Desperation.. and Mudslinging??

Kerala's biggest, and perhaps the only, Multi-System Operator, Asianet Cable (ACV) stopped airing signals of the ESPN-Star Sports bouquet (comprising of ESPN, Star Sports and Star Cricket) since over a month now. ACV argues that ESPN has raised subscription charges heavily and that they stopped airing the channels to protect consumer interests. ACV has maintained steady subscription charges for a long time, despite increased operational costs.ACV offers the maximum number of channels for a Cable TV network, and they offer very good service on their Digital system.

The switching off of ESPN-Star signals comes at a wrong time for sports lovers - with plenty of sports action lined up for the next few months. It appears that ESPN-Star are desperate for business - they have started a campaign to reduce the subscriber base for ACV.

In the past few days, ESPN-Star has started airing advertisements on leading FM radio stations and placing hoardings at important places urging customers to switch to a different cable network or purchase a DTH set to continue enjoying ESPN-Star Sports. It seems ESPN-Star has not been able to reach a consensus with ACV, but are desperate to reach out their audience. Such mudslinging seems very cheap - a company like ESPN-Star shouldn't resort to such cheap pressure tactics.

AND, ACV are no saints either - trying to get cheap signals, eh??

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