Star issues disconnection notice to Dish TV

Star India has issued a disconnection notice to direct to home (DTH) operator Dish TV over non-payment of subscription fees, non-signing of subscription agreement, and breach of subscription agreement.

The notice dated 16 November states that the subscribers of Dish TV under the brands Dish TV, Videocon d2h, and Zing will stop receiving Star India channels three weeks from the date of the disconnection notice.

In April, the parties had buried their hatchet and agreed to enter into a negotiated deal by the end of the month.

Star had issued disconnection notices to DTH operators Dish TV and Videocon d2h on 20 March for non-signing of agreements after the negotiations between the two parties had failed.

Even before the disconnection date became effective, the broadcaster had moved Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) seeking directions for Dish TV to do a reference interconnect offer (RIO) deal.

Prior to that, Star India had sparred with DTH operator Airtel Digital TV before the smoking peace pipe and renewing the content deal.

At that time, the bone of contention between the broadcaster and DTH operator was growth that the former was asking due to the addition of the popular Indian Premier League (IPL) to its kitty.

Earlier, Dish TV CMD Jawahar Goel had said that the company is doing 3-4 month contracts keeping in mind the tariff order implementation.

The fresh deal between the parties will happen on the basis of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) new tariff order. The TRAI’s regulatory framework came into force from 3 July.

The broadcasters including Star have declared the MRP and bouquet rates of their channels. The new agreements will be effective from 29 September.

Dish TV is India’s biggest TV distribution platform with a net subscriber base of 23.5 million. Star generates 30,000+ hours of content every year and broadcasts 60+ channels in 8 different languages.