DTH
Non-supply of channels: Tata Sky moves TDSAT against Sun TV
MUMBAI: Tata Sky has moved the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) against the south Indian media major Sun TV Group’s reluctance to make available channels to its direct-to-home platform.
The petition, filed today before the tribunal, alleges that the Sun TV Group has refused to supply its bouquet of channels to the DTH player. The case is scheduled for the first hearing tomorrow (15 November).
Tata Sky approached the disputes forum after repeated requests to provide the signals of the channels of Sun’s bouquet of channels on “non-discriminatory terms” proved futile.
Tata Sky has sought an appropriate direction in the matter from TDSAT, alleging that Sun TV has quoted unreasonable terms for supplying its signals.
When contacted by Indiantelevision.com, Tata Sky managing director and CEO Vikram Kaushik today refrained from commenting on the development.
Earlier speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Kaushik mentioned, “We are in talks with Sun TV, the most popular network in the southern states, but no commercial agreement is expected soon. We gave them a proposal and are in negotiations with them. But a deal is still far away.”
A point of note is that Tata-Sky is simultaneously also battling for Zee-Turner channels. Although the tribunal has directed Zee Turner Ltd, distributors of Zee and other channels, to provide its signals to Tata Sky, the issues of pricing, capacity and other related issues have yet to be sorted out.
According to the norms laid down by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), all content should be made available to all delivery platforms on a nondiscriminatory basis.
Interestingly, Sun TV promoter Kalanithi Maran has set forth plans to enter the DTH space through the still to launch commercially Sun Direct TV. He runs a string of successful channels, which include SunTV, GeminiTV, SuryaTV, UdayaTV, KTV, TejaTV, UsheTV, KiranTV, AdithyaTV, Sun News, KiranTV, GeminiTV, TejaTV, Teja News, Udaya2 and Udaya News.
DTH Operator
JC Flowers withdraws NCLT plea against Dish TV over EGM demand
Move eases pressure on DTH firm as long-running shareholder dispute cools
MUMBAI: In a breather for Dish TV India, JC Flowers Asset Reconstruction has withdrawn its petition before the National Company Law Tribunal seeking directions to convene an extraordinary general meeting.
The development was disclosed by Dish TV in a regulatory filing, confirming that the petitioner chose to withdraw the case during a hearing at the Mumbai bench of the tribunal. A detailed order from the bench is still awaited.
The petition, originally filed under Sections 98 to 100 of the Companies Act, 2013, sought to push for an extraordinary general meeting to address governance issues at the company. The case had its roots in a prolonged shareholder tussle dating back to 2021, when Yes Bank, then the largest shareholder, was at odds with the promoter group led by Subhash Chandra over board reconstitution.
JC Flowers had stepped into the picture as an assignee of Yes Bank’s stressed assets, effectively continuing the legal push initiated earlier. The withdrawal now signals a pause, if not a closure, to that chapter of dispute.
While the reasons behind the withdrawal have not been formally detailed, the move reduces immediate legal pressure on Dish TV, which has been navigating both operational and regulatory challenges in recent years.
For now, the focus shifts back to the company’s business fundamentals, even as the legal dust settles, at least temporarily, on one of its more closely watched shareholder battles.
