First it was ESPN Star Sports. Today it was the turn of Star India to get drawn into a legal spat with the Hinduja Group‘s InCable Network in Mumbai. The Bombay High Court today ruled on an application moved by the MSO that the existing consent agreement would remain binding on both parties till its expiry on 30 June 2002.

The HC gave its ruling after InCable moved it to restrain Star India from switching off its feed for the MSO‘s not having signed on to the new subscription regime that went into effect from 1 January. According to a notice that was served on InCable on 21 January, that was to expire at midnight, Star had the option of switching off its feed to the biggest MSO in Mumbai if it failed to sign on to the new rates of Rs 40 for the network‘s seven channels. InCable has been paying at the rate of Rs 28.50 for all Star channels.

While the court disallowed Star from switching off, it ordered InCable to pay the broadcaster Rs 16 million within two days for three months in outstanding subscription dues that is still owed to the network for the months of October, November and December 2001.

The court, while ruling that InCable would continue to pay Star at the rates agreed to in their consent agreement, ordered that the balance remaining as the difference with Star‘s new rate structure would have to be deposited with the court by the 10th of every month. The HC left the issue of the new subscriber regime to be resolved through arbitration.

InCable‘s case is that there is a consent agreement in place that is binding on both parties till 30 June 2002. Speaking for the MSO, Ashok Mansukhani, executive V-P, corporate services, HTMT, said the agreement that was signed last year stipulates that there is to be a gradual upward revision of connectivity. From a connectivity of 135,000 when the deal was signed in July it was upped to 150,000 from January and will again be raised to 165,000 effective March 2000, Mansukhani said.

Mansukhani pointed out that for the cable industry, rate and connectivity were both seen as a component of price. Since InCable had increased connectivity there was no justification in Star‘s implementing its new rate regime was what was argued in court, he added.

"A gradual upward revision is what we are asking from pay channels until the addressable era becomes a reality," Mansukhani declares.

Sony Entertainment Television‘s top rated show, the daily drama Kkusum from the Balaji Telefilms stable, has notched a TRP of 8.9 on 24 January among all C&S audiences, an official release states.

The ratings were as per market research agency AC Nielsen‘s TAM data. Sony made the announcement ahead of the opening today of its hospital drama Dhadkan. The show airs Mondays to Wednesdays at 8:30 PM Opening later in the week and airing in the same time slot Thursdays is a weekly drama revolving around twins in Hubahu.

Nachiket Pantvaidya, V-P programming and production, said: "Kkusum‘s latest performance is only a reflection of the channel‘s belief in the show. We are sure that Kkusum will not only become far stronger in its current slot, it will also help Dhadkan and Hubahu get the extremely strong audience they truly deserve."

One of the Beeb‘s best known faces, George Alagiah has joined BBC World to present a new weekday news programme that has started airing from 22 January at 1.30 am IST. The new format news programme will draw on the BBC‘s newsgathering operation and will reflect the global stories of the day with a blend of high profile interviews and in depth interviews.

George Alagiah

BBC World, that claims audience figures of 192 million households in 200 countries, will air the Alagiah specials from Tuesdays to Saturdays. Alagiah has been working with the broadcaster since 1989 and has actively been involved in reporting from Africa and other developing countries. He was part of the BBC team which collected a BAFTA award for covering the Kosovo conflict in 2000. George Alagiah has reported on a wide range oif important occurences. They include human organs trade in India, civil war and famine in Somalia, genocide in Rwanda, farm invasions in Zimbabwe and the Kosovan refugee crisis. He has also interviewed Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela. Between 1994-1998 he was based in Johannesburg as the broadcasters Africa correspondent. His book ‘A Passage To Africa‘ was published last year.

Kirsty Lang another new face on BBC World will be the second presenter of the bulletin. She has worked as BBC News Paris Correspondent and as a reporter for Channel Four.