The battle between ESPN-Star Sports has entered another phase. On 24 January cable TV operators in cable TV capital Mumbai extended their agitation against basic subscription channels ESPN and Star Sports.That too at a time when India is expected to play a crucial match against Pakistan as part of the one-day series in Australia on 25 January. Cable operators have been protesting the RS 1.51 hike per subscriber to RS 6.50 that ESPN Software management imposed on them to continue to redistribute sports channels Star Sports to subscribers from last week. They had decided to black out the two channels for three days last week. When the three day period expired last week they took a decision to extend the ban indefinitely.

"They are treating us shoddily and at gun point," says Atul Saraf one of the agitating cable operators. "The contract they have made us sign to renew telecasting the service is pretty tough and one-sided. Hence we have decided to fight."

This time they have got the support of a BJP politician Kirit Somaiya who has a vested interest in the agitation as people close to him have been switched off by ESPN Software on account of non-payment for the basic subscription channel. Somaiya is taking the fractious cable TV operators as part of a delegation to the information and broadcasting minister Arun Jaitley in Delhi to air their grievances.

The cable ops are also giving the entire issue a foreign invasion slant by saying that the price hikes are being resorted to mainly by multinational channels who are out to make pots of unwarranted money out of lay Indian consumers just because they have rights to cricket which Indian viewers simply cannot do without.

Star Sports says that the price hike was part of the contract that the cable TV ops had signed with the channel. It says it will not bow down to the arm twisting methods of the cable operators. And they will wait it out.

Cable operators say that it sure is going to be a long wait. "We have taken away the ESPN and Star Sports decoders from cable operators who we believe will give in to the bad tactics of ESPN-Star early," says Saraf. "We are going to fight till the end." Cable operators involved in the battle in Mumbai include Shri Bhawani, InCablenet, Siticable, Seven Star, Channel III, Five Star, Hathway, accounting for almost all of the city‘s cable and satellite homes.

Who will blink first? Cable ops or the two channels? Whoever does will end up benefiting the TV viewer.

The faceoff between ESPN-Star Sports and Mumbai‘s cable TV trade continues as cable operators are adamant that they will continue to hold their ground and are preparing a delegation to visit information and broadcasting minister Arun Jaitley in Delhi.

Now, it is the turn of the The Consumer Guidance Society of India (CGSI) to throw its hat into the ring. It has issued a press release saying that it "has received many complaints from television viewers against cable operators, where the cable operators are depriving millions of cricket lovers in Mumbai of the television coverage of triangular series being played between India, Pakistan and Australia."

The CGSI says it wholly condemns the cable operators agitation and has decided to initiate immediate legal action against the cable operators and their associations. "We believe this is totally unfair to hold the consumers to ransom where hundreds of thousands of sports enthusiasts are missing out on the exciting cricket series." "The cable operators charge RS 100 - 150 from the consumers and they do not have any legal right to block out the channels. By doing so they are in the breach of their obligations to the consumers. We plan to initiate action against the operators under the Consumer Protection Act."

CGSI has also decided to focus on protecting consumer rights against cable operators in the following key areas. It also plans to educate consumers about their rights against the cable operators, and also take up the issues with the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, the Government and appropriate authorities where adequate regulation should safeguard consumers ‘interests.‘

The CGSI points out to the following deficiencies:

1) Most of the cable operators do not specify which channels they will show and on what frequency band. A consumer has no recourse to file a complaint at any appropriate forum. The operators also do not give a receipt of monthly subscriptions they receive from consumers.

2) Cable operators have formed service monopolies in all areas. Today in most areas the consumers do not have a choice to get the service from any other cable operator. The CGSI intends to take up the matter with MRPTC as this monopolistic practice violates the basic rights of the consumer.

3) Many cable networks are passing on a very poor quality picture and sound to their consumers. There is absolutely no feedback, no action, no technical up-gradation despite making several complaints to cable operators.

4) Adult movies along with offensive material is regularly shown on the cable operators‘ channels. This practice is illegal, and is also affecting young minds, and disturbing the social fabric of our culture and traditions.

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.