Mysuru:  Despite Court order against ‘Cable TV blackout’, Mysuru City and District Cable Operators cut signal supply to set top boxes across the city and district today, in protest against the new tariff policy by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) coming into effect from Feb. 1. The blackout began at 8 am and will end at 10 pm today.    

Though the Bengaluru City Civil Court passed an ex-parte injunction order against today’s blackout, over 800 cable TV operators of the district went on strike called by South India Cable Operators Association. Their justification for the strike is that they have not yet got the copy of the injunction order issued by the Court.

Over 7 lakh paid television channels went blank at 8 am in Mysuru district affecting TV viewership and earnings of the entertainment industry including broadcasters and advertisers. Cable operators are seeking drastic reduction in the GST rate on MRP of pay channels from 18 percent to 5 percent. They are also demanding reworking of revenue-sharing formula claiming the one mooted under the new regime by TRAI will make them unviable.

Speaking to Star of Mysore this morning, Mysuru City Cable Operators Association President Mohankumar Gowda said that the blackout was successful as all cable operators switched off their cable feeds. “98 per cent of television screens in city and district are connected to cable operators and rest two per cent are DTH,” he said.  

He alleged that the TRAI rules would neither benefit the consumers nor cable operators and it will help only big market players. He said over 8,000 workers are attached to 800 cable TV operators in Mysuru district and it would be difficult for the operators to run business after paying building rent, electricity and  technician charges.