Cricket enthusiasts in some parts of the country, including Delhi and Bangalore, may miss out on India's upcoming series against Bangladesh, with ESPN-Star Sports severing ties with Hathway Cable network.
ESPN-Star Sports claim that the leading cable company has not made payments due to it since September.
"We have separate contracts with Hathway for different cities. We have already severed our contracts with Hathway in Delhi, Ludhiana, Bangalore and Hyderabad and we are now reassessing our contracts for Pune and Mumbai," Sricharan Iyengar, vice-president Sales and marketing, ESPN Software India Pvt Ltd, said on Saturday.
Admitting that the general viewer would suffer because of the tussle, Iyengar said, "But we can't do much. The ball is in Hathway's court. Had they not defaulted, this situation would not have arisen.
"We are forced to take this extreme step because we must get paid for what we sell and that is what Hathway is refusing to do. It is up to them to tell us what they want."
Iyengar said the demands of Hathway are "outrageous" and it appeared that they did not wish to carry their signals.
Besides, the India-Bangladesh series, fans could also miss out on the tussle between Pakistan and Australia and the ongoing English Premier League football if the matter is not resolved at the earliest.
Hathway officials could not be contacted for their reaction.
