After the introduction of the new tariff regime in the DTH and broadcasting industry by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), there has been a lot of confusion regarding the new rules in the industry. Even the DTH operators have been continually changing rules switching up different prices and parameter, thus putting the subscribers in a tight spot. Another such troubled spot has been the lock-in period which was first introduced by Dish TV on its a-la-carte channels and add-on channel packs and then upon receiving reluctance and resistance from the subscribers, it was removed from the Dish TV portfolio. However, now it seems that Dish TV has brought the lock-in period to effect again, thus restricting the users from flipping between various a-la-carte channels and add-on channel packs. Now it is pretty apparent that the Dish TV subscribers are not going to like this move, but here are some of the implications of this lock-in period reintroduction.
Dish TV's Reintroduction of the 30-Day Lock-in Period
It was back in April when Dish TV had first introduced the lock-in period on pay channels and select channel bouquets. Initially, the lock-in period was only limited to the sports channel, but slowly it was extended to other channels as well. As you would expect, the subscribers did not like this move as it restricted them from opting into specific channels and channel packs and then dropping them. The introduction of the lock-in period meant that the subscribers selecting a particular pay channel would have to pay for it and stick with for the entire month before they can remove it from their subscription. However, only two weeks after the subscribers showed disappointment towards this move, Dish TV had removed the lock-in period for good. But, it seems that the provider had re-instated it.
A-la-carte Channels Also Under Lock-in Period Now
On the Dish TV self-care application, some of the channel packs like Top Scorer HD, Telugu Joy, Tamil Joy, Swagat North East and more were displayed for subscription with a 30-day lock-in period. Not only some of the channel bouquets but also single pay channels like Cineplex HD, CNBC Aaawaz, CNBC Prime HD, CNBC TV18, Colors and more were also shown to come with a 30-day lock-in period. This means that subscribers who opt for these channels packs or channels will have to pay for all 30-day and they won't be able to remove them from their subscription in between.
There is no doubt that Dish TV subscribers are likely to again show a little disappointment on the reintroduction of the lock-in period. When the lock-in period was previously introduced on Dish TV, many subscribers had considered it to be a violation of the new Trai tariff regime as the lock-in period restricted the subscribers from changing their monthly channel subscription in the middle of the month.
