Sony Entertainment Television will offer video-on-demand and pay-per-view services to its subscribers as a part of its strategy of offering additional services under the conditional access system.

These services are expected to be offered on an experimental basis by late 2004, to coincide with the cricket Champions' Trophy. Full-fledged services will only be available by 2007, in time for the next cricket World Cup.

New services

• These services are expected to be offered on an experimental basis by late 2004.
• Full-fledged services will only be available by 2007.
• These services will be offered on SET Max.

"The CAS rollout will allow us to offer these services. We already offer such services in other parts of the world," Rajat Jain, executive vice-president, Sony Entertainment Television, said. The broadcaster will offer these services in its movies and events channel, SET Max.

The video-on-demand services will allow a subscriber to watch a movie or an event of his choice at a time he wants for a specified fee.

Similarly, a person subscribing for the pay-per-view services will be able to view a particular movie or an event on the payment of a fee.

Once these services are in place, the broadcaster, for example, can ask for a premium from its viewers for the live telecast of the next cricket World Cup final match.

"In the last cricket World Cup, we offered pay-per-view services to our subscribers in Singapore and it was a success. By the next World Cup, we will be in a position to offer such services in India as well," Jain said.

To offer these services, the broadcaster will need the help of the local cable operators, as well as the multi-system operators.

"Under the CAS regime, we will not be able to offer these services on our own. We will need the help of the local cable operator and multi-system operator. But with the help of a digital set-top box, we will  be able to offer these services," he said.

Jain also said the channel was in the process of acquiring new programmes, telecast rights for events and movies as a part of its strategy to rope in additional viewers under the CAS.

"In the CAS environment, viewers will opt for a channel that offers them additional content and programmes," Jain said.