Delay in new cable TV regime ruled out

Amidst apprehensions in the Bharatiya Janata Party of a negative consumer reaction to the implementation of the Conditional Access System for cable TV viewers in the four metros, the information and broadcasting ministry said on Wednesday that it was committed to the July 14 deadline.

BJP president Venkaiah Naidu told reporters on Wednesday that the party will discuss the issue with Information and Broadcasting Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who is currently out of the country, before taking a final view on it.

"We would like to be sure about the implications and whether there is any rationale behind some of the arguments raised. I am waiting for the minister to come back. We will have detailed discussions with him and then the party will take a final view," he said.   

However, ministry sources dismissed reports of CAS being deferred saying there was no truth in them.

Faced with elections in Delhi, the BJP is apparently worried about the response to the CAS, which would require cable TV viewers to buy set-top boxes to access pay channels from July 14.

The ministry calls the CAS a "consumer-friendly" move, which gives the viewer the right to choose the desired pay channels and subscribe only to them.