The Arasu Cable TV corporation was launched yesterday by Chief minister M.Karunanidhi yesterday. The maiden service of this first of its kind, Government owned cable network started of in Thanjavur. Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Tiruchi, Nagapattinam, Perambalur and Ariyalur are the towns which will recieve signals from ACTC now. Nearly 50 out of 60 cable operators of Thanjavur town have switched allegiance from the only other MSO. Except for Surya and chutti Tv remaining of Sun network is not carried by ACTc as of now. While the government claimed yesterday that it will start beaming Sun network also in a week’s time Sun network afficials clain that Arasu cable is yet to apply for its service. Except Surya and chutti remaining channels of Sun Tv are pay channels. So nearly 84 % of Thanjavur cannot see Sun Tv today.
Sun Tv is the most popular channel in Tamilnadu today. Inspite of many new channels including Kalaignar tv coming in the past year, its hold over the prime time is still strong. In June RCV, a MSO started by Azhagiri son of the CM started operations in Madurai without Sun Network in its list of channels. This was initially a ploy by them to erase Sun from the viewer’s choice. However due to customer pressure they tried to rope in Sun network, which the network refused on technical grounds. This resulted in overwhelming customer ire and many switched to sun direct, a DTH service offered by Sun Tv. A similar scenario may erupt in Thanjavur also now, if Sun is blacked out for a month or so. Many cable operators may think twice in other areas to join ACTC if this present scenario is not rectified soon.
Sun TV Network Ltd reported 36.5 per cent growth in net profit at Rs 367 crore for the year ended March 31, 2008, against Rs 268 crore in the previous year. Revenues grew by 27.5 per cent to Rs 926 crore during the year from Rs 726 crore in the previous year. According to a press release from the company, the last quarter also saw sustained growth in subscription revenues from DTH platforms of Dish TV, Tata Sky and its own Sun Direct. Sun TV channels are viewed by more than a million DTH subscribers and it is expected that revenues from this platform will be an important growth driver in the years to come. Sun direct registered one million subscribers within 200 mdays of its operation. The present scenario is condusive of expontial growth for it especially in Tamilnadu. At present for Rs 2899, one can enjoy 75 channels of digital quality through Sun Direct for two years, while one will have to spend Rs 2400 for ACTC connection for the same period and that too in analague mode. With its impressive financial performance Sun dieect can afford to fine tune its offer even more and that will result in a landslide in its favour. However whether it is in a position to give quality service with such growing subscription base is a question. But going by SCv’s record it looks it is a dependable company.
At present a cable operator requires to pay Rs 500 as annual fees to postal and telegraph department and do his operation. TRAI , yesterday has suggested cable TV reforms by proposing Rs 10000 as license for district level and Rs one lakh as state level for operations in cable industry , valid for five years. It has proposed one lakh and Ten lakhs for MSO in district and State level [ 25 lakhs for National level.]
TRAI wants new local cable operators to digitise their networks in three years from the date of issue of licence as part of their performance obligations. Existing players will get five years from the date of notification of the new licensing regime, after which no licence for analogue will be granted. Multi-system operators starting digital operations will be given a 50 per cent reduction on the applicable entry fee for the first time. Existing MSOs will have five to seven years. According to the industry, with high volumes the basic analogue to digital conversion would cost Rs 500 per set-top box, while a CAS box would cost around Rs 1,500. Digitisation will also increase the number of channels offered. TRAI expects to complete digitalization by 2010 in time for common wealth games. However, this would involve huge capital investments in upgradation of cable network. The subscriber too would have to invest in set-top boxes or digital receivers.
Dish Tv has announced new Hattrick scheme. Sun Direct DTH is already very aggressive with multiple choices and low entry cost. Tata Sky has reduced its monthl fees and entry cost. Big Tv by Reliance and Bharti Airtel DTh and Videocon are also entering DTH with big ambitions. At present there are over 128 million television owners in India. Out of which 78 miliion are through cable. At present Dish Tv leads with 3.6 million subscribers. Tata has around 2 million and Sun direct one million plus. By 2010 it is estimated that around 15 million will have DTH in India. Reliance Big Tv is expected to start by August end. They have an agressive plan to rope 5 miilion at the start itself. They have ordered 5 million set top boxes to a korean and Taiwanese company. Big Tv is expected to offer connection at Rs 1000 including STB and also offer 20 movies a week. There will be more pice war in recent months.
IPTV is also catching up. Bharathi and Reliance are coming in here. The MTNL I-Control subscription is Rs 199 for Delhi with 120 channels including Sony Television, Star Television, Zee Television and so on. The subscription for Mumbai is Rs 100 which includes 100 channels and the company will soon increase the number. The company also plans to enter Northern India including Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana , Jammu and Kashmir and so on. Analysts feel that considering the low tariff plan that Aksh is offering, they may soon eat into the DTH business and not so much of the cable business. World over, while DTH has about 70-80 million subscribers, IPTV has a measly subscriber base of one million. IPTV will require cable connections.
So for a cable operator in Tamilnadu, his costs are going to rise thanks to TRAI and his income is going to be steady or reduce thanks to ACTC plus competition from rival technologies.
Another victim is perhaps the local channels. There are around 900 local channels in Tamilnadu. In Thanjavur, the spat between the MSO and Arasu Cable is making the local channels get gittery there. News is that there are six local channels in the region and the ACTC wants the MSO’S to retain only two so that the revenue for Satellite channels are not affected. Azhagiri, son of the CM also has a local Tv called Dayal Tv. In fact as per a local weekly RCv plans to start operation in coimbatore also eyeing local advertising revenue.
Arasu Cable is no competition to anyone. Being a government company it will have more influence and will always give service at lesser cost than competition, claims the CM. A very clear hint that the competition better close shops. That is why it was very wise of SUN network to go agressive in DTH market.
The cable opearators are facing multiple dangers. One they will be increasingly pulled by different quarters as most MSO’s in the state have political support. For the customer a large state supply of signals may mean poor service in long run and may be less problem solving mechanism as in many government departments of the day.
One thing is for sure, it would take a minimum of six months for a better clear picture and even then things will continue to be fluid. The customer may benefit on quality front but pricing may not fall drasitically in coming months.
In Chennai people who already have CAS connection have a question- what about their present STB?
ACTC should give more answers.
Filed under: Arasu cable, big tv, Dish Tv, Inaugurated, rcv, sun direct, Sun DTH, tata sky, Thanjavur | Leave a comment »