Sun Direct DTH: Out of Court Settlement

[ronaldo81]

At the end of a year-long litigation in the Supreme Court and Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT), Direct-to-Home (DTH) operator Tata Sky and broadcaster Sun TV have reached an out-of-court settlement on channel sharing and pricing. Both parties informed the apex court that the issue has been resolved and requested disposal of the petition. Accepting this, TDSAT chairman Justice Arun Kumar directed disposal of the petition along with various applications filed by the two parties.As per the settlement, Tata Sky will offer all 20 channels in its entry packages in the southern states. This will also be open for their all-India subscribers. Both parties refused to divulge the details of the pricing agreement due to 'reasons of confidentiality'.As per the agreement, Tata Sky, a 80:20 joint venture between Tata group and broadcast major Star India, will provide channels in combined packages to subscribers. It was earlier demanding Sun TV's channels on pick-and-choose basis. Some of the major channels that will now be available on the Tata Sky platform are Sun TV, KTV, Sun Music, Sun News, Gemini, Teja, Gemini Music, Gemini News, Udaya TV, Udaya News and Chutti TV.Tata Sky had approached the apex court against the Madras High Court order that stayed implementation of tribunal TDSAT’s interim direction to Sun TV for sharing signals on a-la-carte (pick-and-choose) basis.