|
One clear mandate that Space TV has before it is to make its DTH
service "India's largest digital television platform, offering
consumers a wide array of programming choices with interactive features
and superior picture and sound quality."
Before it can achieve that goal, it has some catching up to do
first. The Subhash Chandra-promoted Dish TV has had a clear head
start as the first player to enter the segment in October 2003 while
pubcaster Prasar Bharati, launched its free-to-air platform 'DD
Direct+' in December 2004.
Contacted by Indiantelevision.com, a senior executive of Dish TV,
which is 20 per cent owned by Zee Telefilms, welcomed the LoI issued
to Space TV, saying, "Competition will benefit the consumer
at the end of the day."
With the entry of Space TV and Sun DirectTV (Sun Group's proposed
DTH platform), there will be a total of four players in the Indian
DTH arena. Currently Dish TV claims to have about 200,000 subscribers
while Prasar Bharati boasts of over two million subscribers.
Speaking of Sun DirectTV, while it can be assumed that it too got
the LoI, indiantelevision.com was unable to get an official confirmation
on this from Kalanidhi Maran's network at the time of filing this
report.
The handing over of the LoIs follows the confirmation by newly
appointed information and Broadcasting secretary S K Arora earlier
in the day that his ministry would be issuing "in a day or
two" letters of intent relating to the DTH licence of Space
TV and Sun DirectTV. The scrutiny "process is complete"
as all queries have been satisfactorily answered by the applicants,
Arora had said during a media briefing in the afternoon.
AIADMK MP MOVES COURT AGAINST DTH LoI TO SUN TV
The Press Trust of India has reported that an AIADMK member of
Parliament today moved the Madras High Court to restrain the Centre
from processing Sun TV's DTH application citing the "Competitive
Act 2002.
When the PIL by PG Narayanan, AIADMK leader in the Rajya Sabha,
came up for hearing, a division bench comprising Justice Prabha
Sridevan and Justice C Nagappan directed the Union ministries of
company affairs, home, communications and information technology
and Sun TV to file counter affidavits in response to the petition
by 24 May, PTI has reported.
Also Read:
SK
Arora replaces Navin Chawla as I&B secretary
Space
TV: I&B readies note for Reddy's approval
Space
TV issue inches towards climax?
Sun
TV plans DTH foray
Sun's DTH venture within norms, asserts company
|
