A battle is brewing between cable service provider Hathway Cable services and sports broadcasting entity STAR Sports. At the receiving end, at least for now, is the consumer.
Hathway Cable has removed all STAR Sports channels from its packaged services from Tuesday. This comes when the cricket tournament, ICC T20 World Cup, has entered the semi-final stages, with India having the best chances to make it to the finals.
Hathway Cable has 11 million television subscribers across the country.
Hathway insiders confirmed the cable service provider had removed all STAR Sports channels from the packaged services. "This is a critical situation for all three stakeholders, including the consumer. But if a broadcaster raises rates suddenly, we have to take similar steps," an official said.
STAR Sports has another claim.
"Hathway failed in its obligation of giving a prior and adequate notice to its consumers, before making changes in its package composition and discontinuing exhibition of STAR Sports channels. We also received information Hathway did not protect those who had subscribed to the packages containing the STAR Sports channels, within the last six months nor those who had paid on a yearly basis, breaching its obligations under the relevant regulations. We have been inundated with enquiries from consumers of Hathway. We would also like to clarify we have not increased the prices of STAR Sports channels. The channel pricing is regulated by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India."
