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Tata Sky on October 1, dropped 22 television channels belonging to Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) and three channels of the TV Today Network due to the ongoing disagreement over revenue sharing, according to a report by The Hindu.
The contract between the broadcaster and the direct-to-home (DTH) service provider had expired on July 31.
“Commercial negotiations with the broadcasters broke down as what they were seeking would have forced us to hike our prices. Hence we have had to drop a few channels while keeping the popular ones on. We request our subscribers to bear with us, as we are doing this in their best interest”, Harit Nagpal, CEO & MD of Tata Sky said.
According to the report, SPN is not willing to pay a certain revenue share that Tata Sky has sought.
Tata Sky also dropped TV Today Network's India Today as it is distributed by SPN.
Other than the 22 channels, the DTH service has on its own identified 11 SPN channels that will continue to be available to viewers, in accordance with Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) regulations.
Subscribers will however have to give a missed call to activate any of these 11 channels. The 11 channels include SET, Sony SAB, Sony Six, Sony Ten, Sony Pix and Aaj Tak, among others.
According to the report, SPN said, “It is unfortunate that Tata Sky has unilaterally chosen to drop 22 SPN channels even though SPN has not increased the rates of its channels.”
In a series of tweets, the Sony TV, SPN's Hindi general entertainment channel requested Tata Sky subscribers to not "allow Tata Sky to dictate their viewership choices".
"We have not increased channel prices contrary to what you may be hearing," Sony TV said in a tweet. The channel also appealed viewers to call or tweet the DTH service provider and demand that SPN channels be made available again.
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