In a significant blow to Sony, Tata Play has announced its decision to remove Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) channels from its curated subscriber packs.
The decision, announced on Thursday, was primarily influenced by the channels’ low viewership. Tata Play mentioned that it is streamlining its channel packs to optimise prices for customers.
“Starting today, Tata Play is de-packaging Sony Pictures Networks (SPN) channels from its Tata Play curated packs and accordingly adjusting monthly charges. Subscribers who wish to continue watching these channels can easily reinstate them by giving a missed call on the number stated on the channel,” it added.
Harit Nagpal, MD and CEO, Tata Play, said, “We at Tata Play have always prioritised customers while designing our processes. Our analysis, supported by BARC data, reveals that most subscribers have 4 or more times the number of channels than they actively watch. Due to lack of return path data, it is not possible to track who’s watching and who’s not. Consequently, we are streamlining channel packs by removing less-watched channels and adjusting monthly charges accordingly. Subscribers who wish to watch these channels can easily reinstate any of these removed channels by giving a missed call. We anticipate that at least 75% of customers whose packs have been modified will benefit from the reduced charges.”
On the other hand, SPNI said that it has recently become aware of Tata Play’s surprising decision to remove Sony channels from the bouquets of nearly 10 million subscribers.
“This arbitrary decision seems to have been made without any notice to SPNI or apparent consideration for their subscribers’ preferences. We believe it is a retaliation to exercising our audit rights on Tata Play’s subscriber management system, in which we have observed and communicated certain glaring discrepancies to Tata Play over the past few years.”
“The narrative built by Tata Play of “loss of viewership” is clearly misleading. We are confident that our loyal viewers, who value diverse and high-quality content, will continue to find our channels through other platforms nationwide. Our commitment to delivering top-notch entertainment remains steadfast, ensuring our audience never misses out on their favourite shows and channels, regardless of Tata Play’s whims,” SPNI added.
