The Hindu Business Line : Non-payment of dues by cable network — ESPN, STAR Sports go off air on Hathway platform in Delhi

SPORTS enthusiasts in parts of Delhi may miss out on a lot of action including the forthcoming India-Bangladesh series as the ESPN and STAR Sports channels went off the air on the Hathway cable network due to non-payment of subscription fee by the latter.

"Hathway has not paid the routine monthly subscription fees due to ESPN Software India since September 2004," a statement by ESPN said.

Also, the annual service agreement between ESPN Software India and Hathway expired on November 30, 2004.

"Despite numerous attempts and meetings, it is now apparent, judging from the demands being made by Hathway, that they are not serious about renewing the contract or showing our channels," said Mr Sricharan Iyengar, Vice-President, Sales and Marketing, ESPN Software India Pvt Ltd.

ESPN STAR Sports is left with no choice but to discontinue its services to Hathway starting this evening till the outstanding amount is realised, the statement said. It also warned that if the matter was not resolved soon by the cable operator, viewers may miss the India-Bangladesh series, the Pakistan-Australia series, the ongoing English Premier League and the Spanish league Football matches which ESPN and STAR Sports telecast on a daily basis.

"We feel helpless and upset as we are being forced to take this action... We are limited in our actions and must take this extreme step because we must get paid for what we sell and that is precisely what Hathway is refusing to do. Considering that Hathway is doing this despite a clear agreement, we will be considering strong legal action if a solution does not arise soon," Mr Iyengar added.

Hathway has been completely closed to the discussion route and has adopted a confrontationist stance, the statement said.

"The consumer may protest by deducting the cost of the ESPN and Star Sports channels from their monthly cable bills. TRAI has clearly mandated that in case any channel is not telecast, consumers cannot be charged for these channels," it said.

"Accordingly, we advise all our consumers to deduct Rs 39.70, which is the cost of ESPN and STAR Sports, from their monthly cable payout to Hathway," Mr Iyengar said.

ESPN and STAR Sports will telecast a lot of sports on its network in the next few months. Cricket followers can enjoy live and exclusive coverage of as many as 136 days of cricket featuring all the 10 Test playing countries. "In fact, all international cricket between now and February will be telecast only on our channels," Mr Iyengar said.

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