TDSAT orders TataSky to pay Rs 9 crore or face disconnection

New Delhi, July 14 (UNI) Telecom Disputes Settlement&Appellate Tribunal has directed TataSky to pay up Rs 9 crore to Zee Turner within two weeks for the feed received from Zee for 32 channels between September 2006 till April 23, 2007, failing which Zee could discontinue its signals to TataSky as per law.

Dismissing TataSky petition seeking refund of what they claimed to be in excess of what they were supposed to pay to Zee, TDSAT in its order yesterday, however, granted TataSky two weeks to make the payment, failing which Zee Turner shall be at liberty to take action, including deactivation of its channels, to TataSky in accordance with law.

The dispute between them arose in August 2006 when direct-to-home service provider went to a Delhi court against distribution company for acting pricey on giving its channels to the new entrant in the Indian DTH market. TataSky charged Zee Turner with setting ''unreasonable'' terms for negotiations for its bouquet of channels, claiming it amounts to a breach of various directives issued by the sector regulator.

Zee Turner is a 74:26 distribution joint venture between the Subash Chandra-controlled Zee Telefilms and Time Warner company Turner International India. Dish TV, also promoted by Subash Chandra, is the country's first pay TV platform.

TataSky wanted to take only 19 channels of Zee Turner for distribution from its platform , whereas Zee Turner asked it to carry all its 32 channels in accordance with an earlier TDSAT judgment.

Unwilling to distribute all the 32 channels from its DTH platform to its subscribers, TataSky approached TDSAT. The regulator, vide its interim order of September 20, 2006, directed Zee Turner to supply all its 32 channels to Tata Sky at 50 per cent of their cable rate (Rs 149.85) per subscriber per month, that is Rs 75 per month. Accordingly, TataSky started carrying all 32 channels on its DTH platform.

TDSAT in its final order of March 31, 2007, however, accepted the contention of TataSky, saying it can carry 19 channels of Zee Turner comprising of bouquet-I and bouquet-II at the rate of Rs 42 per subscriber per month. TataSky discontinued and removed balance 13 channels of Zee Turner from its DTH platform from April 23,2007.

The final judgement of regulator has been appealed by Zee Turner in the Supreme Court where it is pending hearing.

But when TataSky recently informed Zee Turner that it would not pay at the rate of Rs 75 per subscriber per month but pay only at the rate of Rs 42 even for the period during which it was distributing 32 channels, Zee Turner contested it and asked TataSky to make the payment at the rate of Rs 75 as determined by TDSAT.

The total outstanding due from TataSky to Zee Turner is around Rs 9 crores, Zee said in a release today.

UNI