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Regulars
Kolkata, Dec 6 Sony Entertainment Television (SET) wants the telecom watchdog, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), to hike rates of pay channels in CAS areas. It is also of the view that price-fixing should be left to market forces.
According to Gurjeev Singh Kapoor, head of SET Discovery, pay channels should not be subject to any price regulation. Regulation of rates and price control distort the market and lead to mis-allocation of resources. In India, no other medium was subject to price regulation, Kapoor added.
Kapoor is not also happy with the proposed tariff for non-CAS areas. "We have challenged the non-CAS tariff order as there are a lot of flaws in it. According to the order, broadcasters have to offer channels to MSOs and cable operators on an ala carte basis, in addition to bouquets, but it is not mandatory for MSOs or cable operators to follow suit while offering channels to subscribers. In what way this will help consumers is a big question."
According to Trai's stated position earlier, prices of channels in non-CAS areas would always be higher because of the practice of under-declaration and broadcasters not getting full remittance. The price of each pay channel has been fixed at Rs 5 as the upper limit in CAS areas. But according to the non-CAS tariff order, this price, on an average, is less than Rs 4 per channel, which was ridiculous, Kapoor said.
According to Gurjeev Singh Kapoor, head of SET Discovery, pay channels should not be subject to any price regulation. Regulation of rates and price control distort the market and lead to mis-allocation of resources. In India, no other medium was subject to price regulation, Kapoor added.
Kapoor is not also happy with the proposed tariff for non-CAS areas. "We have challenged the non-CAS tariff order as there are a lot of flaws in it. According to the order, broadcasters have to offer channels to MSOs and cable operators on an ala carte basis, in addition to bouquets, but it is not mandatory for MSOs or cable operators to follow suit while offering channels to subscribers. In what way this will help consumers is a big question."
According to Trai's stated position earlier, prices of channels in non-CAS areas would always be higher because of the practice of under-declaration and broadcasters not getting full remittance. The price of each pay channel has been fixed at Rs 5 as the upper limit in CAS areas. But according to the non-CAS tariff order, this price, on an average, is less than Rs 4 per channel, which was ridiculous, Kapoor said.
