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Sun Network's market leader Udaya TV, along with Udaya News and
Ushe, became dearer by Rs 18 as of 1 August. Udaya TV became encrypted
from 1 August, while the other two channels were already running
as encrypted feeds.
Udaya , vice-president, Vijay Kumar asserts that the "ban"
has been supported only by a few small cable operators and that it
was only in a few "trouble spots" such as Hassan, Chickmagalur,
and Shimoga that there was any problem. Vijay Kumar says that even
at Hassan the signal was being broadcast as of 2 am today.
Dismissing the claims that Udaya TV was facing a major blackout
of its channels, Vijay Kumar says, "Our signal is being received
by 85 per cent of the state." Kumar further states, "As
a matter of fact we have a number of people approaching us for decoder
boxes, and we've had to refuse some operators because we don't agree
with their figures pertaining to the number of connections declared
by them."
Putting the issue in perspective, Vijay Kumar further goes on to
say that these are problems faced by any channel that goes from
free to air to pay mode.
A section of the cable TV operators across the state however, counter-claim
that 85 per cent of Karnataka (excluding Bangalore) have been blacked
out.
Piqued at the what he terms Sun TV's divisive policies a director
of an MSO says, "These divide and rule policies are not fair
at all, and, neither is it fair to the Kannada speaking people.
How can they convert a local language channel into a pay channel?
They are not headquartered in our state to understand the emotions
of people of Karnataka on this issue. Also, if we allow one local
language channel to be converted to a pay channel, other broadcasters
may follow suit. As it is, the subscriber is burdened with high
rates, how much more can we charge him?"
According to the Karnataka State Cable Operators Association spokesperson
Ponnacha, the a letter will be handed over to Vijay Kumar in Bangalore
today.
The cable operators associations from all districts are planning
a State level meet in Bangalore shortly on this issue, probably
on Monday, 9 August, according to cable industry sources.
Also read:
Karnataka
cable operators vote to ban Udaya channels
Karnataka
viewers in for cable fee hike
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