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Gujarat cable operators to protest against stoppage of TV feed
As per a report, 5,000 cable operators and 40,000 of their staff and technicians in Gujarat will have to leave this business if the exorbitant price hike is not rolled back.
Cable operators in Gujarat announced that they would organise a statewide protest in the coming days against leading television broadcasters who have stopped providing feed over the non-signing of fresh agreements as per hiked prices under the new tariff order, according to PTI.
As per a media report, this announcement just came after major broadcasters, such as Disney Star, Zee Entertainment Enterprises, and Sony Pictures Networks India Ltd, blocked the signals of over 100 of their pay channels in Gujarat, affecting nearly 50 lakh cable homes in the state, said Pramod Pandya, president of Cable Operator Association of Gujarat.
Earlier, the broadcasters issued notices on February 15 to cable operators/multi-system operators to sign the new Reference Interconnect Offer (RIO) for New Tariff Order (NTO) 3.0 issued by the sectoral regulator TRAI.
The report highlighted that cable operators in Gujarat may shut down their business if the court agrees to broadcasters' demand for a hike in the monthly tariff of their pay channels.