Channels stay off air, blackout cloud on Euro final after sports fans miss 2nd semis
Times of India | 12 July 2024
Kolkata: With Sony TV channels remaining off air on four MSO platforms since Monday, lakhs of football-lovers across Kolkata missed the second semifinal of the Euro between England and the Netherlands early on Thursday morning. Fans had missed the first semifinal on Wednesday and could even miss the final between England and Spain scheduled on Sunday if the impasse over non-payment of dues and price of channels is not resolved within the next 24 hours, said cable industry sources.
In a statement on Thursday, Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) — that has over 30 entertainment and children’s channels apart from five sports channels that are now beaming the Euro matches live — claimed that the channels have been withdrawn from the platforms of the four MSOs since they have not paid their dues for six months.“Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) is committed to fostering long-term partnerships with MSOs and LCOs. Despite a prepaid model where LCOs have collected and forwarded payments to MSOs, such as GTPL, DEN, Hathway, and Metrocast, including for the Sony package, outstanding dues exceeding six months have necessitated the restriction of access to Sony channels, including our sports channels, in certain areas. We have notified viewers of the service disruption due to these unresolved payments through channel scrolls, in line with TRAI regulations. We are actively working with these partners to resolve the issue and restore service swiftly,” the statement said.
MSOs denied the allegation of unpaid dues. “They have not entered into an agreement with us so the question of not paying dues does not arise. Sony wants a price hike, without which they are not ready to draw up the agreement. We have been arguing their demand is unreasonable but they want us to sign before negotiations, which is not acceptable,” said Vijay Agarwal, MD of GTPL-KCBPL.
While GTPL has access to Sony channel packages, it has taken them off in solidarity with the other three MSOs whose signals were switched off. “We will air the final, after which they will be taken off,” said Agarwal.
New Town resident Souvik De said he had been looking forward to watching the matches on TV with his friends. “Instead, we had to settle for livestreaming on phones,” said De.
Some local cable operators said though Sony has been scrolling a warning that the channels could be taken off, they had hoped the issue would be settled. “Due to the elections, all negotiations with the broadcaster had come to a halt. Sony has been demanding a hike in channel price at a time when subscriptions have dropped,” said Tapash Das, convenor of the All-Bengal Cable TV & Broadband Operators’ United Forum.