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While the government is firm and sticking to its deadline for the first phase of digitization, there are voices of opposition from a few political parties and West Bengal and Tamil Nadu state governments apart from local cable operators (LCOs). West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has already threatened to launch a countrywide agitation, if cable TV services go for a blackout. “We cannot accept this stand by the Centre. When set top boxes are not in hand, analogue system should be allowed to continue, Centre has no right to blackout television,” Banerjee told the media.
Ministry claims that digitization in Mumbai is almost 100 per cent, while Delhi is at 88 per cent and Kolkata is at 82 per cent.
But the multi-system-operators (MSOs) and direct-to-home (DTH) players are gung ho and are expecting that the deadline will not be extended this time. “There is no indication from the government of any extension in the deadline this time, which is a good sign. There will always be people in market who will wait till the end. So you will see the real pace once the blackout happens. In the last 2-3 weeks, we have been seeing significant jump in the seeding of STBs. From DEN alone over 20,000 STBs are being seeded per day,” MG Azhar, COO of DEN Networks said. DEN is expecting to remain the largest MSO in Delhi and also to hold 15 per cent market in Mumbai post digitization.
The DTH players are also upbeat about the opportunity lying ahead and are betting big on the first phase. “There is no reason to doubt that the deadline will not be met. Both Cable and DTH companies have enough boxes to meet the requirements and the campaign released by Ministry is actually very effective. In the last 3-4 weeks, we have seen unprecedented demand for the STBs. Yes, there is inertia among a few customers but once the signals get blacked out, it will take care of that,” added Harit Nagpal, MD and CEO of Tata Sky.
Everyone is expecting a huge rush for boxes once the signals get blacked out on November 1. "We have seen about 10 times jump in STB sales during the past few weeks, in Delhi and about 7-8 times jump in Mumbai," said Salil Kapoor, COO, Dish TV. "We won't be able to feed all at one go. It would take a few days. To be prepared for the same, we are getting all our installers from neighbouring states to be stationed in the four metro cities, so that the rush could be tackled in a structured way," he added.
Ministry claims that digitization in Mumbai is almost 100 per cent, while Delhi is at 88 per cent and Kolkata is at 82 per cent.
But the multi-system-operators (MSOs) and direct-to-home (DTH) players are gung ho and are expecting that the deadline will not be extended this time. “There is no indication from the government of any extension in the deadline this time, which is a good sign. There will always be people in market who will wait till the end. So you will see the real pace once the blackout happens. In the last 2-3 weeks, we have been seeing significant jump in the seeding of STBs. From DEN alone over 20,000 STBs are being seeded per day,” MG Azhar, COO of DEN Networks said. DEN is expecting to remain the largest MSO in Delhi and also to hold 15 per cent market in Mumbai post digitization.
The DTH players are also upbeat about the opportunity lying ahead and are betting big on the first phase. “There is no reason to doubt that the deadline will not be met. Both Cable and DTH companies have enough boxes to meet the requirements and the campaign released by Ministry is actually very effective. In the last 3-4 weeks, we have seen unprecedented demand for the STBs. Yes, there is inertia among a few customers but once the signals get blacked out, it will take care of that,” added Harit Nagpal, MD and CEO of Tata Sky.
Everyone is expecting a huge rush for boxes once the signals get blacked out on November 1. "We have seen about 10 times jump in STB sales during the past few weeks, in Delhi and about 7-8 times jump in Mumbai," said Salil Kapoor, COO, Dish TV. "We won't be able to feed all at one go. It would take a few days. To be prepared for the same, we are getting all our installers from neighbouring states to be stationed in the four metro cities, so that the rush could be tackled in a structured way," he added.