After missing Euro semis, city to catch final on TV
Times of India | 14 July 2024
Kolkata: Football-lovers across Kolkata heaved a sigh of relief as the Sony sports channels, which will beam the Euro Cup final live on Sunday night, returned to the platforms of four MSOs on Saturday afternoon.
The entire package of Sony channels had been blocked on these MSO networks last Monday, apparently due to ‘non-payment of dues’. The restoration of channels followed multiple meetings between broadcaster Sony Pictures Network India (SPNI) and MSOs GTPL-KCBPL, Hathway, DEN and Metrocast.More than 10 lakh subscribers in Kolkata had all Sony channels switched off for five days and missed both Euro semifinals on TV.
A statement issued by SPNI on Saturday said: “SPNI values its strong, collaborative relationships with MSO partners across India. We are pleased to announce that, following constructive negotiations, our channels have been successfully restored on several platforms. We expect to extend this restoration to all remaining platforms soon.”
Techie Souvik De, a football fan, said he was elated that he will be able to watch the final on TV. “I was forced to watch live-streaming of the two semis on the Sony LIV app and the experience was not even close to watching on TV. Thousands like me had been following the Euro matches on TV but were forced to miss the two most important matches due to this blackout. Many of my friends don’t have an OTT subscription. Fortunately, all will now catch the final on a big screen,” said De.
MSO GTPL-KCBPL, which faced a blackout, said a ‘mutually acceptable agreement’ was finally reached on Saturday. But the details of the agreement were yet to emerge. “The broadcaster had been seeking a rise in the agreement fee based on the assumption that the number of connections has increased. We have been trying to argue that our subscription base has got depleted over the last three-four years and the number of connections keeps getting reduced. There has been a major migration to OTT due to changed viewing habits and better content,” said Vijay Agarwal, MD of GTPL-KCBPL.
SPNI has more than 30 channels, including sports channels Sony Ten Sports 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 that beamed the Euro matches. These channels are also beaming the India-Zimbabwe T20 series.
Cable operators, too, were left relieved at the return of Sony channels. “Over the last five days, we have been flooded with queries and criticism for the blackout though we had nothing to do with this,” said Tapash Das, convenor of the All Bengal Cable TV & Broadband Operators’ United Forum.