The Hindu Business Line : ESPN takes on Tata Sky over new package rates

Tata Sky maintains that its new offer is on the lines of TRAI’s regulations and in line with the very premise or promise of digital television, that is offering consumers choice.

Meera Mohanty

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New Delhi, June 5 A miffed ESPN is encouraging subscribers of Tata Sky to move to cable or even Dish TV to catch its line-up of sports programming. In a public notice, it has accused the DTH operator of “unilaterally and arbitrarily” depriving consumers of its channels along with others from BBC, which have been dislodged from Tata Sky’s basic packages in its new offer. ESPN does not appreciate Tata Sky’s argument that the move allows consumers freedom of choice.

Mr R.C. Venkateish, Managing Director, ESPN Software India Pvt Ltd, accusing Tata Sky of “misleading” subscribers argued that consumers should be allowed to opt out of any package. “Why tell them you are reducing the price when you are in effect asking them to pay more,” he added. “They have blacked out the signals for millions of consumers who might be interested to catch the Euro 2008 opening this Saturday, the French Open finals or the upcoming Wimbledon tournament,” said Mr Venkateish.

The two parties had sought legal intervention. According to Tata Sky, the Delhi High Court has asked ESPN not to disconnect or disrupt the signals being provided to Tata Sky, and ordered that the commercial terms be decided by TDSAT. Tata Sky maintains that its new offer is on the lines of TRAI’s regulations. The new package is also in line with the very premise or promise of digital television, that is offering consumers choice, said Tata Sky.

According to ESPN its prices or Reference Interconnect Offer was in line with the TRAI advisory. The channels, Mr Venkateish said, were available as per the TRAI advisory but for a high subscriber volume. The details of the agreement between Tata Sky and ESPN were not available, although it is believed to be not on subscriber basis but a fixed amount for a 19-month period.

The issue here is also of the cost of content. Prices of television channels are regulated at a maximum of Rs 5 for the other digital environment, Conditional Access System. But with regards to DTH, the Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRAI) had decided to issue “an advisory”.

DTH operators would be offered prices at 50 per cent of those offered to cable operators. It had, however, mandated that the operator be allowed to pick individual channels from the network and not be forced to take the complete bouquet. “When we fixed the prices for CAS, there was a strong expression conveyed to TRAI, that uniform exercise of price is against creativity, you could not treat all content equally they had argued,” Mr Nripendra Misra, Chairman, TRAI, told Business Line. “That’s why we had decided to take a ‘light approach’ and not regulate unless there was a market failure. Almost 90 per cent of all broadcasters have cooperated on our appeal and offered their channels as per the advisory,” he added.

Meanwhile, Tata Sky, in an announcement said it was “evaluating all legal options, including prosecuting the ESPN functionaries for the patently false and misleading advertisements carried by them in the newspapers today.”

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