(Updated on 22 November 2007 8:00 pm)
(22 November 2007 12:45 pm)

NEW DELHI: Broadcasters will have to make their channels available on an a la carte basis to multi-system operators (MSOs) from 1 December.

This follows the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal (Tdsat) refusal today to grant a stay on the pleas of Star TV, Zee Turner and Set Discovery against an order issued earlier by sector regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).

The case comes up for further hearing on 11 December. The broadcasters will now have to report the a la carte price to the Trai by the impugned date.

Trai had, in its 4 October Tariff Order, stated that the broadcasters would have to report the prices being charged on an a la carte basis with effect from 1 December.

Tdsat has issued notices to Trai and two MSOs. They have, along with the petitioners, been asked to file replies before the case can be heard from 11 December.

The tribunal heard arguments of Maninder Singh for Zee Turner and Ramji Srinivas for Star, that the essence of the Order is that while the broadcaster would have to offer the channels a la carte, the subscribers would not have that choice, even as per Trai's own earlier affidavit.

Both Singh and Srinivas argued that instead, this Order will become a tool in the hands of the MSOs to arm-twist them to demand huge carriage fees, which would, as per the appeal by Zee Turner, hit their chief revenue stream: subscription.

"Trai itself has been alive to the dangers of MSOs extorting huge carriage fees, and even consumer organisations have said this Order is a farce since it will in no way benefit them," Srinivas said.

The senior counsels also argued that as per Trai's own stated position earlier, that prices of channels in non-Cas areas would always be higher, because of the practices of under-declaration and broadcasters not getting the full remittance from the total number of households being fed their signals.

"However, it must be noted that the ceiling that has been imposed in the top cities make the prices per channel even less than those in the Cas areas," they argued.

They stated that whereas in Cas areas, the price of all pay channels had been fixed at Rs 5 as the upper limit, "the Tariff Order meant for the non-Cas areas has brought down the price per channel to Rs 4 and in some cases to Rs 2, which is ridiculous."

However, Tdsat chairperson Arun Kumar said at one point in time that the Order has been passed with the intention of benefiting the subscriber, and he was disinclined to issue a stay order today.

The application for stay is still pending, lawyers explained.

When told that subscribers will not benefit, the chairperson said: "The MSOs will ensure this."

Trai senior counsel Rakesh Dwivedi said that though the broadcasters are claiming that there is no mechanism for implementing subscriber choice in non-Cas areas and that benefits would not reach them, in fact there now would be pressure from the subscribers for the best channels.

"The upper limit of tariff being fixed, we shall charge that from the subscribers, and they would then force us to give the best channels of their choice and this would automatically lead to unbundling," Dwivedi argued.

Meanwhile, Hathway was allowed to get impleaded in the case. Additionally, an earlier case involving Incablenet will be clubbed with the present case and all of this will be heard together.

The tribunal has ordered Trai and the MSOs to file their replies to the main petition by 3 December. The broadcasters will get to reply after three days and hearing will resume on 11 December.