WHAT?S UP DOC? Catch Bugs Bunny on Boomerang

Tired of cable spats and whimsical service providers spoiling your television viewing? Maybe it?s time to cut the cable and make a dash for the dish.

Saturday?s STAR and Sony switch-off on multi-system operator SitiCable provided the perfect platform for Zee Network to pitch its direct-to-home (DTH) service, Dish TV, in the city on Sunday.

DTH enables channels to reach the consumer?s home directly from the satellite, bypassing the cable operator. The consumer needs to instal a small dish antenna and a set-top box. Zee?s Dish TV, the first DTH project to get underway in the country, has been around for a while ? the service was nationally launched in October 2003 ? but the target, so long, has been the rural and remote areas, where distribution through cable poses problems.

Now, the focus for the company is more on urban markets, specifically the metros. ?We have a target of 70,000 to one lakh subscribers for the first year in Calcutta,? said a spokesperson for Dish TV. Sunday?s ?launch? was to ?raise awareness among Calcuttans?.

Dish TV offers 110 channels ? all in ?crystal-clear quality and stereo sound? ? including 17 not available on cable like cartoon channel Boomerang, Hollywood movies and music channel STC, travel channel Living Asia and news channel EuroSportNews. Bonus to boot: 13 FM radio stations.

Installation cost, including hardware, comes to around Rs 6,000 and different combinations of channels can be selected at various monthly subscription rates.

The only drawback: STAR and Sony are yet to come on board. This means viewers opting for Dish TV have to do without the saas-bahus or Indian Idols for the moment.

STAR is playing the waiting game, since it is gearing up to launch its own DTH service, Space TV. National broadcaster Doordarshan recently joined the list of DTH service providers with DD Direct Plus. Though cheaper than Dish TV ? set-up is around Rs 3,000 and there are no monthly subscription fees ? it offers mostly the Doordarshan channels and a few other free-to-air beams.