Comet Cable has to get its act together

Comet Cable the pioneer pay television network in Sri Lanka has to get its act together and face the competition that it will encounter as this year progresses. With LBN and CBNsat back on air and SLT also due to launch it's IPTV network it seems that the present strategy will not work. It is only a matter of time till loyal Comet Cable customers who see the expansion on other pay television networks will be drawn towards them in order to get quality entertainment.

If that happens it will be the end of Comet Cable as we know it.

Therefore the only option left for Comet is to go digital within a few months and then to sell operations to another firm that is keen in running a pay television operation.

Hopefully the management of Comet Cable will take a decision after taking into consideration their loyal customers and staff. The infighting with in Comet Cable has had serious repercussions on the operations of the company and their strategy to convert into digital which has been anticipated for the past five years.

Struggling for Survival

In the recently revamped Comet Cable website their Digital Plans which were included under the "Whats New" section in their old website is not their anymore.

We wonder whether this means that Comet Cable has shelved plans for the roll out of their digital network and is waiting till some other organization acquires their operations.

It is really sad to see the country's pioneer pay television provider just dragging it's feet and struggling for survival. It is better for them to digitize transmission technology soon since the full scale relaunch of CBNsat and LBN is around the corner and also the launch of SLT's IPTV network will take place later during the year so unless they get their act together this may just spell the end of Comet Cable.

On Media Ministry Announcement

A reply to another blogs concern on whether the Media Ministry announcement recently is a threat to the probable transfer of ownership of Comet Cable.

Refer Link "On Media Ministry Announcement"

2006 : A Year in Review - Comet Cable

The year 2006 has been a pretty ordinary year for the subscribers of Comet Cable. Even though they have not experienced any new significant addition of channels or technology they will be happy that they were not affected by the crisis that hit the cable television industry. The only major change that we can identify is the change in the layout of their website which took place recently.

Well at least for now they seem to be going as usual expect for the fact that this company is having a series of management and financial problems. In addition to a court case with the TRC regarding the allocation of frequencies (please refer post below) and the notice of withdrawal of license if they did not pay the due amount to the Southern Development Authority.

In 2007 we hope that Comet Cable the pioneer cable television company will be able to update their technology to digital since they will have massive competition from pay television companies such as CBNsat under Dialog Telekom and also SLT's pay television service in the next year. If the present management lack the funds to do it then they should sell the company to another and let Comet Cable improve.

Well that's all folks for this year since we are taking the weekend and January 1st 2007 off, so we will be back with you from January 2nd 2007. Please keep sending us your valuable emails and also updating this blog with your comments on the latest happenings regarding Comet Cable during the next few days while we are away and also throughout the New Year 2007. For a full review on all the events in the Sri Lankan television and radio media front please read the TV & Radio Sri Lanka Blog post called "2006 : A Year in Review".

We like to take this opportunity to wish all of our fellow Bloggers, the Staff and Management of Comet Cable specially Mr. Harold who was keeping in touch with us earlier but not anymore A Happy, Peaceful and Prosperous New Year 2007

Restraining order on Telecommunications Regulatory Commission - Daily News 28th Dec 2006

The Colombo District Court yesterday issued an enjoining order restraining the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission until January 9, from preventing Ruhunu 2001 Multivision (Pvt) Ltd using any of the 18 frequencies that it is using presently.

District Judge Aruna C. Ranasinghe issued the enjoining order following the petitioner Ruhunu Multivision (Pvt) Ltd filing a case against the TRC valuing the case at Rs. 500 million.

The petitioner stated that it was functioning a Television Network under the name of Comet Cable which included world famous channels Star TV, Star Plus, Star Sports, ESPN, HBO and National Geographic.

The petitioner stated that it received a letter by the TRC dated December 17, 2004 that requested them to quit using five of their channels since the International Telecommunication Organisation had recommended the 2.4 GHz frequency band for WiFi and data usage. It also promised to give alternative frequencies instead.

The petitioner further stated that the TRC informed them through a letter dated June 30, 2007 to transfer to Digital technology from Analogue technology that they were using since the Analogue technology was not efficient. Although the petitioner mentioned the need for alternative frequencies the respondent did not take proper steps.

The Petitioner also stated that changing the technology from Analogue to the Digital was costly and although they changed the technology TRC did not have the right to prevent petitioner from using its frequencies without giving them alternative frequencies.

Petitioner pleaded the Court to issue a declaration preventing the TRC had no right to prevent the Ruhunu 2001 Multivision (Pvt) Ltd using any of its 18 frequencies from 2.3 GHz to 2.6 GHz without procuring them alternative frequencies.

Sandasen Marasinghe

Our Wishes for the season

We would like to take this opportunity to Wish the subscribers of Comet Cable, the management of Comet Cable, and all our fellow readers a Very Merry Christmas and we hope that you will be able to enjoy this festive season to the fullest.

We are taking a break of one week (we should be back towards the latter part of next week) in view of the festive season so please update this blog with the latest developments regarding Comet Cable. We are also updating this blog to the latest version of "Blogger", so due to this upgrade their may be some difficulties in commenting, so please bear with us if there are some problems while we are away. We are trying our best to make sure that the switch over will be smooth and with minimum interruptions.

It is disappointing to note that the management of Comet Cable has gone back on its word to convert to digital by the years end and now it seems that Comet Cable will struggle for survival if the license is withdrawn. We hope that the authorities will take into consideration the investment of the customers before taking any action.

Once again we would like to request you to keep updating this blog as the days progress.

Sri Lanka's Comet Cable faces withdrawal of license unless royalty dues are paid up - LBO

The Southern Development Authority, major shareholder of Comet Cable, has warned it will withdraw the company’s broadcast rights, unless royalties owed since 1997, are paid up.

The Southern Development Authority (SDA) owns the broadcast license for Ruhuna 2001 Multivision (Pvt) Limited, used to provide pay television service Comet Cable in Sri Lanka.

The SDA is also a 50 percent shareholder in Multivision, with the balance held by Australian company Charmway International, which manages the company.

The authority says it has not received royalty dues from its foreign partners for use of the license, as agreed in a joint venture agreement signed in 1997. The royalties were to be used to develop the south of the island.

"Charmway International has been given one month’s notice to pay 12 million dollars in due investment, allocate funds for the proposed ‘Ruhuna 2001 studios’ company and pay 65 million rupees in estimated royalties to SDA or undergo cancellation of the agreement," Ruwan Kasiwaththa, Director policy planning SDA told LBO.

"After completing all the legalities, we can withdraw the broadcasting license." Kasiwaththa says Charmway has also not provided the SDA with detailed accounts for many years.

"They provided accounts for 2003. The accounts for that year forecasts 65 million rupees in royalties up to 2005."

The SDA says Multivision has paid only seven million rupees in royalties to date and claim that they have little say in how the company is run due to only one slot on the board of directors.

"Accordingly, the SDA has demanded payment and Multivision has continuously failed to make any payments," the authority said in a public notice on Friday.

The public notice also restrained the sale, mortgage, transfer or alienation of assets of the pay television company, until all overdue amounts are settled.

"Under these circumstances, the SDA has demanded the assets of Multivision should not be sold, transferred, mortgaged or alienated by its directors or the management until the aforesaid royalty fees is recovered by the SDA."

Officials from Multivision were not available for comment.

Comet Cable has an 18,000 strong customer base and is one of the oldest pay television companies in Sri Lanka with 18 paid channels ranging from movies, sports, fashion to music.

The service is currently available only in the capital Colombo and suburbs.

December 15 (LBO)

The Notice

Transfer of Comet Cable shares stopped

We are getting reports of an advertisement on Page 37 of today's Daily News stating that the transfer of the shares of Comet Cable has been halted by the Southern Development Authority because the license used by Comet Cable belongs to them.

We are not sure to which party the transfer of shares was to take place. However Comet Cable which is already troubled due to their outdated technology as well as a sure increase in competition from soon to be launched cable television providers owned by Dialog (CBNsat) as well as Sri Lanka Telecoms cable television and the others that may be on the cards.

We hope that Comet Cable will be improved soon since it is a shame to see the pioneer cable television company in Sri Lanka going through all these troubles.

Comet Cable to be taken over by Srilakvahini

We are receiving unconfirmed reports that Comet Cable is to be taken over by Futuresat the company that operates Srilakvahini. It was reported in the TV Radio Sri Lanka blog under the blog post "Management Crisis at Srilakvahini" that at the moment there is a tussle going on within the management of Futuresat. We are not sure how this will become a reality amidst that tussle.

According to information that are receiving it seems that the digital transmissions will commence in January. It also seems that the digital box can be reserved. However we repeat this is not a confirmed report.

Well at least lets hope that this is true otherwise Comet will get smashed up by the competition.

Some Comet Cable Customers planning move

We are receiving a couple of interesting emails and comments by some Comet Cable customers saying that they are awaiting the relaunch of CBNsat under Dialog Telekom in order to move to CBNsat. This is mainly due to the fact that the digital launch of Comet Cable is being dragged on indefinitely and they promised to launch the digital transmissions by the end of this year but nothing is happening still.

An email that we sent to Comet Cable a few weeks ago has not been replied to either. If Comet does not get their act together it may spell the end for the pioneering cable television company in Sri Lanka because they will face intense competition from the likes of CBNsat and the upcoming cable television companies.

Comet Cable 8th Anniversary

Well it seems that Comet Cable is celebrating 8 years of service this month. Well that is a great achievement since they are the pioneering Cable tv provider in Sri Lanka.

Comet has done a great job entertaining the public but it would be nice to see Comet upgrading it's technology.

We were told previously that Comet will be launching their digital transmissions by the end of this year. We did send an email to Comet a few weeks ago and have not received a reply as yet.

Has the digital upgrade being postponed again? Well we hope not and we hope that Comet will reply with a clear indication of exactly when this illusive digitalization is expected.

Anyway Happy Anniversary to Comet Cable and all the best for the years ahead.

FILEnetworks – TV & Radio Sri Lanka form partnership

We are very happy to announce that TV Radio Sri Lanka Group of Blogs and the FILEnetworks blog have formed a partnership in order to bring you the latest news and updates on TV-Radio industry and software related issues.

FILEnetworks will be bringing you the latest cracks and hacks that are available in the market place.

TV Radio Sri Lanka Group of Blogs consisting of TV Radio Sri Lanka Blog, CBNsat Blog, LBN Cable TV blog, Comet Cable Blog will be bringing you the latest in TV & Radio industry in Sri Lanka.

We hope to pass the benefits of this partnership down to our fellow bloggers.

Drop of FTV..... a reply from Comet Cable

We sent Comet Cable an email inquiring about the drop of Fashion Tv. We expressed the fact that many customers were unhappy with the change and here is the reply given to us by Mr. Harold Perera, Head of Advertising.

Please be good enough to publish the following in your valuable Comet Cable Forum

As we strive to give our customers the best in entertainment, we were looking at the possibility of introducing new channels to our line up.

So far, we have tested 2 channels namely NDTV & Nick. The feedback we have received is fabulous. We will be testing 2 more channels within the next few weeks and with the feedback from the 2 new channels we will decide which channel will be on air. After all it is our valued customers who will have the final say. We take this opportunity to infor our dear customers to bear with us for a short while more as we will give them and their families the best in home entertainment.

Thank You

Fashion TV drop angers many

Hmm.. Interesting. The drop of the Fashion Tv channel from its line up has angered many of its customers. Some are even threatening to disconnect and ask for a refund. CBNsat was accused by the Media Ministry for telecasting Fashion Tv and calling it unsuitable for Sri Lankan culture. Comet Cable which continued showing Ftv even after that have now replaced it using NDTV.

Did the drop of Fashion Tv have anything to do with the Media Ministry or were there other reasons for this.

Over to Comet Management for some explanation.

NDTV 24*7 on Comet Cable

The Indian english news channel NDTV 24*7 has been launched on Comet Cable as a replacement for Fashion Tv. This would mean that Fashion Tv has got the boot from Comet Cable. This is not a channel that people will miss much though.

We hear that Comet was testing NDTV and Nick before replacing Fashion Tv. If that is so then is Nick available on Comet Cable? Is Nick being telecast for 24 hrs or being interchanged with another channel.

Comet Cable drops Fashion TV?

Is Comet Cable still broadcasting Fashion Tv. Information coming to us suggests that they have dropped Fashion Tv from their line up.

If so, then we like to know what is the channel that has replaced FTV?

Notice to all Comet Subscribers

We received the below as an attachment from Mr. Harold Perera, Head of Advertising at Comet Cable asking us to post it on the blog. This is supposed to have appeared with the Comet Cable September Programme Guide and we got this by email probably in response to the question that we raised about a price hike in the previous post referring to some statements in their programme guide editorial. They have mentioned the fact that they have maintained the same pricing over all these years and have requested their customers to settle all arrears payments.

NOTICE TO ALL COMET SUBSCRIBERS

Dear Subscriber,

Firstly, the staff and management of Comet Cable wish to extend a sincere “thank you” for being a valuable customer and trust that our service has been a welcome break for you and your family.

As you are aware, Comet Cable has been maintaining the same pricing standards for the past years despite rising inflation and negative environmental factors in the country. We have also provided for you a new and improved program guide, completely free of charge. You will also note that Comet Cable provides you with a completely free after sales service from the time our connection is installed at your home. Therefore, in order to continue with our value additions to you, we wish to request for the following:

• Please settle all your dues within a two month period to avoid automatic disconnection.
• The following re-connection charges will apply in the event of disconnection due to non payment.

Re-connection charge	Within 15 days	15 – 30 days	30 – 60 days	60 – 70 days
	0	Rs. 500.00	Rs. 1000.00	Rs. 1500.00

• Please note that after of disconnection, we will assume that you no longer require the connection and hence a letter of Recovery will be raised.
• After the Letter of Recovery has been issued if a customer requires re-connecting, all outstanding bills need to be settled with a pre-payment of three months rental.

We wish to re-iterate that this process is introduced, merely to sustain our service and pricing standards and hence appreciate your full co-operation as in the past to carry our company forward.

Please contact our Customer Service Hotline on 2557100 if you require any further clarifications.

Look forward to serving you,

Comet Cable Management

Comet Cable to raise prices?

We are receiving reports that there has been an indication in the Sept 2006 Comet Cable Tv Guide editorial that they will be raising the prices on their package offerings. We have been unable to get a copy of this Cable Guide to check this for ourselves but this is the indication according to reports and comments that we are getting.

Although this does not come as a surprise since this may be due to the rise in operational costs of Comet Cable due to the present ever increasing price hikes taking a grip on Sri Lanka.

We would like our readers who have access to Comet Cable Guides to please confirm that a statement like this actually exists. We would like the management of Comet Cable to provide us with information on whether a price hike is due and if so, by how much the hike wil take place.

Comet Cable Digital Coming Soon says Multivision

A few days ago we sent an email to Multivision asking them to whether Comet Digital will be a reality or not. We are happy to say that Multivision has assured that Comet Digital will be operational by the end of this year. Given below is a copy of the email sent to us by Multivision.
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Dear TV & Radio Sri Lanka

We are happy to inform you and our customers that we are committed to upgrade our present system to Digital. We are currently at the final planning phase and about to begin the implementation phase . The Comet Digital will be fully operational by the end of this year.

Thank you

Harold Perera

Head of Advertising

Ruhuna 2001 Multivision (Pvt) Ltd.

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We would like to see Comet Cable honouring their word and implementing and launching the Comet Cable Digital service by the end of this year. We would also like to thank Mr. Harold Perera for taking time off his busy schedule and looking into the requests of their customers.

We have posted the email that we send to Comet Cable as a Comment to this post.