First there were four metros. Then, there were three. September 1, the date set by the government for the tiny box to roll into nearly 6.4 million cable homes, has passed by and no one is sure where the boxes are, or where they have rolled into. Never has so much heat been generated or so many words spoken on a tiny little box that mysteriously held the promise of revolutionising viewing habits for all times to come. Instead, what the government has been forced to deal with is rebellion in the four metros — Chennai, Mumbai, Calcutta and Delhi — designated for the rollout of CAS (conditional access system). Delhi fell off the CAS map due to intense political pressure within the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party two weeks ago. Former Delhi Chief Minister Madan Lal Khurana was convinced CAS would go the onion way for the BJP, with the Union territory headed for polls in two months time. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, for her part, was not sure whether the addressability system looked good enough. Mumbai is simpering, with Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray declaring that CAS is not good for his innumerable Shiv Sainik cable operators or for his viewers. Calcutta joined the list of rebels by unfurling the flag of revolt against CAS on Monday, with the state government taking the decision to not implement the change. The addressability system or a set-top box or CAS for accessing pay channels, as opposed to free to air channels, was supposed to roll out on Monday in the four metros, giving their cable viewers the option of viewing what they wanted to see for a price at the touch of a button — that is what the Information and Broadcasting Ministry said when former Information and Broadcasting Minister Sushma Swaraj got the bill passed in Parliament last year. If I&B Ministry officials and the present minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad, were convinced about the essential benefits and pragmatism of CAS, they failed to pass on with conviction their feelings to the consumer and the state governments where they wanted to see the system implemented. So where did the government go wrong? One, in making the box mandatory for the viewer. Two, after declaring the basic channels that a consumer could see for a price of Rs 72 plus taxes, the government got down to addressing the actual business of boxes. They got bogged down by the price of the box and its availability. Three, and this is when the trouble started, the government found itself in the role of a price-fixer — what should be the ‘‘ideal’’ price of Star Plus or SET? Officials tossed the question to the broadcasters and they tossed it right back, with a hefty price tag. Lastly, the consumer who was supposed to pay for the boxes could not figure out why he had to pay more for watching less? He did not understand why the government was mediating on behalf of the broadcaster and the cable operator. If he had been paying Rs 150 to his cable operator, was there any reason to shell out more (close to Rs 300) and for what purpose? The ministry was left floundering for answers. The Information and Broadcasting Ministry postponed the exercise once on July 14, the original date for CAS roll-out, due to non-availability of boxes. The minister postponed it in Delhi due to elections. The most important question — who was to benefit from the entire exercise? — was left finally to market forces. A senior official went a little step further and invoked God. So God has destined that CAS rolls out as softly as possible. Now if only the government had not mandated it by law. If only the consumer had the choice to tinker with his latest gizmo. If only he had the choice of casting a spell on his cable operator. If only.
