ITV

Category: Cable TV

  • Mumbai cops raid 7 Star Dot Com for “illegal” channel distribution

    Mumbai cops raid 7 Star Dot Com for “illegal” channel distribution

    MUMBAI: The heavy hand of the law is coming down on those involved in the distribution of TV signals. Last month, the cops swooped down on OTT services provider Jadoo TV’s offices in Hyderabad for allegedly pirating TV signals and streaming them over the internet illegally, following a complaint by Maa TV. Equipment was confiscated, staff arrested. 

     

    Yesterday, it was the turn of the Mumbai based independent multi system operator (MSO) 7 Star Dot Com. It was raided by a group of close to 15 police officials. Reason: illegal transmission of 10 international channels.

     

    The channels include HBO, HBO Family, BBC America, Sky Movie and Show Beyond among others. “We had got the information about the illegal transmission of channels. We monitored the platform from 3:30 pm onwards on 14 July and then conducted the raid, late in the night,” informs DCP Mahesh Patil.

     

    The raid was conducted by the Social Service Branch located in Crawford Market of south Mumbai. The decoders, transmitters and adaptors of the MSO have been confiscated. “We will now file a complaint with the Metropolitan Magistrate under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995. The platform was telecasting the channels without having the licence for the same,” adds Patil.

     

    As per the procedure, a report will also be filed with the Information and Broadcasting Ministry. “We will file the case and the report in a couple of days,” he says. After studying the report, a show cause notice will be issued against 7 Star.

     

    One of the MSOs operating in Mumbai comments, “It is a good step which has been taken by the authorities. There should be a level playing field for all the platforms.”

     

    None of the 7 Star executives were available for comment.

  • Shareholders okay Hathway to up borrowings to Rs 1600 crore

    Shareholders okay Hathway to up borrowings to Rs 1600 crore

    BENGALURU: Indian multi system operator (MSO) Hathway Cable and Datacom has informed the bourses that it has received shareholder approval and passed special resolutions as under:

     

    (1) Special Resolution under Section 180(l)(c) of the Companies Act, 2013 for authorising the Board of Directors of the Company to borrow loans in excess of Paid up Capital and Free reserves of the Company subject to maximum of Rs 1600 crore.

     

    (2) Special Resolution under Section 180(l)(a) of the Companies Act, 2013 for authorising the Board of Directors for creation of Charge / Hypothecation / Mortgage on the movable / immovable properties of the Company for securing the borrowings of the Company subject to maximum limit of Rs 1600 crore.

     

    (3) Special Resolution under Section 186 of the Companies Act, 2013 for authorising the Board of Directors to invest or to provide loans and advances or give guarantees/ securities up to 100 per cent of free reserves and securities premium account or Rs 1,000 crore whichever is higher.

     

    Last June, the company had obtained shareholder approval for borrowing from time to time, as it may think fit, any sum or sums of money not exceeding Rs 1400 crore in aggregate or equivalent thereto in any foreign currency to meet fund requirements for effective implementation of Digital Addressable System (DAS) and broadband capital expenditure.

     

    The shareholders of the company in August 2013, had also given a nod to permitting the company to issue preferential equity shares aggregating Rs 109.9 crore for 38.7 lakh fully paid up equity shares to Asia Holding Investments IV (Mauritius) Limited and 14.05 lakh fully paid up equity shares aggregating at about Rs 39 crore to Hathway Investments Private Limited (which is a promoter group company) of face value of Rs 10 each at a premium of Rs 274 per share.

     

    Hathway’s consolidated EBIDTA for FY-2014 was Rs 311.19 core and Rs 274.1 crore in FY-2013. During FY-2014, Hathway reported a standalone loss of Rs 125.25 crore and a consolidated loss of Rs.111.111 crore as compared to a standalone profit of Rs 3.2 crore and a consolidated profit of Rs 15.7 crore in FY-2013.

     

    The company has paid Rs 92.52 crore towards finance cost in FY-2014 as compared to the Rs 46.14 crore in FY-2013.

  • JAINHITS conducts first ever LCO meet in Chennai

    JAINHITS conducts first ever LCO meet in Chennai

    MUMBAI: JAINHITS, India’s first and only HITS based Direct to Network (DTN) service, attracted a large number of local cable operators (LCOs) at its first ever state business meet in Chennai.

     

    While the dispute with the central government regarding DAS license to the state-owned ARASU network is not showing any signs of early resolution, the cable operators showed interest in the JAINHITS platform and expressed their resolve to digitise their networks because they did not want to miss the advantages of the digital revolution and also because their clients want the legal and transparent framework for running their promising business.

     

    At the meet, senior members of JAINHITS briefed cable operators about JAINHITS’ services and offerings. They further briefed on JAINHITS cost effective solutions to LCOs for running fully DAS compliant digital cable TV services. During the interactive meet the LCO’s were interested to know more on the entire spectrum of consumer products and services that will be provided by JAINHITS such as high speed, cloud and hybrid broadband TV (HBB TV).

     

    The key concern of the LCOs was the ownership of the control room and they were happy to learn that they can set up their own control room at nominal costs while maintaining QOS (Quality of Service Standards) as prescribed by TRAI.

     

    Queries and concerns of LCOs regarding technology, services, channel packages, DAS regulations etc were addressed by JAINHITS team. LCOs were provided with a brief overview on the digitisation scenario of the country vis-?-vis digitization in Tamil Nadu. They were also educated on how JAINHITS technology helps them to achieve digitization and addressability in one go. JAINHITS team also gave the demo of their MPEG – 4 high quality signals to prove the superiority of their service.

     

     Addressing the meet, JAINHITS chairman Dr JK Jain stated that JAINHITS is supporting the struggle of small and independent local cable operators who are under the threat of big money lords. He also said that the monopoly over the content as well as on the distribution channels is not a desirable practice. JAINHITS supports a decentralized model of electronic media ownership and therefore is forging partnerships with small Cable Operators. He further added that his company believes in transparent business dealings. Conducting such joint meetings with Cable Operators aims at promoting the understanding and business acumen of the stakeholders.The greatest beneficiary of JAINHITS in the State of Tamil Nadu is going to be the State Government because the system will stop the theft of Government revenues and shall improve the tax collections and compliance by a large number of TV viewers.

     

    Enthusiastic team of young entrepreneurs and cable operators who have constituted ABCN Network organised the event. JAINHITS has already appointed ABCN the non exclusive regional service partners.

     

    ABCN chairman Marimuthu said, “One of JAINHITS key propositions is that it allows cable operators to retain business control and simultaneously enhance their growth with a very-low capital solution for digitization.”  Mr. Nazir Ali, CEO of the ABCN told the Cable Operators at the meet that as the DAS deadline is getting closer (30th September and 31st December 2014), it is imperative that cable operators of the state of Tamil Nadu join hands with India’s first and only HITS player.

     

    The company also used the platform to introduce some exclusive discounts and offers and some exclusive head end deals to those who commit large subscriber base.

     

     JAINHITS offers high quality cost effective solutions to LCOs for running fully DAS compliant Digital Cable TV services to its subscriber. It also offers high speed broadband service, multi-screen, and many more value added services along with consumer products such as cloud broadband, hybrid broadband TV (HBB TV) etc. Currently JAINHITS offers 250+ channels including all major pay TV and soon full HD and multi-screen service shall be avaiable to consumers.

     

    Currently, JAINHITS is offering dual audio feed to seven channels namely Disney, Cartoon Network, Pogo,Discovery, History TV18, Animal Planet and Nickelodeon. JAINHITS has partnered with the world’s leading technology company ARRIS (former Motorola Home) and Intelsat – the largest Satellite Company in the world. The key proposition of the JAINHITS platform is conversion of LCO as MSO with very minimum cost and providing all end to end solutions for Digital cable and Broadband services. With this, JAINHITS is all set to install over 3000 Mini Downlink Headend’s across India by the end of 2014, the 32 districts of Tamil Nadu will play a significant role.

  • Kolkata LMOs to set up another cooperative post 2014 FIFA WC

    Kolkata LMOs to set up another cooperative post 2014 FIFA WC

    KOLKATA: The last mile owners (LMOs) in Kolkata are yet again gearing for owning their subscribers. While earlier a group comprising 100 LMOs had announced their plan of setting up their own cooperative, news now is that another set of ‘unhappy LMOs’ in Kolkata has united to set up their own control room and headend.  

       

    According to cable TV sources operating in the region, LMOs will declare their plans only after the end of the ongoing 2014 FIFA World Cup. The delay is to ensure that the 33 lakh cable TV subscribers in the area do not see any disruption in their cable TV services, especially during the football World Cup.

     

    The trend of more and more LMOs joining hands to set up their own cooperative has come from the rising concern over MSOs becoming the owners of the subscribers, which according to the LMOs have been owned by them for years. Sources hint that the industry will soon see some major announcements.

     

    Indiantelevision.com was the first to report on how around 100 LMOs in the region had united a few months ago to form a cooperative called ‘Bengal Broadband’.  The aim of this was to provide independent cable TV services to customers like any other multi-system operator (MSO), namely SitiCable, Manthan and Incable among others.

     

    ‘Bengal Broadband’ aims to start operation in the current fiscal 2014-15 and has already invested around Rs 4.8 crore in setting up the headend equipment and office infrastructure at Salt Lake College More in the city. The cooperative is looking at a subscriber base of one million in the first year of its operations. Not only this, it also aims at providing cable TV connections at a cost which is 15-20 per cent lower than the other MSOs.

     

    While Cable & Broadband Operators Welfare Association convener Swapan Chowdhury refused to comment on any such development, Cable Operators Sangram Committee general secretary Apurba Bhattacharya confirmed the news of LMOs in Kolkata venturing into forming a cooperative. “The operators are happy to get into this space. We will run the business ourselves.”

     

    A LMO, who is a part of the new venture said, “We are setting up our own control room and it will involve a cost of around Rs 1 crore. We will be able to offer services to customers at a cheaper rate. It will be an operators’ driven MSO.”

     

    “During the analogue regime, the revenue share between the MSO and LMO used to be 20:80 but after DAS, it has come down to 65:35. The business model is not at all lucrative. If this continues, we will die and not be able to arrange our daily bread and butter,” added another LMO who is a member of the group that is setting up the control room.

     

    Small operators will become a part of a larger LMO network, said another, without divulging much details.

  • Jayalalitha again seeks DAS licence for state-run Arasu

    Jayalalitha again seeks DAS licence for state-run Arasu

    NEW DELHI: After she failed to convince him through a memorandum presented last month, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has now written to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene to secure Digital Addressable System (DAS) licence for the state run TV Cable Corporation.

     

    The application has been pending with the state for three years but has not been cleared in view of the opinion by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) that political party, state and centre-run TV channels or TV distribution networks should not be permitted in the country.

     

    The Regulator had given this opinion in 2008 and then reiterated it earlier this year after the Information and Broadcasting Ministry referred the matter to it for a second time.

     

     In her letter to Modi, Jayalalithaa said the previous United Progressive Alliance regime sanctioned licenses to nine Multi System Operators in Tamil Nadu but did not respond to the state’s plea. She claimed that her government had revived the ‘defunct’ Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation (TACTV), a state run TV Cable Corporation, after coming to power in 2011 to adhere to its commitment to provide inexpensive and quality Cable TV services.

     

    TACTV, an initiative of the previous DMK government at the height of family feud in the party’s first family involving M Karunanidhi and his grandnephews, Maran brothers, was however later put in cold storage after they patched up.

     

    TACTV was providing 100 channels for Rs 70 as against the Rs 150-250 charged by some other MSOs, she said in the letter. After the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 was amended, paving way for DAS, TACTV took steps to commence operations in the digital mode in Chennai and applied to the Ministry for DAS license.

     

    Orders were also placed for the supply of Set Top Boxes, Conditional Access System and Subscriber Management System and installing of a headend at a cost of about Rs 50 crore, she told Modi.

     

    Jayalalithaa in her letter has asserted that as per the provisions of the Cable TV Network (Regulations) Act, 1995, and Rules thereof, TACTV is qualified for such a licence. She also alleged that she strongly suspects that the non-issuance of license by the previous UPA government was only to facilitate particular private business interests. 

  • Hathway launches ‘Broadband Movies’ for its subscribers across India

    Hathway launches ‘Broadband Movies’ for its subscribers across India

    MUMBAI: Hathway Cable and Datacom is expanding its business. The multi system operator (MSO) has now entered into the movie streaming service. With this, the Hathway broadband customers will be able to watch high quality movies on multiple devices like smart- TVs, PCs, laptops, tablets and mobiles. This subscription service, sourced from Eros Now’s exclusive library, will be available to Hathway broadband customers across the country.

     

    After setting industry benchmark by offering 50 Mbps as the default minimum speed for broadband in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad, Hathway is now foraying into value-added services to help the customers fully enjoy the benefits of their high speed Hathway broadband.

     

    “Broadband Movies is our endeavour to provide consumers with meaningful services to make the most of their high speed connection in a completely legal and secure manner,” said Hathway MD Jagdish Kumar.

     

    “50 Mbps speeds are essential for delivering the HD quality videos that are available through the library of Eros Now,” he added.

     

    Hathway chief operating officer broadband Kunal Ramteke said, “On demand video consumption and multiple device access are no longer emerging trends, they are here and a reality. Our strategy is to deliver a holistic broadband experience. We do not just provide the connectivity but also deliver relevant services, which make the most of our 50 Mbps high speed broadband offering.”

     

    The broadband movies service is available for Hathway’s broadband customers across the country.

     

    The service is being launched with a two months free viewing period for any Hathway customer and will be available with a monthly subscription based pricing for unlimited viewing of movies.

     

  • Tony D’silva draws up wishlist for MIB

    Tony D’silva draws up wishlist for MIB

    MUMBAI: The Information and Broadcasting Minister (I&B) Prakash Javadekar wants a happy Media and Entertainment industry. And for the same, he has been meeting the members of the industry personally to understand their concerns and devise a way forward.

     

    The cable TV industry, which is currently undergoing digitisation, is looking up to the Minister for a better tomorrow. While digitisation of the 120 million cable TV homes in phase III and phase IV took a backseat with the general elections, so did the launch of the Headend in the Sky (HITS) by Grant Investrade, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Hinduja Ventures.

     

    Now with the Ministry throwing some clarity on the next two phases of digitisation, Hinduja group on Monday paid the Rs 10 crore licence fee to the Ministry to move things forward. But, this isn’t all, with this, the expectations from the Ministry has also risen.

     

    In a conversation with indiantelevision.com, IMCL MD & group CEO Tony D’silva lists down his wishlist from the new government and especially the I&B Minister.

     

    • The I&B must demonstrate its commitment to digitisation by immediately announcing the future dates of the remaining two phases.

     

    • According to me, unlike phase I and phase II of digitisation, the government should consider digitising not phases, but complete states. This will also avoid the confusion of neighbouring markets like Hyderabad / Secunderabad, Mumbai and suburbs, Delhi and surrounding markets as well as prevent piracy of signals.

     

    The advantage of doing state-wise digitisation is that if the whole state is involved, the state government can easily estimate its revenues and join forces to ensure implementation. (Similar method was followed in some other countries).

     

    • Broadcaster pricing needs to be worked out more meaningfully in states that are not yet digitised. From my understanding for most broadcasters, phase I and II contribute at least 75 per cent or more of their existing revenues that is from approximately 30 million homes. This means that the rest 25 per cent or so of their business comes from the 100 million- 120 million homes that fall in the next two phases. So when you look at the ratios, then what really should be the pricing of the broadcasters? Broadcaster pricing is the key to the success of digitisation in phase III and IV.

     

    • The broadcaster pricing has to be different. It has to be territory wise and therefore, digitising a complete state is more feasible. The MSOs, broadcasters and the TRAI can sit and discuss in an environment which is more transparent and also come up with pricing which is more viable for phase III and IV.

     

    •  The Hinduja group is committed to invest over $100 million, to set up its HITS business, which is a white label backend service provider to support the smaller operators and help them retain their business and livelihood (the industry employs a few million people), hence it’s important to support the LMO. The group has already invested a couple of crores on the project, but needs a confirmed date for digitisation, before its expense meter starts ticking (transponder payments etc).

     

    • While we do support the government’s effort to encourage indigenisation of set top boxes (STBs), the government should also ensure that it is offered at comparative or better terms than international suppliers (price, credit facilities, repairs, servicing etc). A roadmap for future high end STBs should also be provided.

     

    • One of the key players in the value chain is the LMO. Enough by way of regulation and processes has not been done for them as yet. This needs a complete relook in light of the present situation in phase I and II markets.

     

    • I believe that one of the key objectives of digitisation is consumer choice. Government must insist on the prepaid model along with packaging of channels from day one of digitisation in phase III and IV markets, or else we will face the same problems like the ones in phases I and II.

     

    • The LMO has been the backbone of the C&S industry. In view of this, the government must find a way to encourage them to grow their business. The current licencing policy is completely against the interest of a small LMO. I fail to understand why an operator who has existed for years in the market is asked to get a fresh licence from the centre?  I can’t understand if he is a pan India operator, who already has a licence and has a registered business and is even paying his taxes, then why should digitisation change his status?

     

    If he does not comply with the guidelines, action can be taken by the regulator or the market forces will anyway drive him out of business as there are alternatives to consumers like DTH etc. This needs some immediate intervention.

     

    • The industry is heavily burdened with huge investments due to digitisation. Investments have been made in headends, backend services and STBs, among other things. I earnestly request that the C&S business be given an industry status. Also a relief from double tax: service tax and entertainment tax is needed. Reduction in import duties is also a necessity as it directly affects the customer. Also the entertainment tax needs to come down. It should be a percentage of the package the customer chooses, rather than have one set rule for all the households.

     

    • Another issue is of TRAI’s current regulation on de-aggregation. While the regulation was supposed to help the MSOs, it has had an adverse effect. So, I would like to appeal to the broadcasters and the authorities to intervene and bring about the reasonable pricing model that facilitates business. The broadcasters need to take a long term view of how they can monetise the content, because the old theory of everyone wanting to be on the basic pack cannot work anymore.
  • Ortel Communications to launch HD services

    Ortel Communications to launch HD services

    MUMBAI: Cable TV subscribers in Odisha will soon get to watch Hindi soaps in high definition (HD) provided they have an Ortel cable connection. The last mile owner (LMO) with 520,000 subscribers, Ortel Communications, has received its first batch of HD set top boxes (STBs) that will be deployed to digital TV households soon.

     

    1000 STBs from Skyworth are currently docked out of the 25000 boxes ordered. Priced at Rs 2000 to Rs 2500 per STB, the service will be launched within one month. “We are preparing a pack of 15 HD channels comprising popular channels of all major broadcasters for launch date. This will include channels like Star Plus, Star Sports, Sony, NGC, Movies Now, Colors etc,” says Ortel Communications CEO BP Rath.

     

    The headend capacity currently only allows the LMO to have 15 HD channels; however it plans to add more channels soon. “We intend to increase our capacity to around 250 SD and 50 HD channels in the next one year or so,” informs Rath. The LMO currently offers 200 SD channels. The pricing will be competitive with the DTH platforms. Though the final pricing for the HD channel pack hasn’t been finalised as yet, it is expected to be below Rs 100 per month with an initial three month free trial period.

     

    While Rath doesn’t expect good revenues from the service this year, he is optimistic of it being considerable next year. “We expect revenues from HD to kick in from Q3 of this fiscal, though not significantly. However, we expect to do Rs 2 crore to Rs 3 crore revenue next year,” adds Rath.

     

    It is pertinent to note that Odia channels don’t have HD services but Rath is optimistic that in the future there would be Odia HD channels as well. “Viewing of English and Hindi content in our markets is very sizeable and that will drive the HD services. In any case, the channel list will be similar to DTH operators and we will not be in any disadvantageous position,” claims Rath.

     

    Ortel currently has about 75,000 digital subscribers which it is looking at increasing to about 250,000 by the year end.

  • JAINHITS expands dual language feeds to three more channels

    JAINHITS expands dual language feeds to three more channels

    NEW DELHI: JAINHITS, India’s only HITS platform in operation at present, is extending audio feeds in dual languages to three more channels at no additional cost to its customers with immediate effect.

     

    Disney, Cartoon Network and Pogo are the new channels to get audio language feeds. This is in addition to four channels which are already being beamed in dual languages.

     

     Earlier, this facility was available on Discovery, History, TV18, Animal Planet and Nickelodeon. Through this offering, JAINHITS customers can choose to have an audio option in Hindi or English languages.

     

     JAINHITS has also announced that it will shortly be adding more channels with dual audio feeds. Later, it will also go into multi-lingual audio feeds from the current dual language feeds offered.

     

     The platform currently provides its customers with more than 250 channels and plans to increase the number of its channels to 500, in the near future.

     

     The company provides MPEG-4 quality digital cable TV services including SD/HD channels from regional, national and International broadcasters.

  • Hinduja group pays HITS licence fee

    Hinduja group pays HITS licence fee

    MUMBAI: Grant Investrade, which is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Hinduja Ventures, today paid the Rs 10 crore licence fee to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB). The group is now awaiting the MIB’s letter of intent to apply for the WPC clearance. 

     
    With this, the $100 million HITS Hinduja project will start rolling out. “We made the payment today. We are eagerly waiting for the letter of intent by the MIB to proceed with the next step,” informs IMCL MD & group CEO Tony D’silva exclusively to indiantelevision.com.

     

    Following this, the company will also make the Rs 40 crore bank guarantee deposit. “We will now move towards signing agreements with the satellite provider and finalising site location,” adds D’silva.

     

    The next 10 days are going to be very busy for D’silva, who is at the helm of the HITS project. The company will start with the promotional activities, discussions with the last mile owners, creation of organisational structure, appointment of distributors and discussions with vendors in the next one week or so.

     

    “The HITS project will be up and running in the next six months,” he informs.

     

    While the HITS licence was obtained on 6 March, what took the company so long to pay the licence fee? Answers D’silva, “When we got the permission, immediately the elections dates were announced, so we lost time on that. Also we weren’t clear whether the government was committed to phase III and IV. Now since we have enough clarity, we decided to go ahead with the first step of paying the licence fee.”

     

    Through HITS, the company is looking at capturing 15-20 per cent of the 120 million households in phase III and phase IV markets. While the technology team is already in place, the others will be appointed soon.

     

    D’silva hopes to be able to create better packages for the HITS platform. “Broadcasters should consider re-pricing their channels. The packaging and bundling of channels needs to be different for phase III and IV. With phase I and II contributing to 75 per cent or more of their existing revenues that is from 30 million homes, phase III and IV which has close to 100 million homes, the broadcasters should reduce their rates to one-third of the existing rates,” he opines.

     

    Apart from HITS, the group’s IndusInd Media and Communications Limited (IMCL) will also see a major boost in terms of the number of channels the MSO currently provides. “We will be increasing the number of channel offering from the current 350 to 500. This will help us become more competitive on ground,” he says.

     

    IMCL in the next one or one and a half months will also launch a prepaid model for its subscribers. “We are talking to other MSOs in Mumbai and the Maharashtra Cable Operators Federation (MCOF) for this. I am hoping that all the other MSOs across the country will also join us for the prepaid model,” says D’silva.

     

    The HITS model will have a complete different vertical which will cater to all the content and video on demand (VOD) services requirements. “The services will be made available to all the LMOs along with IMCL,” concludes D’silva.