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Cable operators welcome government notification

Cable operators in the country, who claim to generate a revenue of Rs 10 billion per annum, on Thursday welcomed the government notification banning direct-to-home (DTH) television in India as this would prevent the Rupert Murdoch-owned News Television group from pre-empting the broadcast bill.

In a press release, the Cable Networks Association said the association had already pleaded before the joint select committee of Parliament examining the broadcast bill that the real effect of launching the DTH platform would be to bypass and make redundant the cable distribution system on the one hand and obviate the legislative and administrative controls of the government on the other.

The press release says that the aim of the satellite TV channels was to become encrypted (pay) channels by next year and then charge heavy subscription fees, thus making it difficult for cable operators to continue in business.

CNA General Secretary Rakesh Datta also emphasised the urgent need to expedite the broadcast bill with modifications with regard to the procedure for licencing local delivery services as the proposal to give licences to the highest bidder would lead to chaos. He has also emphasised the need to regulate the cable TV industry to prevent the kind of situation caused by the fee hikes by ESPN.

The Cable Networks Association has sought an appointment with the joint select committee of Parliament examining the broadcast bill to present its case, and also sent a memorandum to all the members of the committee in support of its demand.

The memorandum, while welcoming the bill, says that restricting them to a limit of only 5000 subscribers will be detrimental to the attempt to curb creation of monopolies in the satellite television sector.

The association has said the proposal in the bill to give licences to the highest bidder is unjust and should be deleted along with the clause relating to auctioning territories for granting licences for local delivery services. Although the bill says that existing cable operators can continue their services provided they obtain licences within six months, any attempt to deny licences to these operators will not only be against the canons of justice but would violate Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution which guarantees the fundamental right to carry on trades and professions.

The association has suggested that there should be a mandatory provision for cable operators in each territory (akin to the telecom territories) to come together in the shape of corporate entities to obtain licences for that territory for a stipulated period. These corporate entities could then be given the first priority to operate cable in their respective territories through a common master control room.

The memorandum also points out that the cable operators through their work since 1991 had built up the cable TV industry in the country. It was these cable operators who had created a 15-million strong subscriber base, which gave employment to over one million Indian citizens.

The subscriber base, built up by the cable TV industry, could be used suitably to bring about a revolution in information technology and create the information super highway, offering TV, telecom, data transmission, and other services through the small cable operators.

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