The confusion over CAS is set to cost Calcutta cable TV viewers dear, with monthly subscription rates poised to touch Rs 275 across the city. At a meeting with its franchisee operators on Thursday, RPG Netcom has arrived at the amount as the maximum retail price (MRP) “for business to remain viable”, following rate hikes by all pay channels in the New Year.

“If you add up the new tariffs of all pay channels, take Rs 72 as the free-to-air bouquet benchmark and then throw in overheads, the monthly outgo for an operator comes to nearly Rs 350. But taking into account uneven declaration levels, we have pegged the MRP at Rs 275, below which the trade can’t survive in the no-CAS scenario,” said RPG Netcom CEO Amit Nag. The average monthly realisation across Calcutta hovers around Rs 180-200.

The city’s leading multi-system operator will soon launch an awareness campaign on its network and in the print media to sensitise viewers about the “absolute necessity” for an imminent rate increase. “We will run a ticker on the channels we distribute (STAR and Sony), giving out old and new rates and explaining to the viewers why they should be prepared for an MRP of Rs 275,” said Nag.

Other service providers were also mulling a hike in subscription, in the wake of rate increases by pay broadcasters, as operators in the city geared up for a one-day token strike.