SET Max goes digital-pay

agencyfaqs! News Bureau

NEW DELHI, July 16

Starting Saturday, Sony Entertainment Television's (SET) movie and events channel, SET Max, has gone digital-pay. The price band per subscriber has been fixed between Rs 4.5 and Rs 5. With the inclusion of SET Max, the Sony bouquet of three channels -- including AXN and CNBC India (which is distributed by SET) -- will now cost the cable operator around Rs 10 per subscriber. AXN was the first channel from the Sony bouquet to go digital. Post encryption, it was priced around Rs 3.50 per subscriber.

According to company sources, Sony is subsidising the cost of decoder to the extent of Rs 30,000 per set, with the cable operator having to pay a one-time non-refundable fee of around Rs 8,800. Till now, SET Max was a free-to-air analogue channel.

Will this move affect viewship? No, say the channel executives. That's because Sony has lined up some major programmes for SET Max in the coming months -- with a cricket series from Sharjah in October and matches from Sri Lanka as well. Cricket, the channel brass believes, would remain a big draw, the current match-fixing controversy notwithstanding. Some blockbuster movies are also in the pipeline, executives added.

With Star set to launch its Hindi movie channel and B4U's movie channel on the anvil, the battle in the pay channel arena is all set to heat up in August.

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