Hyderabad: Real drama happens behind TV screens
Internal politics leads to higher cable costs.
Hyderabad: The monopoly of multi-system operators over the cable TV industry is burdening customers and local cable operators.
Due to the harassment of an MSO, cable operator N. Ramesh from Beramguda near BHEL recently committed suicide. He had been threatened by an MSO of introducing a new cable operator in his jurisdiction if he failed to pay as much as other MSOs.
Cable Operators’ Welfare Association secretary S. Jagadeeswar Rao said that they were collecting Rs 180 to Rs 200 as monthly charges from customers. Only 10 per cent was reaching local cable operators.
“Earlier, we had independent set-ups and we were called local MSOs. When the MSOs system was introduced, the cable charges increased,” he said.
Nearly a dozen MSOs exist in the city, three of which have the most customers. To overcome the pressure from MSOs, the LCOs have tied up with all MSOs.
Mr Rao said, “Only an LCO with 1,000 connections can survive. We split these 1,000 connections into 100 or 150 for each MSO. We are collecting Rs 200 from customers and paying Rs 190 to MSOs. Some customers don’t pay and we need to provide free connections to several groups, including the police,” he said.
He added, “If we do not take an MSO’s service, he will introduce a new cable operator. They introduce rowdy-sheeters and goons as cable operators.”
Although the government has made the Digital Addressable System mandatory, replacing the Conditional Access System, no MSO is implementing channels-on-demand and is providing bulk channels.
Mr Rao said that as there was no regulation on price-fixing and no authority was looking into implementation of customer choice services, the MSOs with political support had a free run.
“Politicians in the ruling party and the opposition have cable businesses. The MSOs are even stopping broadcast of several news channels for going against them or their political party, which is in violation of the Cable TV Network Regulation Act 2015. As per this act, MSOs must give an advertisement in two newspapers seeking public opinion within 21 days,” he said.