A scene from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, featured on STAR Movies earlier this month

A case in the Capital on Monday failed to bring respite to a large section of cable viewers in Calcutta, as the STAR bouquet of channels continued to remain unavailable on multi-system operator (MSO) Manthan?s network on Monday.

STAR, which switched off the nearly six lakh cable and satellite homes serviced by Manthan on March 15 on disputes related to dues and non-signing of agreement, is also fighting the MSO in the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT).

The matter came up for hearing on Monday when the tribunal heard Manthan?s plea for re-connecting the STAR channels. At the tribunal, STAR reportedly asked the MSO to provide a bank guarantee for the disputed amount to enable a return of the channels. The issue of channel piracy on Manthan, despite the switch-off, was also raised at the hearing. TDSAT asked STAR to file its reply within a week and scheduled the next date of hearing for March 31.

STAR is also battling Indian Cable Net, a unit of MSO SitiCable, in TDSAT on dues disputes.

The tussle between the MSO and the broadcaster has trickled down to the grassroots level. ?As operators, we have paid our monthly subscription to the MSO. Why should our viewers not be able to watch the channels?? demanded Alok Sharma of Forum of Cable Operators, one of the operator bodies that called a ?token 24-hour strike? and blocked the STAR channels on Friday. ?We are approaching STAR for resolving the matter with the operators? interest in mind,? Sharma added.

While beam block is the weapon of protest for some operators, others are strongly opposed to the method, more out of concern for the trade than consumer interest.

?With the ensuing elections and the aggressive marketing done by direct-to-home players, keeping any channel bouquet off-air can only damage the cable trade,? offered Mrinal Chatterjee of West Bengal Cable TV Operators United Front.

The turmoil on the ground notwithstanding, another matter of concern for city MSOs is the implementation of conditional access system (CAS), as directed by Delhi High Court. According to the court ruling on March 10, CAS is supposed to be rolled out in the four metros by the first week of April.

The MSOs are gearing up with various purchase and rent schemes for the set-top boxes, required to view pay channels under CAS, which is a method to choose and pay for only the channels the viewer wants to see.