[icernet] CAS may not deliver the goods, says study

[Arul Selvan]

According to the report by Media Partners Asia Ltd, an independent media 
research and publishing company based in Hong Kong, CAS implementation 
in India in the current proposed form is set to be undermined by a host 
of issues at consumer, operator and broadcaster levels. Post-CAS, to 
access cable television services consumers would need to subscribe to 
basic FTA (free to air) channels, and in order to view pay channels, buy 
a set top box (STB) and then make additional payments to access the pay 
channels. Various pricing models and scenarios indicate that post CAS, 
consumers would have to pay between Rs 250 and Rs 450 per month to 
access the cable television services for which they now pay a nationwide 
average of Rs 157 per month.

At present, 30 per cent of the cable television consumers have monthly 
incomes ranging between Rs 2,000 and Rs 4,000 while 31 per cent have 
monthly incomes of Rs 4,000-8,000. These consumers (assuming the 
existing average monthly rate of Rs 157) currently spend on average, 
anywhere between 2 to 8 per cent of their income on cable television. 
Post CAS, these consumers (assuming a rate of Rs 250 to Rs 450 per 
month), the spend would increase to about 12 per cent.

Source:
http://thehindubusinessline.com/2003/05/11/stories/2003051101770100.htm

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