Tata Sky drops 32 Sony channels over pricing issues

MUMBAI: Over 16 million subscribers of Tata Sky were in for a shock on Monday night when the direct-to-home (DTH) platform removed 32 channels of Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) and three channels of India Today Network, over pricing issues.Effectively, popular TV channels like Sony Entertainment Television, SAB, Max, AXN, Sony Pix, Aaj Tak and India Today TV – all distributed by SPN – were taken off by Tata Sky on October 1.While it resulted in a severe backlash from subscribers, who took on to social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook to vent out their frustration, SPN issued a statement calling Tata Sky’s move “unfortunate”.It is important to note that the SPN’s three-year distribution deal with Tata Sky had expired on July 31st and the two parties have been negotiating a new deal. Three years back, Tata Sky’s subscriber base was at around 10 million, which has now gone up to 16 million and SPN is eying a higher share of revenue from the DTH player, which Tata Sky is not ready to pare with.Harit Nagpal, MD and CEO, Tata Sky, said that the commercial negotiations with SPN “broke down” as what they were seeking would have “forced” the DTH operator to hike prices. “Hence we have had to drop a few channels while keeping the popular ones on. While doing so, we are paying Sony much more for the 11 channels retained on the a la carte rate, versus the contracted rate for three times these channels. We request our subscribers’ to bear with us, as we are doing this in their best interest,” Nagpal said.However, SPN spokesperson said that SPN has “not increased” the rates of its channels.“SPN channels are leaders in their genres and the network is one of the most popular in the country. By unilaterally dropping the channels, Tata Sky is depriving its viewers of the opportunity to watch world class entertainment and live sporting action. Further, by compelling existing subscribers to give separate “missed” calls even to continue watching the SPN channels they have already paid for, Tata Sky is not acting in consumer interest,” the spokesperson said.Tata Sky has kept 10 SPN channels (SET, SET HD, Sony SAB, MAX, Sony Six, Sony Ten 1, Ten 1 HD, Sony Ten 2 HD, Sony Ten 3 and Pix HD) and 1 India Today channel (Aaj Tak) on the platform. But to add these channels also, subscribers have to give a missed call on a specific number.A lot of subscribers ET spoke with complain that the phone number provided by Tata Sky is continuously busy or not reachable and that the customer care service has crashed. Similar sentiments were echoed by many angry and frustrated subscribers on the social media.It is pertinent to note that Tata Sky is the most premium DTH operator in the country with close to 5 million HD subscribers. Out of its 16 million active subscriber base, over 3 million have picked up annual packages and 1 million have opted for half-yearly packages.As per a Crisil report, Tata Sky earned Rs 5,719 crore in the financial year ended March 31, 2018, while its profit after tax stood at Rs 408 crore.

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/2DQtZaM