TataSky told 'pay for removed channels'

[BGonaSTICK]

Indian DTH platform TataSky has been ordered to pay Zee Turner around Rs90 million in unpaid carriage fees, despite winning an earlier case.

After winning a case in March in which the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) said that DTH operators did not have to carry all of the channels from a provider, TataSky removed 13 Zee Turner channels from its service, leaving 19.

But TataSky then said it would not pay Zee Turner the Rs75 per subscriber per month for the removed channels for the period September 2006 – April 2007, when the channels had been on its platform. Instead it would pay just Rs42 per subscriber per month. The Rs75 per month was a price set by TDSAT and represented half of the rates that Zee Turner receives from cable operators. But TataSky argued that as it had been obliged to carry the extra channels against its wishes – a situation now ruled wrong by TDSAT – it should not have to pay the full price.

TDSAT has now ordered TataSky to pay the outstanding amount, around Rs90 million, as it had received subscription money from its subscribers for a service which included the now-removed 13 channels.

But TDSAT’s earlier ruling is being challenged by Zee Turner in the Supreme Court. It wants all of its channels on the TataSky platform. That case is pending. But if the Supreme Court rules in Zee Turner’s favour, it could put yet more pressure on transponder space in the increasingly-crowded Indian DTH channel sector.

Source: Rapid TV News