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STB Is there a choice?
 The buzzword in Chennai is STB (set top box).
Chennaivasis were irritated by the cable TV operators a few months ago when subscription rates went sky high.
Some operators demanded Rs 250 to Rs 300 and, in some areas, the rates were as high as Rs 450. People started to raise their voice against the government and the multi-system operators (MSOs) as the cable TV operators cited the MSOs for the jump in rates.
Many channels went pay and the existing pay channels increased their rates. Some pay channels joined hands and formed the bouquet system.
It was expected that the cable TV system would undergo a sea change and the new avatar would bring all-round happiness because people thought if they stopped watching pay channels, then the channels would become free-to-air (FTA). But now the ground reality is different.
No channel has changed its policy except, a handful: Star Vijay, a pay channel that is now available free-off-cost. It was also expected that ESPN-STAR Sports will also become FTA channels, but they did not become free, as Chennai is the only city where Conditional Access System (CAS) was introduced.
It has not been introduced in the rest of the three metros New Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai - due to various political and other reasons.
In Delhi, the implementation of CAS was stopped due to elections. The Delhi High Court December 4 quashed the Centre's notification deferring implementation of CAS in the Capital, saying it was an arbitrary exercise of power.
We hold that the issuance of impugned notification is an arbitrary exercise of power not supported by any valid reason and would be hit by Article 14 of the Constitution of India, a division bench of Chief Justice B C Patel and Justice A K Sikri said, quashing the August 29 notification.
 CAS was to have been implemented in Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata from September 1 but after the notification, its implementation was deferred in New Delhi.
Several petitioners, including Zee-promoted Siti Cable Network and Cable Network Association (CNA), had challenged the Centre's notification to indefinitely defer implementation of CAS in Delhi from September 1, terming it as unconstitutional, illegal, arbitrary and contrary to public interest.
In the post-CAS regime, it was stated, subscribers would have the right to choose their favourite channels, but now, they are still not able to choose their favourite channels as the form part of a pre-determined bouquet.
They need to pay for the other channels which they do not watch. If you are regular viewer of Star Plus and you want to continue watching it, you need to pay for other channels like Sony, Star World, AXN, National Geographic, Adventure One, Discovery, Animal Planet, Star Vijay and it comes with a price tag of Rs 85.
Like this, there are various bouquets which will discourage the viewers from picking their favourite channels.
According to Ashwin, a Chennai college student, There's this sleek, long box which has irritated us for so long. As a strong, Indian supporter, I would call the STB - Set Top Box - the 'Stupid Television Box' . Sports-lovers all over the city have been furious because of the advent of CAS regime only in our dear Chennai. Missing India's tour Down Under is the result of this invasion.
Unlike Ashwin who simply sat and cursed the system, there were many who rushed to buy STBs at the last minute, before the beginning of the India-Australia Test. I pestered my dad and got a set top box at my house. Surely, I can't miss this Australian series. Also, my mom wants those Hindi serials. We now have everything in our home. You can come here and watch them too, if you want, said a friend to me.
Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ravi Shankar Prasad said on December 8 in Parliament (Rajya Sabha) 12,000 STBs were either sold or rented in Chennai. That is the official figure.
But why thrust this on Chennai? Why? I have long been pondering over this question. Why is that only Chennai should suffer under the whims and fancies of the CAS regime? Why is that our good old Chennai is put to such torture when people elsewhere are happily enjoying the matches, serials on their 'idiot box'.
Gayathri, a resident of Mylapore stated that people will not encourage STBs. They will get used to not watching pay channels but they may buy VCD players and watch movies.
According to Suresh Kumar, deputy general manager, Hathway Cable and Datacom, the implementation of CAS is a great success. Subscribers now have the right to choose their favourite channels.
He added that people are now buying STBs for viewing India's tour of Australia. The DGM claimed that they have been successful in selling 5,000 STBs, against the allotted 10,000 for
Chennai.
Suresh Kumar was also optimistic that many people will buy STBs in future. It is also rumoured that ESPN-STAR Sports and Sony are scheduled to raise their rates, even though there is less demand for STBs in
Chennai.
People say another reason for big broadcasters like Star inc., not joining the FTA group is that the revenue from Chennai is very less at the national level.
Hathway's only competitor in the Chennai, SCV, has also sold many number of STBs going by the crowds at their office. But, officially, they were reluctant to speak to Chennaionline.
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