Television content is set to get dearer for consumers, with at least one multi-service operator (MSO) going for a rate hike from Saturday and others gearing up to follow suit.
One direct to home (DTH) operator has already increased rates and is sending messages to subscribers to organise their packages accordingly.
Siti Cable, which has around 10 lakh subscribers in Kolkata and neighbouring areas, has announced new packages, effective from April 1. Under the revised rates, a base package that earlier came at Rs 165 will now cost Rs 205. A premium package, earlier Rs 440, will now cost Rs 480.
“You cannot compare the packages with the new ones. We have tweaked our offerings. But a rise was inevitable since broadcasters raised the price of their bouquets,” said Suresh Sethia, director of Siti Cable.
The broadcasters announced revised rates in the wake of a revised tariff structure notified by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).
In late February, the channels of at least three broadcasters remained off air for hundreds of thousands of cable TV subscribers in Kolkata for almost a week. The channels were taken off air by the broadcasters after a section of MSOs refused to implement the revised tariff structure notified by Trai.
Siti Cable was not part of the standoff. Subscribers of GTPL-KCBPL, Hathway and Den were among those who could not watch the channels. A scroll on their screens said the broadcasters might have removed some channels as cable operators refused to comply with a tariff hike to protect consumer interests.
The All India Digital Cable Federation, the apex body of cable operators, had moved court against Trai. The matter is sub-judice.
As of now, no other MSO in Kolkata has announced a hike. But sources in multiple MSOs said a hike was inevitable and they were busy working out the details.
“A budget bouquet (a bunch of channels) of Star costs Rs 62, up from Rs 49. A Zee base bouquet’s price has gone up to Rs 49 from Rs 39. If broadcasters have raised their prices, we have to, too,” said an official of a major MSO with a subscriber base of around 5 lakh in Kolkata and Howrah.
Following Trai’s revised tariff rate, DTH players announced a staggered rise in their prices instead of a one-time lump sum hike.
Tata Play subscribers have been getting a message saying “channels have increased their prices and Tata Play has absorbed most of it. With this change your pack price has been revised”.
The message asked subscribers to review their pack to “add/drop” channels.
Game has changed
Sources in the industry said Kolkata and surrounding areas, like Howrah and Salt Lake, have over 25 lakh cable TV viewers and around 12-15 lakh DTH viewers.
“With economic progress, cable to DTH is like a natural progression,” said a senior official of an MSO.
DTH offers options that MSOs, usually dependent on local cable operators, don’t.
The emergence of OTT has started to change the game, albeit gradually. “OTT is pulling viewers from DTH and cable. But the permanent churn is roughly one to two per cent per month,” said an official of a DTH player.