CAS
enables viewers to pay for only those channels that
they watch. In the first phase of the roll-out, CAS
would be introduced in four metros from July 14, 2003,
making it impossible to view any pay channel without
a Set-Top Box (STB). Therefore, it is contended that
after the implementation of CAS many subscribers would
opt for only a select few pay channels, rather than
the current practice of going for full bouquets. Consequently,
many pay channel broadcasters are worried that they
may lose subscribers, leading to a stark fall in subscription
revenues.
Not
just the broadcasters, even the consumers are wary of
the new system because it would mean huge costs to them
in the form of the STBs that they will have to buy.
And, even though the government has substantially reduced
the import duty on STBs from 50 to 5%, which is valid
till July 31, 2003, consumers are not enthused.
CAS
will severely hit the pay channel model of broadcasters.
It will also have an impact on the TV viewing habits
of over 6.4 million homes with cable TVs in the metros.
And, it may even lead to a sharp fall of about Rs. 3,000
cr of advertising budget. Overall, CAS would create
a chaos without a cause.
TV
channels can be broadly divided into two: Pay and free-to-air.
Pay channels, which charge subscription fee per month
for accessibility, had been collecting the subscription
fees from cable operators in lump sum, who in turn collected
a flat rate from consumers and not directly from broadcasters.
However, once CAS is in place, the cable operator can
no longer control what the consumers view and pay for. |
