MEN to go ahead with FTV encryption plans

Sibabrata Das in Mumbai

Modi Entertainment Network (MEN) plans to encrypt Fashion TV by the end of the year, even as B4U claims that it continues to have legal rights to distribute the controversial channel in India.

“FTV will become a pay channel within a few months. B4U has not obtained a restraining order to curb us from distributing FTV. We have signed an agreement with them for 10 years and are their representative in the country,” said Modi Entertainment Network’s chief executive officer, Mr Rajan Kaaicker.

Disputing this, B4U says that it has a legal, exclusive and binding agreement with FTV to distribute the channel. “We are in talks with FTV. We have also sent them a legal notice. We have yet to get a reply from them,” said B4U’s chief distribution officer, Mr Debashis Dey.

Alleging that B4U had ignored FTV, Mr Kaaicker said that no specific list of activities were laid down for MEN to follow. The focus was to popularise the B4U channels and not FTV.

FTV president Michel Adam has said that it has a tie up with MEN and “cooperation between the two teams is already in place”.
Remarking on how this could be possible, Mr Dey said that B4U could take resort to arbitration to settle the dispute. FTV earlier had a distribution agreement with B4U. MEN was appointed by B4U to distribute FTV and their music and general entertainment channels.

But with the decision to go pay, FTV decided to cut short with B4U and have an agreement directly with MEN after being assured of a higher minimum guarantee. Following the dispute over FTV, B4U terminated its contract with Modi Entertainment to distribute its two channels.

Mr Kaiccker, however, claims that MEN is still distributing the B4U channels. “We are collecting the monthly rentals. The decoders are being supplied by us. B4U can’t penalise us because FTV decided in our favour. We haven’t breached any contract. They can’t just dismiss us from distributing their channels,” he said.

B4U served a legal notice to which MEN has replied. “If MEN is still distributing our channels, it is illegal. We have terminated them. If I have divorced my wife and she continues to love me even after that, I can’t help it. They have no letter of authority from us after August 10.”