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 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 network capacitive fee (NCF) beyond the base NFC of Rs. 130 + taxes for free-to-air channels.