AIDCF vs broadcasters: KCCL signs agreement under NTO 3.0

After UCN, MSO Kerala Communicators Cable Ltd (KCCL) has signed the interconnection subscription agreement with the broadcasters as per the TRAI-mandated NTO 3.0.

KCCL has now joined a growing band of other MSOs like Siti Cable, KAL Cables, Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV, and Thamizhaga Cable TV, which have agreed to sign interconnection agreements with the broadcasters under the amended new tariff order by the TRAI.

Now there appears to be a rift within the cable fraternity in its fight against the broadcasters with regard to signing the interconnection agreements under the NTO 3.0, even as the legal battle between cable operators represented by the AIDCF (All India Digital Cable Federation) and the broadcasters continues in the Kerala High Court.

The other MSOs still continuing with the fight against the broadcasters include: Den, Fastway Transmissions, GTPL Hathway, Hathway Digital, etc.

On February 19, leading three broadcasters (Sony, Disney Star India, and Zee Entertainment) disconnected their signals to almost ten MSOs, who are members of the AIDCF.

Broadcasters are justifying that they are increasing the price after a hiatus of four years. Cable operators, however, claim that the price hike is exorbitant and will increase consumers’ monthly cable bill. And they have filed many petitions before many high courts in the country against the amended tariff regime.

AIDCF alleges that these major broadcasters disconnected their signals despite the matter being sub-judice.
AIDCF warning to advertisers

Meanwhile, AIDCF has warned advertisers, media planners, and ad agencies, against advertising on Disney-Star, Sony and Zee, because their recent actions have “deprived more than 43 million households across India from watching their channels since Saturday, 18th February 2023.”

The federation claimed that the 45 million homes account for nearly 35% of the pay TV market in India.

“Are you still getting the reach that you have paid for? Your advertisements are not reaching more than 200 million consumers across all states and Union Territories in India for the past 3 days. More than 46 billion minutes of viewing time are being lost per day across India on the largest cable networks in India including GTPL, DEN, Hathway, Fastway, In Cable, NXT Digital, Asianet, KCCL, UCN and many more. These networks cater to large audiences in HSM as well as South with dominant presence in Punjab/Haryana/ Chandigarh HP, UP Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, West Bengal Odisha, Madhya Pradesh/Chhattisgarh, Bihar/Jharkhand, North-East, AP Telangana, Kamataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, etc,” said a release by AIDCF.

The industry body warns the advertisers to take an informed decision when they advertise on any of the channels including Star Plus, Zee TV, Sony.