Almost all DTH operators have started offering the festive season promotional benefit to their subscribers. While Tata Sky was the first one to bring the reduced channel pricing for its customers, Sun Direct, Airtel Digital TV and D2h have also followed in its footsteps to bring the promotional offer from the broadcaster to their customers. However, that is making all the cable TV subscribers wonder when would they get the benefit of this broadcaster promotional offer. Well, thankfully, we can say that the cable TV subscribers would also be able to enjoy the benefits of this new offer soon as the All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF) has said that it would be passing on the benefits of the promotional scheme that the broadcasters have introduced on to its customers. It is worth noting that AIDCF represents the major cable TV operators in India, and all the cable TV operators constituting AIDCF are going to bring this promotional offer for their subscribers.
All Cable TV Operators Will Bring Promotional Offer
AIDCF in its statement, has said, “AIDCF hopes that such promotional schemes from broadcasters will continue and we from AIDCF commit that we will ensure all such benefits are passed to the consumers. We also hope that new consumer offers will come, which will help in boosting consumption.” AIDCF has remarked that all its members would be committed in delivering superior value to the consumers. Already AIDCF has decided that to provide extra value to their subscribers, the cable TV operators would be offering 150 SD channels in the base NCF price instead of just 100 SD channels. This means that the cable TV subscribers are getting to enjoy 1.5 times more channels as compared to the DTH operators, saving them Rs 40 per month on their connection. When the promotional offer from the broadcasters comes into play for these subscribers, they would be able to do more savings on their connection.
AIDCF president, SN Sharma said in a press conference, “We thank TRAI for the relentless pursuit to empower TV consumers and give consumers the power of choice. To follow the spirit of NTO, cable operators enabled true customer choice by providing each customer choice to select any combination. Today, millions of unique plans are provided by cable operators despite all technical challenges. This is true consumer choice and level of customisation is unmatched by any industry in India.”
New Festive Season Pricing of Channels Explained
As part of this new promotional offer which the broadcasters are terming as a festive offering, major content providers in India are offering their channels at reduced pricing. The channels which are coming with a reduced price tag include some of the most popular channels which are in high demand. A lot of channels from major broadcasters which were previously available for Rs 19 per month are now available for Rs 12 per month only. Not only this, but several other channels have received lesser price cuts also thus bringing the overall cost down. Combined with the NCF benefit which the cable TV subscribers are enjoying, this festive pricing on the popular channels will allow the customers to save upwards of Rs 50 per month on their connection.
As part of the festive offering from the major broadcasters like Star India, popular channels like Star Plus, Zee Entertainment Channel, Sony Entertainment Television (SET), SAB, Colors, Colors Kannada, and more are available for Rs 12 per month. These channels were previously available for individual subscription at Rs 19 per month. It is likely that this move has been made by the broadcasters in the run-up to some regulatory changes which Trai might make concerning the channel packs and bouquets, thus bringing a discount cap to these bundles. This would mean that the channels won’t be allowed to priced high individually.
