Following the Shiv Sena's diktat to boycott reality show 'Bigg Boss', several cable operators in the city have stopped beaming the channel.
Viewers in the city as well as Thane and Navi Mumbai complained that they couldn't watch 'Colors' from Wednesday afternoon as the channel had been blocked. Sena had threatened cable operators to block 'Colors' after the party failed to force the producers of 'Bigg Boss' from throwing out Pakistani artistes.
There are about 4.1 million homes in Mumbai with cable connections and if the channel is blacked out the viewership of Bigg Boss will take a beating by 15%, said experts.
"It is on the instructions of Balasaheb Thackeray that the cable operators have been told to boycott the programme," Anil Parab of the Shiv Sena said, adding, "It is an open secret that Pakistan has blocked many Indian channels. So there's nothing wrong in asking cable operators in the city to block the channel that has hired Pakistani artistes. In fact, many operators have already started acting on our instructions.�
While the Sena is claiming that they have been getting a "favourable" response, Ashok Mansukhani of Hinduja Cable denied any such reaction. He said, "I am only hearing it (the diktat) from the media. The party (Shiv Sena) has not issued any notice to us"
Ganesh Naidu, who is a member of the Cable Operators' Distribution Association (CODA), said, "We still haven't got any intimation on blacking out the channel."