In a relief for cable TV subscribers, the standoff between key broadcasters and major cable TV platforms ended on Thursday night. Broadcasters Disney-Star, Sony and Zee switched on signals on the key cable TV platforms between Thursday night and Friday morning, sources said.
This come even as a petition filed by the industry body All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) on the matter is before the Kerala High Court. The matter is next posted for hearing on March 3.
The stand-off began five days ago with Disney-Star, Sony, and Zee disconnecting signals at key MSOs, including GTPL, Hathway, DEN, and NXT, among others. The key reason for the stand-off was the refusal of MSOs to sign RIOs in line with NTO 3.0.
Sources said the key cable TV platforms decided to sign Reference Interconnect Offers (RIO) “without any prejudice.” The interconnect agreements may be revised depending on the court order. The standoff had put immense pressure on Multi-System Operators and local cable operators as they were expecting to get interim relief from the court.
Karan Taurani, Senior Vice-President, Elara Capital said, “ If the standoff would have gone on longer it would have led many cable TV subscribers to switch to DTH service providers or lead to cord-cutting. The timely resolution is in the interest of both MSOs and broadcasters.”
AIDCF had earlier stated that broadcasters had increased prices of their channels and bouquets by 18-35 per cent and that its members had refused to sign an agreement as a mark of protest. It had also said that 45 million households have been left without access to entertainment channels by broadcasters.
The Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation on Sunday in a statement had said that AIDCF members were in defiance of law and less than 25 million households have been impacted.