NEW DELHI: After having raised an alarm a day back over an impending monopoly of Star India if it wins the broadcast and other rights to IPL cricket, Essel/Zee Group’s DTH platform Dish TV has moved broadcast and telecoms disputes tribunal seeking restraining order against Star Life OK’s rebranding process and turning free-to-air (FTA).

In its interim prayer Dish TV has sought an order from disputes tribunal TDSAT to “restrain” Star India from converting Life OK from a pay channel to FTA by changing its name to Star Bharat and joining the Doordarshan FreeDish platform. Reason?

According to the petition, reviewed by Indiantelevision.com, Star is making the changes “without informing” sector regulator TRAI as also without giving public notice about the change as “specified in clause 4-3 of the TRAI regulations.”

Star India is in the process of renaming on-air GEC TV channel Life OK (a pay channel) into Star Bharat and put it on Doordarshan’s FTA DTH platform DD FreeDish. Though industry sources indicated that the change was to come into effect from sometime end of August 2017, sources in Prasar Bharati, owner and manager of DD, had said the pubcaster’s DTH platform was not yet technically capable of bringing on board more channels despite they winning slots to be part of the FTA KU-band service as an upgradation process was still not complete.

The case at TDSAT is scheduled to for an initial hearing on 25 August 2017. Dish TV, along with its partner Videocon D2h, has appealed the tribunal for a restraint on Star India and any other further direction that it may “deem fit and proper” keeping in mind the facts placed before the court.

Keep tuned in for more episodes on the new and unfolding corporate warfare in the Indian media and entertainment realm.

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