7 months ago
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The Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV (TACTV) Corporation Limited, a State government-owned cablegram tv organisation network, had faced disapproval precocious for allegedly “blocking” the telecast of Puthiya Thalaimurai, a Tamil quality channel, connected its network. Such measures to curb the TV quality channels had been taken by antithetic regimes successful the past arsenic well.
Against this backdrop, it would beryllium worthwhile to analyse the agelong and analyzable past of the State’s foray into cablegram tv broadcasting. When the cablegram TV roar happened successful the 1990s, post-globalisation, the Multi-System Operator (MSO) concern was dominated by businessmen with governmental backing, whose fortunes swung depending connected which enactment was successful power.
The thought of bringing bid to Tamil Nadu’s cablegram tv assemblage archetypal took signifier during the 2001-2006 AIADMK regime. In May 2002, the Assembly passed the Tamil Nadu Exhibition Television Screen done Multi-System Operations, Video Cassette Recorder and Cable Television Network (Regulation) Bill. Chief Minister Jayalalithaa had past pointed retired determination was nary effectual regulatory mechanism, starring to a virtual monopoly by a peculiar network.
This argumentation involution was wide seen arsenic an effort to extremity the domination of a fewer ample MSOs, peculiarly Sumangali Cable Vision, a Sun Network company. However, erstwhile the Bill was sent to the President for approval, it was returned connected law grounds. An archival study successful The Hindu quoted the remarks: “The taxable ‘Broadcasting and different forms of communications’ is contained successful Entry 31 of List 1 of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, connected which the Union has exclusive powers to marque laws.”
Towards the extremity of its tenure, the Jayalalithaa authorities renewed its effort by proposing the nationalisation of the cablegram TV business. The move, it said, would acceptable close the deficiencies and faults successful the work offered by backstage operators. In January 2006, it introduced the Tamil Nadu Acquisition, Transfer and Taking Over of the Administration of Cable Television Network (Including Multiple Service Optical Transport System) Bill, citing respective complaints astir mediocre services and exorbitant charges.
When the Bill was tabled, it triggered heated debates betwixt the treasury and absorption benches implicit the State’s powerfulness to legislate connected the subject. Jayalalithaa asserted successful the Assembly that the State had implicit authorization to get MSOs and their assets. But the determination met the aforesaid fate. In April 2006, Governor Surjit Singh Barnala returned the Bill, observing that the powers to legislate connected broadcasting laic with the Centre. Soon after, successful June 2006, the recently elected DMK authorities headed by M Karunanidhi decided to retreat the legislation.
However, a twelvemonth later, the Karunanidhi authorities announced the enactment of the Arasu Cable TV Corporation, registered nether the Companies Act, 1956, aimed astatine providing high-quality cablegram signals to the nationalist astatine an affordable cost. The entity was incorporated connected October 4, 2007. To fulfil its objective, integer caput ends were acceptable up astatine Thanjavur, Coimbatore, Tirunelveli, and Vellore astatine an estimated outgo of ₹8 crore each.
This determination by Chief Minister Karunanidhi, incidentally, came against the backdrop of a fallout helium and his household had had with the Kalanithi (Sun Network) and Dayanidhi Maran brothers.
Despite the archetypal enthusiasm, operations came to a halt wrong 2 years, leaving the task defunct. Prior to this, determination was a patch-up and reunion successful the Karunanidhi’s extended family.
When the AIADMK returned to powerfulness successful May 2011, it decided to revive the defunct network. The 4 integer caput ends were restored, and analog caput ends successful 27 districts, offered by backstage operators connected a rental basis, were brought nether the government’s control. On September 2, 2011, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa launched, done video conferencing from the Secretariat successful Chennai, the services of what was renamed Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable Television (TACTV) Corporation Limited, covering each districts but Chennai.
According to The Hindu’s study the adjacent day, Jayalalithaa had remarked that “one household had reaped tremendous profits by monopolising cablegram TV operations.” She announced the caller corp would connection services astatine nominal rates. Cable operators were to cod ₹70 from subscribers per month, retired of which ₹20 was to beryllium remitted to the government. A full of 90 channels were initially offered, and officials said much would beryllium added erstwhile negotiations with wage channels were completed.
At the clip of its launch, the imaginable gross for the State was estimated astatine ₹60 crore a month. Nearly 34,000 section cablegram operators and MSOs applied for enrolment with the corporation. Yet, challenges surfaced wrong weeks. A conception of cablegram TV operators complained that fashionable wage channels were missing, starring subscribers to displacement to Direct-to-Home (DTH) services. They demanded the inclusion of fashionable channels to clasp customers.
Ten months aft the launch, fashionable channels of the Sun TV Network were added to the TACTV network. In September 2012, a twelvemonth aft its revival, TACTV decided to present integer services successful the Chennai Metropolitan Area, targeting 2 cardinal subscribers. The determination followed the Centre’s directive to implicit the digitisation of cablegram networks by October 31 that year. However, TACTV faced hurdles successful implementing the Digital Addressable System (DAS) and obtaining a licence from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Chief Minister Jayalalithaa wrote aggregate letters to successive governments, some UPA and NDA, astatine the Centre, urging them to expedite the approval.
According to an authoritative document, TACTV had applied for the DAS licence for the Chennai Metro Area connected July 5, 2012, and for the remainder of Tamil Nadu connected November 23, 2012. It was lone connected April 17, 2017, that the Centre granted the licence, allowing the corp to supply integer cablegram TV services crossed the State. Meanwhile, complaints astir overcharging by section operators prompted the corp to contented orders making it mandatory for operators to supply serial-numbered receipts supplied by the authorities whenever they collected subscriptions. This measurement was intended to bring transparency and accountability to the system.
In September 2017, Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami launched the organisation of escaped set-top boxes to TACTV subscribers to guarantee high-quality integer signals astatine affordable rates. Various transmission packages were besides introduced to springiness customers much choice.
Over the years, the corp stabilised its operations and sustained its ngo of providing inexpensive cablegram services. According to the argumentation enactment of the Department of Information Technology and Digital Services for 2025–26, TACTV’s subscription outgo of ₹140 (excluding taxes) included 229 channels and remained the lowest cablegram TV complaint successful the country. Currently, the corporation, with a integer subscriber basal of astir 14.12 lakh users, is providing cablegram services too different services, including e-seva.
However, outer tv quality channels person periodically complained astir involution by the authorities of the time successful telecast of news, which is either seen arsenic captious of the dispensation oregon favourable to its governmental rivals. Failure to positively respond to specified interventions person connected and disconnected led to the channel’s blackout oregon downgrading successful the serial order, affecting TRP ratings.
