News Broadcasting
Government should create a level Playing field for cable TV industry: MSO Alliance
MUMBAI: The MSO Alliance, a representative body of the cable TV industry, has demanded that the government should create a level playing field that would allow the cable operators to compete with new technologies of television distribution like direct-to-home.
Speaking today at a seminar on the Indian Cable TV Scenario, MSO Alliance president Ashok Mansukhani said, “The cable TV industry is completely geared to take on the competition from various emerging technologies on television distribution. However, we request the government to ensure a level playing field for us along with other new emerging TV distribution platforms like DTH, which will lead to providing a genuine ‘Consumer Choice’. We believe that in a scenario when the newer technologies are addressable, even the cable delivery should have a law for addressability.”
The seminar was organised by the MSO Alliance. Hathway MD and CEO K Jayaraman and Incablenet COO Srinivas Palakodetti also addressed the seminar. Multi system operator (MSO) Siticable participated in the seminar.
The MSO Alliance supported the principal objective of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) recommendation to promote and facilitate competition among channels, operators and platforms.
“It is happy that TRAI accepts Addressability must come on all TV channel distribution platforms. As competition increases and the consumers have multiple choices, price regulation would gradually be withdrawn,” the Alliance said.
The MSOs are providing digital cable services and digitalising analogue proactively to deliver the widest choice at value for money price, the Alliance pointed out. The digital services including many additional channels are available from key MSO networks in Mumbai like Incablenet and Hathway, at no additional subscription amount. The digital delivery also demonstrated unique additional features from the digital Set top box like electronic programme guide, language choice and automatic Software download, it added.
Trai has already passed its recommendations for addressability on cable TV eight months back. “We are awaiting the time frame for implementation from the government,” the Alliance said.
News Broadcasting
CNN-News18 to host Kolkata Town Hall on Hooghly River
‘Bhalobasa Bengal Inspiring Bharat’ event on April 20 brings cultural icons, trailblazing women and leaders aboard a cruise to celebrate Bengal’s enduring influence.
MUMBAI: Bengal is about to make fresh waves on the Hooghly and this time the current is pure conversation. CNN-News18 is taking its iconic Town Hall format to the waters of the iconic Hooghly River on 20 April 2026 with a special edition titled ‘Bhalobasa Bengal – Inspiring Bharat’. The floating event will celebrate the state’s rich cultural legacy and how its ideas, creativity and spirit continue to shape the rest of the country.
The unique riverside setting draws on Bengal’s history as a cradle of reform, art and intellectual thought. The speaker line-up mirrors that diversity: cultural heavyweights Mithun Chakraborty and Sreenanda Shankar will share the stage with trailblazing “Devis” such as Tanya Sanyal (India’s first woman firefighter in aviation), Ipsita Chakraborty (Kolkata’s first woman bartender) and Reshma Nilofer Visalakshi (Nari Shakti awardee and marine pilot). Music will flow through the celebrated pianist-vocalist duo Sourendro and Soumyojit, while public life and governance will be represented by Smriti Irani, Leander Paes, Saira Shah Halim, Keya Ghosh, Rekha Patra, Roopa Ganguly and Babul Supriyo.
CNN-News18, editorial affairs director, Rahul Shivshankar, said the event honours voices that carry Bengal’s legacy forward. Smriti Mehra, CEO – English & Business News, Network18, added that Bengal’s stories resonate far beyond its borders, especially as the state heads into polls.
From the first woman to battle flames in the skies to legendary actors who shaped Indian cinema, the gathering promises a rich mix of inspiration, courage and candid dialogue. In a city where culture has always flowed as freely as the river itself, CNN-News18 is turning the Hooghly into a floating forum for ideas that matter.
Tune in on 20 April on CNN-News18, CTV and YouTube to catch Bengal’s heartbeat in full flow.
