Tata Sky Removes Lock-in Period for All Channels, Channel Packs: Report

Tata Sky has removed the lock-in period for all channels and channel packs on its DTH service. The company is following in the footsteps of Dish TV, which did the same soon after the announcing a 30-days lock-in period for pay channels and select channel packs earlier this month. Now, the subscribers of both DTH operators are free to add or drop channels without worrying about a lock-in period. However, Tata Sky is keeping its one-day lock-in period for Tata Sky services like Family Health, Fitness, and Beauty.

According to a report in TelecomTalk, Tata Sky is no longer applying any lock-in period for channels or channel packs chosen by the subscribers. The DTH service has removed lock-in periods for everything from A-la-carte to curated packs to broadcaster packs, except exclusive Tata Sky services. All Tata Sky services except Tata Sky Bollywood will have a lock-in period of one-day, whereas Tata Sky Bollywood will have a lock-in period of 30-days.

To recall, after the introduction of new TV channel guidelines by TRAI earlier this year, the DTH operators, including Dish TV and Tata Sky, started putting lock-in period for channels and channel packs. Thus, restricting the seamless channel package management, which was one of the intentions behind the new TRAI regulations. After a lot of hue and cry from the consumers, DTH operators have finally relented.

Earlier, the DTH operators had also stopped charging network capacitive fee (NCF) beyond the base NFC of Rs. 130 + taxes for free-to-air channels.