MIB Wants Broadcasters And DTH Players To Offer Uninterrupted Services

In order to help people, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has asked all broadcasters and DTH operators to offer their services without any interruption. The ministry has also issued a notification, asking to cooperate for the interest of viewers.

The notification said, "The stakeholders are advised to continue to provide uninterrupted services to their subscribers and cooperate with other players within the distribution chain in the interest of viewers and larger public safety in these difficult times."

This is not the first time the government has asked broadcasters and DTH players to offer their services during the lockdown. Earlier, the Ministry of Home Affairs has asked all players to offer their services during the lockdown.

The ministry has listed these services in the list of essential services at this point. Meanwhile, Economic Times reported that the cable TV operators believe that this is a really important announcement for them as their falling revenue from users is a bone of contention between them and broadcasters.

It is worth mentioning that the local TV subscribers' cable operators have been facing a financial crisis as there is a drop-in fee collection due to lockdown.

"We have demanded to allow a three-month prepaid account into postpaid or to have a credit facility of such period to facilitate seamless services," RS Raju, Secretary, Seemandhra Cable Operators Welfare Association (SCOWA) was quoted by the newspaper.

"This is a good development by MIB but it should have specified that they are directing pay broadcasters not to raise invoices for this 2-3-month timeframe, following a similar move by the United States," Raju said.

In fact, the report said the cable TV operators from Andhra Pradesh have asked big broadcasters not to cut the connection of the set-top box at this moment as customers are at home.