Govt open to fresh proposals from broadcasters
Cable operators today threatened to continue to charge the present rates from August 1, instead of Rs 72 as agreed earlier, if the government did not put in place a regulatory mechanism to rein in broadcasters and if broadcasters did not come out with revised subscription rates for pay channels. This threatens the rescheduled rollout for the conditional access system (CAS).
As per an agreement reached between broadcasters and cable operators, the broadcasters were to waive the pay channel subscription fees till CAS was introduced in each zone.
The Cable Operators Federation of India and the National Cable Telecom Association said in the absence of a regulatory framework, they would not offer the Rs 72