RCS&RDS and Discovery Networks war over axing of channels

Newsroom 07/12/2012 | 11:29

Telecom operator RCS&RDS’s decision to drop the Discovery channels from the TV packages it offers its subscribers has sparked a row between the company and Discovery Networks International.

One day before the agreement between RCS&RDS and Discovery Networks expired, RCS&RDS, which has over 2 million TV subscribers, dropped all Discovery stations. The Discovery Channel and Animal Planet were taken out from the basic package while TLC, Discovery Science and ID Investigation Discovery were removed from the supplementary package the company made available to its subscribers, for which they had to pay an additional 7 RON.

The company did not inform its customers of the move and did not have the approval of the National Audio-visual Council.

One day earlier, RCS&RDS had sought approval from the CNA to drop the Discovery channels from its analog and digital cable networks.

On November 23, RCS&RDS had taken out Discovery Channel from its satellite network Digi.

”Our company cannot agree to broadcast Discovery channels with tariffs that are three times higher than for other similar channels for all its subscribers, while the average audience rate of the Discovery channels is approximately 1 percent. We cannot accept the principle: 1 percent want the service but 100 percent have to pay for it,” said company officials. ”Since the Discovery tariffs have always been paid in US dollars while our subscriptions are paid in RON, the sums required by the Discovery group in Romania alone have continuously increased over the years, irrespective of the economic crunch and the currency exchange rates. The equivalent in RON of the sums paid in 2012 is twice as high as those paid in 2008, so there was a 100 percent growth in four years.”

On the other hand, in October RCS&RDS launched two TV channels called Digi World and Digi Life which it made available to its subscribers, being included in all the Digi TV packages of  the company.

Discovery Networks representations replied that the firm’s offer is “competitive and adjusted to the commercial conditions we use for all players on the market.” They went on, “The weight of our tariffs in the subscription paid by RCS&RDS subscribers every month is on average approximately 1.5 percent for every Discovery channel included in the basic package. We believe it is a reasonable price in relation to the quality of our program.”

In reply, RCS&RDS said it had suggested the Discovery Group create ”a distinct package containing all its channels at a tariff established by Discovery, which should be available to interested subscribers, but without unjustified costs for the subscribers who do not require it,” a proposal which Discovery refused.

In two official statements, RCS&RDS lashed out against Discovery Networks and the Romanian National Audio-visual Council (CNA), accusing the former of ”hypocrisy” and the latter of ”biased position.”

“The distribution contract between our company and Discovery Networks expired at the end of November 2012 and could not be extended because the two parties did not manage to find a solution that was reciprocally advantageous. In these circumstances, we were compelled to interrupt the broadcasting of these channels, because transmission without a contract is not allowed by law,” said the company in the statement.

”Our company previously submitted to the CNA a request for the modification of the programs, but this was not discussed by the council. We cannot help noticing that Mr. Rasvan Popescu is in more of a rush to fine companies and adopt partisan positions in commercial litigation than to follow legal procedures so that viewers can have access to the available channels,” said RCS&RDS.

Otilia Haraga

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