The Hindu : New Delhi News : Azhagiri moves TDSAT against Sun TV network

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Saturday, Jun 14, 2008
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Azhagiri moves TDSAT against Sun TV network

J. Venkatesan

Tribunal Bench to hear the matter today

Sun TV network refusing to provide decoder boxes
Refusal is illegal and liable for action from Tribunal

New Delhi: Royal Cable Vision (RCV), Madurai, owned by M.K. Azhagiri, son of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, on Friday moved the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), seeking a direction to Sun Television network to provide signals of all its channels to RCV for distribution to its subscribers.

The petition filed by Supreme Court lawyer K.K. Mani and Chennai advocate K. Ezhil was mentioned on Friday before a TDSAT Bench headed by its Chairman Justice Arun Kumar, who agreed to hear the matter on Saturday, though it is a holiday.

In its petition RCV stated that it had obtained licence as a multi-system operator (MSO) to operate in Madurai, Theni, Ramanathapuram, Sivaganga, Dindigul, Tirunelveli, Kanyakumari, Thoothukudi and a few other districts in Tamil Nadu and was providing more than 75 channels to subscribers.

It said the respondent, Channel Plus-TN, a unit of Sun TV network, had been refusing to provide decoder boxes for all the Tamil channels on its network.

The petitioner said that since millions of viewers watched Sun TV channels, it requested the respondent to provide it decoder boxes. This was refused due to motivated and monopolistic business plans. It alleged that the respondent, by its refusal to provide decoders, wanted to help Sun Direct, which dealt in direct to home business.

It alleged that in the last week alone, thousands of DTH boxes were sold in the area and the respondent was interested in protracting the supply of signals to the petitioner or any other MSO.

RCV said it was entitled to the signals of all the channels it wanted to provide to its customers. Refusal to provide the same was illegal and liable for action from the Tribunal. It alleged that the refusal was mala fide. Sun Network wanted to strangle cable business in Tamil Nadu and foster its own interest by promoting the DTH business.

It sought a direction to the respondent to supply decoder boxes for all the Sun TV group channels and interim direction to provide signals on such terms the Tribunal might think fit and proper.

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