ITV

Category: Cable TV

  • DTH & cable ops miffed as AAP hikes entertainment tax in Delhi

    DTH & cable ops miffed as AAP hikes entertainment tax in Delhi

    MUMBAI: Delhiites can expect to dole out more cash for their weekly dose of entertainment courtesy the new budget presented by the Arvind Kejriwal led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Under the new budget, while entertainment tax (ET) on cable TV and direct to home (DTH) in the national capital has gone up from the current Rs 20 to Rs 40, that for cinema halls has been hiked by 20-40 per cent. This, even as Maharashtra based cable operators, paying a hefty sum of Rs 45 as entertainment tax, are still fighting a case in the Bombay High Court for slashing the taxes, with little respite.

    According to Delhi based cable operators, while there aren’t any issues per se with increasing the entertainment tax, their grouse is that the government should have devised a way of collection from consumers before increasing the ET.

     

    As for now, it is the local cable operator who collects the ET from consumers and then gives it to the multi system operator (MSO). The system sees a number of leakages and blame game. While LCOs lament that the customer does not pay ET, MSOs believe that the LCO fail to pass on the collected ET to them. Since the onus of finally submitting the ET collection to the government is on the MSO, not surprisingly they are held guilty more often than not.

     

    While Delhi fell in phase I of DAS, where interconnect agreement should have been signed and billing started, thus protecting leakages, the same has yet not been achieved. Thus, increasing the ET by Rs 20 seems no less than a burden to both LCOs and MSOs.

     

    “The government can increase the entertainment tax, but then what are the measures it has put in place to be able to facilitate collection,” says Cable Operators Federation of India (COFI) president Roop Sharma.

    Sharma believes that the government should give incentives to cable operators for collecting entertainment tax from consumers. “The LCOs are the biggest sufferers in the whole process as they face the task of extracting this additional amount from their customers,” she adds.

     

    According to a Delhi based MSO, hiking entertainment tax is an unwelcome move. “With the earlier tax system, the exact amount was not being collected and this resulted in the MSOs getting penalized. The LCOs will not be able to collect the extra money from the ground, which will mean that the MSOs will have to pay the remaining from their own pocket,” the MSO tells Indiantelevision.com on condition of anonymity.

     

    The MSO is also of the opinion that while digitization was aimed at bringing in transparency, which ensured lesser leakages, hiking taxes and thus increasing the cable bill was unjustified.

     

    DTH Operators Association of India president and Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera said, “The recent announcement of doubling of entertainment tax on cable TV and DTH services made by the Aam Admi Party government seems unfair and illogical. DTH as a platform is considered as critical to citizen’s right to information, news, education and entertainment. The sector is already saddled with high tax, where 33 per cent of revenues are taxed between the Centre and State. DTH operators that comprises Tata Sky, Dish TV, Airtel Digital TV, Videocon d2h, Sun Direct and Reliance Big TV, will have no choice but to hike their tariffs in Delhi to accommodate this hike in entertainment tax and the load will finally fall on the customer. By dropping electricity prices on the one hand and increasing entertainment tax on DTH on the other, does not seem like a move in favour of the aam aadmi! Is this how we plan to achieve a balance budget and reduce fiscal deficit?”

     

    On the other hand, Sharma informs that while the hike in entertainment tax is applicable for private DTH players, DD Freedish has been kept away from it. “Surprisingly the DD Freedish service is not taxed, but the same channels forced upon the cable TV networks will demand a tax. It appears there is no co-ordination between the central and Delhi government and in the bargain the aam aadmi has to suffer,” she adds.

     

    MSOs and DTH players will now have to come up with a campaign to inform consumers of the hike in entertainment tax, so that it is easier to collect from the ground.

     

    This also could be the trigger for going prepaid, something that Mumbai based MSO IMCL has started, where the customers pays for the channels they want to watch in advance. Defaulters, if any, face disconnection of set top boxes. The mechanism can at least help in collection and not make the LCOs or MSOs fall in the defaulter category. However, one thing remains unchanged, which is that the consumer will surely have to have deep pockets for their entertainment needs and demands going forward. 

  • Ortel Broadband launches 50 Mbps DOCSIS 3.0 internet

    Ortel Broadband launches 50 Mbps DOCSIS 3.0 internet

    MUMBAI: Ortel Communications has introduced 50 Mbps mega speed DOCSIS 3.0 broadband internet in Odisha. While initially being deployed in Bhubaneswar, the service will be made available in other markets as well.

     

    DOCSIS 3.0 allows a much higher throughput compared to the earlier versions by using multi-channel bonding simultaneously for download/upload.

     

    Ortel Communications president and CEO Bibhu Prasad Rath said, “We are happy to launch mega speed broadband services of up to 50 Mbps on DOCSIS 3.0 technology. This will redefine the consumer experience of internet usage and we believe that mega speed internet at low cost will revolutionize the internet markets that we are present in. We intend to aggressively pursue this in our markets which will help us increase the overall broadband subscriber base. The company plans to actively deploy DOCSIS 3.0 modems to deliver impressive internet surfing experience to its subscribers. With faster digitization of cable TV customers, we will be in a strong position to leverage the opportunity by offering COMBO plans of Digital TV and Internet connections.”

     

    DOCSIS technology has been developed by CableLabs, an International consortium of cable operators and MSOs, and approved by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU-T). This technology has been widely used in Europe and USA by leading ISPs.

     

    The internet subscribers in India have evolved over a period of time and Ortel Broadband has launched the mega speed broadband internet plans to cater to subscribers who have increased video led internet consumption. HD video content viewings as well as increased download speeds are the main benefits of DOCSIS 3.0 mega speed Ortel Broadband. Higher end online gaming responses will be almost real time. Ortel Broadband DOCSIS 3.0 subscribers can download a movie of 750 MB in two minutes and video songs can be downloaded within seconds based on the plans selected and system configuration.

     

    The company has invested in laying its own network with reverse path compatibility making it capable of providing Triple play service including broadband and VoIP services.

  • What’s in store for the Indian broadcast industry?

    What’s in store for the Indian broadcast industry?

    MUMBAI: The Indian media and entertainment industry is on the cusp of growth with phase-III and IV digitisation underway. However, even as the government is optimistic about meeting digitisation deadlines, multiple stakeholders are of the opinion that to meet the 2016 yearend deadline is unrealistic and far-fetched to say the least.

    Reiterating the sentiment is a research report by Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, which says that digitisation will be a slow process and will be complete only by FY2020-21. 

    The Bank of America-Merrill Lynch lists out four things that the Indian media industry should watch out for. They are as follows:  

    1) Digitisation: A Slow Process

    Even though the government has mandated full digitisation by December 2016, the research says that digitisation will be a slow process as on-ground checks show that it is nearly impossible for stakeholders to stick to the deadline. Bank of America-Merrill Lynch expects the entire roll out to be complete only by FY2010-21, with bulk of the benefits flowing in FY’18-19.

    Larger MSOs don’t have a local presence: In phase-I and II DAS-mandated areas, the large MSOs already had their infrastructure laid out and had knowhow of the local conditions. However, phase-III and IV are more remote areas where the MSOs do not have an established network, and hence will take time to rollout their network. These areas have been dominated by the local/ smaller MSOs, who may not have the wherewithal to invest capex and fund set-top-boxes (STB) for consumers. The report says that if digitisation happens slowly, the local MSOs will be able to capture this market (wherever analog cable is present), thus limiting the land grab of DTH operators.

    Government has reasons to be ambivalent on digitisation: The government benefits from digitisation in way of increased tax collections. At the same time, it will be vary of making voters pay a higher tariff for Pay TV bills. The ARPUs for phase-III and IV areas are lower; and a move to digital TV will entail a significant rise in their pay TV bills. Considering that TV is the main source of entertainment for Indians, the government may look to ease the digitisation roll-out slowly, rather than sticking to tight deadlines.

    ARPUs are lower: The phase-III and IV DAS-mandated areas have a lower ARPUs compared to phase-I and II geographies, which would make it difficult for MSOs and DTH companies to push through a premium ARPU product. As per the research, more innovations like Dish’s low-ARPU Zing proposition (focusing on low-cost local content), lower price points and differential geographical pricing to drive adoption are likely to be seen.

    2) Ad revenue growth to be strong in FY2016

    Advertisement revenues strong: Ad revenue growth is expected to be strong in FY16, on back of: 1) A pick up in economy and the resultant rise in ad spends; 2) Increased ad spending by e-commerce companies; and 3) Television maintaining its share of the advertisement pie. Ad spends have a strong correlation with nominal GDP. Considering that the economy is expected to pick up going forward, the Bank of America-Merrill Lynch report forecasts 13 per cent ad revenues growth for the industry, which is in line with industry estimates. (Source: KPMG-FICCI Annual report 2015).

    Implementation of BARC: The prevalent industry TV rating data (TAM) has often been cited for inconsistencies by broadcasters and advertisers. Hence, the industry bodies representing the three key stakeholders – broadcasters, advertisers, and advertising and media agencies – launched a new rating system – BARC India. Since it has the support of the industry, the report suggests that it will eventually replace TAM as the industry standard for determining TV ratings. Given that the new rating uses different methodology and sample set, the status quo TV ratings is at a risk of being upset. Though Zee has managed to hold on to third spot among Hindi GECs in the recently released data, as BARC moves towards a countrywide coverage, volatility in future ratings will remain a concern.

    Smart devices will lead to increasing viewership and ad revenues: With increasing penetration of smart devices, overall video consumption will increase. Since Indians are quite willing to watch ad-supported free content, the ad revenues will increase with the rise in online viewership.

    3) DTH: Factoring ARPU hike for 2-3 years

    Impending move to RIO to increase ARPUs: Star India has made the first move by completely moving its channel bouquets to RIO pricing, without materially impacting its viewership. Even as other broadcasters are still debating on whether to move to RIO, according to the Bank of America-Merrill Lynch report, Star’s successful move makes it only a matter of time before other broadcasters move to RIO pricing as well. Moving to RIO will increase the content cost for MSOs, necessitating an increase in tariffs to protect profitability. This does not factor in the RIO sing-ups in the base case. As per the report, an upside to subscription revenue estimates will be seen for both broadcasters and DTH operators in case market moves to RIO pricing.

    Subscribers in low-ARPU areas may opt for ala carte subscription: Unlike in the West, regulation in India mandates broadcasters to make available their channels on a piece meal basis. Since the average Indian watched just 17 channels, there is a risk of consumers in the low ARPU phase-III and IV DAS- mandated areas shifting to subscribe on a per-channel basis to reduce their monthly bills.

    Reduction in carriage and placement fees: Digitisation of Pay TV will reduce the carriage and placement fees (C&P fees) that are paid to MSOs for beaming their content. Digitisation mandates complete removal of the placement fees. Additionally, digitisation of the channel signals has resulted in a 3-4x decrease in the bandwidth needed to broadcast individual channels, allowing MSOs to beam as many as 2,000 channels within the allotted bandwidth, and thus weakening the case for MSOs to charge for a non-existent constraint. While the broadcasters are still paying carriage charges, the charges on a per-channel basis have been reducing. According to the report, this trend is expected to continue in the future.

    HD channels to increase ARPUs: Subscription to HD channels have increased in recent months, due to: 1) HD content being made available; 2) Costs of HD STBs have fallen and the non HD boxes point that distributors have stopped procuring non-HD boxes; and 3) Penetration of HD-enabled television sets have increased. As per the estimates by Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, HD subscribers on an average have ARPUs higher by about Rs 100. And with the HD take-up increasing up to 22 per cent for the DTH operators, HD is expected to positively drive up ARPUs.

    4) Fragmentation of channels & content costs

    Ad cap and the fragmentation of channels: The government has recently implemented the 12-minute ad cap (per hour). As a result, the sector has seen a slew of new channel launches and increase in ad rates to offset the impact. The report expects that investment in new channel launches will continue in the near term.

    Content to become increasingly more important: In a digitised world, quality content is going to be increasingly more important. With the likely kicking in of RIO pricing, and possible move to ala carte packages, broadcasters will need the content “hook” to lure the subscriber to pay a higher price for the same content.

    Content costs to rise: As more channels compete for the revenue pie, and channels move to RIO pricing, broadcasters are likely to increase their investments to produce quality content. In this context, the larger broadcasters will be in a better place to cope with the change with them having deeper pockets to invest in new content.

  • FY-2015: Indian cable industry – long haul work in progress

    FY-2015: Indian cable industry – long haul work in progress

    BENGALURU: The cable industry in India has made a remarkable amount of progress in implementing DAS in phase I and phase II considering the weak balance sheets that most players carry, but all still have a long way to go before they actually start making profits. However, the promise of addressability, greater transparency and higher average revenue per user (ARPU) is yet to be realized by the cable industry.

    Current Status

    As on 31 December, 2014, 138 multi system operators (MSOs) have been granted permanent registration (for 10 years) for providing Cable TV services through Digital Addressable Systems (DAS) by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB).

    DAS roll out in phases III and IV is expected to be more challenging on account of larger geographical spread, poor balance sheets of the cable industry players and low potential for ARPUs from the conventional cable carriage and subscription business. Implementation of phases I and II was challenging, tiered packages have yet to be offered to the viewer and billing is still work in progress as MSOs still face resistance from local cable operators (LCOs) in giving up ownership of customers in some cases.

    Cable players in India have started giving broadband services a lot of serious attention in fiscal 2015. A few players such as the medium sized MSO Atria Convergence Technologies Private Limited (ACT) had actually changed strategy since 2012 and started focusing more on broadband services, without losing focus on its MSO operations. Despite being a regional player, ACT is the second largest private wired broadband player in the country with a market share of 3.24 per cent and over 6.11 lakh broadband subscribers as on 31 December, 2104, just after the behemoth Airtel (15 lakh subscribers, 7.95 per cent market share). ACT had 4.25 lakh (includes numbers of Beam Telecom Limited which was merged with ACT on 1 April, 2014) broadband customers as on 31 December, 2013 and hence, its broadband subscriber base has grown by 43.76 per cent in the 12 months until 31 December, 2014. As on April 30, 2015, Atria had a wired broadband subscriber base of 6.8 lakh.

    Public sector companies such as BSNL (the largest wired internet services player in India with 69.83 per cent market share, 1.317 crore subscribers) and MTNL (6.02 per cent market share and 11.3 lakh subscribers) are of course bigger players in the wired broadband services than ACT. Among the major MSOs in the country, Indusind Media & Communications Limited is probably the only player whose broadband subscriber base has not grown much until 31 December, 2014, during which the company reported 29,709 internet subscribers (including 3539 narrowband subscribers) as compared to the 28,337 subscribers (including 4750 narrowband subscribers) as on 31 December, 2013.

    Internet services has turned into a heavy capex exercise for many MSOs where the last mile is owned by LCOs mainly because an MSO may not be allowed access to the customer for sales and service by the LCO, and/or the quality of the cable may not be at par.

    This report takes four MSOs – Den Networks Limited (Den), Siti Cable Network Limited (Siti), Hathway Cable and Datacom Limited (Hathway) and Ortel Communications Limited (Ortel), financials as a sample size.

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

    Let’s look at FY-2015 numbers reported by these companies:

    (Please refer to Fig 1 below) The sum total of operating revenue (OR) for these companies in FY-2015 grew 9.94 per cent to Rs 3213.27 crore from Rs 2922.86 crore in the previous year. Den, the company with the highest operating revenue numbers and subscriber base amongst the three, showed the lowest operating revenue growth of just 1.16 per cent to Rs 1129.64 crore in FY-2015 from Rs 1116.69 per cent in FY-2014. Siti showed the highest operating revenue growth at 29.93 per cent in FY-2015 at Rs 905.93 crore from Rs 627.24 crore in FY-2014. The minnow – Ortel’s operating revenue grew 20.46 per cent to Rs 158.79 crore in FY-2015 from Rs 128.50 crore in the previous fiscal, while that of the second largest player among the four, Hathway grew 4.33 per cent to Rs 1022.91 crore in the current year from Rs 980.43 crore in FY-2014.

    Cable Subscription Numbers

    Most MSOs’ revenue model is subscription, carriage plus advertising charges for cable services and broadband. Set- top-box (STB) seeding is a one time periodic revenue (maybe once every five years?) for the companies that could later erode the profits – considering the depreciation and the interest cost on the STB subsidy that many MSOs offer to subscribers.

    In its FY-2014 annual report, Den said it serves an estimated 1.3 crore households of which over 64 lakh had opted for digital subscription as on 31 March, 2014. The company has a digital subscriber base of 70 lakh (53.85 per cent of total number of 1.3 crore subscribers) as on 31 March, 2015, of which 51 lakh are in phases I and II of DAS, and Den continues to bill about 80 per cent of these subscribers.

    On the other hand, Siti has reported 1.05 crore subscribers and a digital subscriber base of 53.8 lakh (51.24 per cent of total subscribers) for FY-2015, a conversion of 13.8 lakh subscribers to digital over a 12 month period, from the 40 lakh digital subscribers it had reported at the end of FY-2014. As a matter of fact, in Q4-2015, the company deployed 5.3 lakh STBs, and a big portion of its seeding had taken place then.

    Hathway has a subscriber base of 1.18 crore of which 85 lakh (72 per cent of total subscribers) are digital and 65 lakh are paying subscribers. This makes it the biggest player in the country in terms of digital subscribers.

    Ortel reported a subscriber base of 4.72 lakh in FY-2015 as compared to 4.61 lakh in FY-2014. The company reports 1.07 lakh (22.73 per cent of total subscribers) digital subscribers as on 31 March, 2015.

    Ortel CEO and President Bibhu Prasad Rath said, “Ortel Communications’ direct-to-consumer offering with full control over the ‘last mile’ network has enabled us to emerge as a dominant regional player in the cable TV and broadband business. With increasing penetration in our core and emerging markets along with the inorganic LCO buy out strategy, we believe we are well-positioned to achieve our immediate target of approximately 1 million RGUs by the end of FY-2017.”

    Subscription income for all the four mentioned companies has grown, with Siti showing the highest jump at 56.41 per cent – from Rs 339.5 crore in FY-2014 to Rs 531 crore in FY-2015. (Please refer to figure 2 below) Ortel’s subscription revenue grew the least 4.36 per cent – from Rs 75.7 crore in the previous year to Rs 79 crore in FY-2015.

    Siti Cable executive director and CEO V D Wadhwa said, “Our focus on monetization of existing business in phase I and II cities in FY-2015, led to a strong subscription revenue growth of 57 per cent y-o-y and operating EBITDA margin expansion. Siti Cable is engaged in proactive seeding and well placed to benefit from the ongoing digitization process.”

    Internet Services

    As mentioned above, offering internet service is a part of many of the major MSOs’ business and revenue expansion strategy. Internet services, and more so broadband services of all the four companies mentioned in this report have in general shown higher revenue growth than their cable services revenues.

    Den commenced its broadband services in Q1-2015 and has garnered 23,000 subscribers since then. Den CEO Pradeep Parameswaram said, ”We are laying the foundations of building a powerful consumer franchisee in broadband, cable television and television shopping. Significant investments are being made to bring disruptive consumer offerings to the market. We are augmenting out historical strengths in cable operations with high quality talent in all functions.”

    Siti Cable’s broadband revenue in FY-2015 grew 53.3 per cent to Rs 26.5 crore from Rs 17 crore in FY-2015. The company reported a broadband subscriber base of 70,100 in FY-2015 as compared to 54,000 in FY-2014.

    “We are looking to expand our broadband presence on Docsis technology in our endeavour to diversify our revenue stream and provide the consumer with a compelling experience,” added Wadhwa.

    Hathway’s broadband revenue jumped 47 per cent to Rs 247.5 crore in FY-2015. With the addition of Delhi and Central Mumbai to Docsis 3.0 and upgradation of Surat Network, Hathway is the only MSO to offer high speed 50 mbps broadband services in Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Surat.

    Ortel’s broadband revenue increased five per cent to Rs 28.9 crore in FY-2015 from Rs 27.5 crore in FY-2014. The company’s broadband subscribers increased 7.52 per cent in FY-2015 to 58,519 from 54,427 in the previous year.

    “We anticipate further improvement in margins going forward as a result of deeper penetration in the Cable business along with our continued focus on the high-margin Broadband segment,” said Ortel’s Rath.

    EBIDTA

    The financials of three of the four sample players showed an increase in operating profits (simple EBIDTA including other income). (Please refer to Fig 3 below) Den EBIDTA dropped to half at Rs 180.23 crore in FY-2015 from the Rs 360.41 crore in FY-2014. With an increase of 94.17 per cent, Siti’s FY-2015 EBIDTA almost doubled to Rs 168.43 crore from Rs 86.74 crore in FY-2014. Hathway’s EBIDTA in FY-2015 increased 16.13 per cent to Rs 560.9 crore from Rs 483 crore in the previous year. Ortel’s EBIDTA increasd 44.6 per cent to Rs 59.05 crore from Rs 40.84 crore in the previous fiscal.

    Profit/Loss

    (Please refer to figure 4 below) Two of the three large players in this sample – Siti Cable and Hatway have reported higher loss in FY-2015, while Den’s results have turned to the red in FY-2015 from the black in FY-2014. Ortel, which was listed a few months ago on the bourses, is the only one among the four that has reported a small profit of Rs 5.90 crore (3.62 per cent margin) in the current year as compared to a loss of Rs 13.79 crore in the previous year.

    “We have seen the positive results on subscription revenues and collections in Q4 of the current year. The profitability has been impacted because of the new business initiatives of the company including broadband, TV Shop and football as we build Den for future,” said Den’s Parameswaran.

    Last year, Den became the owner of the Hero Indian Super League’s Delhi Team – Delhi Dynamos FC. With the introduction of Delhi Dynamos FC, the company aims to become the default destination for entertainment, information and interactivity for the Indian family.

    End Points

    As the value chain shifts to addressable systems and tiering, growth in cable TV ARPUs will be driven by customized channel packs, premium content channels, HD channels and other value added services. It will not be easy going because cable industry players have to contend with DTH players who have strong balance sheets and are backed by deep pockets – be it Airtel, Tata Sky, Videocon d2h, Sun Direct or Reliance.

    The cable industry players need to sort out the ambiguity about revenue shares between the MSOs and LCOs and between the MSOs and broadcasters. The one positive is that larger MSOs appeared to have stopped poaching LCOs from each other, at least in phases I and II areas. “It’s not because the industry has turned goodie-goodie all of a sudden. Generally, it is just not worth the cost to pay to an LCO to switch loyalties in a phase I and II areas, or any area where digitsation has happened in a major way,” reveals an MSO on condition on anonymity. That attitude has to change for the common good of the industry.

    An industry source cites instances of LCOs still trying to fudge numbers despite deployment of STBs, with the LCOs claiming that a customer has relocated without returning the STB, or fudging with the number of STBs received. On the other hand, some LCOs need help in developing a robust last mile infrastructure.

    The cable industry has to leverage whatever advantages it has – this could be providing local information and relevant local news, local advertisements, etc., on MSOs’ own channels and services.

    A key differentiator could be the service quality and the personal connect that many operators have developed with consumers. Industry players need to change the impression they create right from ground up. This includes approach to customers for bill collection, to how each individual is perceived by anyone and everyone in the value chain, and more so banks and financers. Big as well as multiple middle sized players have already brought in a degree of professionalism across many levels and hence have relatively easier access to funding.

    Long term common purpose unity is what the cable industry needs desperately. Each player has to mature, has to understand and accept that one cannot do without the other. The road is still long and arduous.

  • Siti Cable celebrates International Day of Yoga

    Siti Cable celebrates International Day of Yoga

    MUMBAI: To ‘Embrace a Healthier Lifestyle’, and promote the age old practice of Yoga, which is being endorsed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Siti Cable Network, an Essel Group Company celebrated the International Day of Yoga on 21 June by organising Yoga sessions concurrently at 70+ cities across India. The yoga sessions at various locations saw participation from more than 50,000 people, 9000 Business Partners and 1500 SITI Employees.

     

    Each event that happened at various locations was unique in its own way. To name a few; In Varanasi 500 people performed yoga amid the river Ganga on 25 House boats & 15 steamers, in Hisar, Siti in collaboration with Patanjali organized a yoga session for more than 3,000 people, likewise in Hyderabad & Bangalore the sessions took place under the guidance of renowned Yoga Gurus. In Delhi, Siti’s yoga initiative found huge support from the RSS with more than 800 of its Shakha members taking part in the Siti Yoga drive.

     

    Siti Cable executive director and CEO VD Wadhwa said, “The Yoga sessions, which took place on account of the International Day of Yoga were well received across India and I would like to extend my vote of thanks to the participants for making this initiative a grand success. I hope this drive endures and does not fade with time.

     

    The entire event was covered by Siti’s 100+ local channels covering 130+ Cities reaching out to 40 million SITI Cable viewers. For Siti Cable Yoga Day does not end here, it intends to inculcate Yoga into day to day lives of its associates and shall continue doing so through regular Yoga centric programming content on its Local channels.”

  • Africa harmonizing laws to ensure smooth transition from analogue to digital broadcasting

    Africa harmonizing laws to ensure smooth transition from analogue to digital broadcasting

    NEW DELHI: African countries are harmonizing policy and regulatory frameworks for smooth transition from analogue to digital broadcasting.

     

    The information technology sector is rapidly growing in Africa, providing a plethora of opportunities for global companies to share their technologies and do business in this continent, and as digitization spreads, internet on mobile phones will increase 20-fold in the next five years. This is double the rate of growth in the rest of the world. These were some of the points made during the Convergence Africa World 2015.

     

    The three-day exposition from 17 to 19 June in Nairobi, Kenya, was organized by Exhibitions India Group (EIG), which organizes the annual Convergence India in Delhi. The event was jointly developed by Exhibitions India Group and AfriEXPOS, a Nairobi based expo organizer.

     

    Over 120 participants and top executives from over 300 companies took part in the expo.

     

    The exhibition was being organized at Oshwal Centre in Nairobi. The exhibition and conference was inaugurated by Ambassador D. N. O Awori, chairman of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA).

     

    The expo also hosted a two day conference consisting of knowledgeable sessions with senior dignitaries from government and corporate sectors. Connecting Africa, Internet for All, Future of Africa’s Telecom, Digital Media and ICT Markets, Kenya Vision 2030, Pay TV, The Evolution of Television in Africa and Cloud & Big Data were among some of the key conferences held at Convergence Africa World 2015 expo.

     

    A first of its kind in Africa, the exhibition and conference showcased the convergence of telecoms, digital media, broadcast and IT industries. The inaugural expo was intended to facilitate B2B contacts, joint ventures, technology transfers, and financial investments, thereby presenting the most comprehensive one-stop shop in Africa.

     

    Some of the companies that exhibited at Convergence Africa World 2015 included brands like Airtel, MediaGuru, RiverSilica Technologies, Matrix Comsec, Conax AS, Horizon Broadcast Electronics, ABOX42 GmbH, and Birla Ericsson Optical Limited.

     

    On the successful completion of the expo, Exhibitions India chairman Prem Behl said, “With Convergence Africa World 2015 expo, our objective was to provide a platform to deliberate on convergence of services, focusing on new-age technologies and merging business solutions that harness the young population to create a wave of technological transformation in the continent.”

     

    Exhibitions India President S.J. Singh added, “Overall the expo rendered a prolific experience for all participating delegates, exhibitors and visitors. Convergence Africa World will return with a succeeding chapter in June 2016.

  • Comcast founder Ralph Roberts dies at 95

    Comcast founder Ralph Roberts dies at 95

    MUMBAI: Ralph J. Roberts, the cable television pioneer, who founded Comcast Corporation died of natural causes last night in Philadelphia, PA. He was 95.

     

    Roberts served as chairman emeritus of Comcast, which is now the parent company of NBCUniversal.

     

    Comcast said in a statement, “Ralph was a born entrepreneur, a visionary businessman, a philanthropist and a wonderful human being. Ralph built Comcast into one of America’s greatest companies and his vision and spirit have been at the heart of Comcast and our culture for 50 years. He will be truly missed. Ralph’s greatest love was his family, and our deepest sympathies go to his wife Suzanne and the entire Roberts family.”

     

    Time Warner Cable chairman and CEO Rob Marcus said, “Ralph Roberts was a pioneer, a visionary and a role model. He exemplified the value of working hard and treating others with kindness and respect. His influence has extended far beyond Comcast and Cable. His life’s work, and the legacy he leaves, helped shape the way consumers use content today and how they communicate with one another. On behalf of everyone at Time Warner Cable, I send our sympathy and love to Ralph’s family and to everyone at Comcast.”

     

    Roberts was a born entrepreneur, great American businessman and philanthropist, who played a key role in the development of the cable television business. He founded Comcast in 1963 with the purchase of a 1,200-subscriber cable system in Tupelo, Mississippi. He grew the company from its humble roots as a small, regional cable company into the global Fortune 50 media and technology leader it is today.

     

    During his more than five decades at Comcast, Roberts became one of the most well-regarded executives in America. He was widely respected and admired for his visionary leadership and spirit, his passion for the business and his deep sense of integrity and courtesy. Most importantly, he was a kind and humble man who has been the heart and soul of Comcast for over 50 years.

     

    Roberts is survived by Suzanne Roberts, his wife of over 70 years. An actress, director and host of Seeking Solutions with Suzanne, Suzanne has spent a lifetime seeking to help others.

     

    In addition to his wife, Roberts is survived by four of his children and their spouses: Catherine R. Clifton and Anthony A. Clifton, Lisa S. Roberts and David Seltzer, Ralph Roberts Jr. and Kim Roberts, Brian L. Roberts and Aileen K. Roberts and Diane Roberts, widow of Ralph and Suzanne’s son Douglas Roberts, who passed away in September 2011. He is also survived by his eight grandchildren.

  • Siti Cable gears up for World Yoga Day

    Siti Cable gears up for World Yoga Day

    MUMBAI: Siti Cable Network, an Essel Group Company plans to celebrate the International Day of Yoga on 21 June by organising Yoga sessions, concurrently at various venues all across India involving 1500 employees, 9000 business partners and reaching out to 40 million viewers.

     

    The previous year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressed the United Nations General Assembly to get this day recognised as the International Day of Yoga. Acknowledging the effects of Yoga on an individual, he says one needs to make changes to contemporary lifestyle by making Yoga a way of life. He says, “Yoga embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfillment; harmony between man and nature.” He adds, “Yoga is an invaluable gift of our ancient tradition. It is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness with yourself, the world and the nature.”

     

    Siti Cable Network with an aim to ‘Embrace a Healthier Lifestyle’ has scheduled Yoga sessions by professionals on the International Day of Yoga in 70+ cities across India, with major events taking place in 25 cities. Siti Cable executive director and CEO VD Wadhwa says, “Our fundamental nature is usually overshadowed by the activity of the mind, and Yoga keeps the mind peaceful. It is a way of freedom and by practicing it continually we can free ourselves from distress and anxiety. It promotes spiritual, mental and physical wellbeing, and should be practiced by all.”

     

    The World Yoga Day celebrations will be covered by Siti’s 100+ local channels across 130+ Cities. Siti Cable Network aims to promote and support the noble initiative taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi by creating social awareness about this age old practice amongst its stakeholders; employees, business partners and subscribers.

  • MIB issues provisional MSO licence to Reliance Jio

    MIB issues provisional MSO licence to Reliance Jio

    MUMBAI: The wait is finally over for the Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Jio, as the company has finally got the provisional multi system operator (MSO) licence from the Information and Broadcasting Ministry (I&B). The licence was given on 17 June, 2015. 

     

    While I&B Ministry sources refused to comment on giving any such provisional licence, a source from the company confirmed the news saying, “We got the provisional MSO licence on 17 June.” 

     

    The telecom arm of Reliance Industries, Reliance Jio had applied for pan-India MSO licence in January 2015.

     

    This comes soon after the I&B Ministry decided to give provisional licence to MSOs who had applied for licences to operate in phase III. It can be recalled that in October 2014, the Ministry had decided to do away with the system of granting provisional licences and only giving permanent licences in order to ensure that only serious players entered the phase III and IV markets. 

     

    While, the Ministry had then said that it along with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will process the MSO security clearance within 90 days, the same has not been followed. This resulted in the I&B going back to granting provisional licences.

     

    Through a notice on 11 June, 2015, the Ministry accepted the delay in granting of security clearance by the MHA and so asked the close to 700 MSO licence applicants to file their application in an affidavit. Through the affidavit, the applicants had to commit that they have no criminal cases pending against them, and that they will shut down if they are refused security clearance. 

     

    “While we have got the provisional licence, now the MHA will come up with its guidelines, which we will need to follow to get the permanent licence. The reason that a provisional licence has been given is because the MHA was taking a lot of time to give security clearance,” said the source from the company.

     

    It can be noted that two of the pioneers of Indian cable TV sector: K Jayaraman and SN Sharma have already joined Reliance Jio and will be spearheading its business in the country.  

     

    Reliance Jio 4G rollout

     

    In its recent annual general meeting, Reliance Industries chairman and managing director Mukesh D Ambani informed that the ambitious 4G project will launch in December 2015 and that 2016-17 would be the first full year of commercial operations for Jio.

     

    After expending money to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore in acquiring spectrum rights across the country, the company is targeting to provide 4G services across India with an investment of more than Rs 70,000 crore.

  • Time Warner Cable names John H. Keib as EVP & COO, residential services

    Time Warner Cable names John H. Keib as EVP & COO, residential services

    MUMBAI: Time Warner Cable Inc. has named John H. Keib as executive vice present and chief operating officer of residential services. 

     

    In this role, Keib will lead the service delivery, customer care, marketing and sales operations for the company’s residential services business.

     

    Time Warner Cable COO Dinni Jain said, “Since I joined the company in early 2014, I have relied heavily on John’s expertise and his honest assessment of our company’s strengths and weaknesses. Over the past year, we have made a remarkable turnaround in our residential performance, and I credit John and his leadership style for helping us get there. With residential marketing, sales, call centers and technical operations all aligned, John and his team will pave the way for us to deliver on our customer promises.”

     

    Previously, Keib served as EVP, Residential Operations. Throughout his career, Keib has been instrumental in the launch and growth of new products and services, including high-speed internet, video, digital phone, business class and local programming. He got his start in the industry with Thomson Multimedia and later with DirecTV in New York City. Subsequently, he joined Time Warner Cable’s marketing team in 1998 working on the launch of Road Runner high speed Internet service in Central New York.

     

    In 2006, he was promoted to regional vice president of marketing and sales, overseeing projects for the Northeast. In 2007, Keib was named RVP of marketing and sales for the Southern California Region, and then RVP of marketing and sales in the New York City Region in 2008. 

     

    In 2009, Keib returned to upstate New York as President of residential services for the Northeast/National Region. In 2010, he served as president of residential services for the company’s West Region, before returning to New York City as EVP, chief care & technical operations officer in 2013.