Star India has issued a disconnection notice to direct to home (DTH) operator Tata Sky on account of non-signing of subscription agreement by the DTH operator.
Tata Sky is a joint venture between Tata Group and Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox, which also owns Star India and has a holds 30 per cent stake in Tata Sky.
According to reports, the broadcaster has said that the signals of its channels will be discontinued to the DTH operator 21 days from the date of issue of notice as ‘The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’ (TRAI) regulation mandates issuing a notice 21 days prior to switching off the signals.
This is to inform the subscribers of Tata Sky that the signals of Star India channels are likely to be discontinued on account of non-signing of subscription agreement by the DTH operator,” Star India in a notice to Tata Sky subscribers.
The disconnection notices or threats are often used as a negotiation ploy by broadcasters and distribution platform operators to get a good deal from the other party but the magnitude of these two parties make the clash between Tata Sky and Star India more interesting and complicated.
We can still expect Tata Sky to cave in and Star to continue its broadcast on the DTH platform.
Recently, Star India had issued disconnection notice to multi-system operator (MSO) IndusInd Media and Communications Ltd (IMCL) for different cities across India for non-signing of subscription agreement and non-payment of outstanding dues.
It remains to be seen what happens between India’s biggest broadcasting company (Star) and India’s biggest distributor of television content (Tata Sky).