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Sony Entertainment Television is off DTH television screens in the US for the past four days. The reason: DTH provider Direct TV has switched off the signal.
According to Sony Entertainment Television India officials, the channel had a franchise agreement with the Ethnic American Broadcasting Corporation (EABC) which was trying to bring together a bouquet of several language channels, including Arabic, Chinese and Russian. But it failed when its entire investment planning went awry.
EABC had contracted with Direct TV to collect subscription revenues, some of which it would keep, some of which would be passed on to Sony. With EABC going bust, there were no subscriptions being collected. The company is undergoing Chapter Seven bankruptcy proceedings. Reportedly Direct TV was supposed to keep Sony beaming until the courts reached a decision. However, the DTH provider switched off the signal four days ago.
Sony has since then been working on bringing the Sony Entertainment signal back on air and is in talks with another DTH service provider in the US. The courts are supposed to reach a decision by mid-next week, following which Sony officials will be in a position to make some announcements. Sony officials say Sony Entertainment should be back on track within the next 15 days.
