C Umashankar: No plans of Arasu Cable TV closure

Meher Khanna - Televisionpoint.com | Chennai
The DMK government has set at rest doubts over the fate of the state-owned multi systems operator (MSO) Arasu Cable Corporation, in the wake of the recent patch up between the Maran brothers of Sun TV Network with DMK chief and Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi.

The Marans may have patched-up with M Karunanidhi, but Arasu Cable Corporation, floated primarily to end the brothers' monopoly in the cable business, has no plans of winding up.

After questions are being raised about the viability and survival of the Arasu Cable TV Corporation, its managing director C Umashankar said that the chief minister had given him the go-ahead to make the state-owned corporation a viable business that proved beneficial to customers and cable TV operators.

At present, one lakh subscribers were enrolled with Arasu through 500 cable operators affiliated to the newly-floated multi-system operator (MSO). In Chennai, digital headends and other pieces of equipment would be arriving this week and efforts were on to start services from Pongal, he said.

As far as Chennai was concerned, Arasu was for the conditional access system (CAS) to enable superior quality of telecast for hundreds of channels. "There is a plan to purchase five million high definition (HD) set-top boxes (STBs) to beat competition, but this is subject to the government's approval," Umashankar said.

According to Arasu, HD STBs could be purchased in bulk, as is being done for the free colour television sets distribution scheme, from different manufacturers at a much lesser cost. At present, a HD set-top box costs Rs 7,000 but it could be brought down to Rs 2,000 when procured in millions from China and Taiwan. Such a purchase could push the investment up to Rs 400 crores, industry sources said.

Umashankar said a survey had been initiated to find out peoples' preference for STBs by making an initial payment of Rs 1,500, and that the rest could be paid in installments. At present, Arasu was providing 75 channels, including 22 pay channels for Rs 100 a month.

Earlier, Arasu had also filed a complaint against Star India, Sony and Sun TV as they did not respond to its request for signals. But, Umashankar said that informal discussions have been held with the Marans, who have consented to giving signals to the MSO.

Initial estimates of revenue and profit indicate that the Arasu Cable Corporation could earn up to Rs 150 crore at the end of second year with its projected five million connections throughout the state.

"OFC cables were being laid or leased from other government agencies to cover every nook and corner of the state. There is no question of sharing infrastructure with other MSOs like Sun, Hathway or RCV. There are threats from rivals. Arasu is a business entity floated with tax payers' money, and it means business,'' Umashankar asserted.

It maybe noted that since the patch up was announced, the AIADMK chief and leader of opposition, J Jayalalitha said that Karunanidhi is answerable to the public over the fate of Arasu Corporation. Through the Arasu Cable TV venture, the DMK-led state government hoped to break the virtual monopoly enjoyed by the Maran-family owned Sumangali Cable Vision (SCV) in the MSO space.