TV channels, cable operators war reaches Punjab HC

The tariff war between satellite TV channels and cable operators in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh got more intense with the issue reaching Punjab and Haryana High Court on Wednesday.After perusing two separate PILs, filed by Satellite TV Channels' Association (representing seven free-to-air channels operating from Punjab), an HC division bench comprising chief justice Vijender Jain and justice Jaswant Singh issued a notice to the respondents for May 8.Importantly, the bench gave interim direction that "till next date of hearing, no cable operator shall disconnect the signals of the free-to-air (FTA) channels and pay channels operating from Punjab."The petitioner prayed through their counsel HC Arora that respondents - Union ministry for information and broadcasting and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, New Delhi - be directed to prescribe norms for determination of Carriage Fee payable by the subscribers to cable operators.It was also submitted that none of the cable operators within the states of Punjab, Haryana, and the UT of Chandigarh had paid any amount to the "pay channels" on account of "content" component of the programmes transmitted by such TV channels through cable operators.In the absence of any norms framed by the respondents in this regard, the cable operators were exploiting their monopolistic position and extracting hefty amounts under the garb of Carriage Fee not only from FTA channels but also from pay channels.These cable operators were also charging hefty amounts from the subscribers for the content component of the programmes transmitted to them by the pay channels.The petitioner, in the second PIL, prayed for directions to respondents Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh, to prosecute - u/s 20 of the Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 - all those cable operators who are broadcasting their own programmes, including news and current affairs programmes, advertisements etc, without obtaining any license from the Union information and broadcasting ministry u/s 4 of Indian Telegraph Act, 1885.
Thursday - Mar 13, 2008 Rohit Mathur - Televisionpoint.com Chandigarh