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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Take control of your TV

Take control of your TV

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published Published on May 1, 2012   modified Modified on May 1, 2012
-The Telegraph

From July 1, TV viewers in the four metros will for the first time have a choice over which channels to watch and not have it decided for them by multi-system operators (MSOs) and local cable operators. Also, they will have to pay only for channels they have chosen.

The rest of India will have this choice by December 2014 when the digital transmission of cable TV signals becomes mandatory across the country. (See chart)

The Centre paved the way for this on Saturday by notifying rules that make it mandatory for the MSOs and cable operators to transmit signals to subscribers in an encrypted form through a digital system. Operators who fail to meet the various deadlines will have their registration cancelled.

Free from ‘politics’

Of the over 800 channels available in India, cable operators now transmit only up to 100 on the “prime band”, and decide which channels not to show.

“Since the business is owned by politicians in many parts of India, such as Punjab and Bengal, it meant not showing channels critical of the government. This will be a thing of the past. That is why some political parties are resisting this change,” an information and broadcasting ministry official said.

“Path-breaking” is how his minister, Ambika Soni, described digitisation, for which Parliament had cleared the decks by passing the Cable Television Networks Regulation (Amendment) Bill in the winter session.

“The consumer is going to be the principal beneficiary. He will get much better viewing and access to many more services which today are provided by the direct-to-home (DTH) operator,” Soni said.

Awareness drive

Broadcasters, MSOs and cable operators are to start creating public awareness in their areas 30 days before that area switches from analog to digital signals.

They will need to inform each consumer how much he needs to pay per month according to his choice of channels. They will have to convey all relevant information, such as the number and names of free-to-air channels to be provided by the MSO, the monthly rent for a set-top box and the security amount.

They will also need to inform the customers about the technical specifications, model, make and other details of the set-top boxes, to be imported from China.

Advantage channels

Rampant under-reporting of the subscriber base by cable operators means both paid and free-to-air broadcasters suffer. Digitisation will make it possible for broadcasters and advertisers to know not only the size of the subscriber base but also who is watching what, leading to more targeted advertising.

The Indian TV market is the world’s third-largest, catering to 146 million households. According to government estimates, the viewers pay nearly Rs 20,000 crore to cable operators but only a fifth, Rs 4,000 crore, reaches the broadcasters because of massive under-reporting. The government too loses tax revenue.

The Centre also hopes that after digitisation, broadcasters’ revenue generation would depend less on target rating points (TRPs) and more on subscription.

TRPs are calculated from data provided by only about 15,000 to 20,000 meters installed in Indian homes. After digitisation, every set-top box at every home will function like such a meter, recording which programme was viewed when — data that will be available to the channels.

Soni recently said the national cable operators’ union supported digitisation since its members were losing business to DTH television, which uses digital transmission and is getting nearly one million new subscribers every month.

The Telegraph, 1 May, 2012, http://www.telegraphindia.com/1120501/jsp/nation/story_15439648.jsp#.T599HFL5nYQ


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