Cable cloud on sports bonanza

A turf war between two MSOs has cast a shadow over the uninterrupted telecast of the upcoming IPL 3, T20 world cup and the soccer world cup in many Kolkata homes.

Indian Cable Net Company Limited, better known as Siti Cable, and Digi Cablecomm are locked in a legal battle over alleged poaching of employees and technicians. The two provide signals to 16.2 lakh of the 27 lakh city cable homes.

“The dispute is bound to affect subscribers as cable operators are getting involved. With the churn expected to continue for some time, uninterrupted service seems unlikely,” said an industry insider.

The exodus of 40 officials and technicians from Indian Cable Net to Digi Cablecomm in December triggered the fight. An Indian Cable Net official said the company filed an FIR against the 40 at Bidhannagar East police station on January 1, accusing them of not returning laptops given to them and stealing documents. The CID is investigating the case.

“We left because we were unhappy with our salaries. We didn’t steel anything,” said Amit Nag, who joined Digi Cablecomm as its CEO from Indian Cable Net.

According to sources in the industry, along with the 40 employees, several cable operators switched allegiance, increasing Digi Cablecomm’s subscriber base from below 5 per cent to almost 12 per cent.

“Loss of subscribers also means loss of carriage fee (which broadcasters pay MSOs for including their channels in the bouquet),” said an insider. Both MSOs refused comment on their subscriber base.

“Faced with a manpower crunch, Indian Cable Net is finding it difficult to address cable operators’ woes. Digi Cablecomm is facing the same problem as police are hounding their new recruits,” added the source.

Complaints of glitches are piling up with cable operators and subscribers caught in the crossfire. “Digi Cablecomm is taking too long to fix problems. We fear trouble with so many sporting events coming up,” said a cable operator who made the switch.


Rith Basu,The Telegraph Metro