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In a point-by-point rejoinder issued today, InCableNet accused
ESPN Star Sports (ESS) of misleading viewers and the cable-operator
fraternity in general, "with half-truths".
InCableNet reserves the right of defending its commercial interest
in court and will also seek to recover damages caused by ESPN's
actions, it says in a company release.
The MSO's heated response comes after ESS'
statement yesterday, that it has filed a winding up petition
against InCableNet in the Bombay High Court.
In the release, the MSO states that ESS' version of the commercial
negotiations that transpired between the two companies from May
2003 till first week of November 2003, is one-sided.
"InCableNet has not yet been served a copy of the winding
up petition prior to its filing in the court, which is the standard
corporate practice," the release states.
Referring to the letter sent to ESS by IncableNet CFO Srinivas
Palakodeti on 23 August, the release states, that the company had
in fact, laid down three terms and conditions which ESS chose to
ignore in its public statements.
The conditions were:
* Withdrawal of complaints/FIR's filed by ESS
* Signing of the term sheet/agreement for CAS arrangement
* and that ESS agrees and takes steps to ensure that such defaulting
operators do not migrate to other networks. It also insisted that
ESS agreed to take steps on its discretion as may be necessary such
as not issuing new decoders, switching off dummy operators in order
to protect InCableNet and to ensure that business interests are
not adversely affected.
InCableNet says, subsequent to this letter, commercial negotiations
and exchange of correspondence have taken place till November 2003.
The MSO says that when ESS switched off signals to subscribers
in Mumbai and Delhi on 10 November, they issued a letter to ESS
expressing deep shock for the loss caused. However, ESS failed to
respond to the letter in which InCableNet had requested them to
adopt a constructive approach and switch on the signals.
InCableNet accuses ESS of having chosen to take an unconscionable
step without any notice or provocation whatsoever, and without considering
their will to discuss issues across the table.
Finally, the release says that they suspect ESPN of resorting to
coercive measures as a prelude to increasing the rates on eve of
a cricket season. "A similar step had been taken by ESPN on
the occasion of the last World Cup cricket matches," it specifies.
INCableNet states their digital CAS service is completely ready
and a large number of set-top-boxes await deployment in Mumbai.
"Failure of leading broadcasters like ESS to conclude CAS agreements
has led to non-implementation of CAS and confusion in the minds
of viewers. They must be made aware that their pay channel bills
will again rise in January 2004 due to annual increase by broadcasters,"
the release concludes
Also Read:
ESPN
files winding up petition against InCableNet
ESS
snaps signals to INCablenet
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