Viacom18 yesterday published its new Reference Interconnect Offer (RIO) which will be applicable from 1 February 2020. The broadcaster has announced the revision of a-la-carte rates of 3 of its channels along with the price hike of its existing bouquet offerings. It has also launched two new bouquets for its subscribers along with the withdrawal of many bouquets.
It is pertinent to note that these changes are in no way related to the TRAI Tariff Order amendment released on 1st January. The amended Tariff Order will come into action on 1st March whereas existing signed RIOs will expire on 31st January which will force DPOs to sign new RIOs for February. These rates will go live on 1st February and will remain valid until the amended Tariff Order comes into play.
DreamDTH compared the earlier version of Viacom18 RIO with the newer version RIO. The changes are listed below.
Withdrawal of more than a dozen Viacom18 bouquets
Viacom18 has discontinued around two dozen bouquets it had introduced last year. Colors Wala North East Budget Plus, Colors Wala North East Value, Colors Wala Kerala Budget, Colors Wala Karnataka Budget, Colors Wala Karnataka Value, Colors Wala Gujarat Value, Colors Odia Value, Colors Wala Telugu Budget, Colors Wala Tamil Budget, Colors Wala Hindi Value HD, Colors Wala Family HD, Colors Wala North East Budget Plus HD, Colors Wala North East Value HD, Colors Wala Kerala Budget HD, Colors Wala Karnataka Budget HD, Colors Wala Karnataka Value HD, Colors Wala Karnataka Family HD, Colors Wala Gujarat Value HD, Colors Wala Gujarat Family HD, Colors Wala Bengal Value HD, Colors Wala Bengal Family HD, Colors Wala Maharashtra Value HD, Colors Wala Maharashtra Family HD, Colors Wala Odia Value HD, Colors Wala Odia Family HD, Colors Wala Telugu Budget HD, Colors Wala Telugu Value HD, Colors Wala Tamil Budget HD, and Colors Wala Tamil Value HD have been dropped.
Colors Tamil, Colors Oriya and Colors Bangla A-la-Carte MRP revised
Viacom18 has revised the a-la-carte rate of three of its regional general entertainment channels namely Colors Tamil, Colors Oriya and Colors Bangla. All three have had a price hike of Rs 1.
| Channel Name | Old MRP | New MRP |
| Colors Bangla | Rs 7 | Rs 8 |
| Colors Oriya | Rs 6 | Rs 7 |
| Colors Tamil | Rs 3 | Rs 4 |
Price Hike of Bouquets
The broadcaster has increased the price of most of its bouquets while leaving some untouched. The price hike, however, is nominal. Most of the bouquets have seen a price hike in the range of Rs 3-Rs 4. The broadcaster’s pricing still remains cheap.
Colors Wala English Mini and Colors Wala English Mini HD Pack Launched
The broadcaster has finally bridged the gap in its bouquets offerings with a launch of an English bouquet which it had been missing. Colors Wala English Mini and Colors Wala English Mini HD have been launched at Rs 10 and Rs 18.
| Bouquet Name | Channels | Bouquet MRP |
| Colors Wala English Mini | CNBC TV18, CNN News18, Colors Infinity, Comedy Central | Rs 10 |
| Colors Wala English Mini HD | CNBC TV18, CNN News18, Colors Infinity HD, Comedy Central HD, CNBC TV18 Prime HD | Rs 18 |
While the SD version offers 4 channels its HD variant offers 5 channels in the pack. The new pricing and bouquets will be available to DPOs from 1st February. What is your opinion on the price hike and new bouquets of Viacom18? Let us know your opinion in the comments.
