The switch to OSN following Showtime and Orbit’s merger is a lesson in how pay-TV providers should not handle customer service.

Subscribers to cable TV network OSN are not a happy bunch. On February 1, Showtime and Orbit completed their merger to become OSN, the “biggest pay-TV platform” in the Middle East and North Africa. But within hours of the switch, the company’s helpline was red hot as angry customers bombarded the station with calls. Many claimed channels like Showseries, which airs popular US dramas, had suddenly disappeared overnight with no word of warning. Others vented their spleen through message boards and comment sections on local media sites.

Among the callers to OSN, some were simply trying to find out how to view the eight new channels launched following the changeover. Apart from an intermittent advert appearing during commercial breaks on random channels, the company gave no advice about accessing the new content (available through either rescanning TV decoders or upgrading packages). Most customers didn’t even know that the FAQ section on OSN’s website had the necessary information.

As PR lessons go, OSN has done little to improve its image among existing subscribers. More to the point, it’s unlikely potential customers will be rushing to sign up to a service where channels mysteriously disappear with no explanation.

During a telephone conversation with .Commerce, OSN chief executive Marc-Antoine d’Halluin did sound surprised when told how certain TV channels were no longer accessible for existing subscribers. He claimed the channels offered through various Orbit and Showtime packages before the switch should still be available. “If you were a subscriber to one or the other [Orbit or Showtime] with one of five pre-existing packages you are still entitled to the exact same channels today with a few optimisations,” he said.

Those optimisations merely involve modifying or amalgamating some channels (OSN Comedy, for example, has replaced Showcomedy and Super Comedy), and not removing them altogether. In response to viewers’ unrest, d’Halluin promised to investigate, saying: “I will have a deeper look because we didn’t take away channels and we maintained like for like quality and choice for everyone of our pre-existing subscribers. It’s common sense that you don’t want to take away from your existing subscribers channels that they have access to; that’s quite elementary.”

Elementary indeed, so biting the hand that feeds you would be an unwise move. It’s in d’Halluin’s interest to quickly address viewers’ concerns about lost content, and improve customer service by communicating any developments or changes. After all, subscribers are the company’s lifeblood, so forcing them to pay high fees for potentially fewer channels than those available when they first signed up is tantamount to financial suicide. Sports fans will already be thinking twice about continuing with their subscriptions following news that OSN has no plans to screen Premier League football from August this year. This alone could severely hit the company’s second half revenues, meaning OSN’s management should be doing all it can to appease existing customers before attempting to lure new ones.

The high-definition TV revolution has begun, but Rob Morris asks whether broadcasters like OSN stand to make any money?

A new era in TV is about to take the Middle East by storm. At least that was the message emanating from Orbit Showtime Network (OSN) prior to the TV station’s re-launch on February 1.

Marc-Antoine d’Halluin, OSN chief executive, boldly claimed before a media gathering that the company – formed last July following a merger between TV platforms Showtime Arabia and Orbit – would radically improve audience’s viewing pleasure. This, he added, would be achieved by providing existing subscribers with ‘zapper’ boxes that beam the latest movies, TV shows and sports in high-definition quality to homes across the region. In other words, our TV screens will carry the richest, most vibrant images that technology can muster.

Inevitably, one journalist asked how much more consumers will have to pay for the privilege. Not a penny was the response, which existing subscribers will no doubt be delighted to hear. But I suspect OSN’s finance director was initially less enthusiastic when told the news. How, the assembled media collectively wondered, does the company expect to make any money? Stamping out piracy is the simplest explanation. For years, unscrupulous individuals have employed various methods to access pay-TV channels without subscribing. But d’Halluin insists the new OSN box cannot be replicated. If true, this measure alone will make up for the hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenue.

d’Halluin is also banking on the lure of high-definition TV to draw in more viewers, and subsequently increase OSN’s revenues. Whether enhanced picture quality is enough to boost subscriber numbers remains to be seen, but attracting more customers could prove tricky if a deal to air the English Premier League on OSN beyond the 2009/10 season fails to materialise. OSN’s current three-year contract to screen arguably the world’s best football league ends in May, with the rights switching to the Abu Dhabi Media Company (ADMC) from August this year when a new campaign kicks off.

So far, no agreement with ADMC has been reached, suggesting football lovers will have to go elsewhere to watch their favourite teams in action. This alone could undermine d’Halluin’s efforts to increase subscriber numbers. After all, one of OSN’s biggest draws was offering coverage of every Premier League match throughout a season. Without this, the money recouped from combating piracy, coupled with cash generated from new subscribers, could be offset by droves of football-loving viewers pulling the plug on their OSN packages.