ITV

Category: Multi System Operators

  • Virgin Media reports lowest cable customer churn in Q3-2014

    Virgin Media reports lowest cable customer churn in Q3-2014

     BENGALURU:  Virgin Media Inc (Virgin Media), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Liberty Global plc (Liberty Global) and a leading cable operator in the United Kingdom (UK) reported lowest ever annual customer churn in Q3-2014 (Quarter  ended 30 September 2014), since Virgin Media was formed in 2007 at 14.9 per cent as compared to a churn of 15.3 per cent in Q3-2013. This churn record has contributed to cable customer growth more than doubling to 35,000, the highest quarterly customer additions since Q4 2012, says the company.

     

    Note: Currency mentioned in this report is ? or British Pound

     

    The company’s selected results for Q3-2014 say, ‘The number of subscribers to each of our cable products increased, with 88,000 organic RGUs (revenue generating units) added y-t-d (nine month period ended 30 September 2014 or 9M-2014) , including  70,000 in Q3, compared to declines of 16,000 and 7,000 in the respective prior year periods. This can be partially attributed to the successful launch of our “Big Bundles” in Q2 2014, which offer combinations of our cable products and resulted in the acquisition of more double- and triple-play customers than during the same period last year. Average Monthly Revenue per Customer Relationship increased 2 per cent to ? 48.98 year-over-year.’

     

    Virgin Media reported 2.3 per cent growth in revenue in Q3-2014 at ? 1046.8 million from ? 1022.8 million in Q3-2013. 9M-2014 revenue grew 1.7 per cent to ? 3145 million from ? 3092 million in 9M-2013.

     

    Four segments contribute to Virgin Media’s revenues – ‘Cable Subscription’, ‘Mobile Subscription’, ‘Business’ and ‘Other’

     

    Television subscription revenue in Q3-2014 fell 3.3 per cent to ? 234.7 million from ? 242.6 million in Q3-2013. Y-t-d, television subscription revenue fell 1.5 per cent to ? 717.9 million from ? 728.6 million in 9M-2013.

     

    Overall cable subscription revenue includes revenue from television, internet and telephony. Cable subscription revenue for the quarter grew 3 per cent to ? 724.5 million form ? 703.6 million in Q3-2013. Within cable subscription, internet revenue grew 19.8 per cent to ? 259.8 million in Q3-2014 from ? 216.9 million in Q3-2014. Telephony subscription revenue fell 5.8 per cent to ? 230 million in Q3-2014 from ? 244.1 million in Q3-2014.

     

    For 9M-2014, cable subscription revenue increased 3.3 per cent to ? 2188.9 million from ? 2119.0 million in 9M-2013. Internet revenue in 9M-2014 grew 16.2 per cent to ? 756.2 million from ? 650.7 million in 9M-2013. Telephony revenue for 9M-2014 fell 3.4 per cent to ? 714.8 million from ? 739.7 million in 9M-2013.

     

    Virgin Media says that it is the first provider of all four broadband, TV, mobile phone and home phone services in the UK. The Company’s cable network – the result of multi-billion pound private investment – delivers ultrafast broadband to over half of all U.K. homes, with speeds of up to 152 Mbps, as well as market-leading connectivity to thousands of public and private sector organisations across the country.

     

    Virgin Media says that it has developed UK’s most advanced interactive television service, and was the first to offer HD TV and access to connected services through the set-top box to millions of British households. It also launched the world’s first virtual mobile network and is one of the largest fixed-line home phone providers in the country.

  • Carriage fee on a rise again?

    Carriage fee on a rise again?

    MUMBAI: Delayed digitisation of phase III and phase IV areas have marred the hopes of broadcasters, multi-system operators (MSOs) and the local cable operators (LCOs) alike. With implementation of digitisation in phase I and II, while broadcasters were enjoying the reduced carriage fees, MSOs were hoping for better on-ground collections with increasing transparency. But all this has taken a U-turn with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting announcing 2016 as the year when India will be fully digitised.

    The MSOs who have invested heavily for digitising phase I and II markets are still waiting for reaping the benefits of it. And now even the broadcasters who saw some reduction in carriage fees (industry sources peg it between 10 per cent to 30 per cent) during the first two phases have gone back to basics.

    If one has to go by the Media Partners Asia (MPA) report, the cable TV industry has seen a 14 per cent jump in carriage fees. The reason for the jump in carriage fee could be many. Here are a few reasons which we understand could be playing a role in the changed carriage fee pattern:

    1)    Delayed digitisation: The MSOs have already invested heavily in phase I and II and have also borrowed money for phase III and IV markets. Now with the government announcing the final dates for digitisation as 2015 for phase III and 2016 for phase IV, MSOs fear that the LCOs will not increase their collections from the ground.

    2)    Low ARPUs: Even in phase I and II areas, the ARPU hasn’t gone up as expected by the MSOs. And so they haven’t been able to recover the money they had invested.

    3)     New channel launches: Broadcasters launching new channels need greater reach and visibility and so pay more in order to get carried by the platform and also to ensure that it is available to all the subscribers of the platform. This in turn sets a benchmark for the other players also.

    4)    Lack of transparency: Even though one of the aims of digitisation was bringing in transparency and addressability, both haven’t happened as yet. The cable operators have not been able to get the consumer application forms filled and thus, are still unaware of the choice of consumer. Also, there is still under declaration of consumers. 

    “This is true especially for news channels, niche channels and the new channels that have been recently launched. While the existing channels have not seen any hike in carriage fees, broadcasters that launched new channels in the different genres, right from GECs to regional to music and movies have seen a jump in carriage fees, which ranges from 15-25 per cent,” says a distribution head on condition of anonymity.

    Another source close to the development agrees and says, “Yes! The carriage fee for broadcasters launching new channels have gone up. This can be anywhere between 20-25 per cent, depending on the distribution strategy of the broadcaster and the visibility it is looking for.”

    Many in the industry blame the new channel launches for the increase in the carriage fee. “While for the news channels the carriage fee had seen a drop by 10-15 per cent, the new channels that are being launched every now and then, sets a different benchmark. Since broadcasters want better reach for their new channels, they pay huge sums as carriage fee to MSOs and this affects the news channels as well,” says a news broadcaster.

    Even at the recently concluded MIPCOM 2014, Colors CEO Raj Nayak during a panel discussion had stressed that there needs to be complete implementation of digitisation. “While in the phase I of digitisation, the carriage fees had come down by 20 per cent, it has now gone back to square one and this is a dangerous trend,” he had then said.

    Viacom18 group CEO Sudhanshu Vats feels no different. In his recent interaction with Indiantelevision.com he had said, “Carriage, rather than continually coming down, has begun to rise again in recent months.”

    According to India TV chairman and editor-in-chief Rajat Sharma, when digitisation kickstarted, news broadcasters expected consumers to get better quality channels and carriage fees to disappear. “For the MSOs, it is the carriage fee from the news channels that helps them sustain, since they pay the GECs huge sums for getting their programming on their platform,” opines Sharma.

    Unlike the expectations by many, carriage fees haven’t yet been abolished.  “When phase I of digitisation was implemented, carriage fees did come down in terms of what was being paid in the four metros. The national level MSOs saw the benefits of digitisation and passed on some of that benefit to broadcasters. However, with phase II, it hasn’t happened. On the contrary they are going up and extortionist demands are being made again. Perhaps because in other parts of the country the MSOs are in partnership with local or regional players who do not want to let go of carriage fees even though that was meant to be a natural outcome of digitisation,” informs NDTV executive vice chairperson KVL Narayan Rao.

    Rao further adds, “It is impossible for news broadcasters to withstand payment of high carriage fees. Other components of digitisation like buoyant and fair subscription revenues, have not kicked in either. Something needs to be done about these aspects immediately. Carriage fees in particular have to be rationalised.” Rao also pegs the carriage fee increase between 10-30 per cent.

    As for Focus Network group CEO Neeraj Sanan, carriage fee revenues for MSOs are likely to reduce. “However the carriage paid by a broadcaster to an MSO, will increase post first year of DAS due to aggregation at MSO level and the ever increasing number of channels,” he adds.

    Even the MSOs agree that the carriage fee has seen an upward trend. “This is true mostly for the new channel launches. Broadcasters want better reach for their new channels and are ready to pay more carriage fee for those channels. The new channels are seeing a hike in carriage fee by about 20-25 per cent,” concludes the MSO.

  • Calcutta HC extends Digicable Comm’s interim stay by eight weeks

    Calcutta HC extends Digicable Comm’s interim stay by eight weeks

    KOLKATA: Granting relief to Digicable Comm, the Calcutta High Court has extended the interim stay by eight weeks.

    “Today, our matter was listed in Court No. 8 of the High Court under Justice Nadira Patheria with regards to Digicable Comm’s DAS licence for Kolkata and Howrah. The Court has allowed further extension of interim stay by eight weeks,” said Digicable Comm Services VP-operations & technology Lokesh Agarwal.

    Earlier also, the Calcutta High Court had put a stay order on the cancellation of the registration of the Kolkata-based multi-system operator (MSO) till 28 November, saying “Digicable Comm which has been in business for quite some time would suffer irreparable loss and injury, unless appropriate ad-interim protection is granted to them.”

    While the extension has been granted, the MSO is yet to get clarity on whether the extension, that is eight weeks, in this case, would be calculated from 28 November 2014 or 17 November 2014.
    If Digicable Comm is given eight weeks starting 17 November, then the interim extension will be till 17 January 2015.

    It should be noted that in July, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) had cancelled the registration of Digicable Comm Services.

    Digicable Comm, a joint venture between Digicable (51 per cent) and Kolkata-headquartered Multicar Group (49 per cent) was formed in the year 2009, to gain foothold in the West Bengal market.
    Digicable Comm is hopeful that after appealing to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and moving to the High Court, the decision would be in its favour. “We are happy to get the stay order extended from the High Court,” added Agarwal.

    It should be noted that MHA cancelled the company’s permanent registration on 18 July due to denial of security clearance.

    Digicable Com which once had more than four lakh connections in the KM Area is left with around 25,000 set top boxes (STBs). “We will follow the mandates. We are hopeful that the authorities would consider the minute details presented by us,” concluded Agarwal.
     

     

  • Den Networks reports growth in operational and subscription revenue for Q2-2015

    Den Networks reports growth in operational and subscription revenue for Q2-2015

    BENGALURU: Den Networks Ltd (Den Networks) reported   that its cable business operational revenues stood at Rs 286.22 crore, up 11 per cent y-o-y from Rs 258.06 crore in Q2-2014 and that its cable business subscription revenues for Q2-2015 were Rs 146.75 crore, up 49.2 per cent y-o-y from Rs 98.34 crore in Q2-2014.

     

    Note: 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

     

    Den Networks Total Income from Operation (TIO) at Rs 291.72 crore in the current quarter fell 2.4 per cent from Rs 298.81 crore in the immediate trailing quarter and was 7.3 per cent more than the Rs 271.87 crore in Q2-2014. TIO in HY-2015 at Rs 590.53 crore was 9.2 per cent more than the Rs 540.57 crore in HY-2014.

     

    Den Networks recently launched its high speed broadband and says that the service is gaining great traction and has achieved 9,600 subscribers at an average ARPU of Rs 740 per month.

     

    The company also says that its joint venture (JV) with Snapdeal.com has been received extremely well. Within the first month, Den Networks claims that the company has clocked an annualised Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) in excess of Rs 50 crore based on the annualised latest daily run rate and is expected to scale significantly as the channel gets distributed across networks.

     

    Den Networks COO M G Azhar said, “We are pleased with the overall company’s financial performance as the company continues to invest in transforming from B2B to B2C environment. The Company has started seeing traction in its recently launched broadband services and also in the Den Snapdeal home shopping channel.”

     

    Let us look at the other numbers reported by Den Networks

     

    Total Expense (TE) in Q2-2015 at Rs 297.81 crore (102.1 per cent of TIO) was 4.5 per cent more than the Rs 284.93 crore (95.4 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2015 and 32.7 per cent more than the Rs 224.43 crore (82.6 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2014. HY-2015 TE at Rs 582.74 crore (98.7 per cent of TIO) was 28.3 per cent more than the Rs 454.12 crore in HY-2014.

     

    The company’s content cost in Q2-2015 at Rs 108.91 crore (37.3 per cent of TIO) was 2.3 per cent more than the Rs 106.42 crore (35.6 per cent of TIO) and was 20.3 per cent higher than the Rs 90.54 crore (33.3 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2014. For HY-2015, content cost at Rs 215.33 crore (36.5 per cent of TIO) was 22.7 per cent more than the Rs 175.55 crore (32.5 per cent of TIO) in HY-2014.

     

    The company’s operational, administrative and other costs (admin cost) in Q2-2015 at Rs 78.61 crore (26.9 per cent of TIO) was 11.6 per cent more than the Rs 70.47 crore (23.6 per cent of TI) in Q1-2015 and 18.5 per cent more than the Rs 66.34 crore (24.4 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2014. Admin cost for HY-2015 at Rs 149.08 crore was (25.2 per cent of TIO) was 3.1 per cent more than the Rs 144.66 crore (26.8 per cent of TIO) in HY-2014.

     

    The company reported a loss of Rs 20.45 crore in Q2-2015 versus a PAT of Rs 1.12 crore (0.37 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2015 and a PAT of Rs 11.18 crore (4.1 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2014. The company reported loss at Rs 19.33 crore in HY-2015 as compared to a PAT of Rs 21.33 crore in HY-2014.

     

    The company’s EBIDTA (without considering other income) in Q2-2015 fell 28.4 per cent to Rs 40.94 crore (14 per cent of TIO) from Rs 57.16 crore (19.1 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2015 and fell 51.5 per cent from the Rs 84.48 crore (31.1 per cent of TIO). As per Den Networks investor presentation for the current quarter, its broadband service has eroded Rs 10 crore and its soccer franchise Delhi Dynamos has eroded another Rs 5 crore from Q2-2015 EBIDTA.

     

    Other Income for the periods under consideration is as follows: Q2-2015 – Rs 22.47 crore; Q1-2015 – Rs 18.65 crore; Q2-2014 – Rs 4.71 crore; HY-2015 Rs 41.12 crore; HY-2014 – Rs 11.4 crore.

     

    Click here for the investor update

     

    Click here for the press release

  • Hathway reports 19.6 per cent y-o-y revenue growth, lower loss in Q2-2015

    Hathway reports 19.6 per cent y-o-y revenue growth, lower loss in Q2-2015

    BENGALURU: Indian multi system operator (MSO) Hathway Cable and Datacom Limited (Hathway) reported 5.3 per cent growth in Q2-2015 with total Income from Operations (TIO) of Rs 263.51 crore versus the Rs 250.22 crore in Q1-2015 and 19.6 per cent more than the Rs 220.28 crore in Q2-2014. HY-2015 TIO at Rs 513.73 crore was 11.9 per cent more than the Rs 459.23 crore in HY-2014.

     
    The company reported loss of Rs 39.26 crore in Q2-2015, as compared to the loss of Rs 0.927 crore in the immediate trailing quarter. The current quarter’s loss was lower than the loss of Rs 44.45 crore for Q2-2014. The company’s HY-2015 (year to date) loss increased slightly to Rs 40.19 crore from Rs 39.13 crore in HY-2014.

     
    Note: 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

     
    Hathway’s EBIDTA calculated based on the figures submitted by the company in Q2-2015 fell 8.8 per cent to Rs 40.03 crore (15.2 per cent of TIO) from Rs 43.87 crore (17.5 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2015 and was 4.2 per cent more than the Rs 38.41 crore (17.4 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2014. EBIDTA for HY-2015 fell 30.6 per cent to Rs 83.9 crore (16.3 per cent of TIO) from Rs 120.80 crore (26.3 per cent of TIO) in HY-2014.

     
    Let us look at the other figures reported by Hathway:

     
    Total Expenditure (TE) in Q2-2015 at Rs 274.27 crore (104.1 per cent of TIO) was 7.9 per cent more than the Rs 254.1 crore in Q1-2015 and was 17.6 per cent more than the Rs 233.19 crore in Q2-2014. HY-2015 TE at Rs 528.37 crore (102.9 per cent of TIO) was 22.5 per cent more than the Rs 431.29 crore in HY-2014.

     
    A major fraction of TE is the pay channel cost for Hathway. The company’s pay channel cost in Q2-2015 at Rs 96.81 crore (36.7 per cent of TIO) was 12.8 per cent more than the Rs 85.81 crore (34.3 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2015 and 41.7 per cent more than the Rs 68.30 crore (31 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2014. HY-2015 pay channel cost at Rs 182.61 crore (35.6 per cent of TIO) was 44.1 per cent more than the Rs 126.75 crore in HY-2014.

     
    The company reported 6.3 per cent higher depreciation and amortization expense (depreciation) in Q2-2015 at Rs 50.78 crore versus the Rs 47.75 crore in Q1-2015 and was 1.1 per cent lower than the Rs 51.32 crore in Q2-2014. Depreciation in HY-2015 at Rs 98.54 crore was 6.1 per cent more than the Rs 92.86 crore in HY-2014.

     Hathway’s finance cost in Q2-2015 at Rs 30.39 crore (11.5 per cent of TIO) was 4.2 per cent more than the Rs 29.17 crore (11.7 per cent of TIO) and was 28.2 per cent more than the Rs 23.71 crore (10.8 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2014. Finance cost for HY-2015 at Rs 59.56 crore (11.6 per cent of TIO) was 31.4 per cent more than the Rs 445.32 crore (9.9 per cent of TIO) in HY-2014.

     
    Employee Benefit Expense (EBE) in Q2-2015 was Rs 16.03 crore, for Q1-2014 it was 14.55 crore and for Q2-2014 it was Rs 14.58 crore.

     
    Hathway says that it is continuing aggressive plans to digitise its CATV customer base and has further seeded 250,000 boxes in the current quarter taking its digital subscriber base to 84 lakh and has seeded nearly 72 per cent of its subscriber base. It says that it has nearly 700,000 STB’s in stock.

     
    The company says that its content deals with the major broadcasters is in place now and it will use the stability in its content contracts to push for an increase in the ARPU realised from the markets it serves. While ARPU increase took a pause in current quarter, phase 1 ARPU remained close to Rs 90, while it was close to Rs 55 in the phase 2 areas.

    Hathway has informed BSE that the Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on 13 November 2014, inter alia, has considered and approved the Subdivision of face value of Equity Shares into Equity Shares of smaller amount than is fixed in the Memorandum of Association; i.e. to subdivide 1(One) equity share of Rs. 10/- each to 5 (Five) equity shares of Rs. 2/- each, subject to approval of shareholders.

     
    Click here to read the full financial report

     

    Click here to read the unaudited financial release

     

  • Q2-2105: Siti Cable reports higher income, higher subscription revenue, lower loss

    Q2-2105: Siti Cable reports higher income, higher subscription revenue, lower loss

    BENGALURU: Essel group’s Subhash Chandra led Siti Cable Network Limited (Siti Cable) reported a 4.9 per cent rise in Total Income from Operations (TIO) to Rs 212.25 crore in Q2-2015 from Rs 209.02 crore in Q1-2015 and 47.5 per cent more than the Rs 160.31 crore in Q2-2014. For HY-2015, TIO was 42.4 per cent more at Rs 428.27 crore than the Rs 300.76 crore in HY-2014.

     

    Siti Cable reported a 102.3 per cent y-o-y growth in subscription revenue to Rs 121.4 crore from Rs 60 crore and a 14.9 per cent q-o-q growth from Rs 105.7 crore in Q1-2015.

     

    Loss for Q2-2015 reduced to Rs 22.87 crore from Rs 31.67 crore in Q1-2015 and from 26.46 crore in Q2-2014. HY-2015 loss was also slightly lower at Rs 54.54 crore as compared to the Rs 55.23 crore in HY-2014.

     

    Note: 100,00,000 = 100 lakhs = 10 million = 1 crore

     

    EBIDTA for Q2-2015 improved 26.2 per cent to Rs 45.8 crore (20.9 per cent of TIO) from Rs 36.3 crore (17.4 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2015 and also improved by 38.8 per cent from Rs 33 crore (20.6 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2014.

     

    Let us look at the other numbers reported by Siti Cable for Q2-2015

     

    Total expenditure (TE) for Q2-2015 at Rs 208.89 crore (95.3 per cent of TIO) was 2.5 per cent more than the Rs 203.76 crore (97.5 per cent of TIO) and 33.2 per cent more than the Rs 165.25 crore (100.04 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2014. HY-2015 TE at Rs 412.64 crore (96.4 per cent of TIO) was 40 per cent more than the Rs 294.77 crore (98 per cent of TIO) in HY-2014.

     

    Siti Cable’s carriage sharing pay channel and related costs (pay channel cost) in Q2-2015 at Rs 117.23 crore (53.5 per cent of TIO) was 6.6 per cent lower than the Rs 125.55 crore (60.1 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2015 and 81.6 per cent more than the Rs 64.56 crore (40.3 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2014. For HY-2015, pay channel cost at Rs 242.77 crore (56.7 per cent of TIO) was almost double (1.91 times) the Rs 127.26 crore (42.3 per cent of TIO) in HY-2014.

     

    Finance cost in Q2-2015 at Rs 29.58 crore (13.5 per cent of TIO) was 2.6 per cent lower than the Rs 30.37 crore (14.5 per cent of TIO) in Q1-2015 and 3.1 per cent lower than the Rs 30.52 crore (19 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2014. For HY-2015, finance cost at Rs 59.95 crore (14 per cent of TIO) was 5.8 per cent more than the Rs 56.66 crore (18.8 per cent of TIO) in HY-2014.

     

    Other expense in Q2-2015 at Rs 47.77 crore (21.8 per cent of TIO) was 21.8 per cent more than the Rs 38.05 crore (18.2 per cent of TIO) and 14.6 per cent lower than the Rs 55.93 crore (34.9 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2014. Other expense for HY-2015 at Rs 85.83 crore (20 per cent of TIO) was 10.4 per cent lower than the Rs 95.84 crore (31.9 per cent of TIO) in HY-2014.

     

    Siti Cable chairman Subhash Chandra said, “Growth in the collection of subscription revenue is the reflective of our continued emphasis on providing quality services to our consumers. We remain focused on supporting business growth by optimising our operations and continue to deepen our engagements with customers by introducing value added services.”

     

    Siti Cable executive chairman and CEO V D Wadhwa said, “Siti Cable maintained its growth trajectory in the second quarter too. We continue to focus on stabilising operations in DAS phase I and II markets and established industry best practices. The results for the quarter are reflective of these efforts. The subscriber revenue during the quarter has shown robust growth of 102 per cent”.

    Wadhwa added, “We have been working to digitize our phase 3 and 4 markets and we will keep the momentum ‘ON’ through voluntary digitization and focusing more on the monetization of existing business. We see extension in deadline as the opportunity for us to enter newer markets. In addition, we have rolled out broadband service on DOCIS 3.0 in Delhi/NCR and plan to further offer this service in more cities where we are already present. HD services with 30 plus channels have also been rolled out in all geographies.”

     

    Click here for full financial report

    Click here for full financial report

  • Siti Cable could go prepaid within three months

    Siti Cable could go prepaid within three months

    MUMBAI: National multi system operator (MSO) Siti Cable is looking at options of going prepaid.

    While the MSO will test the viability of the model in Delhi first, it will also replicate it in other states, at a later stage. “What we have seen is that whatever we do in the Delhi market, when replicated outside, works well,” says Siti Cable CEO VD Wadhwa.

    The prepaid model that Siti Cable is looking at will be based on the local cable operator (LCO) depositing an advance to the MSO and then collecting the same from the consumer.  “We have given the power of managing the subscriber management system (SMS) to the LCO, so they can change packages or switch on or switch off boxes of customers who do not pay them the cable TV bill,” informs Wadhwa.
    The LCO according to the prepaid model will get the signals from the MSO so long as his credit balance remains. “The LCO will have to keep renewing his credit balance to get uninterrupted services, the moment his balance becomes zero, we will disconnect the signal,” he says.

    The LCOs through this model will have to find the defaulters and take corrective action accordingly. The key to moving prepaid is to give access of SMS to the LCOs.

    Not only this, going forward the LCOs can also make the system prepaid at their end by billing the customers in advance. This will also help the LCOs find out defaulters.

    While Siti Cable also has the option of recharging through their website, they have realised it upsets the LCOs. “We have to build the trust between the LCOs and MSO and let the LCO handle the customers,” he opines.

    Wadhwa is hopeful that the system will be in place within three months.

     

  • Cisco powers Siti Cable’s DOCSIS 3.0 technology for broadband

    Cisco powers Siti Cable’s DOCSIS 3.0 technology for broadband

    MUMBAI: Siti Cable, that controls nearly 4.3 million digital cable TV subscribers, has chosen Cisco to boost its broadband. The tech company will provide DOCSIS 3.0 technology for its broadband service in the country.

    Through this, the MSO will be offering speed of up to 100 mbps. DOCSIS 3.0 can offer download speed of upto 300 mbps per subscriber and the upload capacity up to 100 mbps. As earlier reported by indiantelevision.com, this technology has been launched in Delhi and NCR.

    Speaking on the association, Siti Cable CEO VD Wadhwa said, “It is an absolute pleasure to be introducing our broadband service. We plan to accelerate the deployment to capitalise on the enormous business potential this market currently holds. With the deployment of this technology, we are uniquely positioned to offer superior Internet browsing, video streaming, video surveillance and rich media content on the same coaxial cable that delivers high-quality digital cable TV signals. We will offer much higher speed at highly competitive price. We are confident that Cisco’s technological expertise will help us in the achievement of this goal.”

    Cisco India and SAARC service provider sales managing director Sanjay Kaul said, “It is commendable to see Cisco’s vision, to be the leading enabler of ICT (Information and Communications Technology) and broadband acceleration in India, coming closer to reality. We believe that the cable TV industry has the potential to transform the broadband industry in India and would like to congratulate Siti Cable for marking an important milestone on this roadmap.”

     

  • So who does DAS benefit and what does RIO have to do with it?

    So who does DAS benefit and what does RIO have to do with it?

    When the BJP government was last in power with Ms Swaraj at the helm of the MIB, the digitisation process was first mooted in its original form of CAS. The populist notion was to bring down cable prices with the false concept of pay for what you want, so pay less. But little did the government realise that the customer’s cable bill was so significantly subsidised because of ‘under declaration’ that the ‘spoilt’ consumer in the cheapest cable market in the world would either have to reduce his current offering by half or more or if he wanted the same channel line up, would actually have to pay twice as much!

    At that time, the broadcasters were resentful as reduced reach was imminent in an advertising driven market and for DPOs it was definitely not favourable as they would need to reduce the number of analogue channels to piggyback digital cable on some of the frequencies which was otherwise used for analogue channels. (This was because both digital and analogue had to be offered on the same network). And this reduction of analogue channels impacted their carriage potential and hence revenues.

    So who won? None of the key stake holders- broadcaster, DPO or consumer.

    So who does DAS in its new avatar benefit?

    Certainly not the consumer from his cable bill point which was the original populist premise. Sure, the DPOs and broadcasters, once the dust settles down. With the transparency of set top boxes and doing away with ‘under declaration’, the MSO can now collect from the ground higher revenues and hence a bigger chunk eventually to the broadcaster. (Cable revenues were significantly lower than DTH revenues even though cable homes far exceeded DTH homes.) Who else benefits? The government, for sure, by way of higher taxes.

    And the losers of course in the value chain would be no doubt the consumer now shelling out higher ARPUs. And of course the LCO who till now reigned king keeping the bigger chunk of collections.
    So what’s wrong with DAS?

    Fundamentally, the current consumer pricing structure, the RIO rates and the business model. If DAS was to benefit the consumer why is there no B to C model, why are there no retail prices with direct offers from broadcasters to consumers with pipeline commissions to DPOs. Why are RIO rates unrealistic? Why are DPOs free to do retail pricing? The problem is RIO is a regulatory created framework and broadcasters have maxed out after years of price freeze not knowing what to expect.  

    If DAS has to succeed then this whole pricing scenario has to be re-looked. How can the broadcaster market his product if the DPO controls retail pricing? Or given the RIO pricing (which will now be used as a basis for negotiation) will the broadcaster really allow the DPO to play the role of a wholesaler and buy in bulk and retail at attractive customer offerings significantly lower than RIO.

    When regulation hinders market dynamics, it creates more absurdities. Any consumer product needs an MRP. Packages or stand alone. RIO is definitely not helping this process. It’s best the two beneficiaries – the DPOs and the broadcasters finally come together, see eye to eye and work out what is the magical pricing so that packaging and pricing is offered by both and directly to the consumer. If the DPO truly acts as a wholesaler he can surely better any packages the broadcaster directly offers unless of course the broadcaster/channel can go it alone which no doubt will be the true test of content and certainly a success yardstick to measure addressability.

    So can the government bury RIO and keep the consumer in mind!  TV entertainment is mass and needs to be looked at (retailed) as a service similar to that of consumer products! Let’s have an MRP, let’s also have a distributor pricing better than MRP. There is scope for both models to co-exist- DPOs mixing it up and offering multi-broadcaster packages and broadcasters also retailing with negotiated discounts to DPOs for pipeline usage and payment gateway.

    A 100 million plus pay TV homes is a very robust subscription market!

    Lastly, with the BJP now back surely we hope they will complete what they chaotically started. With the honourable I&B Minister Arun Jaitley and MoS Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore now at the helm it certainly looks like MIB is priority and our industry will definitely be both in competent hands and in their cross hairs!

     

    (These are purely personal views of consultant Sanjev Hiremath and indiantelevision.com does not necessarily subscribe to these views.)

  • MSOs to put Star’s popular channels in base pack, regional in a-la-carte

    MSOs to put Star’s popular channels in base pack, regional in a-la-carte

    MUMBAI: As the deadline for signing deals with Star India for its channels on reference interconnect offer (RIO) ended on 10 November, MSOs are preparing various options to deal with the altered business plans.

     

    While the network is providing all its channels only on RIO, MSOs are finding out different ways to package the channels. India’s leading MSO Hathway is currently creating new packages that it will roll out soon. Says a source, “We will be redefining our packs and giving revised rates soon. Marketing on the same will commence as well. It will be something new for the trade.”

     

    While the base pack could include the popular channels from its bouquet, the regional channels will only be on a-la-carte. English, sports and others will be categorised in different packs. The channel had initially disconnected signals in October, but now the channels are switched on again.

     

    IMCL’s InCable on the other hand has also followed a similar pattern. The base pack will consist of Star Plus, Life OK and Star Pravah, the latter due to its large presence in the state of Maharashtra. The regional channels such as Star Jalsha, Star Vijay, Asianet, Suvarna etc will be on a-la-carte.

     

    “We have decided to put the popular channels on the base pack for three months to avoid unnecessary system overload due to people calling for it. Slowly, they will also be moved out into a-la-carte once we educate consumers. Soon we will also have proper EPRS, CAS and also net billing,” says IMCL group MD and CEO Tony D’silva. The MSO has taken Star’s incentives for channel penetration by putting three in its base pack.

     

    According to an official from Den Networks, the MSO has not yet signed the deal and is yet negotiating. Advance Multisystem Broadband Communciation (AMBC) in Kolkata will ensure all 26 channels will be given to consumers while another Kolkata based MSO said that the agreement with Star has been signed but it is evaluating the incentive schemes.