It is history in making, as for the first time analogue cable signals will cease in the four metros of New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai on November 1 to give way to digital addressable systems (DAS)... or is it?
While the government is firm and sticking to its deadline for the first phase of digitisation, there are voices of opposition from a few political parties and West Bengal and Tamil Nadu state governments apart from local cable operators (LCOs). West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already threatened to launch a countrywide agitation, if cable TV services go for a blackout. “We cannot accept this stand by the Centre. When set top boxes are not in hand, analogue system should be allowed to continue, Centre has no right to blackout television,” Banerjee told the media.
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However, Information and Broadcasting Ministry expects that the digitisation would be completed by the time. As per Uday Kumar Varma, secretary, Information & Broadcasting Ministry, about 45,000-50,000 units of set top boxes (STBs) are sold each day, most of which is in Delhi. Last Friday, he pointed out that more than 81,000 STBs were seeded.
Ministry claims that digitisation in Mumbai is almost 100 per cent, while Delhi is at 88 per cent and Kolkata is at 82 per cent.
However, according to industry sources, small operators are facing huge problems with boxes, and they have already sought extension of the deadline. For instance, a LCO in Mumbai (Paresh Thakkar of Bhavani Rajesh Cable) has already filed a petition before the Bombay High Court seeking extension of the deadline. The Court will hear the case on October 31, which incidentally is also he deadline for the first phase.
Roop Sharma, president of Cable Operators Federation of India (COFI) says that the figures that Ministry is floating are exaggerated. “As per reports from research firm Media Partner Asia and trade website MXM India, cable digitisation is much less than what the ministry is projecting. We are not saying that digitisation is bad, but the technology should not be forced upon the people.”
But the multi-system-operators (MSOs) and direct-to-home (DTH) players are gung ho and are expecting that the deadline will not be extended this time. “There is no indication from the government of any extension in the deadline this time, which is a good sign. There will always be people in market who will wait till the end. So you will see the real pace once the blackout happens. In the last 2-3 weeks, we have been seeing significant jump in the seeding of STBs. From DEN alone over 20,000 STBs are being seeded per day,” MG Azhar, COO of DEN Networks said. DEN is expecting to remain the largest MSO in Delhi and also to hold 15 per cent market in Mumbai post digitisation.
The DTH players are also upbeat about the opportunity lying ahead and are betting big on the first phase. “There is no reason to doubt that the deadline will not be met. Both Cable and DTH companies have enough boxes to meet the requirements and the campaign released by Ministry is actually very effective. In the last 3-4 weeks, we have seen unprecedented demand for the STBs. Yes, there is inertia among a few customers but once the signals get blacked out, it will take care of that,” added Harit Nagpal, MD and CEO of Tata Sky.
Everyone is expecting a huge rush for boxes once the signals get blacked out on November 1. "We have seen about 10 times jump in STB sales during the past few weeks, in Delhi and about 7-8 times jump in Mumbai," said Salil Kapoor, COO, Dish TV. "We won't be able to feed all at one go. It would take a few days. To be prepared for the same, we are getting all our installers from neighbouring states to be stationed in the four metro cities, so that the rush could be tackled in a structured way," he added.
Meanwhile, industry observers believe that Mumbai and Delhi are still manageable, but shifting to DAS will be much more complex in the other two metros of Chennai and Kolkata.
"I believe Mumbai and Delhi will be easily done but real picture of Kolkata and Chennai will be know on November 1. The next 15 days most of the MSOs will be busy in getting the packages right for the customers. It will take 1-2 weeks for customers also to get settle," Ashok Mansukhani, president of the MSO Alliance and director of IndusInd Media and Communications Ltd said.
In Chennai, for instance, industry sources say that television sets will go black in around 32 lakh households on November 1, if the deadline is honoured. There are 40 lakh cable connections in the city. However, as per the Ministry the Cable homes are showing 61% digitisation and together with DTH, the percentage of digitisation goes up to 85 per cent.
On October 30, a day before the deadline, the cable operators are confused what would be the impact of this. Whether majority of their customers would left with blank television screens or could have a breath of relief with some free to air channels, they have no idea, says P Sakilan, president of Thamizhaga Cable TV Operator's General Welfare Association (TCOA).
“Chennai has around 40 lakh connections and so far only 2.5 lakh set top boxes were supplied by the MSOs here. We think at least 50 per cent of the connections could be switched to digital mode by December,” says Sakilan.
He added that the DTH companies, with huge offers are in the process of expanding customer base, while the last mile cable operators are left with no choice but to wait and watch for the supply of STBs to take place. The cable operators in various regions has united to form small companies to offer set top boxes to customers and act as MSOs, he said. At least four such small companies have been formed in Chennai so far, he added
Sources attributed two reasons for not taking up the digitisation seriously by LCOs. They think that date will be extended for digitisation further and two Arasu Cable Corporation, the state-run MSO, will take over the control in the city. While as on Monday evening, 11 companies have got licence for digitisation, this does not include Arasu Cable.
In Kolkata, the case is slightly more curious as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee feels that the central government should abstain from making STBs mandatory, which according to her, will add to the burden on people. She reiterated her stand today.
According to industry estimates about 8 lakh cable TV customers are in for a blackout in Kolkata.
Out of the total 23 lakh total cable connections in the city under 9 MSOs and over 5,000 operators, till now only 15 lakh have got STBs installed.
“As far as our company is concerned, we still have about 1.5 lakh more set top boxes lying with our operators for installation, while we have availed it to 7 lakh houses till now,” says Suresh Sethia, director of Siti Cable, one of the largest MSOs in the city. While all the 9 MSOs got digitalisation licences in the city, availability of set top boxes is a concern for all of them.
Earlier this month, the Mamata Banerjee-led government had asked the Centre to extend this deadline as MSOs complained that they were yet to receive about 40 to 50 per cent of set top boxes. However, operators today said that while all the single television homes are covered, multiple-TV homes are still pending.
Members of Cable and Welfare Association of West Bengal had a meeting with the West Bengal Urban Development minister Firhad Hakim regarding this. After the meeting, the state government has requested MSOs to continue analogue services, as a blackout may affect common man.
Digitisation: Govt firm on deadline amid opposition
While the government is firm and sticking to its deadline for the first phase of digitisation, there are voices of opposition from a few political parties and West Bengal and Tamil Nadu state governments apart from local cable operators (LCOs). West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already threatened to launch a countrywide agitation, if cable TV services go for a blackout. “We cannot accept this stand by the Centre. When set top boxes are not in hand, analogue system should be allowed to continue, Centre has no right to blackout television,” Banerjee told the media.
Also Read
Related Stories
News Now
- Mamata threatens agitation on TV digitisation issue
- Exclusive teams to verify digitisation progress in 4 metros
- IPL buy to be earnings accretive for Sun TV in medium term
- 25% of firms will have chief digital officer by 2015: Gartner
- Govt's claim on digitisation wrong: cable body
- 81% cable digitisation achieved in 4 metros: I&B Ministry
However, Information and Broadcasting Ministry expects that the digitisation would be completed by the time. As per Uday Kumar Varma, secretary, Information & Broadcasting Ministry, about 45,000-50,000 units of set top boxes (STBs) are sold each day, most of which is in Delhi. Last Friday, he pointed out that more than 81,000 STBs were seeded.
Ministry claims that digitisation in Mumbai is almost 100 per cent, while Delhi is at 88 per cent and Kolkata is at 82 per cent.
However, according to industry sources, small operators are facing huge problems with boxes, and they have already sought extension of the deadline. For instance, a LCO in Mumbai (Paresh Thakkar of Bhavani Rajesh Cable) has already filed a petition before the Bombay High Court seeking extension of the deadline. The Court will hear the case on October 31, which incidentally is also he deadline for the first phase.
Roop Sharma, president of Cable Operators Federation of India (COFI) says that the figures that Ministry is floating are exaggerated. “As per reports from research firm Media Partner Asia and trade website MXM India, cable digitisation is much less than what the ministry is projecting. We are not saying that digitisation is bad, but the technology should not be forced upon the people.”
But the multi-system-operators (MSOs) and direct-to-home (DTH) players are gung ho and are expecting that the deadline will not be extended this time. “There is no indication from the government of any extension in the deadline this time, which is a good sign. There will always be people in market who will wait till the end. So you will see the real pace once the blackout happens. In the last 2-3 weeks, we have been seeing significant jump in the seeding of STBs. From DEN alone over 20,000 STBs are being seeded per day,” MG Azhar, COO of DEN Networks said. DEN is expecting to remain the largest MSO in Delhi and also to hold 15 per cent market in Mumbai post digitisation.
The DTH players are also upbeat about the opportunity lying ahead and are betting big on the first phase. “There is no reason to doubt that the deadline will not be met. Both Cable and DTH companies have enough boxes to meet the requirements and the campaign released by Ministry is actually very effective. In the last 3-4 weeks, we have seen unprecedented demand for the STBs. Yes, there is inertia among a few customers but once the signals get blacked out, it will take care of that,” added Harit Nagpal, MD and CEO of Tata Sky.
Everyone is expecting a huge rush for boxes once the signals get blacked out on November 1. "We have seen about 10 times jump in STB sales during the past few weeks, in Delhi and about 7-8 times jump in Mumbai," said Salil Kapoor, COO, Dish TV. "We won't be able to feed all at one go. It would take a few days. To be prepared for the same, we are getting all our installers from neighbouring states to be stationed in the four metro cities, so that the rush could be tackled in a structured way," he added.
Meanwhile, industry observers believe that Mumbai and Delhi are still manageable, but shifting to DAS will be much more complex in the other two metros of Chennai and Kolkata.
"I believe Mumbai and Delhi will be easily done but real picture of Kolkata and Chennai will be know on November 1. The next 15 days most of the MSOs will be busy in getting the packages right for the customers. It will take 1-2 weeks for customers also to get settle," Ashok Mansukhani, president of the MSO Alliance and director of IndusInd Media and Communications Ltd said.
In Chennai, for instance, industry sources say that television sets will go black in around 32 lakh households on November 1, if the deadline is honoured. There are 40 lakh cable connections in the city. However, as per the Ministry the Cable homes are showing 61% digitisation and together with DTH, the percentage of digitisation goes up to 85 per cent.
On October 30, a day before the deadline, the cable operators are confused what would be the impact of this. Whether majority of their customers would left with blank television screens or could have a breath of relief with some free to air channels, they have no idea, says P Sakilan, president of Thamizhaga Cable TV Operator's General Welfare Association (TCOA).
“Chennai has around 40 lakh connections and so far only 2.5 lakh set top boxes were supplied by the MSOs here. We think at least 50 per cent of the connections could be switched to digital mode by December,” says Sakilan.
He added that the DTH companies, with huge offers are in the process of expanding customer base, while the last mile cable operators are left with no choice but to wait and watch for the supply of STBs to take place. The cable operators in various regions has united to form small companies to offer set top boxes to customers and act as MSOs, he said. At least four such small companies have been formed in Chennai so far, he added
Sources attributed two reasons for not taking up the digitisation seriously by LCOs. They think that date will be extended for digitisation further and two Arasu Cable Corporation, the state-run MSO, will take over the control in the city. While as on Monday evening, 11 companies have got licence for digitisation, this does not include Arasu Cable.
In Kolkata, the case is slightly more curious as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee feels that the central government should abstain from making STBs mandatory, which according to her, will add to the burden on people. She reiterated her stand today.
According to industry estimates about 8 lakh cable TV customers are in for a blackout in Kolkata.
Out of the total 23 lakh total cable connections in the city under 9 MSOs and over 5,000 operators, till now only 15 lakh have got STBs installed.
“As far as our company is concerned, we still have about 1.5 lakh more set top boxes lying with our operators for installation, while we have availed it to 7 lakh houses till now,” says Suresh Sethia, director of Siti Cable, one of the largest MSOs in the city. While all the 9 MSOs got digitalisation licences in the city, availability of set top boxes is a concern for all of them.
Earlier this month, the Mamata Banerjee-led government had asked the Centre to extend this deadline as MSOs complained that they were yet to receive about 40 to 50 per cent of set top boxes. However, operators today said that while all the single television homes are covered, multiple-TV homes are still pending.
Members of Cable and Welfare Association of West Bengal had a meeting with the West Bengal Urban Development minister Firhad Hakim regarding this. After the meeting, the state government has requested MSOs to continue analogue services, as a blackout may affect common man.
Digitisation: Govt firm on deadline amid opposition
