Arasu Cable TV Corporation is set to add “a bunch of pay channels” in the next couple of days to its bouquet. “Talks with almost all the broadcasters are over, and you can expect an announcement on the new channels to be added in the next day or two,” Mr M. Jayaraman, Managing Director of Arasu Cable, told Business Line .

Arasu Cable, the services of which were launched by the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Ms J. Jayalalithaa, early this month, currently carries only free-to-air channels. And the company has been in the process of negotiating rates with the broadcasters. “As promised, we will give 90 channels including those prominent pay channels,” he said, refusing to name them.

However, Business Line's enquiry with some of the broadcasters of pay channels reveals that the talks are still on as the rates offered by Arasu Cable is way below “reasonable”.

According to Mr Jayaraman, over 37,000 cable operators - including MSOs (multi-system operators) and LCOs (local cable operators) – have aligned with Arasu Cable. With the expected subscriber base of over 1.3 crore, the projected revenue to the Government through Arasu Cable was Rs 60 crore a month.

But, the success of Arasu Cable depends on the channels it carries. If it does not carry prominent channels such as Sun TV, Raj TV or Kalaignar TV, consumers may either choose to remain with the existing service provider or switch to the DTH (direct-to-home) platform, say industry observers.

Industry sources say if Arasu Cable manages to bag these pay channels at a higher price, the announced Rs 70-a-month subscription may need to be revised up.

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