ITV

Category: Cable TV

  • CTMA’s Cable TV Show 2014 to begin in Kolkata tomorrow

    CTMA’s Cable TV Show 2014 to begin in Kolkata tomorrow

    KOLKATA: India is on the path of digitisation and if all goes well then by the end of this year the entire country will go digital. In that case, isn’t a cable TV show a good idea to make the industry aware of the new technology? Cable TV Equipments Traders & Manufacturers Association (CTMA) is organising its three-day annual satellite and cable television show 2014 from 12 to 14 March at the Netaji Indoor Stadium which will see the participation of nearly 10,000 parties. It will include cable operators, traders, manufacturers, channel partners, distributors, broadcasters from across the country as well as from Bhutan, Nepal, China and Bangladesh are expected to attend the show.

     

    “Cable TV Show 2014 would showcase and promote latest products, technology, emerging trends and value added services in the cable television (CATV) sector,” said the exhibition chairman Pawan Jajodia.

     

    This year more than 400 local cable operators (LCO) from Bangladesh are likely to participate in this show. All the major national multi-system operators (MSOs) along with the regional MSOs may also put up stalls at the show to make the public aware about their service potential and new services, said SitiCable Kolkata director Suresh Sethia.

     

    “Eastern India, the hinterland being services by CTMA is having a TV base of more than 25 million TV homes beside another five million TV homes in the neighbouring countries of SAARC Region,” added Jajodia, who thinks that with the convergence of digital market of CATV, this platform has become versatile and potential.

     

    The show will bring together all the existing and prospective manufacturers and vendors and the CATV service providers like MSOs, LCOs, broadcasters and traders and help them to expand their market. The Kolkata region itself has approximately 30 lakh digitised cable TV households.

  • MediaPro issues notice against DEN Networks

    MediaPro issues notice against DEN Networks

    MUMBAI: Public notices seem to have become a norm in the present time. Facing the ire this time is the multi system-operator – DEN Networks, which has got a public notice from the content aggregator – MediaPro. MediaPro, in its notice published in newspapers, has informed the consumers that the 74 channels in the bouquet of the aggregator will go off air in three weeks from today.

    The reasons cited for deactivation of channels is: non-payment of subscription fee and/or outstanding arrears and non-submission of subscriber reports. “All the areas serviced by the cable operator(s) and its franchisees in the DAS areas will be affected,” states the notice.

    The channels that can go off air in case the requirements are not met include: Zee 24 Gantalu, 24 Ghanta, Zee 24 Taas, Cartoon Network, CNN, ETC, Zee ETC Punjabi, HBO, Pogo, Warner Brothers, Zee Action, Zee Bangla, Zee Business, Zee Café, Zee Cinema, Zee Classic, Zee Jagran, Zee Kannada, Zee Marathi, Zing, Zee News, Zee UP UK, Zee Premier, Zee Punjabi Haryana Himachal Pradesh, Zee Salaam, Zee Smile, Zee Studio, Zee Talkies, Zee Tamil, Zee Telugu, Zee Trendz, Zee TV, Star Movies, Star Plus, Star World, Star World, Star Gold, National Geographic Channel, Fox Traveller, Life OK, Star Vijay, Channel V, MGM, ABP Ananda, Star Jalsa, FX, Fox Crime, Nat Geo Wild, Nat Geo Adventure, Nat Geo Music, Baby TV, NDTV 24X7, NDTV Profit, NDTV Good Times, NDTV India, Suvarna, Star Utsav, ABP News, Zee Khana Khazana, Movies OK, Star Pravah, ABP Majha, Asianet, Asianet Plus, Star Movies Action, Zee Bangla Cinema, ZeeQ, Star Jalsa Movies, 9X, Asianet Movies, Zee Madhya Pradesh Chhatisgarh, Suvarna Plus, Zee Marudhara, & Pictures and Zee Anmol.

    However, the two parties will be meeting for resolving the issues. “I am still to collect the details for the public notice. These things keep happening between the broadcaster and the distributor. We will resolve the issue. We have invested heavily in digitisation. Once we collect the money from the ground, we will clear the payments,” says a DEN Networks official.

    MediaPro is a joint venture between Zee Turner and Star DEN.

     

  • Resolution in sight for Guwahati electricity pole charge dispute

    Resolution in sight for Guwahati electricity pole charge dispute

    MUMBAI: The Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) and Greater Guwahati Cable TV Operators’ Association (GGCTOA) are finally coming to a resolution over payment of a fee for use of electricity poles in Guwahati.

     

    The issue first cropped up in September 2013, after the APDCL decided to charge cable TV operators in Guwahati for using electric poles to lay cable wires.

     

    The first step towards resolution of the issue was taken on 6 March, when representatives from APDCL and GGCTOA met and agreed to together conduct a survey to ascertain the number of electricity poles in the Guwahati region.

     

    It can be recalled that when GGCTOA moved the Guwahati High Court on the issue of APDCL’s decision to levy a charge for use of electricity poles, the court had asked the GGCTOA to pay Rs 10 per electricity pole per month for the period 22 January to 28 February.

    The last date for the payment of the fee as directed by the high court was 26 February.

     

    APDCL had thereafter said cable operators are using a total of 33,000 electricity poles in Guwahati. The GGCTOA challenged APDCL’s claim and demanded that a joint survey be conducted on the number of electricity poles being used by cable operators.

     

    Even after the court directive, the settlement of the dispute was not a smooth affair. The GGCTOA paid Rs 1 lakh of the Rs 3 lakh that they had to pay the APDCL in compliance with the HC order. The association, however, threatened to disconnect cable TV signals on 25 February to press for a survey of electricity poles in Guwahati. Assam’s power minister Pradyut Bordoloi intervened and also granted more time for the association to pay the balance charges to APDCL as directed by the court.

     

    “We now have time until 15 March to clear the electric pole fee,” informs GGCTOA general secretary Md Iquebal Ahmed.

     

    APDCL and GGCTOA will start a joint survey from Monday, 10 March to ascertain the number of electricity poles being used by cable operators.

     

    “In the meeting that was held on Thursday, we have suggested two rates to the APDCL: Rs 10 per electric pole, where we will have exclusive collection rights to collect electric pole fee from the cable operator and also the other players including the telecom and ISPs or Rs 6 per electric pole, in which we will not have any such exclusive right and will pay to the APDCL for using the electric pole for laying cable TV wires,” said Ahmed.

     

    The GGCTOA has also requested the APDCL to come out with payment modalities for the association. “APDCL expects us to collect the fee from the cable operators. For all this, we will need to deploy a work force. We have asked the electricity board to work out a formula which will help us pay wages to these members involved in survey and collection of electric pole fee,” he said.

     

    The association has agreed to pay electricity pole charge for 10,000 poles on adhoc basis for the month of March until the joint survey is completed.

     

    Not only this, the APDCL also needs to specify the safety measures the cable operators’ association needs to take. “While they have asked us to bear the expenses of the safety equipments needed for the safety and security of the electrical wires, we have asked them to provide us the specifications of the design and the estimated expense. We will decide on whether we will alone bear the expense or will share the expenses with APDCL, after they give us the estimates,” said Ahmed.

  • Television needs to reposition as convergence source with digitisation

    Television needs to reposition as convergence source with digitisation

    MUMBAI: Digitisation of cable TV has provided television broadcasting industry an opportunity to reposition itself as a convergence source. The future is full of opportunities for everyone, according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India member R K Arnold.

     

    Every stakeholder will benefit once the process of digitisation is complete. Thirty per cent of cable TV homes have been digitised in Phase I and Phase II.

     

    “There are (a total of) 100 million cable TV homes. Once all these homes are digitised, we will be able to provide broadband services,” said Arnold said in his keynote address at the CASBAA India Forum 2014.

     

    Arnold is confident of achieving 100 per cent digitisation in 2014 itself.

     

    Arnold also spoke on the Direct-to-Home (DTH) players. “While DTH has grown along with digitisation, they do not have two-way communication as required for broadband,” he said.

     

    The first two phases of digitization has brought the multi-system operators in direct contact with 30 million customers. “This makes it necessary that we are more customer oriented. We need to beef up customer service delivery, and that is a challenge,” said Hathway Cable & Datacom MD & CEO Jagdish Kumar.

     

    According to Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) secretary general Shailesh Shah, deploying infrastructure is challenging but is doable. “For full digitisation, analogue switch offs are needed,” said Shah.

     

    Shah expects digitisation to be completed only by the middle or towards the end of 2015. Phase III of digitisation is mandated to be completed by the end of September 2014 and Phase IV by the end of December 2014.

     

    One of the biggest challenges for multi-system operators in achieving digitisation in phase III and phase IV is that they will need to reach cable TV homes in the smaller towns and villages, unlike in the top 42 cities in Phase I and Phase II where they already had substantial presence.

     

    “Connectivity is a huge challenge,” said Hathway’s Kumar.

     

    The MSOs have in all seeded 30 million Set Top Boxes (STBs) in phase I and phase II. “As a community, we have spent close to Rs 3,000 crore. When any industry makes such a huge investment, the repayment time is 4-5 years. We are trying to change the system, and it will not happen in a year or two,” informed Kumar.

     

    Turner International India south Asia MD Siddharth Jain feels broadcasters will have the fruits of digitisation only after a beginning is made for signing deals on the basis of per STB.

    “The broadcasters currently do not have the count of STBs. There needs to be complete transparency,” Jain said.

     

    The total funding needed for deploying STBs in phase III and IV is Rs 14,000 crore. “It is impossible to expect the MSOs to invest in both the STBs and optical fibre. The government has to help in this infrastructure,” said MyBox Technologies CEO Amit Kharabanda.

     

    To promote better content carriage in the rural areas, the government is implementing a National Optical Fibre Network (NOFN) project to connect all the 2.5 lakh gram panchayats.

     

    “When we had a meeting with the MSOs, we found several gaps. Now NOFN is planning to expand its network from the district level to the block level and then panchayats. If this happens, in the next 2 years, we will see different ways of carrying content,” said Ministry of Information & Broadcasting joint secretary-broadcasting Supriya Sahu.

     

    The industry stakeholders speaking at the CASBAA India Forum also suggested that for smooth completion of digitisation, phase III and phase IV digitization should not be taken up simultaneously.

  • Hinduja Ventures’ Grant Investrade gets in principle approval for HITS

    Hinduja Ventures’ Grant Investrade gets in principle approval for HITS

    Updated: 01:00 PM

     

    MUMBAI: Grant Investrade, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hinduja Ventures, has received an in principle approval from the Information & Broadcasting Ministry for launch of head-end in the sky (HITS) services for cable TV operators.

     

    The company received the in principal approval on Wednesday. The company had applied for a HITS licence on 15 November, 2012.

     

    It has to pay a licence fee of Rs 10 crore before it gets the HITS licence, Hinduja Ventures’ Group CEO-Media and IndusInd Media and Communications’ MD & CEO, Tony D’silva, told Indiantelevision.com.

     

    Grant Investrade will also have to seek two more clearances – one from the Network Operation Coordination Centre for the satellite to be used for the HITS services and second from the Wireless Planning and Coordination wing of the Ministry of Communications.

     

    SATELLITE

     

    D’silva said Grant Investrade would need about 10 transponders and would be finalising a deal with a private satellite operator in the next 15-20 days. There is no transponder capacity available on Indian government’s satellites. The satellite ground station will either be located in Mumbai or in New Delhi.

     

    Grant Investrade will need about six months to launch its HITS service with 400 television channels. The company has already shortlisted suppliers for dishes and other equipment. Castle Media is providing it technology solutions and project management services.

     

    Grant Investrade’s entire business plan for HITS has been vetted by consulting firms KPMG and Deloitte.

     

    The company will be targeting cable operators in areas earmarked for digitisation of cable TV services in Phase III and Phase IV.

     

    D’silva says that the HITS business makes sense because of digitisation and pointed out that 50 per cent of US-based Comcast’s cable television services are provided through HITS.

     

    INVESTMENTS

     

    Grant Investrade will be investing another $100 million (about Rs 620 crore) to operationalise the HITS project. Hinduja Ventures had earlier invested $10 million in the technology required for the HITS venture.

     

    The company will start promotional campaigns after the satellite is finalised and other requirements are in place.

     

    Grant Investrade believes there is no other way than HITS to deal with phase III and IV. With HITS, the average cost of delivering data would fall to Rs 8 per customer from Rs 18 per customer through optic fibre. 

     

    D’silva had told Indiantelevision.com earlier, “If we are serious about digitisation, the government should have first cleared our HITS project. We are saying the LCOs can own the consumers and can do the packaging. We will help them seed boxes. It is different than JAINHITS. We have three to four different boxes and they get an option to choose.”

     

    JAINHITS is the first company to get HITS licence. JAINHITS provides digitised and encrypted satellite TV signals directly to cable network owners.

  • Ministry seeks data on impact of digitisation from IBF, NBA

    Ministry seeks data on impact of digitisation from IBF, NBA

    NEW DELHI: Digitisation of cable TV in the top four metros has resulted in 20-25 per cent fall in carriage fees paid and a 200-300 per cent rise in subscription charges earned by broadcasters, said Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) joint secretary-broadcasting, Supriya Sahu.

     

    Sahu said the impact of phase I digitisation on the revenues of broadcasters was based on a report submitted by the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) for 10 news broadcasters.

     

    But, Sahu was quick to also add, that while the broadcasters have given the report for phase I, they have expressed that the result in phase II of digitisation in 38 cities has not been too good.

     

    “We have asked both the IBF (Indian Broadcasters Foundation) and the NBA to give us reports for phase II. Broadcasters need to share their data with the ministry to help us understand if the carriage fees have gone down or not,” said Sahu.”And to assess better the effectiveness of our digitisation programme.”

     

    Sahu was addressing CASBAA India Forum 2014,  in New Delhi, an annual event to explore the Indian cable and broadcasting markets in the context of the global economy and challenging regulatory regime. She emphasised that everyone involved in the TV value chain has gained – broadcasters, MSOs, local cable operators, and even state governments – thanks to the digitisation drive the government has enforced over the past 18-24 months.

     

    Making an extremely detailed presentation replete with statistics and numbers, she pointed out that the tax collected by the Delhi government from phase I digitisation areas was three-times the pre-digitisation level. “While in August 2012 the tax revenue collected by government was Rs 55 lakh, in August 2013, the revenue collected is close to Rs 3 crore,” informed Sahu.

     

    According to data received by the ministry from one of the national multi-system operator, the carriage fee received by it per channel from broadcasters in Delhi has fallen to Rs 3.79 lakh after digitization from Rs 12.33 lakh in the pre-digitisation era. In Mumbai, the carriage fee per channel has fallen to Rs 2.16 lakh from Rs 6.51 lakh in pre-digitisation ear.

     

    Similarly, the subscription fee paid to broadcasters by the MSO in Delhi has gone up to Rs 597.06 lakh from Rs 438.57 lakh before digitisation. In Mumbai, the subscription fee paid to broadcasters by the MSO rose to Rs 183.13 lakh from Rs 116.79 lakh before digitisation.

    She pointed out that only 10 broadcasters have come forward o share data about the impact of digitisation on their business and beseeched more of them to do so.

     

    Summarising the total number of cable TV homes, Sahu said, “As per 2011 census, the total number of cable TV homes is 11.65 crore. The total number of set top boxes required, after adding 20 per cent for multiple TVs in houses and TVs in offices and shops, a total of 14 crore STBs are needed. While a total of 3 crore STBs have been seeded in phase I and II collectively, more 11 crore STBs are needed for phase III and phase IV.”

     

    Sahu acknowledged that there could be tough times in digitisation of cable TV homes in phase III and phase IV markets. “77 per cent of the phase III and phase IV falls in 10 states like Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, UP, Maharashtra, Kerala, etc. The MIB will initially focus on these 10 states. If this is achieved, achieving the deadline for digitising phase III and phase IV will be easy,” she said. “There are a lot of learnings we have got from the first two phases; there are roadblocks we have understood we need to overcome. All our learnings wlll be put to practical use as we move into phase III and phase IV in a serious manner.”

     

    The ministry is also looking at conducting an impact assessment survey to study the how digitisation has affected the local cable operators. “We will start this in the next couple of months,” concluded Sahu.

  • Hathway launches ‘Hathway CCC Cine Channel’

    Hathway launches ‘Hathway CCC Cine Channel’

    MUMBAI: Hathway Cable & Datacom today announced the launch of ‘Hathway CCC Cine Channel’ on its all India distribution network.

     

    Hathway CCC Cine channel will showcase the best of Bollywood content. The channel will be part of the existing base pack and customers will enjoy premium Bollywood content at no additional cost.

     

    The move is a part of Hathway’s commitment towards bringing compelling content to its consumers in India.

     

    Hathway CCC Cine channel’s library has premium movies from all the major studios including Shemaroo, Yashraj and Eros.

     

    In addition to Hathway CCC Cine channel, Hathway will be soon launching many more channels covering genres like general entertainment, kids, music, regional movies, lifestyle and adventure.

     

    Hathway content business AVP Amit Dave said, “We are delighted in our ongoing endeavor of delivering premium content to our discerning customers.”

     

    The newly launched channel will be available on channel number 110 in Hyderabad, channel number 309 in Bangalore and channel number 112 in the rest of India.

  • Cricket Packs could become universal

    Cricket Packs could become universal

    MUMBAI: Digitisation is set to change the way television channels are packaged. In addition to the subscriber getting the option to pick and choose channels, multi-system operators too are finding newer opportunities.

     

    MSOs have found a good business prospect in cricket, the most-watched sport in India.

     

    With digitisation of cable TV services in 42 major cities, MSOs are increasingly shifting to per subscriber deals with broadcasters instead of making bulk payments.

     

    Hathway Cable  & Datacom, like direct-to-home television service provider Dish TV, has carved out a Cricket Pack for its subscribers.

     

    In the case of Dish TV’s India cricket pack, the channel on which live telecast of a match involving Indian men’s cricket team is switched on.

     

    “Sports channels, by the nature of its programming are event driven. We have an Indian Cricket Pack, which is a cost per subscriber deal with broadcasters,” says Hathway Cable  CEO Jagdish Kumar.

     

    More MSOs are likely to follow suit and offer Cricket Packs to their customers.

     

    “Though right now we have entered into a per set top box deal with the sports channel broadcasters, we may also look at Indian Cricket Pack going forward,” informs SitiCable COO Anil Malhotra.

     

    There are three types of commercial arrangements entered between broadcasters and operators. These are: Fixed deal, in which the operator pays a lump sum amount to the broadcaster; Reference Interconnect Offer, in which operator takes channels based on the choice of the subscribers; and on a per set top box deal, in which the operator shares details of the number of STBs installed with the broadcaster and the number of the subscribers subscribing to a sports channel.

     

    DEN Networks is currently on a fixed deal with the sports broadcasters. “We are still asking for lump sum because of cash flow issues,” informs DEN Networks CEO SN Sharma.

     

    While till last year, broadcasters were entering into fixed deals with operators, “now everybody is moving towards cost per subscriber,” adds Sharma.

     

    When questioned if DEN would also offer Indian Cricket Pack, Sharma says, “Let’s see. Different experiments are happening. With time everything will evolve.”

     

    According to GTPL Hathway COO Shaji Mathews, broadcasters are entering into fixed deals or negotiate a per subscriber rate.

     

    “The per subscriber deal has clauses which say that the operator needs to show a minimum number of subscribers who subscribe to the channels,” he says.

     

    Currently, GTPL Hathway has a fixed fee deal with the sports broadcasters.

     

    “The moment we get into a la carte, the rates are really high and if we get into cost per subscriber, unless we guarantee a certain number of subscribers for the channel, the cost per subscriber is also high. So, in fact on fixed deal, we land up paying less because of the fee structuring,” he says.

     

    GTPL Hathway may also move to Indian Cricket Pack. “We are looking at that as well,” he says.

     

    It makes business sense for channel distributors to create cricket packs. But Increasing inclination towards cricket packs would mean predominantly cricket channels would gain at the cost of those with less or absolutely no cricket content.

  • Mahesan Kaisarajan appointed Arasu TV MD

    Mahesan Kaisarajan appointed Arasu TV MD

    BENGALURU: The Tamil Nadu government today announced the transfer and appointment of Mahesan Kaisarajan as the Director of Information and Public Relations and Managing Director of Arasu Cable TV Corporation.

     

    Kaisarajan has also been posted as ex-officio Additional Secretary to Government, Tamil Nadu Development and Information Department.

     

    Kaisarajan, who was previously Director of Sugar and Managing Director of Tamil Nadu Sugar Corporation, replaces J Kumaragurubaran, who held the post of Director of Information and Public Relations and Ex-officio Joint Secretary to Government, Tamil Nadu Development and Information Department.

                                    

    Kaisarajan, an Indian Administrative Service office, is a post graduate in commerce, a cost accountant and a graduate in law.

  • MSO Alliance condemns attack on Hathway senior executive

    MSO Alliance condemns attack on Hathway senior executive

    MUMBAI: The MSO Alliance comprising Hathway Cable & Datacom, SitiCable, DEN Networks and IndusInd Media and Communication Limited (IMCL) has condemned the attack on Delhi-based senior executive of Hathway.

     

    The executive was attacked in Gurgaon on 25 February, while he was on his way home and is currently recuperating in the hospital.

     

     

    A statement issued by MSO Alliance secretary SN Sharma reads, “All national MSOs are implementing DAS as per rules and regulations defined by TRAI and are implementing the law passed by the Parliament to bring greater transparency in the entire value chain of the cable TV industry.  This is being done to enhance consumer viewing by delivering world class digital experience to them. However, there are certain persons who are trying to derail the entire process of digitisation and have even used illegitimate and criminal means to stall the process.”

     

     

    All the leading MSOs have strongly deplored and condemned the criminal and nefarious activities “and persons who have done such reprehensible act against an employee who had no fault and was simply involved in implementing the law of land,” the MSO Alliance says.

     

     

    The MSO Alliance has reiterated its commitment to DAS. “We would like to emphasise once again that such activities would not deter us in implementing the process of digitising the country and we urge the authorities to take strict action against such criminals immediately,” reads the note.