3L households in Lucknow go without major channels

Lucknow, Feb 21 Nearly three lakh households in Lucknow are not getting to see their favourite shows on Zee, Sony and Star TV, due to a tariff dispute.

The city cable operators have stopped their airing programmes, hitting transmission to around three lakh households in the state capital since Saturday.

Rajendra Singh, president, Uttar Pradesh Cable TV Udyog Sangh said, "All the three major broadcasting companies have increased tariffs by about 25 per cent. If cable operators implement this tariff, there will be an increase of 30 to 35 per cent in the subscription rates of consumers. Other broadcasters may also increase the tariff in the future. The All-India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) has approached the court and we hope to get some relief from there."

He said, "Not only in Lucknow, around five crore consumers across the country are suffering due to the arrogance of these companies who are increasing the tariff without consulting stakeholders. In an era when the cable TV industry is facing severe competition, we are being forced to increase rates of cable TV."

The new tariff for broadcasters will put an additional burden of Rs 100 on each subscriber. At present, customers pay Rs 300 to Rs 325 per month for about 250 channels. Due to the increase in money by three major broadcasters, the tariff of consumers will go up to Rs 400 to Rs 425.

Operators say the direct to home (DTH) service through Dish has slowed down the cable TV business.