ESPN HD has become the costliest television channel, on a parameter of cost-per-subscriber basis, to be available in the country once the ICC World Cup 2011 begins later this month. In fact, experts say, ESPN HD may well be the costliest pay channel in the world.
ESPN HD channel is the host broadcaster for the World Cup cricket and will cost over Rs 32,000 per subscriber ($700/subscriber) for the six private DTH operators. However, it will be available for virtually no cost to the 100,000 consumers of High Definition DTH services. Sources said that on the basis of per-subscriber cost, ESPN HD has become 400%costlier than the Set Max HD was during IPL-3 and what ESPN HD itself was during the FIFA World Cup last year.
Sources said that together the six DTH operators will shell out Rs 30 crore to get the rights from ESPN or Rs 5 crore per DTH operator as the pricing of HD channel is not under the purview of the regulator. ?Airtel digital TV and Tata Sky have signed the contract with ESPN HD. However, before the World Cup begins, all DTH operators will be offering ESPN HD,? an industry source told FE. When contacted, an ESPN spokesperson declined to comment saying the company was in talks with DTH operators. Even on the cost of ESPN HD, the spokesperson declined to comment. One of the leading DTH operator told FE that during World Cup cricket, operators expect sell around 1.5-2 lakh DTH HD boxes. ?If all the six DTH operators manage to sell 2 lakh HD connections, then they will be able to recover cost of obtaining ESPN HD. If they fall short, then the deal will result in a financial loss,? a executive of a DTH company said.