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By year-end, HBO's agreement with One Alliance will come to an
end and the premier movie channel will hop back on to the Zee Turner
bandwagon.
The core issue is: would Zee Turner increase its subscription price
after getting back HBO and would One Alliance reduce the bouquet
prices after HBO's departure so that the consumer does not get to
feel the difference?
The sources pointed out that if this does not happen, then the
tariff order would "have to be amended suitably" to specifically
address the issue.
Trai had said last week that while it is reviewing the annual price
increase of cable rates, a freeze ordered earlier this year would
continue. To maintain the sanctity of the ceiling, which had been
made effective from 26 December 2003, the regulator had decided
that pay channels launched after 26 December should not be allowed
to become part of the bouquet of channels being provided as on the
cut-off date.
A similar rule would apply for those channels that were free-to-air
on 26 December 2003 and later convert to pay. It is expected that
this would give choice to the operators and through them the consumers,
Trai had said. Trai added that the new pay channels may be offered
to the cable operator individually or as a new bouquet of channels
that are not covered by the ceiling specified by the tariff order
dated 15 January 2004.
Since the regulator had not envisaged a HBO-type situation, specific
measures had not been taken, a Trai source said, adding, "But
now this issue needs to be tackled if One Alliance, for example,
after HBO's departure does not reduce its price equivalent to the
increase that is effected by Zee Turner, if any."
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