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NT Bureau
Chennai, Sept 22:

        The brewing clash between the Maran brothers and the ruling DMK government (read Karunanidhi family) over the cable TV business doesn't seem to die down.

        Coinciding with the launch of Direct To Home (DTH) service by the Maran brothers-owned Sun TV group, the State government announced yesterday that it would also consider venturing into DTH and IPTV services.

        The announcement had come on the day the Sumangali Cable Vision (SCV), owned by Chief Minister M Karunanidhi's estranged grand nephews, launched the DTH service by offering 75 satellite channels and 15 FM stations for a monthly charge of Rs 75.

        Understanding that the Sun TV owed its rise and hold in the market due to its strongarm-grip of the distribution network, Karunanidhi and his men quickly understood that they too needed a distribution arm if the fight is to be taken into the Maran group. The DMK goverrnment, in a show of shrewd political opportunism, however, announced that the government itself would get into cable distribution. It was clear that only the might of the State could take on the monopoly of the SCV.

        Realising that they no longer can call the shots in the distribution network, the Marans quickly changed tack and switched their foucs on to the emerging technology of DTH, which obviates the need for the middlemen of cable operators.

        And yesterday, with the Sun TV group announcing a lip-smacking package of DTH products, all hell has broken loose and the cable TV operators are on the war path. There have been violence and in many places telecasts have been disrupted or blacked out. In short, the situation is explosive.

        Adding fuel to the fire, and reflecting the fact that the Karunanidhi family is on a fight to finish vis-a-vis the Marans, the government has now announced that it may enter the DTH platform too.

        But if the government indeed gets into the DTH, the cable TV operators will be further shunted out.

        'It is our survival problem. Over 50,000 operators in the State fear that we would be wiped out. We have been involved in the business for over 15 years. At a time when our survival is threatened by the Sun TV Group, the government contemplating to venture into DTH has only added to our woes. They should rather launch their MSO network and strengthen it soon', said a top cable TV operator in the city.

        A majority of the operators feel the family feud between the Maran brothers and the Karunanidhis has resulted in such a scenario. 'We have become pawns in the battle between two giants', he says and adds, 'we are not against technological advancement. But the question here is the survival of over 50,000 operators involved in the business'.

        The government is trying to match the Sun TV in every move of its. Interestingly none of the operators are taken into consideration, say the operators.