ITV

Category: DTH Operator

  • ‘Scan to help’ feature now available on My DishTV app

    ‘Scan to help’ feature now available on My DishTV app

    KOLKATA: Dish TV India has introduced a new ‘scan to help’ feature for its subscribers for a more convenient television viewing experience. Executed and conceptualised by the first runner-up team of Dish-a-thon 2020 (which happens to be an in-house team- team DishTV), the ‘scan to help’ feature is available on My DishTV app, which is powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning and supports Hindi and English language for easy understanding. 

    With this feature, the company aims to empower all existing and new subscribers for self-help in case of any technical errors on the set-top Box. Furthermore, the new feature also helps to achieve higher C-SAT, reduction in calls to Dish TVs call centre, and an opportunity to cross-sell.

    Subscribers can seamlessly initiate the self-help journey by scanning the error plate and it will automatically share an update on the account status and current subscription. In case of bad weather conditions at the broadcasting center, it will take an update of the weather conditions in the subscriber’s locality and proceed with technical troubleshooting. The app will also provide an option to raise a service ticket within the journey itself.  

    Dish TV India executive director and group CEO Anil Dua said new features like ‘scan to help’ are set to redefine and shape up the future of the M&E/broadcasting industry.

    "In this digital era, technology-led solutions and offerings are paramount to achieving customer satisfaction and this new AI-enabled tech feature is a step in the same direction. What makes this feature extremely special is the fact that this idea was proposed by one of the top three winning teams of Dish-a-thon 2020. This was an in-house team – team DishTV – and they have taken the idea forward to its solutioning and complete execution,” he added.

  • MIB amends DTH guidelines, directs players to clear dues for fresh licenses

    MIB amends DTH guidelines, directs players to clear dues for fresh licenses

    NEW DELHI: The ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) has made amendments to the existing DTH guidelines that will have a wide-ranging impact on the industry. The circular issued by the ministry mentioned that the existing licensees are required to apply afresh to get a license for providing DTH services. Further, the issue of fresh license to the existing licensees will be subject to their clearing all dues and fulfilling all obligations under the terms and conditions of existing license as well as those arising out of legal cases pending before various courts of law.

    The license will be valid for a period of 20 years from the date of issue of wireless operational license by wireless planning and coordination wing of the ministry of communications. License may be renewed by 10 years at a time. However, the license can be cancelled/suspended by the licensor at any time in the interest of the Union of India.

    A vertically integrated entity will not reserve more than 15 per cent of the operational channel capacity for its vertically integrated operator. The rest of the capacity is to be offered to the other broadcasters on a non-discriminatory basis.

    No entry fee will be charged from the DTH operators holding license on the date of notification of these guidelines.

    The licensee will have to submit a bank guarantee from any scheduled bank to the MIB for an amount of five crore rupees for the first two quarters, and, thereafter for an amount equivalent to the estimated sum payable, equivalent to the license fee for two quarters and other dues not otherwise securitised. For existing DTH operators, bank guarantee from any scheduled bank for an amount equivalent to the estimated sum payable, equivalent to the license fee for two quarters and other dues not otherwise securitised. Further, the bank guarantee shall be valid for a year which should be renewed on year-on-year basis in such a manner that the bank guarantee remains valid during the entire license period.

    The amended guidelines will come into effect immediately, following the Union cabinet's approval of these amendments last week after a long period of uncertainty over DTH license fee.

    Now, the licensee shall pay an annual fee equivalent to eight per cent of its adjusted gross revenue, calculated by excluding GST from gross revenue (GR) as reflected in the audited accounts of the company for that particular financial year. The minimum annual license fee shall be subject to 10 per cent of the entry fee. The license fee is to be paid on a quarterly basis, the quantum thereof to be equal to the actual license fee payable for the preceding quarter. The annual settlement of the license fee shall be done at the end of the financial year. The licensor will have the right to modify the license fee as a fixed percentage of AGR during the validity of license period.

    The DTH operator would be permitted to operate platform services (PS) channels i.e. DTH operators' own channels exclusively available to its subscribers, to a maximum of five per cent of its total channel carrying capacity. A one-time non-refundable registration fee of Rs 10,000 per PS channel shall be charged from the DTH operator.

    DTH operators willing to share DTH platforms and transport stream of TV channels, on a voluntary basis, would be allowed to do so, wherever technically feasible. The common hardware for their subscriber management system (SMS) and conditional access system (CAS) applications can also be voluntarily shared.

    Set-top boxes offered by a DTH Service Provider shall have such specifications as laid down by the bureau of lndian standards (BlS) from time to time.

  • Tata Sky adds new platform service Astro Duniya

    Tata Sky adds new platform service Astro Duniya

    KOLKATA: Tata Sky, India’s leading content distribution and payTV platform has added a new platform service, Tata Sky Astro Duniya, to its vast bouquet of interactive services. Joining hands with Dominiche Productions Pvt. Ltd., Tata Sky Astro Duniya offers curated content created by celebrity astrologers making the service a one-stop destination into the world of astrology, numerology, vastu and many more.

    Tata Sky Astro Duniya will bring non-stop and ad-free access to astrology content for subscribers, featuring a wide range of services from numerology to horoscope, tarot reading to reiki, vastu to fengshui, vedic astrology to palmistry and face reading on a single platform. The service boasts of a line-up of celebrity experts like Munisha Khatwani, Sundeep Kochar, Biindu Khuraana, Rasesh Shah, Jai Madaan, Jyoti Jhangiani, Greenstone Lobo, Dimple Luniya and many more. Additionally, the service allows subscribers to get personalised predictions wherein they can ask a question to an expert anytime between Monday to Friday by emailing their queries. Around five to 10 questions will be answered by renowned celebrity astrologer, Narendra Bunde.

    Subscribers can get access at no additional cost to kundali making, daily horoscope and features like ask a genie by accessing the service through the Tata Sky Mobile App. Additionally, all subscribers of the service can press the red button on their remote and get daily predictions and fortune cookies. Famous astrologers on the platform can be contacted easily via call/chat. All this and more makes Tata Sky Astro Duniya an ideal window into the world of astrology.

    Tata Sky chief commercial and content officer Pallavi Puri said, “At Tata Sky we have a diverse portfolio of platform services and believe in constantly strengthening them. With Tata Sky Astro Duniya we aim to provide our subscribers with information on various aspects of life and home using astrology, numerology, vastu from credible astrology experts, including personalized consultations. We thank Dominiche Productions for helping us develop this property and are confident that our promotional campaign featuring actor Vinay Pathak will create great buzz for the service.”

    Dominiche Productions director Utpal Vaishnav said, "When me and my co-founding partner Adarsh Gupta started our journey with Dominiche, we had set out a very clear objective for our company, to dominate scalable genres of the future. Astrology, given its generic appeal in India came up as a great opportunity to go after as a pioneering initiative. We are honoured to join hands with Tata Sky to bring to the audiences a credible Astrology offering that would make for a compelling watch.”

    The service is now available to all subscribers on #512 at an optimised cost of Rs.2 per day after the first 10 days at no additional cost.  As part of their platform service offerings, Tata Sky has a robust and vast range of offerings – including Tata Sky Fitness, Tata Sky Cooking, Tata Sky Theatre, Tata Sky Beauty to name a few.

  • Revised guidelines bring a note of positivity for DTH sector

    Revised guidelines bring a note of positivity for DTH sector

    KOLKATA: The government has finally clarified the uncertainties in DTH licensing norms. According to new guidelines, DTH licenses will now be issued for a period of 20 years. Although the latest move may not be game changing for the operators, it has definitely brought a sense of positivity to the sector.

    “We are grateful to Shri Javadekar for resolving the long standing impasse on the DTH License policy which will provide certainty to the sector. We look forward to a level playing field via parity of Licence Fee with Cable TV which too is Licensed by MIB and follows the same prices and margins as regulated by TRAI’s NTO,” Tata Sky MD& CEO Harit Nagpal said.

    I&B minister Prakash Javadekar stated on Wednesday that changes have been approved for 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the DTH sector which was limited to 49 per cent. He also added that the decision was taken earlier by the ministry of commerce and industry but the sector could not avail the benefits due to existing MIB guidelines.

    Moreover, DTH license will be issued for 20 years and license fee will be collected quarterly. Further, the period of license may be renewed by 10 years at a time. The cabinet has also approved the sharing of infrastructure between DTH operators. Distributors of TV channels will be permitted to share the common hardware for their subscriber management system (SMS) and conditional access system (CAS) applications. Javadekar said that the decision has been taken to create level playing field.

    Another expert from a DTH company who preferred to be anonymous added that the latest decision would streamline license agreements. He added that anybody who would like to invest in the DTH companies would get a sense of certainty with the longer license period which was getting affected with the 10-year license term. A senior industry expert added that the FDI has been allowed because the sector is dying as the companies are turning into loss-making entities, with streaming of video taking off exponentially in India. Says he: "Internationally companies which invested in DTH platforms are today saddled with diminishing returns on their investments. They are looking at buyers – whether Sky in the UK or Direct TV in the US.  Here, theIndian  government hopes to eject some equity in the DTH sector so as to stimulate investment and hence growth,  in the sector "

    “Overall it's better for the DTH sector, which plays a big role in digitising India. Giving them a certainty for licensc that it would be there for 20 years, will help them to invest more and grow the market. Also, the saving of two per cent AGR, will help them to improve their profitability,” EY India partner and media & entertainment leader Ashish Pherwani said.

    Moreover, license fee has been revised from 10 per cent of GR to 8 per cent of AGR. Elara Capital VP research analyst (media) Karan Taurani added that it is mild positive due to reduction in license revenue. He also added that Dish TV may find its potential buyer post-announcement.

    India’s DTH subscriber base grew by 3.2 lakh during the April-June quarter, as per the Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicators April-June 2020 by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The sector saw better, albeit marginal growth compared to the January-March quarter. Currently, pay DTH subscriber stands at 70.58 million, compared to 70.26 million in the previous quarter. At the end of 2019, pay DTH subscriber base was 69.98 million.

  • Tata Sky makes Classroom service free for all subscribers

    Tata Sky makes Classroom service free for all subscribers

    KOLKATA: Covid2019 has brought about a significant disruption when it comes to classroom learning and education, thereby necessitating the need for virtual learning to be a part of the new normal. In order to adequately equip students across India, Tata Sky is now providing free unrestricted access to educational content on TV through the Tata Sky Classroom service. Powered by Tata ClassEdge, a pioneer in digital education, the service will help students across India gain access to learning through just the click of a button on their TV remote.

    Tata Sky chief commercial and content officer Pallavi Puri said, “Online education in India is currently beset by several challenges, prime amongst them being the lack of adequate infrastructure. With Tata Sky’s vast reach, millions of children will get access to quality education for free via their television sets. The service is mapped with children's CBSE school syllabus and offers concept learning videos, delivered in an interesting story led format.”

    Characterised and enabled by an engaging, interactive learning process, the service is targeted towards improving the digital learning scenario in tier-2, 3 and 4 cities. Tata Sky Classroom enables immense flexibility to students in far off and remote areas to access quality education via the TV without any hassle thereby saving money, time and energy.

    Focusing on concept learning, Tata Sky Classroom enables students to strengthen their core understanding of the fundamentals of science and maths via fun and engaging animated concept learning videos. The service is available in both Hindi and English offers curriculum-based content for students from class fifth to eighth in maths and science. Apart from video lessons, students can also avail of fun curriculum-based games, full length practice tests and sample papers with answers to help reinforce their learning from the videos.

  • Tata Sky launches new service for Malayalam cinema

    Tata Sky launches new service for Malayalam cinema

    KOLKATA: In a move to further strengthen its regional slate, Tata Sky has launched Tata Sky Malayalam Cinema. To this end, the DTH operator has joined forces with Asianet, the leading Malayalam GEC in Kerala.

    With this, Tata Sky has regional cinema offerings in all four major south Indian languages – Tata Sky Telugu Cinema, Tata Sky Tamil Cinema, Tata Sky Kannada Cinema, and now Tata Sky Malayalam Cinema.

    Tata Sky Malayalam Cinema will offer an uninterrupted movie-viewing experience to film enthusiasts, capturing the spectrum of genres – action, romance, drama, and comedy on television. The service will showcase the biggest blockbusters of Mollywood with exclusive movie premieres before television. The channel is now available to all subscribers on #1805 (SD) at a minimal cost of Rs 1.5 per day.

    Pallavi Puri, chief commercial and content officer said, “Movies contribute more than 20 per cent to the overall TV viewership in Kerala and that itself indicates the tremendous affinity Malayalam speaking audiences have for their cinema. With regional content becoming the key driver of viewership, the launch of Malayalam Cinema is an extension of this trend. Our new service will deliver an uninterrupted flow of the best movies to ensure an enjoyable TV viewing experience for the subscribers. We are delighted to collaborate with Asianet to make this service come alive for our subscribers.”

    “Over the years, Asianet has forged a special place in the hearts of Malayalam-speaking audiences. We always strive to identify new ways to take our rich and engaging content offering to newer viewers and are delighted to work with Tata Sky to launch this new service,” Star & Disney India infotainment, kids & regional entertainment channels CEO Kevin Vaz said.

    To further spread the word on the launch of this platform service, Tata Sky collaborated with south India’s popular rock fusion band, Masala Coffee. Known for their folk fusion mixes and compositions for films like Uriyadi and Dulquer Salmaan-starrer Kannum Kannum Kollaiyadithaal, Masala Coffee’s original composition for Tata Sky Malayalam Cinema is a peppy and upbeat number that brings out the essence of the offering.

    Tata Sky Malayalam Cinema strengthens the bouquet of regional cinema services for Tata Sky that offer uninterrupted and high-quality entertainment, thereby catering to the growing demand for regional movie content. As a part of this endeavour, the regional bouquet already includes eight services.

  • Dish TV India introduces educational channel ‘Kalvi Tholaikkatchi’

    Dish TV India introduces educational channel ‘Kalvi Tholaikkatchi’

    KOLKATA: Dish TV India has started broadcasting ‘Kalvi Tholaikkatchi’ – an educational channel launched by Tamil Nadu Government. The free-to-air channel will telecast daily from 06 AM to 11 PM on both its platforms- DishTV and D2H.

    Available on channel number 597 on both DishTV and D2H, Kalvi Tholaikkatchi telecasts programs conducted by experts on preparing for competitive examinations as well as programs that enhance the students’ creativity. Additionally, the channel provides all the major announcements related to students and also has live programs by the School Education Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu. 

    Commenting on this new channel launch, Dish TV India Ltd executive director and group CEO Anil Dua said, “The outbreak of Covid-19 has adversely affected the rhythm of school and college-going students. With the launch of Kalvi Tholaikkatchi on both our platforms, we are enabling several million homes across Tamil Nadu to receive quality education daily from the safety of their homes. This adds to the 33 Swayam Prabha and Kite Victers educational channels that we are beaming in the regions across the country from both our DishTV and D2H platforms.”

  • Pay DTH subscriber base perks up a bit

    Pay DTH subscriber base perks up a bit

    BENGALURU: The latest DTH subscriber numbers released by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) must bring cheer to the private television direct to home (DTH) industry. TRAI recently published quarterly subscriber data as on 30 June 2020. According to the data, the number of pay DTH subscribers using services provided by private DTH operators had declined from a peak of 72.44 million as on 31 March 2019 to a low of 68.92 million during the very next quarter end date – 30 June 2019 because of a change in the way of reckoning active DTH subscribers. Till March 2019, the subscription figure of the total active subscribers included inactive and temporarily suspended subscribers for not more than the last 120 days. However, as per new regulatory framework of Broadcasting and Cable TV Services, the total active subscribers are now counted to include only those subscribers who are inactive/ temporarily suspended for not more than the last 90 days. 

    Since 30 June 2019, the number of pay DTH subscribers using services provided by private DTH service providers has been increasing slowly until 30 June 2020. As on 30 June 2020, the number of pay DTH subscriber using services provided by private DTH service providers stood at 70.58 million. This is in addition to the subscribers of DD Free Dish (free DTH services of Doordarshan). 

    Please refer to the chart below:

    Further, as on March 2019, the number of private DTH subscribers had fallen to four from five previously. Also, TRAI commenced publication of break up of market share to an accuracy of two decimal percentage places from the quarter ended 30 September 2019 onward. Extrapolating the overall number of pay DTH subscribers using services provided by private DTH operators with the total number of pay DTH subscribers (provided in millions, to two decimal places) and the share percentage of the service providers reveals that except for Dish TV, the other three providers had seen subscriber numbers grow. Besides Dish TV’s slow but steady decline in subscriber numbers during all the four quarters for which data is available, the largest service provider in terms of number of subscribers – Tata Sky witnessed a decline in subscriber numbers in the quarter ended 30 June 2020. Please refer to the figure below:

    Cable TV operators

    TRAI reports state that the country has achieved 100 percent digitization of cable TV network. This is a stupendous achievement making India the only large country where 100 percent digital cable has been achieved through mandatory regulations.

    As on 30 June 2020, there were 1,666 MSOs registered with the ministry of information & broadcasting (MIB) as compared to 1,613 MSO registered as on 31 December 2019. Further, as per the data reported by MSOs/HITS operators, there were 12 MSOs and one HITS operator who had a subscriber base of more than one million. Details of the total active subscribers of these 12 MSOs and one HITS operator are given in the following table. Please refer to chart below:

    In the case of cable TV, the largest player Siti Networks seems to be witnessing a slow but steady loss of subscribers since the quarter ended 31 December 2019. Two other players have also witnessed a subscriber declines – Fastway Transmissions Pvt Ltd and Asianet Digital Network, while most others have gained subscribers during the four quarters in this report.

    Satellite TV Channels

    A total of 909 private satellite TV channels have been permitted by the MIB for uplinking only/ downlinking only/both uplinking and downlinking, as on 30 June 2020. The quarter-wise figures of the total number of TV channels is depicted in the chart given below.

  • Tata Sky brings CuriosityStream to India

    Tata Sky brings CuriosityStream to India

    NEW DELHI: Tata Sky has joined hands with factual streaming service CuriosityStream to bring thousands of hours of documentary films and series to viewers across India.

    Tata Sky subscribers will now have access to CuriosityStream’s content via Tata Sky Binge, which is available on the Tata Sky Binge+ Smart set top box and on the Amazon Fire TV Stick – Tata Sky Edition. Tata Sky Binge aggregates the best of premium OTT and catch-up TV content under a single interface and subscription.

    CuriosityStream will also be available as a linear service on television to Tata Sky DTH subscribers with an option to view live and catch-up content on-the-go via the Tata Sky Mobile app. Tata Sky subscribers can view the CuriosityStream platform service on #715 on the EPG, from November 17.

    CuriosityStream MD and head of international distribution Bakori Davis said, “CuriosityStream shares Tata Sky’s commitment to bringing viewers the highest quality content wherever and whenever they want to experience new adventures and discover the world’s most fascinating events, people, and places. We look forward to partnering with Tata Sky to introduce CuriosityStream to new viewers throughout India and to grow our company’s reach in this dynamic media market.”

    Tata Sky chief commercial and content officer Pallavi Puri said, “CuriosityStream has thousands of informative and thought-provoking documentaries covering the realms of science, history, space, technology and many such subjects that have an enviable fan following in India. This kind of a coveted library adds another dimension to our content catalogue and we are very proud of this association.”

    The partnership will enable Tata Sky subscribers to enjoy exclusive originals, series and features including popular titles like Deep Ocean and Dragons & Damsels – both narrated by Sir David Attenborough – Stephen Hawking’s Favorite Places, Mumbai Railway, Amazing Dinoworld and Age of Big Cats, among others.

  • TRAI report shows healthy growth in DTH subscriber base in Q1 FY21

    TRAI report shows healthy growth in DTH subscriber base in Q1 FY21

    KOLKATA: Witnessing two consecutive quarters of growth, India’s DTH subscriber base grew by 3.2 lakh during the April-June quarter, as per the Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicators April-June 2020 by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The sector saw better, albeit marginal growth compared to the January-March quarter.

    Currently, pay DTH subscriber stands at 70.58 million, compared to 70.26 million in the previous quarter.At the end of 2019, pay DTH subscriber base was 69.98 million.

    Tata Sky has retained its leadership position in the segment clocking in a market share of 32.09 per cent . During last four quarters, the DTH operator has gained 7.5 lakh subscribers in line with the growth of the DTH sector. Among other players, the leader is followed by Dish TV India (28.67 per cent), Bharti Telemedia (23.83 per cent), Sun Direct (15.41 per cent)

    “We remain the No. 1 DTH and No.1 Pay TV platform having increased the lead over our nearest competitor. It is heartening to see the overall DTH sector maintain its resilience even in this quarter,” a Tata Sky spokesperson commented.

    While the TRAI report indicates healthy growth of the DTH sector in FY21, a recent Crisil report also said DTH operators have added a significant number of subscribers and could register a 4-6 per cent revenue growth this fiscal. In the last financial year, DTH sector had declined by 2 million.

    A total number of 909 private satellite TV channels have been permitted by the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) for uplinking only or downlinking only or both uplinking and downlinking, as on 30 June 2020. There are 332 pay channels, which include 235 SD (standard definition) pay TV channels and 97 HD (high definition) pay TV channels.

    Currently, there are 1666 MSOs registered with MIB. Moreover, there are 12 MSOs and one HITS operator who have subscriber base greater than one million.

    The latest TRAI report has also stated that the total number of internet subscribers increased from 743.19 million at the end of the last quarter of FY20 to 749.07 million at the end of the first quarter of FY21, registering a quarterly growth rate of 0.79 per cent. In addition to that, wired Internet subscribers increased from 22.42 million at the end of Mar-20 to 23.06 million at the end of Jun-20 with quarterly growth rate of 2.86 per cent.