6 December, Kathmandu. After non-payment of dues for a long time, Indian television Star India has suspended the service of 32 of its channels in Dishome, Nepal. Star has suspended the service of all channels of the Star package from the night of January 3 saying that the dishome has refused to pay the amount for months despite repeated requests.
In Nepal, 32 channels are broadcast under the Star package, including Star, Star Sports, Star Gold and other channels popular among Nepalese viewers.
After the signal was cut off, Dis Media filed a complaint with Nepal’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, in which it acknowledged that it owed 30.6 million Indian rupees to Star India Private Limited.
Even though they have sought time to pay the amount within December 15, the Indian TV company has demanded a change in policy regarding payments to foreign channels, saying it amounts to intimidation by disconnecting signals without notice.
It is said that a dispute has been going on between Star and Dis Media Network for quite some time now not only over payment but also over other issues. Because of this the Star Line has reached the point of being cut.
Packages of other channels including Sony, Colors and Star are being sold in Nepal, due to which Indian channels are taking billions of rupees from Nepal every year.
Dis Media Network is preparing to issue primary shares to the general public by the end of this year. However, for the past few months, there has been a dispute with various foreign content producers regarding their payment.