Asia | Television in India

A clearer picture

And cheaper too, hope Indian viewers

Jul 10th 2003|delhi

CABLE television has been one of the most unregulated parts of India's economy since it was introduced in the early 1990s; but the government is now tidying things up. The country has more than 30,000 independent cable-TV operators—“cable-wallahs”—who have strung cables along trees and telegraph poles to link their satellite dishes with about half the country's 80m television sets. Charges have been low, ranging from 50 rupees ($1) a month in small towns for about 20 free channels, to 250-400 rupees in large cities for a mixture of 70 or more free and pay channels from satellite broadcasters.

This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “A clearer picture”