With cable operators in Mumbai taking a decision to pull the plug on ESPN-Star Sports for three days, the ESPN Software India management has issued a press release expressing its regretting "the decision of a few cable operators, to deprive the cricket loving people of Mumbai of the two on-going triangular series in Australia and South Africa." The company has also clarified its position on the rate hike: it says that the per subscriber fee for Star Sports was raised by RS 1.51 effectively making the price RS 6.50 per sub effective 1 January 2000. The channel?s management claims that "most of the cable networks in Mumbai, including Hinduja-owned In Cablenet, Siticable, Raheja-owned UCN, Spacevision and Liberty, Seven Star, Channel 3 among others have agreed to or have already paid for the Star Sports service at the new price."

It adds that it is "is unfortunate that with this decision of a few cable operators, viewers in Mumbai are missing out on the India-Australia-Pakistan triangular series from Australia being featured on ESPN and Star Sports, as well as the South Africa-England-Zimbabwe triangular series being featured on Star Sports." Cable operators had last week met up in Mumbai in the presence of a prominent politician and taken a decision to switch off the two channels.

ESPN-Star Sports is facing a bit of a hiccup in Mumbai. The reason: Brisca, an association of leading Mumbai cable operators, has started an agitation against what it terms the "bullying tactics of pay services such as ESPN-Star Sports, which raise subscripion rates when they deem fit before important events, blackmailing them and causing differences between the cable community." They met at Mumbai‘s Chembur Gymkhana on 21 January to protest against pay channels. The meet was attended by Mumbai‘s cable bosses and was headed by Kirit Somaiya, MP Lok Sabha.

At the meeting, cable operators decided to black out ESPN and Star Sports for the next three days and it was followed by a protest march to the Star TV office at Andheri in Mumbai, which lasted for just 15 minutes.

Additionally, the operators are demanding a written apology from the two channels‘ managements and they have sought a legal status for the cable TV industry requesting Somaiya to work out a mechanism to have the so-called bullying stopped.

The operators have also decided to add to the gaggle of cable TV associations by proposing to form the ‘All India Cable Operator Association.‘ Other issues such as royalty, hike in royalty, indifferential package of pay channels, status of cable operators, foreign exchange outgo, video rights, advertising revenues and entertainment tax were also raised.

They pointed out that the television business was taking a cue from the consumer goods sector where foreigners are taking it over piece by piece. And that the turf of domestic and local industry should be protected.

One will have to wait and watch how long this so-called show of unity by the much-fragmented cable TV trade will last.

January 18-19 saw a major seminar happening in Mumbai. Indian and international marketing gurus met and discussed how to make children watch more TV and spend more on consumer goods.