ITV

Category: Cable TV

  • Times Warner Cable FY-2014 operating income up 1.1 per cent

    Times Warner Cable FY-2014 operating income up 1.1 per cent

    BENGALURU: Time Warner Cable Inc (TWC) reported a 1.1 per cent growth in operating income in FY-2014 at $4632 million from $4580 million in FY-2013. For Q4-2014 (quarter ended 31 December, 2014, current quarter), TWC operating income at $1226 million was 4.5 per cent more than the  $1173 million in the corresponding quarter of last year.

     

    TWC revenue for FY-2014 at $22812 million was 3.1 per cent more than the $22120 million in the previous year. Q4-2014 revenue at $5970 million was 3.8 per cent more than the $5577 million in Q4-2013.

     

    Time Warner Cable chairman and CEO Rob Marcus said, “Our fourth quarter marked a strong finish to a really positive year for Time Warner Cable. As a result of record Q4 subscriber net adds and the investments we made all year in our plant, products and customer care, we enter 2015 with tremendous operating momentum.”

     

    Marcus added, “We continue to expect the Comcast merger to close soon; until then, we remain one hundred per cent committed to executing our plan.”

     

    Financial Highlights

     

    FY-2014 revenue grew 3.1 per cent year over year with Business Services revenue up 22.8 per cent, residential high-speed data revenue up 10.4 per cent and advertising revenue up 10.6 per cent.

     

    Fourth-quarter 2014 revenue grew 3.8 per cent year over year with Business Services revenue up 22.6 per cent, residential high-speed data revenue up 7.4 per cent and advertising revenue up 19.4 per cent.

     

    Full-year Adjusted OIBDA was $8.2 billion – up 3.1 per cent year over year. Operating Income of $4.6 billion increased 1.1 per cent y-o-y. Fourth-quarter Adjusted OIBDA was $2.1 billion – up 5.6 per cent year over year. Operating Income of $1.2 billion increased 4.5 per cent y-o-y.

     

    Full-year Adjusted Diluted EPS increased 14.4 per cent to $7.56. Diluted EPS increased 7.0 per cent to $7.17.  Fourth-quarter Adjusted Diluted EPS increased 11.5 per cent to $2.03. Diluted EPS increased 3.2 per cent to $1.95.

     

    Operational Highlights

     

    Fourth-quarter subscriber performance in each category: Total customer relationship net additions of 67,000. Residential high-speed data net additions of 168,000 and revenue from this segment grew 7.4 per cent to $1644 million in Q4-2014 from $1531 million in Q4-2013. FY-2014 revenue from this segment grew 10.4 per cent to $6428 million from $5822 million in the previous year.

     

    Residential voice net reported additions of 295,000, and a revenue decline of 4.7 per cent at $470 million in the current quarter from $493 million in Q4-2013. FY-2014 revenue from this segment declined 4.7 per cent to $1932 million from $2027 million in FY-2013.

     

    Residential video net subscribers declined 38,000, and revenue from this segment fell 2.8 per cent to $2464 million in the current quarter from $2536 million in Q4-2013. FY-2014 revenue from this segment fell 4.6 per cent to $10002 million from $10481 million in FY-2013.

     

    Residential triple play net additions were 273,000 says TWC.

     

    TWC says that full-year capital expenditures of $4.1 billion reflect the company’s accelerated investment in “TWCMaxx,” improved customer experience and network expansion.

     

    The roll out of TWC Maxx, including the “all digital” conversion and Internet speeds of up to 300 Mbps, was completed in New York City and Los Angeles during 2014. The company expects to complete the roll out in Austin, Texas in early 2015 and plans to expand TWC Maxx to Charlotte, Dallas, Hawaii, Kansas City, Raleigh, San Antonio and San Diego in 2015.

     

    TWC says that it deployed more than eight million new set-top boxes, digital-to-analogue converters and advanced modems in customers’ homes during 2014.

     

    It says further that during 2014, TWC added nearly 70,000 commercial buildings to its network, ending the year with connectivity to 930,000 commercial buildings. TWC claims that it achieved record “on-time” performance with technicians arriving at more than 97 per cent of customer appointments within the designated one-hour appointment window during the fourth quarter.

     

    TWC, the second largest US cable TV operator is being bought by the largest US Cable TV operator Comcast Corp in a friendly takeover for $45.3 billion subject to various approvals.

  • Tamil Nadu cable ops go on strike; demand increase in analogue cable TV tariff

    Tamil Nadu cable ops go on strike; demand increase in analogue cable TV tariff

    MUMBAI: More than 1.25 crore analogue cable TV homes in Tamil Nadu (except Chennai) will not be able to watch their favourite programmes on 24 January, thanks to the strike by the Tamil Nadu Cable Operators.

     

    The strike, which began at 9 am on 24 January will end at 9 pm tonight. The reason stated for the move is the low cable TV tariff. Currently the analogue cable TV households in Tamil Nadu pay Rs 70 to the local cable operators, of which Rs 20 goes to the government.

     

    “The LCOs are bleeding. While the prices of all goods and services have gone up, it is only the cable TV service whose tariff has come down,” said Chennai Metro Cable Operators Association general secretary MR Srinivasan.

     

    The cable operators are also requesting the government to increase the subscription from Rs 70 to Rs 150 for analogue cable TV services.

     

    “The government hasn’t done any investment on ground for the setting up cable TV system in the state, they are only paying the broadcasters for the pay channels. And without making any investments they are dictating the LCOs to collect only Rs 70 from consumers,” he added.

     

    According to Srinivasan, the multi system operators (MSOs) haven’t been given any compensation for the infrastructure, which went free to the government.

     

    “Even after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) giving clear guidelines on the tariff on the free to air channels, the government in Tamil Nadu hasn’t adhered to it,” he informed.  

     

    While the representatives have met government officials, no decision has been taken as yet.

  • Time Warner appoints Mitchell A Klaif as CIO

    Time Warner appoints Mitchell A Klaif as CIO

    MUMBAI: Mitchell A Klaif has taken over as senior vice-president and chief information officer (CIO) of Times Warner.

     

    Klaif will oversee the corporate information technology group and will lead the execution of Time Warner’s enterprise-wide information technology strategy.

     

    Until now, Klaif had been for 17 years at Time, including seven years as the company’s chief information officer and chief technology officer.

     

    In his previous role, Klaif was responsible for overseeing information technology throughout Time worldwide, including technology and e-commerce for more than 115 magazines, 40 websites and Time’s direct marketing businesses.

  • Dish TV, Hathway move to ‘overweight’: Morgan Stanley

    Dish TV, Hathway move to ‘overweight’: Morgan Stanley

    MUMBAI: Brokerage firm Morgan Stanley has some good news in store for direct to home (DTH) player Dish TV and multi system operator (MSO) Hathway Cable & Datacom. The firm has upgraded both Hathway and Dish TV to ‘overweight’, while also raising their target price, that represents an upside of 37 per cent and 20 per cent respectively, over the next 12 months.

     

    As per an Economic Times report, Morgan Stanley has downgraded Zee Entertainment to ‘equal weight’ with downside of 10 per cent. “Zee outperformed Hathway and Dish by 12 per cent and 24 per cent, respectively, in 2014 as they believe that a large part of the potential improvement in subscriptions for Zee is in the price,” said the report. 

     

    While upgrading Dish TV from ‘underweight’ to ‘overweight’, the target price of the DTH platform has been raised from Rs 49 to Rs 82. Not only this, Hathway has been upgraded from ‘equalweight’ to ‘overweight’, with a current target price of Rs 91 from Rs 59.   

     

    According to the brokerage firm, there is a sense of urgency on monetisation by the MSOs, which can push up realisations for both Hathway and Dish TV.

     

    “MSOs were unable to effect any sizeable improvements in realisations in 2014. However, the push from broadcasters to improve their subscription share has forced MSOs’ hands,” added the media report.

     

    As per Morgan Stanley channel checks, MSOs are responding by introducing higher value packs, raising prices and moving to a prepaid model.

     

    The firm expects these efforts to boost realisations for MSOs and create headroom for Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) expansion for DTH. 

     

    While an improving macro-economic outlook can help lift TV ad spending, margins could remain muted in F2016 for Zee due to new launches. Hence, Morgan Stanley prefers Hathway Cable followed by Dish TV and then Zee Entertainment Ltd.

     

  • Den Networks & Snapdeal ink 50:50 JV for TV Commerce channel

    Den Networks & Snapdeal ink 50:50 JV for TV Commerce channel

    MUMBAI: After inking a joint-venture with Jasper Infotech, the entity that owns and operates the digital commerce platform – Snapdeal.com, multi system operator (MSO) Den Networks has now launched a ‘TV Commerce’ channel with an aim to create a multi-nodal electronic shopping avenue for customers.

     

    The channel is currently available for viewers on channel number 132 on Den and will be extended to other cable and DTH networks over the next six months.

     

    With Den Networks’ reach into about 13 million households in over 200 cities across 13 states in the country, Snapdeal.com can leverage the robust distribution to provide customers easy access to products across home, lifestyle and electronics categories.

     

    Snapdeal.com co-founder and CEO Kunal Bahl said, “Innovation lies at the heart of Snapdeal.com and with this initiative we are taking yet another step to fulfill our promise of providing accessibility to the best products at best prices to consumers across India. We are delighted to partner with a likeminded brand like Den Networks, which enjoys massive reach and brand loyalty across the entire country and especially in smaller towns of India. India is a country with many heterogeneous segments of consumers, and we believe that by reaching 150 million households with 600 million people that have a TV, we can create another revolution through 7V Commerce.”

     

    Den Snapdeal TV shop will benefit customers who have limited access to internet services particularly in tier 2 and 3 cities. 

     

    Den Networks CMD Sameer Manchanda added, “We are extremely thrilled to partner with Snapdeal.com on this game-changing initiative. By leveraging Snapdeal and Den’s nationwide distribution network will now be able to engage with a much larger audience, which is still not exposed to the benefits of online shopping and internet access. Together, we aim to offer the customers a wide assortment of products and provide them with a hassle free buying experience. The response to the pilot has been extremely encouraging and we are sure Den-Snapdeal TV Shop will be well received by our viewers.”

     

  • Goldman Sachs picks shares in Hathway worth Rs 52.6 crore

    Goldman Sachs picks shares in Hathway worth Rs 52.6 crore

    MUMBAI: The new year has started on a good note for multi system operator (MSO) Hathway Cable and Datacom. Hathway, which became the first MSO to have crossed the $1 billion mark in terms of enterprise valuation, has now attracted Goldman Sachs, which picked up 4.8 per cent stake in the company.

     

    After investing Rs 600 crore in DEN Networks in 2013, this is Goldman Sachs second investment in Indian cable TV industry.

     

    The company bought 80,93,268 shares of Hathway at Rs 65, amounting to Rs 52.6 crore on the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

     

    The highest shareholder in the MSO is Macquarie Bank with 9.11 per cent stake. Other shareholders in the company include Reliance Capital (5.23 per cent), P6 Asia (Providence Equity Partners) (10.85 per cent) and CLSA Global (4.02 per cent) among others.

     

    The news comes at the back of the MSO seeking shareholder’s approval for increasing its total foreign investment by Foreign Institutional Investors (FII) and Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI) to 74 per cent from the current 49 per cent.

     

    While Hathway had on 8 January got Board approval for increasing the foreign investment limit, subject to approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board of India, Ministry of Finance and/or the Reserve Bank of India, the MSO is now seeking the shareholders nod.

     

    The Hathway Board has appointed Rathi and Associates Himanshu S Kamdar as scrutiniser for conducting the voting process through postal ballot. The company has also offered e-voting facility as an alternative. The last date for the ballots to reach Kamdar is 5 pm on 13 February.

     

  • Government should set aside Rs 10,000 crore for cable modernisation: Arvind Prabhoo

    Government should set aside Rs 10,000 crore for cable modernisation: Arvind Prabhoo

    MUMBAI: The seed of the dream of seeing a ‘Digital India’ was sown by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as he took charge to make India a better and developed country. And now to make this dream come true are the cable TV operators, who are looking at achieving this through cable TV transformation.

     

    In keeping with this, Maharashtra Cable Operators Foundation (MCOF) president Arvind Prabhoo has already sent a presentation to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry (I&B) to not only update them of the needs of the industry, but also how the government could help push the agenda.

     

    According to Prabhoo, the sector needs regulatory support. This includes cable Internet Service Provider (ISP) licence on soft terms, last mile cable operator licensing, price control on content and level playing field for domestic voice over IP (VoIP). The MCOF president has also requested the Ministry for infrastructure support including long haul fibre and BSNL networking sharing, innovative per customer/month fees and cable modernisation fund. With the industry moving to a whole new system of cable TV viewing, the industry needs re-skilling and incentives for innovations.    

     

    MCOF in its proposition to the I&B has also said that the government needs to become the national data pipe in order to act as a digital courier. “Set one country, one service, one price,” informed Prabhoo. 

     

    Not only this, the government should look at setting aside a cable modernisation fund of around Rs 10,000 crore. Of this, according to Prabhoo, Rs 4000 crore will be used in set top box (STB) financing at Rs 300 per SD STB, Rs 5500 crore at Rs 600 per home passed will be used in infrastructure upgrade and Rs 500 crore will be used towards technology R&D. “The Ministry could fund the industry for a tenure of five years. With this funding, the government will be the biggest beneficiary as it would be collecting taxes on the funds,” opined Prabhoo.

     

    Cable TV currently reaches to close to 60 per cent homes (12 crore) of which around 9 crore are in DAS phase III and IV areas. “The sector which has a workforce of close to 300,000, has the potential to serve some 50 crore data users,” he added.

     

    In the presentation to the Ministry, MCOF has also highlighted the challenges faced by the digital India. These include the high customer acquisition cost, resulting in unavailability of basic data services, shortages in last mile local loop and predominance of concrete in civil structures which is eroding fidelity of wireless services.

     

    “We had sent the presentation to the Ministry for a robust cable TV industry, but have not heard from them so far,” concluded Prabhoo.

  • Hathway Cable gets board nod to hike FII limit to 74 per cent

    Hathway Cable gets board nod to hike FII limit to 74 per cent

    MUMBAI: It was in 2012, when the government had relaxed foreign direct investment (FDI) limit in direct to home (DTH), cable TV industry and teleports from 49 per cent to 74 per cent. In keeping with this, Hathway Cable & Datacom which early this week became the first multi system operator (MSO) to have crossed the $1 billion mark in terms of enterprise valuation, is now probably looking at attracting overseas capital into the company.

    The MSO has in an announcement to the BSE informed that its Board of Directors have approved and passed the resolution to increase the foreign investment limit from the current 49 per cent to 74 per cent, this subject to approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board of India, Ministry of Finance and/or the Reserve Bank of India.

    “Subject to receipt of approval of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board of India, Ministry of Finance (FIPB) and / or the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and all other applicable authorities, increasing the foreign investment limit only by Foreign Institutional Investors, Foreign Portfolio Investors, etc. under the Portfolio Investment Scheme in accordance with Schedules 2 and 2A of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (Transfer or Issue of Security by a Person Resident Outside India) Regulations, 2000 in the Company from 49 per cent to 74 per cent of the issued arid fully paid-up share capital of the Company,” reads the announcement.

    The Hathway Board has also passed the resolution of a postal ballot notice along with the explanatory statement and calendar of events for seeking approval of the shareholders of the Company by postal ballot for its foreign investment proposal.

    According to Hathway Cable & Datacom CEO and MD Jagdish Kumar Pillai, the cable TV sector is becoming lucrative for foreign investors. Pillai had earlier told Indiantelevision.com, “With broadband and cable TV getting more transparent, the market is viewing this as a great industry to invest in the next five years, and that’s reflected in the balance sheet. It is a promise of a good potential.”

    With the industry getting more organised courtesy its digitsation drive, Pillai expects more foreign investors to pump in funds into the cable TV sector.

     

  • Date extended for MSO registration for DAS phase III

    Date extended for MSO registration for DAS phase III

    NEW DELHI: Following an assurance in the last Task Force meeting, the Government has extended till 6 February the last date for multi-system operators for registration for Phase III of digital addressable systems (DAS) for cable television.
     
    The earlier date was 21 December.
     
    The Ministry noted that Cable TV digitisation in remaining urban areas not covered in phases I and II is slated for completion by 1 December 2O15.
     
    Cable TV Digitisation Security clearance from the Home Ministry – a prerequisite for permanent registration – takes about three to four months.
     
    The extension is being given as MSOs complained at the last meeting of the Task Force for phase III that they needed sufficient time to operationalise their digital set ups after the issue of the registration.

     

    Speaking at the task force meeting last week, several stakeholders also wanted online registration for MSOs wanting to enter their names for phase III.
    Information and Broadcasting Ministry Additional Secretary J S Mathur, who chaired the meeting, also said that meetings were being organised between manufacturers of indigenous set top boxes and the Ministry of Information and Technology.

     

    Mathur responding to queries from some MSO’s wanted them to prepare a list of areas in phase III which were currently not being reached by cable television. A member had pointed out that a Headend In The Sky (HITS) platform could be used in such areas.

     

  • Hathway Cable becomes India’s first $1bn enterprise valuation MSO

    Hathway Cable becomes India’s first $1bn enterprise valuation MSO

    MUMBAI: New year celebrations don’t seem to have ended at the Raheja group company and multi system operator Hathway Cable & Datacom. The MSO has become the first company from the cable TV industry to have crossed the $1 billion mark in terms of enterprise valuation.

    At the time of filing the report, as on 6 January 2015, (1 USD= 63.4286 INR mid- market rate), the total valuation of the company including market cap (Rs 5581 crore) and debt (Rs 806 crore) and excluding cash and cash equivalents  was close to $ 1 billion (Rs 6387 crore).  

    Hathway Cable & Datacom MD and CEO Jagdish Kumar Pillai is over the moon with this feat.  Says he, “This achievement has got more to do with the potential of the Indian cable TV market, and not just with what Hathway does.”

     For Pillai, digitisation has opened up the potential of unlocking the value that Indian cable TV industry holds. “With broadband and cable TV getting more transparent, the market is viewing this as a great industry to invest in the next five years, and that’s reflected in the balance sheet. It is a promise of a good potential,” he opines.

    With the industry getting more organised, Pillai expects more foreign investors to pump in funds into cable TV. “And that is what Hathway is doing. We are corporatising the whole industry and bringing the professionals to run our business. We have invested heavily in computer software and automation. It has become more like a telecom company. We expect a lot of investment interest in the industry now,” he adds.

    Pillai feels that it is Hathway’s broadband service which differentiates the company from the other players. “Our broadband service is strong and that has, along with our strong CATV, helped us reach at this level,” he says.  

    The plan for Hathway from here is clear: monetisation of the investments made in the phase I and II markets. “We have deployed 7 million set top boxes in the first two phases of DAS and we would like to monetise that. Also as we get closer to phase III and IV deadlines, we will look at opportunities which will enable us to expand further,” he informs.

    As for broadband, Hathway which has already upgraded its platform to DOCSIS 3.0, is looking at expanding to all the cities in which it has a presence.  “The investment will be two-fold, both in broadband and in cable TV,” concludes Pillai.

    Coming on the back of the announcement that the Videocon group has signed an agreement with US-based Silver Eagle Acquisition Corp to sell 33.5 per cent of its shares in its DTH venture Videocon d2h for $300 million, the Hathway landmark shows that confidence amongst investors for TV distribution initiatives seems to be reviving. And that’s good news for the entire TV ecosystem which has been struggling to digitise its TV viewer base.