CASualty: I&B lost in metro channels

The launch of CAS today in Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai —after Delhi was struck off the list — was so soft that it could be heard o...

The launch of CAS today in Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai —after Delhi was struck off the list — was so soft that it could be heard only beyond the Vindhyas prompting an Information and Broadcasting Ministry official to dub it a ‘‘non-launch’’.

After the dismal reception to CAS, the Ministry has been forced to change its stance by making it optional for a while till it gains acceptance. This means cable operators will not be penalised for showing encrypted channels without a set-top box till such time as the Ministry thinks it is right to do so.

Decision on CAS implementation today

KOLKATA: CAS could not be implemented in Kolkata today as the state government waited for some clarifications from the Centre. The three leading city MSOs — RPG Netcom, Siticable and Manthan, had already been directed in this regard. ‘‘We had written to the Centre for clarifications and the reply has come today,’’ CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharya said. ‘‘We will take a decision on CAS tomorrow,’’ he added.

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‘‘Authorities in Chennai told us they were not bothered since 90 per cent of their viewers watch Tamil channels which are free-to-air. Delhi administration told us pointblank that they were not implementing it because Assembly elections are round the corner. And authorities in Mumbai said they had to beat a retreat under pressure,’’ Basudev Banerjee, Secretary, Department of Information and Culture, told this reporter. ‘‘We don’t want this confusion to persist. Tomorrow we will sit with the cable operators and then make our stand clear,’’ he informed.

Cable operators expressed hope the whole picture should be clear soon. Meanwhile Additional Secretary, I&B, Vijay Singh said in New Delhi that CAS may be implemented in Kolkata in the next three days since Centre has responded to clarifications sought by the state government.

Chennai, with 1,400 set-top boxes, was the only metro to implement CAS after pay channels were switched off and seen in households with set-top boxes. For the rest of the households in Chennai, the choice was made today. They will watch 70-odd channels for Rs 93 till they have a change of heart.

The first day of CAS also turned out to be the day the Implementation Committee met to take stock of the situation. Broadcasters — Zee’s Subhash Chandra, Star’s Peter Mukherjea, Raghav Behl of CNBC/TV 18 — and Multi-Service Operators (MSOs) met today to talk of CAS amid some pow-wow between Mukherjea and Chandra on content carriage.

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This aside, man of the day, N. Vittal Sampath Kumar of Sumangali Cable Vision, the cable arm of Sun Television which has imported 1,20,000 boxes, said: ‘‘Viewers are queueing up but the demand for pay channels is far less than for the southern channels. Right now, Sun TV offers most of its channels free with the cable operator charging between Rs 150 and Rs 200.’’

If Chennai turned out to be a facesaver for I&B Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and his officials, Mumbai and Kolkata were nightmares. Not a single viewer got to see pay channels through a box in the two metros. (But it was not all that alarming as cable operators/MSOs made the channels available to the cable homes. In Mumbai, CAS wasn’t implemented with Shiv Sena men threatening to sabotage attempts, officials said. )

The ministry too has relented by not making it mandatory for pay channels to be received through a box. Officials said they will wait for a couple of days to assess the situation in Mumbai before taking a decision. ‘‘After the blasts and Ganesh Chaturthi, we thought we could give Mumbai some time to implement CAS,’’ said an official. If the Ministry chooses to call off CAS in Mumbai they will have to come out with a fresh notification.

In Kolkata, officials have questioned the state government’s decision to call off CAS. Kolkata police commissioner had announced yesterday that CAS will not be implemented as the Ministry has failed to respond to doubts. ‘‘The police commissioner said he had received instructions from the chief secretary to hold it up for a few days,’’ sources said.

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RPG’s Dilip Sen said MSOs are ready with boxes. Officials are writing back to the state government and are hopeful that CAS will roll out in three days’ time. Meanwhile, CAS-smitten I&B Ministry is thinking of bringing changes to the Cable Act to bring it in the realm of the concurrent list so that states can legislate on CAS if they choose to. Day 1 then turned out to be day off for CAS.