When
I bought TataSky HD, they provided one month access to all channels for free.
Before renewing for the second month, I modified my plan and subscribed only to
a selected TV channels. While selecting the channels I chose the ones I or my
family loved to watch while I excluded the ones which we disliked. The outcome
was a list of only those channels we liked. There could have been a case when I
had to select a channel which I didn’t like because someone else in my family
liked, but fortunately there was no such case with us.
I
think while DTH has helped consumers in many ways, it has also resulted in
increased media responsibility. If a news channel doesn’t care for viewers’
sensibilities and preferences, for example by hosting too many vulgar programs
or those showing excessive violence, or by inserting too many commercial
advertisements, the users will simply stop subscribing to the channel. A
channel can cost the subscriber anything from Rs 5 to 40 and if we multiply it
with lakhs of subscribers that adds up to huge revenue for the TV channels.
This didn’t happen earlier when the Cable
Wallah provided a host of channels without choice and you had to keep all
of them whether you watched them or not. So I think popularity of DTH will be resulting
in TV channels becoming more responsible towards viewers’ choices and they won’t
ever feel like operating in a monopoly.
-
Rahul
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