LUCKNOW (UTTAR PRADESH): In a rare show of unity, about 10 cable operators in Lucknow, one of the bigger cable TV markets in the state, have decided to have a central headend in the city which will feed the member cable operators.
The move, if successful, is likely to prove a cause for worry for broadcasters who would find it hard to raise subscription money frequently as the united cable operators may successfully resist such moves.
"We are trying out this innovation of having a central headend in the city which will feed the operators who are with us. If we succeed to stick together for a longer period of time, then we can have a say in the pricing of channels," a cable operator of Lucknow told indiantelevision.com.

However, media watchers in the State capital indicated that the unity may be "short-lived and fragile" as cable operators not only in Lucknow, but all over the country have continuously failed to sustain a unity - one of the reasons why broadcasters have managed to hike their subscription fees frequently. It needs noting though that in smaller towns it has been seen that cable operators do show more unity than those in bigger towns.

Lucknow has about 200,000 cable homes and over 10 cable operators. Still, it does not have a single multi-system operator (MSO). The Subhash Chandra-controlled Zee Tele‘s subsidiary Siti Cable attempted to set up shop in Lucknow, but had to wind up operations owing to non-cooperation from the existing independent cable operators about six months back.

The central and common headend for cable operators in Lucknow is expected to be operational in about a fortnight‘s time and will cost the cable operators about Rs 5 million.

For example, recently all the Star channels were blocked by cable operators in Lucknow for three days and it was only due to hectic negotiations by local representatives of Star that the channels were again back in the cable homes.

NEW DELHI: The fate of conditional access system is becoming increasingly uncertain - something that was looking highly unlikely about a fortnight back when information and broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj was pushing full steam for the passage to amendments in the CATV Act in the Upper House of Parliament.

The cable TV network Regulation Amendment Bill 2002, slated to be taken up in the Rajya Sabha (Upper House) today, could not be done today as both the Houses of Parliament were adjourned for the day on Monday without transacting any business. Reason: Opposition uproar over the Indian Express expose on the doling out of petrol pump dealerships to ruling party members as well as coalition partners of the government by the petroleum ministry under the alleged directives of the Union petroleum minister Ram Naik. A vociferous Opposition stalled question hour.

As per the latest information available is that the issue will be taken up as soon as the Rajya Sabha is able to find the time to debate the issue. That means that it can even come up tomorrow if the current ruckus going on in Parliament cools down. Something that looks highly at the moment though.

Today‘s trouble arose as soon as the House met for the day with a determined Opposition raising anti-government slogans like istifado, istifado and loot liya, loot liya (resign and plundered).

Nilotpaul Basu of the CPM, a member of RS, in private is understood to have said that their meeting with Swaraj last week was "inconclusive" and that the minister was unable to satisfactorily explain Opposition queries on freedom of media, specially electronic media, and that the government was attempting to muzzle the media in the aftermath of the Gujarat communal violence by bringing in censorship in the form of CAS where the government will decide which free to air channels will be aired in which part of the country.