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A year into the implementation of digitisation and the cable and broadcast sector sees no clarity in getting its system in place.
Although carriage fees have seen a reduction of 15 per cent after the first two phases of digitisation, the delay in implementing other phases has ensured that the promised jump in subscription revenues and average revenue per user has not materialised, according to Multi System Operators (MSO).
An MSO is an operator of multiple cable or direct broadcast satellite television systems. “The key goal of digitisation was addressability which was expected to plug the leakages in the system. While cable subscribers have been increasing, there is rampant under declaration, and MSOs that transmitted signals to cable operators earned little from the growing subscriber base,” an official said.
Though digitisation has brought down carriage fees, MSOs and broadcasters are quick to underline that the drop has not been to the extent they had expected.
The lead time for the delivery of set-top boxes (STBs) still remains a challenge as Phase III and Phase IV come into play, an official of MSO IndusInd Media, a subsidiary of the Hinduja Group, told Business Line, in an earlier interaction.
While under the current mandate, digitisation of cable TV in India is to be completed by 2014, it is now bound to take longer, the official said. Moreover, complaints have poured in against STBs with consumers complaining about digital STBs installed at their residences and commercial organisations.
Visual and sound disturbances, coupled with channels going off air from time to time, have left consumers unhappy, according to market participants. About 12 million STBs have been seeded as of December 2013.
Chennai pendingWhile all metros, except Chennai, having been largely digitised, the Phase-II of digitisation, which covers 38 cities, is nearing completion.
Phase III and Phase IV of digitisation would mean digitisation of an additional 40-50 million household in the balance towns.
Phase IV aims to focus on digitisation for the rest of India, which predominantly aims at rural areas and Tier II cities.
Direct-to-home (DTH) is expected to gain the most in areas with sparse population and inadequate cable infrastructure.
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