The MRTPC has refused to entertain cable operators request to direct ESPN-Star Sports to make Star Sports a free-to-air channel, from a digitally encrypted one.
The cable operators had pleaded that till the MRTPC disposes off an earlier case involving the company, ESPN-Star Sports - a 50:50 joint venture looking after the business interests of ESPN and Star Sports in Asia - should not de-encrypt the signals of Star Sports, so that cable operators can receive the channels without having to use special decoders, especially since Star Sports will cover the Sharjah tournament. India, Australia and New Zealand are playing in the tournament. Star Sports was converted into a pay-per-view channel from a free-to-air channel from mid-March.
The MRTPC, reportedly, refused to entertain this plea as it was not sustainable and the criterion the operators had cited in their earlier plea did not involve Star Sports, but pertained only to ESPN, which is also a digitally encrypted channel and can be received only after decoding. ESPN charges Rs 5.70 per subscriber per month for the channel.
The Cable Networks Association (CNA), the apex body of cable TV operators, had moved the MRTPC in March alleging that Star Sports and ESPN, along with a host of others like Star TV and C-Net Communications, were indulging in unfair trade practices selling goods and services (decoders and programmes) at prices and conditions set by them.
The association also alleged the companies subsidised cable franchisees to force independent cable operators out of the market and ultimately eliminated them by increasing the cost for receiving the signals of various channels. The MRTPC in an interim order last month had stated that this is a fit case for enquiry and issued a notice of enquiry.
