An apparent dispute over revenue sharing between Tata Sky and Sony Pictures Network has led Tata Sky to take down 22 channels of the Sony Network. Among those disbanded are India Today Group's Hindi TV channel Aaj Tak and India Today TV. While Tata Sky subscribers can watch India Today on its web platform IndiaToday.In, Aaj Tak can be viewed on television by giving a missed call on 9739290123. People can also watch the live coverage of Aaj Tak on its web platform aajtak.intoday.in. Aaj Tak and India Today TV are the most watched news channels in the country.
Aaj Tak, which is aired on channel number 509 on Tata Sky, can be viewed without any extra charges. Subscribers need to give a missed call on the above-mentioned number, following which the channel on Tata Sky will be activated again.
On October 1, Tata Sky barred 32 Sony channels, including Sony Entertainment Television, SAB, Max, AXN, and Sony Pix, along with Aaj Tak and India Today TV, over pricing issues. SPN's three-year distribution deal with Tata Sky expired two months ago but the renegotiations hit a deadlock as they failed to reach on a consensus over revenue.
Reports suggest Tata Sky refused to pay the certain amount SPN India was insisting as part of the new payment terms. However, Tata Sky said its subscribers can still watch 11 of these channels, including Aaj Tak, by giving the aforementioned missed call. The satellite television provider has set up different missed call numbers for each channel.
"If people have already subscribed to the 11 channels which include SET, Sony SAB, Sony Six, Sony Ten, Sony Pix and Aaj Tak among others, they just need to add the channel at no extra cost by giving a missed call," Tata Sky said in a statement.
Tata Sky has asked its subscribers "to bear" with the inconvenience but the move has significantly impacted millions of loyal viewers of Aaj Tak and India Today, both of which are the undisputed leaders in the television space. Several viewers of India Today TV and Aaj Tak took to Twitter and Facebook to vent their anger and demand the decision be reversed immediately. A user tweeted: "I will not renew my annual Tata Sky subscription package tomorrow if Sony Pictures Network & the rest of the channels are not reactivated".
Meanwhile, Sony Pictures Network has said it has not increased rates of its channels over the past few years. "Hence, we are surprised at Tata Sky's unilateral decision to offer only 10 of our channels to its subscribers and drop the balance 22. We reiterate: all our channels are available for Tata Sky subscribers."