[icernet] Post-CAS - Broadcasters will gain, Cable TV cost more

[Arul Selvan]

Two of the leading global investment banks -- J P Morgan Chase and DSP 
Merrill Lynch -- say that major broadcasters like Zee Telefilms (which 
fully owns MSO SitiCable), Sony, STAR (with a 26 per cent stake in 
Hathway), stand to gain with the coming of CAS. A recent J P Morgan 
Chase research report says: "MSOs will be the biggest beneficiaries in 
the post-CAS regime. They will have the 'last mile control' as they take 
over control of the set-top boxes in consumer homes. In the long term, 
this move will likely lead to the emergence of a pure MSO model, as 
different from the current MSO-local cable operator model. Overall, we 
believe that CAS will improve the revenues and valuations of MSOs 
significantly." "We believe that Zee is the biggest beneficiary of CAS 
due to its 100 per cent ownership of SitiCable, which is amongst the 
largest MSOs in the country," the report says. DSP Merrill Lynch 
Investment Bankers, in its report, says, "We see richer business models 
for MSOs resulting from the CAS. We see Zee (SitiCable) and Hinduja TMT 
(IncableNet) as the key beneficiaries.


Source:
http://www.rediff.com/money/2003/may/19spec1.htm