Cabinet okays ordinance for cable network digitisation

Complete digitisation in 4 metros by March 31, 2012; in all urban areas by Sept 30 and in the entire country by Dec 31, 2014

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Delhi | October 13, 2011

The Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) has cleared the proposal for digitisation of television services across all urban areas by 2014. Addressing the media after the Cabinet meeting held today, Information & Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said, “Cable operators will have to abandon analog in the four metros by March 31, 2012. Cities with a population of one million will be covered by March 31, 2013. All urban areas would be covered by September 30, 2014. The entire country will be covered by December 31, 2014.”

The new ordinance to amend Section 4A of the Cable TV has been brought to give a boost to cable and satellite television industry.

Digitisation of cable TV will be a boon for television channels which currently pay 20-50 per cent of the total cost of running a channel as carriage and placement fee. Digitisation will remove the need to pay carriage fee to cable operators, bringing down the cost of operations of running channels. All satellite channels will be beamed to houses through set-top boxes.

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