Calcutta, Nov. 19 :
Calcutta, Nov. 19:
Match-fixing or not, Calcuttans have given Test cricket the thumbs up. Mounting demand from cricket fans has already forced the introduction of Doordarshan's sports channel DD Sports in certain areas, with the rest of the city all set to follow suit.
All three control rooms of SitiCable have already accepted the pay channel and SitiCable homes were watching uninterrupted live telecast of the India-Zimbabwe Test on Sunday.
Chances of RPG Netcom following suit have also brightened, following discussions with a section of operators. 'We have, in principle, accepted the pay channel, but of course, on our own terms,' said Tarak Saha, convener, Forum of Cable Operators, following a meeting with representatives of MEN, distributors of DD Sports.
However, there seem to be some points of discord among various factions of Netcom operators which need to be sorted out first. 'We are meeting the MSO on Monday to resolve the issue,' said Supratim Halder, chief of the Cable Television Operators' Association.
Most operators, as well as Netcom officials, however, agree that there has been considerable viewer pressure to switch on the channel despite DD beaming chunks of the Test match live on the national network as well. On Saturday and Sunday, viewers got to see the match live on DD1 for 75 minutes of the morning session and also towards the end of the day's play.
RPG Netcom CEO Probir Bose, though, felt the earliest DD Sports can be switched on in his network is Monday, when the Sachins and Souravs take guard. 'As soon as the majority of operators can convince me they are ready to pay for the channel, I will switch it on,' he said.