MUMBAI: Multi system operators (MSOs) have resumed the service of Sun Network channels Teja News and Aditya on their cable networks after being assured by the Group that there was no intention of acquiring 51 per cent stake in their companies.
Sun Network officials clarified to a group of MSOs at a meeting in Hyderabad on Thursday that "such rumours were being deliberately floated by vested interests to harm their relationship with operators on the ground." The company had no design to acquire MSOs in the state and no threat calls were made to the operators. "Obviously, a broadcaster did not want our channels to be carried by the cable operators. The MSOs were wrongly guided," a Sun official told Indiantelevision.com.
A group of MSOs had switched off Teja News and Aditya (a music channel) on 25 May, accusing some Sun officials of making threatening calls in an effort to take 51 per cent share without making any payments. The MSOs, who formed an association on 18 May at Hyderabad, also protested against Sun's demand to increase connectivity for its pay channel Gemini.
"The issue has been resolved. Sun officials confirmed that they were not interested in acquiring 51 per cent stake in the MSOs," said P Sai Babu, a convening committee member of the association. He also heads Siticable in Andhra Pradesh.