcasters too have pitched for removing tariff barriers.

Source: Indian Express

New Delhi: Fearing stringent tariff regime for television content, broadcasters, cable operators and DTH service providers are likely to take the legal route to fight back. The move comes after the lengthy tariff-fixing exercise undertaken by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) ended without much headway last week.

Various stakeholders including broadcasters are against Trai’s proposal of capping monthly cable television charges at Rs 250 per month (Rs 100 for free-to-air channels and Rs 150 for pay channels). Several broadcasters said capping cable charges at Rs 250 means fixing the cable rates and then deciding the split (between free channels and pay channels). “This is not the best approach and the matter required in-depth consultations with all. The matter will go to the court if Trai goes ahead with it,” said a top executive of a leading media company.

Also, Trai’s proposal of 2013 deadline for turning the current analogue cable distribution platform into digital has not been agreed by several cable operators. “Cut-off date for going digital simply means bringing the controversial conditional access system (CAS) regime. Clearly the government is not for CAS so far and Trai does not have the power to enforce CAS then there is no meaning of 2013 as a cut-off date,” said a top cable company executive.

On DTH tariff, the existing content pricing formula (50% of the current non-CAS rates) will continue. Trai’s move to reduce it at the behest of certain DTH operators was not agreed by all, sources said who attended the meet last week.

With sharp differences persisting between broadcasters, cable operators and DTH service providers over pricing of television content, sources said several stakeholders are gearing up to go to court if Trai imposes a tariff-structure that has not been agreed by all.

“We feel the entire exercise by Trai has been a waste of time. The Trai survey on cable pricing put Rs 165 as average monthly cable pricing across India but it proposes Rs 250 as an option without any scientific backing.”

“Again it wants DTH operators to offer a-la-carte channels to subscribers when nearly 70% of agreements between broadcasters and DTH operators have been signed on mutual consent. The entire exercise has been futile in my opinion,” a senior executive in a leading media firm told FE.

In order to prepare the cable pricing survey Trai is said to have shelled out over Rs 50 lakh to a private consultant. According to this survey, paying more for cable was not a guarantee for improved services. Also, consumers are not prepared to pay more for cable instead they would prefer DTH, the survey findings noted.

However, industry insiders fear that Trai in its report to the Supreme Court may just suggest something drastic on the new tariff structure. “We have our doubts. We are looking at legal options. In my view, someone may just take Trai to court if it proposal are no in sync with what was discussed,” the legal head of a television firm said.

Source: The Financial Express

NEW DELHI: Consumers will have to pay up to Rs 250 a month, plus taxes, to watch a complete bouquet of channels on cable television, though operators have the option to charge lesser, according to a proposal that is expected to get the government’s blessings as early as next week.

The proposal to cap cable tariffs was part of a broad consensus that emerged at a meeting between industry representatives and telecom regulator TRAI on Wednesday, said persons who attended the meeting. A plan to digitise all cable operations in three years was also debated, they said.

TRAI, which also regulates the broadcast sector, will issue a tariff order early next week, the persons said. Barring certain areas in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata where conditional access system (CAS) or digital cable signals are available, all other cable operators will have to follow the new tariff order.

“There is no final conclusion and we will come out with a tariff order in some time,” said TRAI chairman JS Sarma, adding that various suggestions were discussed in the meeting, The new price ceiling was proposed after a survey of 22 non-CAS cities commissioned by TRAI revealed that consumers are against paying more for better services through digitisation. “As against 90% (of the sample surveyed) in 2007, only one-fourth in this round expressed willingness to pay more,” said the TRAI survey report released last month.

The survey said subscribers know from experience that paying more does not necessarily guarantee improved services. Instead, they prefer Direct-To-Home (DTH) connections. Cable operators in many parts of the country charge more than Rs 300 a month. Shillong topped the list with consumers paying Rs 319 a month, according to the survey.

TRAI had last revised cable television prices in December 2008 after which maximum tariffs varied across cities between Rs 214 and 278, plus taxes, per month. Under the new proposal, a consumer will have to pay Rs 100 to watch free-to-air channels and a maximum of Rs 250, plus taxes, to access paid channels across the country, said the persons. Equally significant is the compulsory digitisation plan, which could lead to an overhaul of the industry. Small operators with analogue cable systems will be forced to either sell out to large operators or upgrade networks. National cable operators could benefit with a sharp gain in subscribers.

Ashok Mansukhani, president of MSO Alliance that represents large operators, said all the stakeholders have expressed their opinion and its up to TRAI to come with a conclusion. He refused to share what was discussed in the meeting.

Another person who was present in the meeting said bringing parity in the price that operators with different technologies pay to access content from broadcasters, also made its way to the meeting.

A long-standing demand of digital cable operators, this would mean DTH service providers, digital cable firms and IPTV service providers will pay the same price to television channels. DTH firms now pay half of what large cable operators shell out to broadcasters.

Source: The Economic Times