The Hindu Business Line : Choosing the channels

YOUR decision to go for the CAS, or not, depends not just on STB costs, but also on your programme preferences and the pricing announced by various broadcasters.

Swanky models

If you have invested in a swanky, upper-end TV model with features, such as flat screen and surround-sound acoustics, you may be better off going in for an STB sooner than later (unless, of course, you hardly watch the channels that are available on pay mode). The present set of free-to-air channels hardly offer the kind of content that will make watching programmes on upper-end models a satisfying experience.

Shun CAS if...

In Chennai and most non-Hindi speaking States (as and when the CAS gets rolled out in these areas), it may be better to avoid the CAS if your viewing is confined largely to channels that are free-to-air. For instance, in Chennai, it is likely that a large proportion of households will be happy with the fare available on Sun, Raj, Asianet, Raj Digital Plus, SCV, KTV and Jaya TV, to name a few. News channels are also aplenty in the free-to-air bouquet, which will cost you about Rs 90 per month.

There will be pressure from children for Cartoon Network, and/or the Star Sports and ESPN combine.

In such cases, you will have to address the issue of whether it will be worth investing in an STB for these channels alone.

Take CAS if...

If you are an avid watcher of movie channels such as HBO,

Star Movies, AXN, Zee MGM, Hallmark, SET Max and Zee Cinema, to name a few, as well as sports channels, such as ESPN and Star Sports, it may make sense to go in for an STB.

These channels are likely to remain pay forever and do offer value-for-money for those with a keen interest in their offerings. It is likely that when CAS if rolled out in a more comprehensive fashion, a few more niche channels may be available.

Even if you catch three movies a week and a few sporting events such as Formula 1, Wimbledon, golf majors and select cricket matches, the STB will be a worthwhile investment.

But even viewers with such preferences can wait, at least a couple of months, to take advantage of better offers that may be in the pipeline.

Fence sitters

Viewers who do not fall in either of these categories, have a tougher task in deciding on the CAS. If you decide to invest in an STB, examine the following options while picking your pay channels:

The present bouquet rates announced by Star, Sony and Zee are not an indicator of what would be in store once CAS is fully rolled out.

The rates are the same as what you pay now. Their idea now is to keep the monthly bill on a par with pre-CAS levels and use this as a lever to lure you into the CAS.

The a la carte rates (for individual channels) offer a better idea of where the bouquet rates may be headed.

They may always be lower than the sum of the individual channel rates in the bouquet.

But the difference will narrow considerably.

If you are interested only in a couple of channels from a bouquet, you may be better off picking individual channels, either now or when the bouquet rates are hiked.

You are allowed to switch between a la carte pickings and the bouquet, and also change the pay channels you receive.

You also have the option of dumping one or two bouquets, if necessary, and there may be a fairly strong case for adopting such a course.

For instance, it may be better to skip the Zee bouquet if you are either taking the Star or Sony bouquet, or both.

If you want the flagship Zee TV and Cartoon Network — the two channels from the Zee bouquet that are likely to elicit viewer interest — you get them for Rs 45.

In our view, the Sony bouquet appears to be the best of the lot.

Zee appears to be weakest, with not much else apart from Cartoon Network and to a lesser extent Zee TV if you are hooked on to some serials aired by it.

It may be better now to take the Sony bouquet, Star-ESPN (if there is an audience interested in sports at home) and select channels from the Star and Zee bouquet.

Do not get hooked by the idea that forking out an extra Rs 10 or Rs 15 per month will enable you to get the full complement of channels in a bouquet.

If you steer clear of this pitfall, you can end up saving as much as Rs 60 a month.

In our view, a combination of channels, such as Sony, SET Max, HBO, Discovery, Animal Planet and AXN (by opting for the Sony bouquet); and Star Plus, Cartoon Network, National Geographic, ESPN and Star Sports, with the available free-to-air channels, will offer you a fairly good viewing experience.

This combination will mean a monthly outgo of Rs 230. If you take the bouquets on offer, you will end up with a bill of Rs 290.

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