India: ‘Pirated’ channels return a few hours after blackout

[Cindra]

A day after tapping into Sony channels from DTH signals, Manthan cable operators on Monday switched off the pirated signals, fearing legal action. But pressure from football fans, who were desperate the catch the highlights of the latenight matches broadcast during the day, forced many of them to bring the channels back. The pirated channels are being beamed on a different slot on the MSO’s platform.

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A Manthan operator’s office in south Kolkata was flooded with calls from subscribers after the signals disappeared on Monday morning. The former tried to reason with subscribers that channels will be back in time for the match but few were willing to listen.

“Many had to skip the live telecast of the Brazil-Switzerland match that started at 11.30pm on Sunday. They were desperate to catch the match replay and highlights on Monday. So, the channels were brought back in the morning,” said the operator.

It left football fans happy but few liked the uncertainty about the channels. “I missed the Portugal-Spain match and had to call it a day after watching the first half of the Brazil match since I had to get up early for office. This morning, I had switched on the channel hoping to catch a few moments of the match but found the channels missing. The operator’s office told me that since the channels are pirated they are scared of legal action. It would be on before the match but why should I be deprived of the highlights? It’s not possible to catch every match live but I can watch the highlights at my convenience. The legal hassle is Manthan’s problem,” said Chetla resident Jayangshu Ray.

Sony switched off its channels from the Manthan platform at midnight on Friday following a payment dispute. The Spain-Portugal match was on while the channels were taken off. Operators tapped signals from DTH platforms and other MSOs on Saturday to avoid viewer discontent. “Tapping signals is an illegal act. But Manthan operators have no option now and they must take the risk. You can’t afford to blackout a channel which is beaming World Cup matches live. They will have to continue the piracy till the payment dispute is sorted out. But Manthan will find it difficult to clear its dues for it is short on resources,” said a cable industry veteran.