News Broadcasting
CAS: MSOs at odds over carriage, basic tier fee sharing
NEW DELHI: MSOs are divided on the issue whether carriage fee is retained by them and the basic tier fee of cable channels by local cable operators.
While the Hinduja-owned IndusInd Media and Communications and Siti Cable (now renamed WWIL) opposed MSOs retaining carriage fee and LCOs keeping the basic tier fee, Rajan Raheja-controlled Hathway Datacom has supported such a model.
In their submission to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), both Siti Cable and IndusInd have said MSOs should also get a share of the basic tier fee, which is collected by LCOs.
Adding spice to the whole affair, the Cable Operators’ Federation of India (COFI) has suggested all round sharing of basic tier fee and carriage fee between MSOs and LCOs.
All the three MSOs, responding to Trai’s call for feedback on interconnect regulations, have said that distribution of signals to subscribers should only be through digital set-top boxes as analogue boxes lack credentials.
Trai had invited feedback from industry stakeholders on the proposed standard forms of interconnect agreements for CAS areas, draft regulation to mandate these standard forms and revenue sharing arrangements.
The specific issues that were raised were the following:
Should there be a uniform revenue share percentage between all broadcasters and MSOs and between MSOs and LCOs.
Should the revenue share percentages for different broadcasters prevailing in Chennai be adopted in other CAS notified areas?
Is there any other alternative method of arriving at the revenue share percentages amongst industry stakeholders.
Upholding the rights of cable operators that it represents, COFI has suggested that franchisees of MSOs could be given a commission ranging between 5-10 per cent for selling set-top-boxes and other equipment to subscribers.
The complete gist of comments of Hathway, Siti Cable, IndusInd and COFI on interconnect agreement is available on the regulator’s website at ww.trai.gov.in.
News Broadcasting
Book Cricket gets a digital century on News18 amid T20 fever
Nostalgic classroom game revamped in English, Hindi plus Telugu on web and app.
MUMBAI: When the T20 World Cup fever hits fever pitch, News18 decides to flip the script straight back to the classroom. The digital news platform has revived the timeless schoolyard favourite Book Cricket as an interactive online game, perfectly timed to ride the cricket wave gripping fans across the globe. The reimagined Book Cricket ditches textbooks for smartphones, blending old-school nostalgia with modern gameplay. Once a sneaky recess pastime played by flicking book pages to score runs, the digital version now offers seamless fun for anyone craving a quick cricket fix between overs.
Available in English, Hindi and Telugu (with more languages planned across News18’s network), the game sits within the platform’s fast-growing gaming portfolio of over 20 titles, all built in-house. It joins event-driven hits like ‘Kursi Catcher’ and ‘Result Rewind’ during the 2025 Bihar Assembly Elections, plus festive specials such as ‘Durga’s Astras’ for Durga Puja and ‘Mouse Modak’ for Ganesh Chaturthi.
News18 Digital CEO Mitul Sangani said, “Gaming is a key pillar of our engagement strategy. At News18, we uniquely combine our newsroom agility with immersive gaming experiences. By blending credible content with interactive formats, we are creating meaningful engagement in an era defined by shrinking attention spans and evolving consumption habits.”
Select titles have expanded beyond News18.com to CNBC-TV18.com and Firstpost.com, reflecting the network’s push to deepen user interaction across platforms. The Book Cricket game is live now at https://www.news18.com/games/book-cricket/.
In a tournament where every boundary counts, News18’s digital Book Cricket proves the simplest games can still deliver the biggest smiles no syllabus required, just pure cricket joy one page-flip at a time.
