| "We have no option, but to shut shop or attempt
stealing a bank to meet Ten Sports' unfair demands (on increased connectivity),"
Anil Upadhaya, a cable operator from Prime Minister AB Vajpayee's
constituency Lucknow told journalists today during a press conference,
adding for good measure that the "present government is useless"
as Vajpayee did not have time listen to the woes of the cable ops
from Lucknow itself.
Upadhaya, echoing the sentiments of 30-odd cable operators from
different parts of the country, further said, "If the government
and politicians don't intervene, then most parts of the country
would have to do without the cricket matches." Why? Unable
to come to a compromise on the issue of payment, theoretically,
most cable operators stand to be switched off by Ten Sports and
its distribution agent, Modi Entertianment Network and both are
firm on the demands on increased connectivity.
Pramod Pandya, a cable operator from Gujarat, pointed out it is
was Ten Sports that is blacking cable operators who are "unable
to meet the unjust and unfair demands of the sports channel."
According to him, the government must intervene or would face a
backlash in the forthcoming elections.
"If the government starts a Samjhauta Channel (on the lines
of a bus service from Delhi to Lahore) and airs cricket on that,
we'd happily show the channel at no extra cost," he grandly
suggested to cheering from the crowd mostly comprising cable ops.
10-15% HIKE OK
Most cable operators today grudgingly admitted that if Ten Sports
agrees to a hike in payment (due to increased connectivity) ranging
between 10-15 per cent for the duration of the Indo-Pak series,
they would try to manage that without passing it on to the consumer.
"The cable operators can manage a hike of 10-15 per cent,
but it would amount to fleecing them if asked for payments at par
with ESPN-Star Sports," Cable Operators federation of India's
Roop Sharma said, adding, "They'll find it difficult if asked
to cough up money for six months or one year."
Though Amarjeet Singh, a cable operator from Bareilly in Uttar
Pradesh, would tend to agree with Sharma, he pointed out that even
a 10 per cent hike would tell financially on a cable operator like
him because in the city he operates consumers would not pay up anything
extra and could destroy his equipment if the matches are not shown.
Singh says that he used to pay Rs 57,000 for 12,000 connections
to Ten Sports. But after the Indo-Pak series was announced, he says,
the demand has gone up to Rs 250,000 for a subscriber base between
25,000-30,000. "I don't have that sort of money to pay, nor
that many subscribers. There is no option but for the government
to intervene," he added.
Cable Networks Association's Rakesh Dutta feels that the demands
that Ten Sports is making would amount to almost a 400 per cent
hike , which is not tenable. "The pro-broadcasters stance of
the regulator and the government is very clear when CAS was postponed,"
he added.
TEN STANDS ITS GROUND
Amidst this entire hullabaloo, Ten Sports and Modi Entertainment
Network (MEN) maintained their earlier stand that the cable ops
should pay up according to increased connectivity, though in Mumbai
the cable operators' federation has not yet come to a final conclusion
on the future course of action. MEN is Ten Sports' distributor in
India.
Referring to the situation in Mumbai, where Ten is off most networks,
MEN advisor RK Singh says: "The ball is in Coda's (Cable Operators
and Distributors Association) court. They are the ones who have
blocked our signals. We will not accept a 25 per cent increase in
declaration, which is what the cable ops are asking for. If we accede
to this, what we would be getting effectively is only 3 per cent
of the actual connectivity."
Singh added, "What we want, as I have stated earlier, are
declarations comparable to what ESPN Star Sports, Star or Sony are
getting."
What does the Shiv Sena-backed Coda have to say? Anil Parab, president
Coda and proprietor of Dattatray Cable, told indiantelevision.com
that a meeting was held today, but no conclusions were reached.
"We have given our proposal to the government and we feel
that the government should intervene in this matter. The match should
be shown on DD too as it is a national channel and has a greater
reach than Ten Sports. There is no cooperation from Ten Sports till
now. If a mid-way is not reached, then the country will not see
the matches as we will not air the channel. We hope to reach some
conclusion tomorrow after the government gives its decision."
However, Ravi Singh, president, Mumbai Cable Operators' Association
bared another side to the whole story when he said that the matches
would be shown irrespective of Ten's latest demands.
"Right now Ten Sports has not blocked us out, we have blocked
it because we are opposed to the four to five times increase in
subscriber base that is being asked for. We will try to amicably
sort out everything before the (cricket) matches start and if there
is a problem, we will teach them a lesson after the series is over.
But regardless of anything the matches will be shown."
While this soap opera is being played out, the Central and the
state governments are yet to firm up their mind on the issue. A
senior minister in the government told indiantelevision.com that
various tactics have been tried, but "beyond a point"
even the government cannot do anything as a third party's (Ten Sports)
commercial agreements are involved.
Meanwhile, arguments continued in a case filed in the Chennai high
court last week where the petitioner had pleaded that the court
give directions to the broadcast and cable regulator Trai to see
that DD also gets to air the matches. The arguments continue tomorrow.
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