CARTOON NETWORK ENCRYPTS

TNT & Cartoon Network has encrypted its service for the Indian market from 1 March. It has been testing digital transmissions for the past couple of months. The charges to cable operators vary between Rs 2.90 and Rs 3.50 per subscriber depending on the size of their networks. The lower rate is being levied on cable operators with larger subscriber bases. Cable operators are also being offered a four-year installment plan to pay for the Scientific Atlanta PowerView digital receivers-decoders, after making an initial down payment of Rs 10,000.

According to Turner International India vice-president and general manager Anshuman Misra, the channel is likely to retain its pre-encryption subscriber base of 6 million Indian homes even after conversion to a pay TV service. "That's because we have been conservative with our penetration numbers pre-subscription," he says.

Turner has appointed 30 distributors and six executives to look after the distribution of the channel all over India. The distribution management headcount on its rolls is likely to go up to 12 in the near future.

Tuner has also signed deals with four and five-star hotels, says Misra. "We hope to be in every hotel belonging to these categories."