ITV

Category: Cable TV

  • Frost and Sullivan to host “Digital Enterprise Transformation Summit 2015” in June

    Frost and Sullivan to host “Digital Enterprise Transformation Summit 2015” in June

    Mumbai:  Increasing high speed broadband penetration and social media along with digitization is driving many growth opportunities in the Indian market. An empowered and connected environment can increase efficiency and boost business profitability for enterprises. With the promise of such benefits, digital transformation is slowly becoming the top agenda for most organizations. However, as technologies are rapidly changing, the challenge faced by organizations is aligning their internal and external business needs to the next generation IT transformation.

    Frost & Sullivan will host its inaugural edition of the “Digital Enterprise Transformation Summit 2015” on June 18th at Hotel Le Meridien, New Delhi. The summit will allow business leaders, analysts, and experts to explore the possible opportunities in digital transformation and means to address the challenges. Frost & Sullivan’s analyst team will evaluate elements such as cloud, social, analytics, marketing automation, mobility, and collaboration.

    On the occasion, Frost & Sullivan, Global Innovation Center , Digital Media, Director, Vidya S. Nath said, “Digital transformation has evolved into a must-have strategy for enterprises across verticals in India. While digital platforms are a priority for consumer-facing sectors such as e-commerce, banking and financial services, medium and large enterprises in ICT, healthcare, etc., the manufacturing sector is also making fast strides to transform itself to embrace social, mobile, analytics and cloud (SMAC). Such transformation can help businesses gain significant efficiencies while boosting their revenue. However, such initiatives can fail without informed decisions aligning operational goals with business implications.”

    At the summit, Frost & Sullivan will release a whitepaper on Digital Enterprise Transformation and share key findings in terms of growth areas, leading market participants, and successful case studies from banking, healthcare, and IT. The summit will also have insightful keynote presentations on the roadmap for next generation IT automation in enterprises, and include collaborative panel discussions on the significance of cloud computing and leveraging advanced analytics to derive insights on customer engagement.

    In addition, the summit will include strategy workshops for CXOs to empower them in critical decision-making tools, methodologies, and best practices to accomplish growth in today’s highly competitive market. It will also present an opportunity for the participants to interact with Frost & Sullivan’s industry experts such as Mukul Krishna, Senior Director, Digital Media;  ICT Practice, Industry Manager,  Thejaswi Parameshwaran;  Vidya S. Nath, along with others, to examine a 360-degree perspective on their digital strategy in enterprises, as well as global and regional Mega Trends that will govern the market growth in the near future.

  • Den Network reports 11.5% growth in FY-2015 cable subscription revenue; posts loss

    Den Network reports 11.5% growth in FY-2015 cable subscription revenue; posts loss

    BENGALURU: Den Networks Ltd reported that its cable business subscription revenues net off LCO share grew 11.5 per cent to Rs 966 crore in FY-2015 from Rs 866 core in FY-2014. In the current quarter, cable business subscription revenues net off LCO share grew 13 per cent to Rs 252 crore from Rs 223 crore in Q4-2014.

     

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

     

    Including LCO share, Den Networks cable business subscription revenues grew 3.6 per cent to Rs 1093 crore in FY-2015 from Rs 1055 crore in FY-2014. Cable business subscription revenues including LCO share in Q4-2015 declined seven per cent to Rs 265 crore from Rs 285 crore in Q4-2014.

     

    In FY-2015, Den Networks reported loss of Rs 144.01 crore as compared to a profit of Rs 38.40 crore in the previous year. Loss in Q4-2015 was Rs 61.15 crore as compared to a profit of Rs 10.05 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter. Loss in Q3-2015 was slightly higher Rs 62.60 crore

     

    Den Networks says that it added 10 lakh set top boxes (STB) in FY-2015, taking the total STBs deployed to approximately 70 lakh. It says further that its current digital subscriber base in Phase 1 and 2 stood at approximately 51 lakh.

     

    Let us look at the other numbers reported by Den Networks

     

    Den Networks TIO in FY-2015 at Rs 1129.64 crore was 1.2 per cent more than the Rs 1116.69 crore in FY-2014. TIO in Q4-2015 at Rs 270.30 crore was 10.5 per cent lower than the Rs 301.86 crore in Q4-2014, but 0.6 per cent more than the Rs 268.81 crore in Q3-2015.

     

    Total expense (TE) in FY-2015 at Rs 1223.18 crore was 27.2 per cent more than Rs 961.92 crore in FY-2014. TE in Q4-2015 at Rs 323.79 crore was 20.3 per cent more than the Rs 269.18 crore in Q4-2014 and was 2.2 per cent more than the Rs 316.75 crore in Q3-2015. 

     

    The company’s content cost in FY-2015 at Rs 454.52 crore was 22.3 per cent more than the Rs 371.73 crore in FY-2014. Content cost in Q4-2014 at Rs 139.13 crore was 38 per cent more than the Rs 100.85 crore in Q4-2014 and 26.4 per cent more than the Rs 110.06 crore in Q3-2015.

     

    Den’s EBIDTA (without considering other income) in FY-2015 at Rs 92.41 crore was much lower than the Rs 302.17 crore in FY-2014. Q4-2015 EBIDTA was negative Rs 5.97 crore in Q4-2015 as compared to an EBIDTA of Rs 73.18 crore in Q4-2014 and EBIDTA of Rs 0.28 crore in the immediate trailing quarter.

     

    Company Speak

     

    Den Networks CEO Pradeep Parameswaran said, “We are laying the foundation of building a powerful consumer franchise in broadband, cable television and television shopping. Significant investments are being made to bring disruptive consumer offerings to the market. We are augmenting our historical strength in cable operations with high quality talent in all functions. Besides focus on internal changes, I am also hopeful of a stronger collaboration with LCOs’ and other industry partners to take steps for successful execution of digitisation process thus supporting the government push towards digital India. Our excitement in the scale of opportunities and our ability to capture it continues to remain strong.”

     

    “We have seen 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 Networks for the future,” added Parameswaran.

  • Dish Network Q1-2015 revenue up 5.3%; income doubles despite losing subscribers

    Dish Network Q1-2015 revenue up 5.3%; income doubles despite losing subscribers

    BENGALURU: US subscription Pay TV service company Dish Network Corporation reported 5.3 per cent growth in revenue for the quarter ended 31 March, 2015 (Current quarter, Q1-2015) at $3724.23 million as compared to the $3594.20 million in the corresponding year ago quarter.

    Dish Network’s income almost doubled (up 99.8 per cent) to $358.49 million in the current quarter as compared to the $175.93 million in Q1-2014. Consequently diluted earnings per share (diluted EPS) doubled to $0.76 from $0.38.
     

    The company activated approximately 554,000 gross new Pay-TV subscribers compared to approximately 639,000 gross new Pay-TV subscribers in the prior year’s first quarter. Net Pay-TV subscribers declined by approximately 134,000 or 21.8 per cent in Q1-2015. The company closed the current quarter with 13.844 million Pay-TV subscribers, compared to 14.097 million Pay-TV subscribers in Q1-2014.
     

    Pay-TV ARPU (average revenue per user) for the first quarter totalled $86.01, 4.4 per cent higher as compared to Q1-2014 Pay-TV ARPU of $82.36. The company reveals that Pay-TV subscriber churn rate was higher at 1.65 per cent versus 1.42 per cent for Q1-2014.
     

    Higher ARPU meant that subscriber revenue increased 3.7 per cent to $3688.92 million in Q1-2015 from $3556.19 million in the previous year. Equipment related revenue was almost flat at $22.47 million in Q1-2015 as compared to the $22.24 million in the corresponding quarter of last year. Echo Star revenue (Equipment sales, services and other revenue) declined 18.6 per cent in Q1-2015 to $12.84 million as compared to the $15.77 million in Q1-2014.
     

    Subscriber related expenses rose 4.5 per cent to $2162.77 million in Q1-2015 from $2069.13 million in the corresponding year ago quarter. Satellite and transmission costs in the current quarter rose 25 per cent to $186.84 million from $149.5 million in Q1-2014. Subscriber acquisition cost declined 11.6 per cent to $396.92 million in Q1-2015 as compared to $449.15 million in the year ago quarter.

  • DEN Snapdeal TV Shop to clock Rs 500 crore GMV by Dec 2015: Goel

    DEN Snapdeal TV Shop to clock Rs 500 crore GMV by Dec 2015: Goel

    MUMBAI: The 50:50 home shopping channel joint venture between DEN Network and Snapdeal, which was launched earlier this year, has been witnessing 50 per cent month-on-month growth. What’s more, DEN Snapdeal TV Shop is expecting to touch gross merchandise volume (GMV) of Rs 500 crore by December 2015.

    Commenting on the channel’s journey so far, DEN Snapdeal TV Shop CEO Maneesh Goel said, “Our business has started to optimally utilize the synergies of both the brands and gain advantage vis-a-vis other players in competition. Through its online marketplace platform, Snapdeal.com is able to cater to the Internet audience in the country, which stands at approximately 200 million.”

    According to Goel, there are over 400 million people (100 million households) in the country that consume content through television but may not have access to the Internet and that’s how the idea to launch a TV shopping channel came about.

    “Presently, the unique and finest product offerings have reached 30 million households and we expect to reach 80 million households by this Diwali,” Goel added.

    The 24×7 TV commerce channel, which launched with an initial reach of 13 million homes, has increased its footprint to 30 million homes across several other distribution partners, mainly large and regional cable operators.

    It has products ranging from electronics, mobiles, kitchenware, home appliances, men’s apparels, beauty and personal care, health and nutritional, cameras and accessories, toys and contemporary jewellery through its home shopping channel.

  • ICC World Cup fees, Simpsons production costs, forex adversely impact Fox Q3-2015 OIBDA

    ICC World Cup fees, Simpsons production costs, forex adversely impact Fox Q3-2015 OIBDA

    BENGALURU: Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. reported a 16.8 per cent drop in total revenue to $6840 million in the quarter ended 31 March, 2015 (Q3-2015, current quarter) as comparted to the $8219 million reported for the year ago quarter (quarter ended 31 March, 2014). Excluding net revenues for Q3-2014 from the Direct Broadcast Satellite Television (DBS) businesses, Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland AG, which were sold in November 2014 to Sky plc, adjusted revenues in Q3-2015 increased $84 million or one per cent over the $6.76 billion of adjusted revenue in Q3-2014.

     

    The company’s operating income before depreciation and amortisation fell by $110 million (6.2 per cent) to $1677 million in Q3-2015 from $1787 million in Q3-2014. The company’s Television segment reported a fall of OIBDA to $141 million, which was less than half (49 per cent) of the $288 million reported for Q3-2014. The company attributes the decline in OIBDA to the absence of revenues generated from the broadcast of Super Bowl XLVIII in the prior year and higher entertainment programming costs at the Fox Broadcasting Network from a higher volume of original series, including Glee and Empire, in the current year quarter as compared to more series repeats in Q3-2014.

     

    While its biggest segment in terms of revenues – Cable Network Programming reported an OIBDA improvement of $57 million (4.8 per cent increase) to $1233 million in Q3-2015. OIBDA increment by the segment would have been even higher, but for the impact of 19 per cent increase in segment expenses lead by the planned investments in new channels, primarily Star Sports and FXX, says the company.

     

    Increased Cable Network Programming segment expenses included increased rights fees related to the broadcast of the ICC Cricket World Cup at Star Sports and increased programming costs at FXX led by The Simpsons. International advertising revenue for the segment increased 24 per cent due to strong local currency growth at Star, driven by the broadcast of the ICC Cricket World Cup, and local currency growth at the FIC channels partially offset by the negative five per cent impact from foreign exchange rate fluctuations.

     

    For the nine month period ended 31 March, 2015 (9M-2015), Fox reported revenue of $22782 million as compared to the $23443 million in 9M-2014. Eliminating the revenue by its DBS business (without accounting for the impact of DBS on corporate eliminations) in the current nine month and 9M-2014 periods, 9M-2015 revenue was $ 20620 million and 9M-2014 revenue was $19006 million, reflecting an 8.5 per cent growth.

     

    Fox OIBDA for 9M-2015 was $5178 million as compared to the $4949 million in 9M-2014. Neglecting DBS OIBDA (without accounting for the impact of DBS on corporate eliminations), the company’s adjusted OIBDA for 9M-2015 was $4944 million, which was 5.8 per cent more than the $4671 million reported for 9M-2014.

     

    Segment Results

     

    Cable Network Programming

     

    This segment reported 12.5 per cent increase in revenue to $3590 million in the current quarter from $3152 million in Q3-2014. Over the nine month period (9M-2015), the segment reported 14.2 per cent increase in revenue to $10205 million from $8296 million in Q3-2015.

     

    The segment’s OIBDA for Q3-2015 has been mentioned above. For 9M-2015, segment OIBDA improved seven per cent to $3430 million from $3205 million in 9M-2014.

     

    Domestic (US) affiliate revenue grew 20 per cent in Q3-2015, reflecting the combination of sustained growth at the regional sports networks, Fox News Channel and FX Networks, increased contribution from Fox Sports 1, and the consolidation of the Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network (the Yes Network). International affiliate revenue increased 2 per cent driven by strong local currency growth at the Fox International Channels and Star channels which was partially offset by a 13 per cent adverse impact from the strengthened US dollar.

     

    Domestic advertising revenue was flat y-o-y due to lower ratings at FX Networks and National Geographic Channel.

     

    Television

     

    This segment reported a drop of 22 per cent in revenue in Q3-2015 to $1237 million from $1587 million in the corresponding year ago quarter. For 9M-2015, Television segment reported a revenue drop of 8.4 per cent to $3430 million in Q3-2015 from $4265 million in 9M-2014.

     

    Television segment OIBDA in 9M-2015 fell 17.9 per cent ($132 million) to $605 million from $737 million in 9M-2014.

     

    Filmed Entertainment

     

    This segment reported 4.8 per cent improvement in revenue to $2389 million in Q3-2015 as compared to the $2279 million in Q3-2014. For 9M-2015, Filmed Entertainment segment revenue rose 10.8 per cent to $7618 million from $6876 million in 9M-2014.

     

    Segment OIBDA for Q3-2015 improved 7.9 per cent to $382 million from $354 million in Q3-2014.Filmed Entertainment OIBDA improved 15.4 per cent in 9M-2015 to $1176 million from $1019 million in 9M-2014.

     

    The company says that the growth was driven by the successful theatrical releases Taken 3and Kingsman: The Secret Service in the current quarter, which have grossed over $320 million and $400 million in worldwide box office to date, respectively, and theatrical and home entertainment contributions from Penguins of Madagascar. This growth was partially offset by lower contributions from the television production business due to lower SVOD revenues resulting from the prior year sale of several series to Amazon, including 24 and The Americans, and from the adverse impact from the strengthened US dollar.

  • Comcast Q1-2015 revenue up 2.6%, operating income up 9%

    Comcast Q1-2015 revenue up 2.6%, operating income up 9%

    BENGALURU: Comcast Corporation reported 2.6 per cent growth in consolidated revenue in Q1-2015 (quarter ended 31 March, 2015, current quarter) to $17853 million as compared to the $17408 million in the corresponding year ago quarter. Comcast consolidated operating income increased nine per cent in Q1-2015 to $3890 million from $3568 million in Q1-2014.

     

    The company’s Cable Communications, Filmed Entertainment and Theme Parks segments reported growth in revenue, while Cable Networks Broadcast Television and NBU Universal segments reported a y-o-y fall in revenue.

     

    Comcast chairman and CEO Brian L Roberts said, “We are off to a great start in 2015, with 7.6 per cent operating cash flow growth and record quarterly free cash flow. Cable had a terrific quarter, once again reflecting strong results in high-speed Internet and business services. We have made progress in transforming the customer experience while delivering improved products and innovations faster than ever before. At NBC Universal, we had another excellent quarter, led by Super Bowl XLIX, which was the most-watched television program of all time, along with the tremendous box office success of Fifty Shades of Grey, and the exceptional performance of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley in Orlando. We begin 2015 with great momentum and remain confident that we are well positioned with an impressive portfolio of complementary businesses to continue our strong performance and drive shareholder value.”

     

    Segment Results

     

    Cable Communications

     

    The company’s largest segment by revenue, Cable Communications reported 6.3 per cent revenue growth in Q1-2015 to $11430 million as compared to the $10757 million in Q1-2014, led by 21.5 per cent growth by its Business Services segment. Within the Cable Communications segment, revenue from Video grew three per cent to $5331 million in Q1-2015 from $5178 million in Q1-2015; High-speed Internet grew 10.7 per cent to $3044 million from $2750 million in Q1-2014; Revenue from Voice declined 1.5 per cent to $906 million from $920 million in Q1-2014; Business services revenue increased 21.5 per cent to $1114 million in Q1-2015 from $917 million in Q1-2014; Advertising Revenue fell 0.6 per cent to $504 million from $507 million in Q1-2014; Revenue from ‘Other’ grew 9.5 per cent to $531 million from $485 million in the corresponding year ago quarter.

     

    NBC Universal

     

    Revenue for NBC Universal decreased four per cent to $6604 million in the first quarter of 2015 compared to $6876 million in the first quarter of 2014. Excluding $376 million of revenue generated by the broadcast of the NFL’s Super Bowl in the first quarter of 2015 and $1100 million of revenue generated by the Sochi Olympics in the first quarter of 2014, revenue increased 7.9 per cent. Operating Cash Flow increased 14.0 per cent to $1494 million compared to $1311 million in Q1-2014, driven by strong results at Theme Parks and Broadcast Television. 

     

    Cable Networks

     

    For the first quarter of 2015, revenue from the Cable Networks segment decreased 5.9 per cent to $2359 million as compared to $2505 million in Q1-2015. Excluding $257 million of revenue generated by the Sochi Olympics in Q1-2014, revenue increased 4.9 per cent, reflecting a 4.8 per cent increase in distribution revenue and a 4.3 per cent increase in advertising revenue. Excluding a benefit from a reduction in deferred advertising revenue, advertising growth would have been stable as audience ratings declines were offset by higher prices and volume. Operating cash flow increased 0.3 per cent to $898 million compared to $895 million in Q1-2014, reflecting lower  programming and production costs due to the broadcast of the Sochi Olympics in the first quarter of 2014, partially offset by lower revenue.

     

    Broadcast Television

     

    For the first quarter of 2015, revenue from the Broadcast Television segment decreased 14.2 per cent to $2248 million compared to $2621 million in Q1-2014. Excluding $376 million of revenue generated by the NFL’s Super Bowl in Q1-2015, as well as $846 million of revenue generated by the Sochi Olympics in Q1-2014, revenue increased 5.5 per cent, driven by a 5.5 per cent increase in advertising revenue, as well as higher retransmission consent fees.  Operating cash flow increased 48.9 per cent to $182 million compared to $122 million in Q1-2014, reflecting lower programming and production costs due to the broadcast of the Sochi Olympics in Q1-2014 and a profitable Super Bowl, partially offset by lower revenue.

     

    Filmed Entertainment

     

    For Q1-2015, revenue from the Filmed Entertainment segment increased seven per cent to $1446 million compared to the $1351 million in Q1-2014, reflecting higher content licensing and home entertainment revenue, partially offset by lower theatrical revenue. Operating cash flow increased 1.7 per cent to $293 million compared to $288 million in Q1-2014, reflecting higher revenue, partially offset by increased marketing expenses ahead of the release of Furious 7 early in the second quarter.

     

    Theme Parks

     

    For Q1-2015, revenue from the Theme Parks segment increased 33.7 per cent to $651 million compared to $487 million in the first quarter of 2014, reflecting higher guest attendance and per capita spending, driven by the continued success of Orlando’s The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Diagon Alley. First quarter operating cash flow increased 54.6 per cent to $263 million compared to $170 million in the same period last year, reflecting higher revenue, partially offset by an increase in operating costs to support the new attractions.

  • New opportunities from cable TV digitisation in India

    New opportunities from cable TV digitisation in India

    India is home to approximately 60,000 to 100,000 cable TV operators. Assuming 20 kilometres of cable laid by every operator on an average, India has 1.2 to 2 million kilometres of cable! With digitisation of cable TV, the cable networks are transitioning from coaxial to optic fiber in the last mile. So, with access to so much optic fiber in premises where people live and work, why is digitisation of cable TV still not leading to a large upswing in broadband availability, quality of connections, and consumer use? After all, optic fiber can carry a much larger amount of data and video than coaxial cable can.

    What is the Last Mile?

    The last mile is called the ‘access’ network. It is called so since this network is accessed by end-consumers. The last mile network stretches all the way from the cable operator’s control room (seen in the picture below to the left) to a junction box (picture below to the right) near the consumer premises. At the junction box, the electrical signals carried on the optic fiber are converted into RF signals that are then transmitter through coaxial cable for the final few metres to the set top box at the consumer premises.

     Caption: (L-R) Typical View of a Cable Operator’s Control Room and Junction Box near customer premises.

    In most places, the last mile network is in the form of an overhead cable, whilst sometimes it is laid underground.

    The missing ‘Middle Mile’

    Several last mile ‘access’ networks are aggregated at one point and then connected to the core network. This ‘aggregator’ network is where most challenges arise. Ranging from 0.5 kilometres to 3 kilometres and more in most cases, the aggregator network has to carry large amounts of traffic. Assuming a requirement of 2 Mbps per TV channel, a typical cable feed will have 400 channels or around 800 Mbps of video at any point in time. If we add any internet or data traffic to this, then the aggregator networks have to carry at least a few gigabits of data every second. Lack of rights of way for optic fiber and very high costs of laying any fiber running into a few lakhs of rupees for every 100 meters make fiber unviable commercially at low cable TV ARPU of Rs 200-300 per home per month. The missing ‘middle mile’ and the resulting adverse effect on monetization of the last mile networks is the bane of the cable TV industry today. Negative or zero returns on investment on last mile networks and set top boxes is the main reason behind the opposition digitization of cable TV in India has faced.

    Making the model commercially viable

    Investments in the last mile and advanced consumer premise equipment that deliver entertainment and a large number of other services can be justified only if monthly earnings per consumer or ARPU increase. This is possible only if the last mile carry internet/IP or data traffic which has better ARPU than cable TV. However, cable networks have to lay more optic fiber in the last mile for this data traffic to reach consumers. The only other solution is to turn the last mile network into an all IP network. However, this is not feasible in most cases since cable Multi-System Operator (MSO) networks transmit one-way RF feeds and not two-way IP feeds.

    The Lukup Media model

    This model relies on making the last mile network capable of carrying IP/data traffic along with RF traffic. The IP feed in this case carry both TV signals and Internet access, thereby potentially increasing the earnings from every connection the last mile network provides to consumers. This model also makes TV channels available on demand. Instead of broadcasting TV channels, on demand TV implies that channels are unicasted or streamed on demand. This reduces the stress on quality of service in the last mile network. This model also takes advantage of innovation in transporting IP traffic in the ‘middle mile’ by making it possible to transport gigabits of data per second without laying optic fiber or resorting to using unlicensed or lightly licensed microwave or wireless bands that do not guarantee quality of service for video traffic or assure availability of such large bandwidth.

    Additional Revenue opportunities for Cable operators

    In the scenario where the last mile carries IP/data traffic which enables cable operators to provide both TV and internet access through a single connection to consumers, vast revenue opportunities open up. In addition to TV revenue, cable operators can earn from providing internet access and services such as media storage in the cloud, delivery of educational content, high definition gaming, home automation and monitoring services and more.

    Just like the US market where digitized cable TV networks deliver 60 per cent of America’s data traffic, cable TV networks in India are also poised to evolve in a similar manner providing dual play and eventually triple play services to consumers.

     (These are purely personal views of Lukup Media chief executive officer Kallol Borah and Indiantelevision.com does not necessarily subscribe to these views.)

  • AT&T president Aaron Slator sacked for sending racially offensive messages

    AT&T president Aaron Slator sacked for sending racially offensive messages

    NEW DELHI: American AT&T, which is facing a $100 million discrimination lawsuit, has fired its president Aaron Slator, who allegedly sent racially offensive images from his phone.

     

    AT&T said in a statement that “there is no place for demeaning behaviour within AT&T and we regret the action was not taken earlier.”

     

     An assistant who was asked to transfer data to a new smartphone found the image on Slator’s phone, according to the lawsuit filed on Monday by Knoyme King, a 50-year-old black woman who worked for Slator.

     

     One of the images, apparently of an African child dancing with the caption “It’s Friday…” followed by a term offensive to African Americans, had been sent in a text describing it as an “oldie but a goodie,” the lawsuit said.

     

     The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, names as defendants Slator, AT&T, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, other executives and board member Joyce Roche.

     

    Slator was president of content and advertising sales, managing its multibillion-dollar budget for content acquisition that is consumed by subscribers of Dallas-based AT&T’s U-verse TV service.

     

     King’s lawyer Skip Miller told The Associated Press that the lawsuit will continue. He said the company failed to take action earlier, despite the issue being brought to the attention of its board of directors and human resources department. “This is an AT&T problem, it’s not just an Aaron Slator problem,” he said.

     

     The lawsuit alleges that King was passed over for promotions and given inferior raises because of her race, that she was mistreated and that attempts were made to have her leave the company. King has worked 30 years for AT&T and is still employed there, Miller said.

  • Time Warner Cable adds live TV to TWC TV app on Xbox One

    Time Warner Cable adds live TV to TWC TV app on Xbox One

    MUMBAI: Time Warner Cable has added live TV to its TWC TV app on the Xbox One video game and entertainment system from Microsoft.

     

    Time Warner Cable customers with Xbox One consoles will have access to almost 300 live TV channels alongside a selection of 8,000 free and subscription titles from a vast Video On Demand (VOD) catalog.

     

    TWC TV made its debut on the video game system last month, adding Xbox One to a growing stable of devices that includes Apple’s iOS, Android, Xbox 360, Roku and many others.

     

    TWC TV on Xbox One takes advantage of all the benefits of the powerful Xbox One console, smoothly integrating with its interactive features such as Kinect and Snap mode, which enables customers to switch quickly from one entertainment experience to another.

     

    TWC TV is available for download at no additional cost from the Xbox Live apps marketplace for all Xbox Live members in the US. Available content, channels and offerings vary by market and depend on the customer’s underlying video subscription package.

  • Murdoch’s Foxtel mulls 15% stake in Oz’s Ten Network for $67 million

    Murdoch’s Foxtel mulls 15% stake in Oz’s Ten Network for $67 million

    MUMBAI: Rupert Murdoch’s Australian local cable TV company Foxtel is mulling the option of buying a stake in Ten Network Holdings.

     

    Australia’s free-to-air broadcaster Ten Network Holdings has acknowledged that it is in talks with Foxtel for a potential investment.

     

    According to a report in the Australian Financial Review, Foxtel was close to agreeing a deal to take a 14.9 per cent stake in Ten, pumping in about $66.47 million at 18 cents a share.

     

    In a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), Ten Network said that an ongoing review about its ownership “involves discussions with Foxtel about the terms on which it may potentially invest in Ten.”

     

    Foxtel is half-owned by the Australian arm of News Corp and half-owned by Australian telecom company Telstra Corp.

     

    Ten Network added that it will “update the ASX again when required to do so under its continuous disclosure obligations.”

     

    The company also urged “caution in dealing in its shares on the basis of media speculation about potential transactions involving the company.”