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Category: Multi System Operators

  • GTPL Hathway declares maiden dividend on higher numbers for FY-17

    BENGALURU: Indian multi-system operator GTPL Hathway declared a maiden dividend of ten percent for the year ended 31 March 2017 (FY-17, current year) per equity share of face value of Rs 10. The company was listed on the bourses on 4 July 2017 after the conclusion of a Rs 4,850 initial public offering (IPO) that was oversubscribed by 1.53 times in the third week of June 2017.

    GTPL reported 26.5 percent growth in Total Income to Rs 9,417.40 million in FY-17 from Rs 7,442.84 million in FY-16. Net Profit after tax (PAT) increased by more than seven times to Rs 262.42 million in the current fiscal from Rs 36.93 million in the previous year. Total comprehensive income also increased almost seven-fold to Rs 259.79 million from Rs 38.58 million. EBIDTA including other income in FY-17 increased 50.7 percent to Rs 2,077.33 million from Rs 1,595.93 million in the previous fiscal. Earnings per share increased by about 5.5 times in fiscal 2017 to Rs 4.10 from Rs 0.75 in the previous year.

    The company in its investor presentation says that cable TV subscription revenue grew 33 percent to Rs 4,494 million in FY-17 as compared to the Rs 3378 million during the previous fiscal. Cable TV Average Revenue per User (ARPU, net of taxes) in phases I, II, III and IV was Rs 100, 95, 54 and 41 respectively. Active set top boxes in FY-17 went up to 5.98 million, while the number of set top boxes seeded until 31 March 2017 was 6.90 million.

    Broadband revenue grew 77 percent to Rs 1,288 million from Rs 730 million during the same period. Broadband revenue’s contribution to overall revenue increased 4 percent, and the company says that broadband Broadband revenue grew 77 percent to Rs 1,288 million from Rs 730 million during the same period. Broadband ARPU increased 5.5 percent in FY-17 to Rs 480 from Rs 455 in the previous fiscal. GTPL Hathway claims to have seeded 1.48 million set top boxes in fiscal 2017.

    Let us look at the other numbers reported by GTPL Hathway

    Total expenses increased 20 percent to Rs 7,013 million in FY-17 from Rs 5,847 million in FY-16. Pay channel cost increased 17 percent to Rs 3,821 million from Rs 3,277 million in the previous fiscal. Bandwidth expense increased 78 percent in FY-17 to Rs 422 million from Rs 237 million in Fy-16.

    Employee cost increased 34 percent to Rs 1,084 million from Rs 808 million. Other operating expense reduced 23 percent to Rs 471 million from Rs 612 million. Administrative expense in FY-17 increased 33 percent to Rs 1,215 million from Rs 913 million.

    Also Read:

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  • Den improves Q1-18 numbers, betters ARPB, net loss down

    BENGALURU / NEW DELHI: Indian multi-system operator (MSO) Den Network Limited (DEN) reported 38 per cent year-over-year increase in cable revenue at Rs 1,540 million for the quarter ended 30 June 2017 (Q1-18, current quarter) as compared to Rs 1,110 million for the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal (Q1-17).

    Cable business reported post activation operating profit (EBIDTA) of Rs 850 million and pre-activation operating profit of Rs 490 million for the current quarter. Corresponding IND-AS EBIDTA numbers for the year ago quarter were Rs 500 million and Rs 150 million respectively. (Some numbers in this report have been rounded off).

    The company reported an overall higher y-o-y Average Revenue Per Box (ARPB) at Rs 74 in the current quarter as compared to Rs 52 in the corresponding year ago quarter. ARPB across all the four DAS phases was up, with DAS IV ARPB more than tripling to Rs 38 in the current quarter as compared to Rs 12 in Q1-17. DAS phase III ARPB increased to Rs 59 in Q1-18 as compared to Rs 36, DAS II ARPB increased from Rs 73 in Q-17 to Rs 91 in Q1-18, while DAS IV ARPB increased to Rs 110 in Q1-18 from Rs 101 in Q1-17

    Quarter-over-quarter APRB however was slightly lower. For the quarter ended 31 March 2017 (Q4-17) DEN had reported ARPB of Rs 76, with ARPB of Rs 117, Rs 85, Rs 62 and Rs 46 for DAS phases I, II, III and IV respectivley. Only DAS Phase II ARPB has increased in Q1-18 as compared to the immediate trailing quarter.

    Den Networks CEO SN Sharma said, “Den turned another quarter of impressive results by registering a stupendous performance on cable business. We remain focused on consumer needs and continue to take technology initiatives that will help our consumers make their lives convenient and connected. On the basis of IGAAP numbers, Den has broken even at the PNT level and the cable business has turned positive at the PAT level. We continue to add subscribers to our broadband business. The average data consumption for broadband business has already crossed 75 GB per month. We are very hopeful to continue this performance and are eagerly awaiting the the final verdict on the new TRAI tarriff order from the industry standpoint.”

    Overall, Den has reported y-o-y growth across all its revenue streams – whether considereed on the basis of cable business, broadband business, other income, or considered on the basis of subscription income, placement revenue and other income.

    The company says that it has deployed about 0.3 million boxes in the first quarter of fiscal 2018 in DAS phase III and IV areas and claims a digital subscriber base of about 10.7 million as on 30 June 2017.

    Broadband business revenue in the current quarter increased to Rs 211.9 million from Rs 177.9 million. Broadband business EBIDTA reduced to a loss of Rs 82.6 million versus a loss of Rs 142.6 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

    Overall, Den Networks total income increased 15.75 per cent in Q1-18 to Rs 3,224.2 million from Rs 2,785.5 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. Overall consolidated EBIDTA increased 31.2 per cent y-o-y in Q-16 to Rs 694 million as compared to Rs 52.9 million. The company narrowed consolidated net loss to Rs 101.1 million for the quarter led by a good performance from the cable segment.

    In the immediate trailing quarter, the company had said that it had focused largely on cash collections during the year which had brought down the net debt of the company to Rs. 1810 million as at March 31, 2017, thereby deleveraging its balance sheet. The net debt of the company has been further reduced to Rs 1340 million as on 30 June 2017.

    Let us look at the other numbers reported by Den Network

    Den’s total expenses in Q1-18 increased 5.2 per cent y-o-y to Rs 3,305.1 million from Rs 3,142.3 million in Q1-17. Content Costs in Q1-18 increased 16.3 per cent y-o-y Rs 1,307.7 million from Rs 1,124.7 million. Placement fees costs in Q1-18 reduced 5.8 per cent y-o-y to Rs 101.3 million from Rs 107.5 million in Q1-17.

    Employee Benefits Expense in Q1-18 increased 25.5 per cent to Rs 317.4 million from Rs 253 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Other Expenses in the first quarter of fiscal 2018 increased 4.2 per cent to Rs 803.8 million from Rs 771.2 million in Q1-17.

  • Punjab Govt falters in first leg of breaking cable monopoly

    MUMBAI: Even as the Punjab government recently vowed to break the cable monopoly, the Municipal Corporation Bathinda (MCB) has been unsuccessful in completing its door-to-door cable survey in the city. As per the orders of the Local Bodies Department, the MCB was scheduled to complete its survey by 31 July, and submit its report to the department.

    After receiving instructions from the local bodies minister Navjot Singh Sidhu to start a grassroots-level investigation against Fastway Cable, the MCB had sent officials of the rank of JE and SDO to conduct a door-to-door survey in the Bathinda, Tribune reported.

    Even though the Congress government in Punjab made it clear it would not tolerate monopoly in information and news distribution via cable TV, the state government clarified no particular MSO company or TV channel would be targeted and action would be taken if found guilty of tax law violations.

    Sidhu had alleged that Fastway had caused a loss of around Rs 6840 million to the state exchequer. The state government had ordered a tax evasion notice to be slapped on Fastway. Sidhu also demanded a separate investigation into the alleged under-reporting of TV connections and cable operators engaged by Fastway. Of over 8,000 cable operators in the state, 6,500 were working for Fastway, he alleged.

    MSO Fastway, which holds sway in Punjab resulting virtually in a monopoly, is allegedly owned and operated by close aides of former Punjab chief minister’s family — the Badals. The decade-old MSO company also has sizable presence in neighbouring states of Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Union territory of Chandigarh. In an official statement, the present CM Captain Amarinder Singh made it clear that action would be taken against media companies if charges of tax violations are proved to be correct.

    Around 70 Bathinda officials were deputed for the survey. In the city, these officials were to collect information of cable network from around 70,000 households. After this survey, Sidhu planned to impose entertainment tax on cable network because, as per the Municipal Act, 1976, his department had the right to collect the tax. The Union Government had kept the cable business out of the GST. As per MCB record of the last 10 years, Fastway had not paid requisite charges for using poles. After the earlier record, many new connections and areas had increased manifold.

    MCB commissioner Sanyam Aggarwal admitted that he did not know how much survey work had been completed.

    ALSO READ :

    Probe Punjab ‘cable mafia,’ demands minister, Fastway refutes charges

    Hinduja’s NXT Digital enters Fastway-dominated Punjab

    Punjab govt. studying Arasu & other regulatory models on distribution

    Punjab govt. vows to break cable monopoly, rules out blocking MSO Fastway

     

  • Rajan Gupta replaces T S Panesar as new AIDCF President

    NEW DELHI: Hathway Cable & Datacom Limited MD and chairman & non-ED of GTPL Hathway Limited Rajan Gupta has been appointed president of the All India Digital Cable Federation (AIDCF), the apex body of digital cable television companies..

    This change has been made as Hathway Digital Pvt. Ltd CEO video business TS Panesar, the former AIDCF president, resigned from his post at Hathway some time back.

    While giving his exit statement, Panesar said, “I am resigning from the board and president’s role at AIDCF as I have put in my papers at Hathway. During my short stint at AIDCF, the federation has added new members, all of whom are regional leaders in their respective markets. Their presence will certainly help the federation in raising regional issues. I also hope that TRAI’s new regulations will become a reality soon.”

    Gupta, in a statement, said, “I am delighted to accept the president’s role at AIDCF. Digitalization journey for cable TV is almost over and focus will now shift to monetizing STBs seeded in the last few years. The Next phase of growth in the cable TV industry will come through convergence and innovative value-added services. I look forward to collaborating with all national and regional MSOs for maximizing industry revenue and profitability.”

    AIDCF secretary-general Saharsh Damani said, “With digitization almost over, I am certain that under Mr Gupta’s leadership AIDCF members will chalk-out a robust path in giving dual and triple play services to the end consumers.”

    Gupta, an engineering graduate and an MBA from IIM Bangalore, has 20 years of diverse experience across various aspects of management, sales, marketing, P&L management, revenue growth management, go-to-market strategy, business turn around and manufacturing operations across different regions of India.

    Prior to joining Hathway, he has held various leadership positions with Tata Teleservices, Hindustan Coca Cola and Asian Paints.

    ALSO READ:
    http://www.indiantelevision.com/cable-tv/multi-system-operators/hathaways-outgoing-exec-panesar-yet-to-firm-up-future-plan-170630

  • Punjab govt. studying Arasu & other regulatory models on distribution

    NEW DELHI:  The Punjab Government is said to be studying Tamilnadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation (TACTV) model as also some other regulatory setups as part of a proposal to explore bringing about more transparency in  cable TV distribution system in the State, while breaking any monopoly that exists.

    A source in the state government confirmed to indiantelevision.com that structuring and functioning of Asasu is being studied by legal eagles. The source added that some other regulatory models are being studied too to explore setting up of a mechanism ensuring that any “monopoly in cable TV distribution”, if it exists, could be broken. The final aim: make the whole system transparent and democratic for all players to operate in Punjab.

    Former-cricketer-turned-politician-cum-TV-personality Navjot Singh Sidhu, a minister in the present Congress government in Punjab, had alleged in the state assembly some time back that  MSO Fastway Transmission Private Limited, under the “patronage” of the previous Akali government, had caused a loss of around Rs 6840 million to the state exchequer. Because of political patronage, Fastway monopolised the cable TV business in Punjab, a PTI report had stated, basing its observations on Sidhu’s claims.

    In a laudable step Punjab chief minister Amrinder Singh, despite his cabinet colleague’s outbursts, in a public statement few days later assured the TV industry  ruling out “vendetta politics”  or any witch-hunt against any MSO or TV channel. Still, he did say any allegations of  tax evasion would be probed as per the law.

    However, the Punjab government source was unable to fully explain to indiantelevision.com how studying the Arasu model would help as the TN MSO is a state government-run organization, which itself has been accused of  trying to monopolise cable TV distribution business in the south Indian state.

    In a set of recommendations first made in 2008, then in 2012 and reiterated in August 2014, broadcast and telecoms regulator TRAI had suggested barring government or government backed organizations from entering the business of TV broadcast or  distribution. The suggestions, part of media ownership’s proposed norms, have been gathering dust in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting under successive governments.

    TRAI had observed: “Given that about six years have elapsed without any concrete action being taken by the government, the Authority strongly recommends that …political bodies, religious bodies, urban, local, panchayati raj, and other publicly funded bodies, and Central and State government ministries, departments, companies, undertakings, joint ventures, and government-funded entities and affiliates be barred from entry into broadcasting and TV channel distribution sectors…(and)  in case permission to any such organisations have already been granted, an appropriate exit route is to be provided.”

    ALSO READ:

    Punjab govt. vows to break cable monopoly, rules out blocking MSO Fastway

    Probe Punjab ‘cable mafia,’ demands minister, Fastway refutes charges

     

  • DEN Networks allots Rs 7.5 mn worth shares for eSOP

    MUMBAI: DEN Networks Limited has informed the corporate  relationship department of the National Stock Exchange of India and BSE Limited that it has allotted shares under DEN eSOP Plan B, 2014.

    In a communique signed by DEN company secretary Jatin Mahajan, it stated: This  is to inform you that the Securities  Committee, in its meeting dated 21 July, 2017, has issued  and allotted 7,50,000 equity shares of Rs. 10/- each at par to eligible employee(s) under DEN ESOP Plan.

    In a separate earlier report, Dish TV, Hathway & Den Networks were amongst the top 10 global Pay TV platforms, according to the Global Pay TV Operator Databook from Digital TV Research.

    Also, as reported earlier, three years after it announced its intention to get into TV home shopping, the Samir Manchanda-promoted  multi systems operator Den is exiting from it.  The company had launched a channel called DEN Snapdeal Home Shop in 2016   (in partnership with the ecommerce site) only to have its partner exit from it in March 2017.

    Also Read :

    Dish TV, Hathway & Den amongst top 10 global Pay TV platforms

    DEN Networks exits TV home shopping channel business

    DEN Networks ties up with Visiware, launches premium gaming service

     

     

  • GTPL boosts channels & OTT with Harmonic, can deliver to 8 mn homes

    MUMBAI: Harmonic, a leader in video delivery infrastructure, announced that GTPL, India’s leading digital cable TV distribution company, which reaches an estimate of more than 8 million households in more than 189 cities, has deployed a next-generation software-based unified video headend system from Harmonic.

    At the heart of the solution is Harmonic’s Electra™ X2 advanced media processor that supports MPEG-2, MPEG-4 AVC and HEVC encoding for both traditional cable television and live OTT multiscreen services, saving GTPL significant space and power consumption.

    “To remain competitive in the television distribution space, we needed to further differentiate our offering with compelling content, deliver higher video quality at a lower cost of operation and prepare for OTT,” said Aniruddhsinh Jadeja, managing director at GTPL Hathway. “Harmonic provides us with a complete headend solution for CATV and live OTT, with distribution of up to 650 cable television channels and 50 OTT channels from a unified management system. We can also support advanced features such as graphic overlay and scroll insertion, which are integral to our business. We are currently delivering live TV and have plans to explore catch-up TV, nPVR and 4K video in the future to provide an even better viewing experience to subscribers.”

    According to Frost & Sullivan, there are approximately 66 million unique connected video viewers in India, and about 1.3 million OTT paid video subscribers. The ability to support CATV and live OTT services from a unified headend provides interoperability capabilities, operational efficiency and opens up revenue opportunities for GTPL by enabling the operator to launch OTT offerings when ready.

    “Migrating to a software-based unified video headend for CATV and OTT delivery allows GTPL to roll out new offerings quickly and reduce costs through decreased space, power, equipment and personnel requirements,” said Tony Berthaud, vice president of sales, APAC, at Harmonic. “In the future, as GTPL further improves upon its video quality and service offerings, Harmonic’s software-based infrastructure will make it easy to adapt new codecs and formats.”

    The Electra X2 processor maximizes the efficiency and flexibility of statistical multiplexing through tight integration with Harmonic’s ProStream® video stream processor, allowing the operator to increase bandwidth efficiency and broaden its channel count. The unified headend also includes ProView™ integrated receiver-decoders for reception and ProMedia™ Package multiscreen stream packager for deploying secure live OTT services. Everything is managed through the NMX network management solution.

  • Hinduja’s NXT Digital enters Fastway-dominated Punjab

    MUMBAI: It was announced with much fanfare, which simmered down. Now the Hinduja group promoted HITS platform NXT Digital has once again started making news. The group has stated that it is going to be pushing its headend in the sky (HITS) service in Punjab and Chandigarh.

    NXT Digital allows local cable operators to upgrade to digital cable TV serices at a mimimal expense. Speaking to the media Hinduja Media Group CEO Ashok Mansukhani on Friday said: “We have the state-of-the-art technology for digital TV viewing and our network in Punjab would ensure the viewers get uninterrupted world-class viewing experience at economical price in the market.”

    The entry of NXT Digital into Punjab will bring it head to head competition with Rs 500 crore turnover Fastway which has 2.45 million subscribers in Punjab, out of a national total of 4.2 million, of which 3.2 million are active. The other states in which Fastway has a presence is in Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu&Kashmir, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Haryana.

    Speaking to Hindustan Times, Hinduja Media Group senior vice president Narinderpal Singh, claimed that NXT Digital has the active co-operation of the Congress state government which would welcome the existing and new cable operators to join them.

    Fastway, on the other hand, allegedly was closely linked to the previous Punjab government under the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal.

    But that monopoly has been getting marginally eroded.

    Fastway MD Gurdeep Singh had acknowledged in an earlier media interview that the MSO has 5,290 cable operators (as compated to 6,500 cable operators from a total of 8,000 earlier) associated with it in Punjab and 159 in Chandigarh.

    “Some of the earlier ones have merged with others or gone to another multi-system operator, Hinduja Cable, which is a new player in Punjab. Then, some cable operators are aligned with other groups such as Bhullar Cable in Amritsar,” he had said.

    Will that marginal erosion becoming a landslide? For that, watch this space.

  • Dish TV, Hathway & Den amongst top 10 global Pay TV platforms

    MUMBAI: Indian companies — Dish TV, Hathway & Den Networks are amongst the top 10 global Pay TV platforms, according to the Global Pay TV Operator Databook from Digital TV Research. For the top 10 operators, the global TV revenue share was 55 per cent in 2016, with the leading 50 operators taking three-quarters of the total.

    Despite high number of subscribers but low ARPUs, Asia Pacific’s top operators are much less prominent in the PPV and subscription rankings with respect to revenue. This is where the US companies were leading – with six among the top 10 in 2016.

    Subscribers of Pay-TV for 522 operators reached a significant number — 839 million in 2016 (that is, 87 per cent of the 959 million global subscribers).

    In all, 50 leading operators accounted for two-thirds of the global Pay-TV subscribers by end-2016, Advanced Television reported. At that time, 10 million paying subscribers were using the services of 15 operators, according to the Databook.

    Globally, China Radio & TV is the largest pay-TV operator with a huge gap. Chinese government policy to consolidate cable TV translated as China Radio becoming the globe’s largest by 2016 — accumulating 227 million subs.

    Digital TV Research principal analyst Simon Murray said that India and China’s dominance of the top pay-TV operator rankings had been increasing, as US operators lost subs and the two nations subscriber bases swelled.

    PPV and subs revenues for the 522 operators were around Rs 11.9 trillion (US$185 billion) in 2016. Around 30 pay-TV operators earned more than Rs 64.5 billion (US$1 billion) revenue.

    MUMBAI: Indian companies — Dish TV, Hathway & Den Networks are amongst the top 10 global Pay TV platforms, according to the Global Pay TV Operator Databook from Digital TV Research. For the top 10 operators, the global TV revenue share was 55 per cent in 2016, with the leading 50 operators taking three-quarters of the total.

    Despite high number of subscribers but low ARPUs, Asia Pacific’s top operators are much less prominent in the PPV and subscription rankings with respect to revenue. This is where the US companies were leading – with six among the top 10 in 2016.

    Subscribers of Pay-TV for 522 operators reached a significant number — 839 million in 2016 (that is, 87 per cent of the 959 million global subscribers).

    In all, 50 leading operators accounted for two-thirds of the global Pay-TV subscribers by end-2016, Advanced Television reported. At that time, 10 million paying subscribers were using the services of 15 operators, according to the Databook.

    Globally, China Radio & TV is the largest pay-TV operator with a huge gap. Chinese government policy to consolidate cable TV translated as China Radio becoming the globe’s largest by 2016 — accumulating 227 million subs.

    Digital TV Research principal analyst Simon Murray said that India and China’s dominance of the top pay-TV operator rankings had been increasing, as US operators lost subs and the two nations subscriber bases swelled.

    PPV and subs revenues for the 522 operators were around Rs 11.9 trillion (US$185 billion) in 2016. Around 30 pay-TV operators earned more than Rs 64.5 billion (US$1 billion) revenue.

    Top 10 operators by subscribers (000)
    Ranking Operator Country 2016
    1 China Radio & TV (total) China 226,535
    2 China Telecom (IPTV) China 52,038
    3 BesTV (IPTV) China 26,019
    4 AT&T (total) USA 25,065
    5 Comcast (total) USA 22,508
    6 Charter merged (total cable) USA 16,836
    7 Dish TV (satellite) India 13,582
    8 Hathway (total) India 13,300
    9 Den Networks (total) India 13,000
    10 DISH Network (satellite) USA 12,521
    Source: Digital TV Research

  • 170 TN companies start providing Arasu Net, IPTV plan under way

    MUMBAI: In all 170 Tamil Nadu companies have started providing Arasu internet services in the state. For providing IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) service, a detailed project report was under process.

    Arasu Cable TV had floated expression of interest (EoIs) to become business partners on revenue-sharing basis and about 392 applications were received. At present, 2,577 subscribers use the leased line internet connectivity. Tamil Nadu state government’s proposal to expand internet service connectivity has received a healthy response, PTI reported.

    Directions had been issued to 170 applicants for starting the internet service and about 24,750 households are expected to be provided with the internet service under this initiative.

    The TN government had floated a SPV (special purpose vehicle) ‘Tamil Nadu FiberNet Corporation’ to implement it. Telecom major Vodafone was selected by the Arasu Cable TV Corporation under the open tender process, an IT department policy note said.

    For the sake of cable TV digitisation, a global tender was floated in May for procuring 60 lakh standard and 10 lakh HD (high definition) STBs (set-top boxes). Tenders had been received from various companies and are being scrutinised. The number of cable television connections provided by Arasu rose to 70.52 lakh as of 1 May this year, as compared to 4.94 lakh in 2011.

    Also Read :

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    TRAI keeping watch over Arasu, TN MSO extends digital hardware bids deadline