Cable TV to cost more from Jan

Viewing cable TV is going to be very expensive from January with major broadcasters having decided to convert free channels into pay channels and jack up subscription rates between Rs 15 and Rs 38. The combined rise works out to over Rs 100 per subscription, cable operators said.

Cable operators said they are helpless in the matter with broadcasters having formed new bouquets of channels, which are free till now, to be made pay channels.

At present, subscription charges, which differ from place to place in the city, range from Rs 250 to just over Rs 300 per month depending on the locality in which a particular subscriber stays.

The new bouquets include Pogo, HBO, CNBC Awaz, Zee Business and Vh1 from Zee Television; StarOne, Disney Movies, Disney Toon and Hangama from Star; Ten Sports, SAB TV, MTV, Nicklodeon, Discovery Travel and Living, NDTV News channels and Animax from Sony Television; and Zoom TV, B4U Movies and B4U Music.

Operators said the new Zee bouquet will cost an additional Rs 25, that of Star Rs 20, Sony Rs 38 and Zoom TV, B4U and others Rs 15.

In fact, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has authorised pay channels to increase their rates by 4 per cent, they said. A service tax levy of 10.2 per cent on the final amount will easily take the total hike to above Rs 100.

Akash Kumar, a cable operator from Kadbi Chowk, said many operators are now favouring set-top boxes. The installation is expensive and, hence, there is resistance to it.

"Once a set-top box is installed, people will understand they have to pay for the channels they watch. The main operators or headends will also come to know what is popular and what is not," he added.

Another operator, Manoj Lanjewar, said it is difficult to convince customers about the increased rates.

"They (the viewership charges) are jacked up ever so often that we end up paying from our pockets. The perception that broadcasters have about the popularity of their channels is not shared by my customers," he said. Lanjewar, too, agreed that set-top boxes would make things simpler to deal with.

In fact, there are divergent views on set-top boxes. Many operators believe that their business too could be affected.

"It is easy to shell out a lump sum amount of Rs 250 or Rs 300 towards cable subscription charges. If set-top boxes are introduced, more calculations will have to be made," said Ravi Gaikwad, yet another cable operator.

Even as arguments for and against set-top boxes continue, cable subscribers now have to be ready to pay an extra amount of around Rs 100 per month from January. A New Year party spoiler from cable broadcasters!

CARTEL EFFECT

Major broadcasters having decided to convert free channels into pay channels and raise subscription rates between Rs 15 and Rs 38

Trai has authorised pay channels to increase their rates by 4 per cent