Zee Entertainment is on a collision course with InCablenet, one of the leading cable TV services providers in Mumbai. According to Zee Entertainment, InCablenet owes Zee Turner, part of the Zee Network, a subscription fee of Rs 11.16 crore, from April last year to July 9 this year. As per the order given by the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) as on March 27, Zee Turner had the right to ?switch off? InCablenet if the latter fails to clear its dues. The matter is currently sub-judice.
In an official communiqu? to the press, Zee stated that InCablenet has continuously disregarded the order and evaded payment of subscription fees and had apparently made enough attempts to persuade the network to clear the dues in an amicable manner, but to no avail. According to Zee, InCablenet was trying to arm twist the latter by switching off the channels. To reiterate, Zee Turner has switched off its channels to InCablenet in the Mumbai territory, while the channels continue to be broadcast in other areas. Zee Turner said it would now be forced to take stern action against the operator in other cities as well. Channels like Ten Sports, Zee Marathi, Zee Talkies, Zee TV, Cartoon Network, Pogo, HBO, Zee Caf?, Zee Studio, Zee Cinema, and 23 more Zee channels have gone off TV screens in Mumbai. Ravi Mansukhani, managing director, InCablenet, declined to comment. Sources close to the development said, ?Even Zee is at fault in many ways.? It seems even Zee was supposed to make some payments to InCablenet as carriage fees, which the former is yet to clear and is now unwilling to pay. ?It is a much complicated issue and a number of clauses and agreements are intertwined,? said the source.
However, in the entire scheme of things, Zee is also losing viewership, which may eventually result in loss of advertising revenue. But Viresh Dhaibar, legal head, Zee Entertainment, said, “We also need to look at our business needs and whatever steps have been taken are within the legal framework of TDSAT.?