KOLKATA: The switchover to a new tariff regime in cable television has seen around 60,000-75,000 consumers in Kolkata exit pay channels and opt only for the free-to-air package, a cause for anxiety to both multi-system operators (MSOs) and broadcasters. Many of them are left wondering if the data represents consumer choice or is a misrepresentation of facts by local cable operators (LCOs).SITI Cable, Hathway and GTPL, which together have nearly1crore of the nearly1.3 crore cable connections in the state and have similar dominance in Kolkata, had negligible FTAonly subscribers in the previous tariff regime. But since the switchover on February 7, nearly 2%-2.5% consumers have reportedly opted for the FTA package without pay channels.“The data from LCOs are being collated. The one factor that has stood out is the rather large number of FTA-only consumers. We have to reach out to them in the near future to cross-check why their viewing habits have altered so dramatically in the new tariff regime,” said Suresh Sethia of SITI Cable, the largest MSO in Kolkata and the rest of Bengal.An official at Hathway, too, said the number of subscribers who appeared to have exited pay channels was startling. “These are figures collated from LCOs and need to be authenticated. Perhaps these are fence-sitters who wish to see how the new tariff regime works before they come on board,” a Hathway representative said.MSOs and broadcasters stand to lose the most if customers exit pay channels as the maximum chunk of the revenue gets split between them, with broadcasters taking thelion’s share. For FTA-only packages that come with the network capacity fee (NCF), it is the LCO that corners the biggest share, with the rest going to MSOs. This has led to a doubt among broadcasters on whether the high FTA-only subscriber count is a ploy by a section of operators to hurt broadcasters.Operators, though, have a simple logic behind the rise in FTA-only count. According to them, several houses that had two or three TV connections where they viewed pay channels at huge discounts have opted for only one package in the new regime as MSOs and DTH platforms are yet to announce any discounts for multiple TVs in a single household.“Earlier, customers enjoyed at least 50% discount on the secondary connection. But now the package price in the primary connection itself has increased by 50% in some cases. Hence, many have not opted for pay channels for the secondary connection,” said a cable operator in Ballygunge.Trai, the agency overseeing the switchover to the new tariff regime, has recognized the dilemma that consumers are facing about multiple TV connections at homes. “A few subscribers have raised the issue. The regulation does not prohibit service providers from offering discounts or lower NCF for additional connections at the same address. However, such discounts have to be uniform in the respective target market area of the channel distributors and duly declared by the distribution platform operators on the websites,” a Trai statement said, adding that some service providers had begun offering discounts that completely waived NCF on additional TV connections at the same address.

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