If IBDF’s offer is accepted, monthly cable TV From next month, the price of subscription may increase by about 50% compared to 2019. Some of the leading broadcasters including Star & Disney India, Sony Pictures Networks India, Zee Entertainment and Viacom18 have kept their flagship channels out of the bouquet and priced them between Rs 15-30.
Local cable Operators fear that such a hike will hit the cable TV industry. “Two years ago, channel prices went up by about 40% and this led to a drop in subscriptions in Kolkata. This time, another 25%-30% hike has been proposed, which will lead to an increase of 50%-60% in subscription fee from 2019 onwards,” said Tapash Das, joint convener of All Bengal Cable TV and Broadband Operators. said. United Forum.
There are about 3 million cable TV houses in Kolkata.1
Two years ago, a limit of Rs 19 was set for individual channels within the bouquet. Mrinal Chatterjee of Bengal Broadband said, “Unfortunately, it was not mentioned that the price may be increased if a channel is offered individually.” He said a sharp hike would now prompt many customers to move to There Forum.
As per IBDF’s proposal, leading sports, entertainment, infotainment and movie channels will now be priced between Rs 15-30. While not all broadcasters have announced the new prices yet, some like Sony have paid Rs 30 for entertainment channel SET (HD), Rs 28 for SAB (HD) and Rs 25 for sports channels TEN 1 and TEN 2. price is offered.
“Till now, leading channels like Star Movies, Zee TV, Star Plus, SET Max, Star and Sony sports channels had the highest price of Rs 19 and all of them were available in bouquets. Now, consumers will not only have to pay higher prices for these on an a la carte basis, they will also have to subscribe to Bouquet if they want the right mix of everything. As a result, the monthly subscription will increase by at least 50%,” Das said.
An average Kolkata subscriber now pays Rs 350-400 per month, mostly for channels in packages. “Very few people subscribe to channels individually. The average number of channels subscribed by consumers has come down after the price hike two years ago. This was a sharp increase and many people had unsubscribed from the expensive pay channels. A large section opted out of film and sports channels. Some are subscribing to sports channels since a big sporting event is going on,” Chatterjee said.
.