In its petition, Dish TV and WWIL alleged that Star Den, distributor of Star group channels and MSM Discovery, distributor of channels of Sony group channel denied their feed for its upcoming Headend-in-the-Sky (HITS) technology.
The duo have requested before the Telecom Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) to direct the channel distributors to immediately make available their viewing cards so that they could receive signals for channels from Star and Sony.
The DTH operator and the Multi System Operator also submitted before the tribunal to direct the distributors to supply their channels on a-la-carte (pick and choose) basis at Rs 5 per channel, fixed by the sectoral regulator TRAI for CAS notified area in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai.
Later, TDSAT Chairman Justice Arun Kumar issued notice to Star Den, a 50:50 joint venture between broadcast major Star India and TV 18 group and MSM Discovery.
The tribunal also directed them to file their reply in three weeks. HITS is a new regime, cleared recently by the government under which people could enjoy digital feed in economical mode in the far flung and rural areas without installing expensive DTH system.
In HITS, all the pay channels are received by the operator at one centralised location in the country and there they are decoded and re-encrypted and then again uplinked to a satellite. And then the MSO at different parts of the country having a control room downlinks and distribute it.
