ITV

Category: DTH Operator

  • Sify capitalises on TV’s talent hunt craze as auditions go online

    Sify capitalises on TV’s talent hunt craze as auditions go online

    MUMBAI: Aspiring contestants waiting for endless hours in maddeningly long queues, organisers struggling to cope with the logistics pressure and complications – all kinds of chaos break loose when television channels conduct their national auditions for talent hunt shows.

    Sify Limited has spotted a good revenue opportunity here and is offering to make the whole process much simpler with the use of its national Iway network.

    The company has already associated with national networks such as Star India and Zee to offer them online solutions for the audition process. For example, Zee TV has associated with Sifymax for the video auditions of its upcoming talent hunt show Cinestars. The auditions will be held in 154 cities across India using the technology edge of Sify’s 3400 plus iWay cyber cafes.

    Similarly, Star India’s Vijay TV conducted video auditions for its comic hunt Kalakka Povadu Yaaru 2 (KPY 2) through Sify Iways in June.

    “Sify is ideally positioned with the Sify Iway network (over 3000 Iways across 154 cities) and the broadband portal, SifyMax.com, to manage massive customer video interaction activity like the Zee CineStar activity. The customer can take the tutorial on SifyMax and the auditions can be recorded at the Iways or uploaded online on SifyMax.com. The customer is charged for these services,” explains Sify Ltd Portals president V Sivaramakrishnan.

    Zee TV marketing head Tarun Mehra agrees, “Zee Cinestars is an all India contest and understandably the auditions demand a lot of hard work. But, with the help of Sifymax, we have simplified the whole process. The technology lessens the load and this helps us to channelise our resources to the other areas of the project.”

    Sify will be soon exploring the facility for an in-house talent hunt, the Net Jockey Hunt. The contest will be conducted at popular Malls in Mumbai for its city specific broad band portal www.mumbailive.in.

    Speaking on the strategy, Sivaramakrishnan offers, “Without any registration /subscription fee, we reach out and offer value added services (entertainment and information content in video format) to this segment. Almost 34 per cent of the Sifymax users access the internet via cyber cafe, through the Sify Iway cyber café chain. Hence we are leveraging on this huge strength.”

    On the revenue front, Sify is expected to push this revenue model to deliver this fiscal. However, Sivaramakrishnan refuses to divulge the target. “It is early days to comment on this,” he says.

  • Tata Sky and Zee Turner haggle on price

    Tata Sky and Zee Turner haggle on price

    NEW DELHI: Tata Sky’s talks with Zee Turner for its bouquet of channels have got stalled on the issue of price.

    While India’s second pay digital platform Tata Sky has evinced interest in the first two of the three bouquets of Zee Turner for Rs 42, the latter is insisting all its 29 channels should be taken.

    According to sources close to the negotiations, Zee Turner has conveyed that it’s ready to give all its channels to Tata Sky’s DTH platform for Rs 74 per subscriber, which is 50 per cent of the price that cable operators pay for the channels.

    Bouquet 1 of Zee Turner comprises Zee TV, Zee Cinema, Zee News, Zee Studio, Zee Bengali, Zee Gujarati, Zee Marathi, Zee Punjabi, Cartoon Network, Reality TV, CNBC, CNN, Zee Café, Zee Trendz, ETC, ETC Punjabi, Zee Jagran, Zee Smile, Zee Telgu and Zee Music..

    The second bouquet includes HBO, Pogo, Awaaz, VH1 and Zee Business. Zee Turner is soft bundling Zee Sports at a price benefit.

    The third bouquet, called Breakfree, consists of Zee Action, Zee Premier and Zee Classic, which air movies of different genre and are primarily available on Dish TV DTH platform.

    Interestingly, Zee Turner wants to keep Zee Sports out of the negotiations with Tata Sky, saying a deal for the sports channel — holders of cricket rights for matches to be played by India on non-ICC recognised venues — could be done separately.

    According to the sources, Zee Turner has reasoned that its demand is based on a recent ruling of a disputes tribunal in Dish TV vs Star case wherein Star was asked to make available its channel to Dish at Rs 27 per subscriber, which is 50 per cent less than the price cable ops pay.

    Zee Turner has further said that in the Dish vs Star case, when Dish had wanted select channels of Star, the Hong Kong-based broadcaster was unwilling to accede to the proposal.

    Extending the same logic, Zee Turner has conveyed to Tata Sky that it would have to take all its channels.

    However, Tata Sky is only interested in the first two bouquets of Zee Turner for a price of Rs 42 per subscriber per month.

    On August 8, while announcing the commercial launch of Tata Sky service in 300 cities, company’s MD and CEO Vikram Kaushik had admitted that talks with Zee Turner had not been concluded.

    Amongst the 55-odd channels being offered by Tata Sky presently to its subscribers, Zee and Turner channels like Zee TV, Zee Sports, Cartoon Network and Pogo and some third party products like HBO, Reality TV, Awaaz and CNBC TV18 are conspicuous by their absence.

    Country’s first pay DTH platform, the Subhash Chandra-owned Dish TV, boasts of 1.25 million subscribers.

    Pubcaster’s DD Direct+ claims a subscriber base of 3.5 to 4 million for its subscription-free service of free to air channels.

  • Tata Sky earmarks Rs 1.5 billion for marketing of service

    Tata Sky earmarks Rs 1.5 billion for marketing of service

    MUMBAI: Tata Sky, an 80:20 direct-to-home (DTH) joint venture between the Tata’s and Star Group, is moving ahead step by step towards a launch, the date for which is still being closely guarded by the company.

    While most of the money is now riding on an August-September commercial kick-off, the latest on the Tata Sky front is that it has earmarked approximately Rs 1.5 billion for marketing the DTH service across all platforms, traditional and non-traditional. From pilot MDU (multi-dwelling unit) projects in some cities of India to educating an average Indian about the advantages of a DTH service supported by the Tatas and Star, the game plan covers the full gamut.

    Tata Sky sources reveal that a major part of the Rs 1.5 billion marketing budget is likely to be spent during the festival season in India, starting late September and lasting till Christmas-New Year, when consumers have a tendency to splurge on goodies.

    Meanwhile, apart from Zee Turner family of channels, most other major TV channels are almost sure of finding a berth on the Tata Sky platform from day one of launch. Apart from the news channels, the likes of Times Now and Disney are already part of the test signals, people in the know say.

    It needs noting however, that except for ESPN Star Sports, no other broadcaster (and that includes the Star Network channels) have signed commercial agreements wth Tata Sky as yet.

    ESPN Star Sports, a joint venture between Disney and News Corp in Asia managing the two sports channels, have also to take a call on whether to bring in a new interactive sports channel, or confine the interactive aspects to the two existing channels. “We are still weighing all options,” a Singapore-based source in ESS said.

    Zee channels’ appearance on Tata Sky, meanwhile, would depend on how soon (or how late) Star comes to an agreement with Dish TV, now that Discovery-Sony One Alliance has come aboard country’s first DTH platform.

  • CAS rollout: Delhi HC ‘no’ to government plea for more time

    CAS rollout: Delhi HC ‘no’ to government plea for more time

    NEW DELHI: The Indian government yet again pleaded for more time to roll out CAS — six months to be exact — but a Delhi court has refused to accede to the request asking for a final stand by the next date of hearing.

    According to early information available with Indiantelevision.com, even the broadcast regulator pleaded for four to five months time to sort out CAS-related issues like pricing of TV channels.

    The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) submitted to the Delhi High Court today that it has initiated a dialogue with the industry stakeholders on issues related to CAS and which would take few months time to complete and arrive at some consensus.

    However, the court was in no mood to listen to such pleas and fixed the next date of hearing for 19 July.

    The court observed that if the government is unable to sort out CAS matters, then it could also explore the possibility of going ahead with the rollout based on the Chennai model.

    It also said that the government has already used up three month’s time from 10 March when the first directive came to roll out CAS in Kolkata, Delhi and Mumbai within a month’s time.

    Chennai is the only city in India where CAS has been rolled out and running smoothly since 2003.

    Reference to do away with government mandated CAS was also mentioned in the court today during a hearing and reference was made of the relevant section from a draft Broadcast Bill 2006, which is being circulated amongst government organizations for feedback.

    A clutch of MSOs, including Hathway and INCablenet, had filed a case against the government on CAS in the Delhi High Court late 2004, alleging that keeping addressability in abeyance had resulted in financial losses to the petitioners.

  • Dish TV: Scaling up on numbers & value proposition

    Zee Telefilms chairman Subhash Chandra is on a roll. The resurgence of flagship Hindi entertainment channel Zee TV has come after years of slippage since Kaun Banega Crorepati catapulted Star plus into leadership position.

    But this is not just about Zee TV‘s prime time assault on Star Plus; it is also about how Chandra has streamlined his media empire to give it the right focus, resources and value. His announcement on 29 March: Zee Telefilms will be de-merged into four separate entities. While cable business will come under Wire and Wireless India Ltd (WWIL), Dish TV will handle the DTH operations. News and regional channels are being consolidated in Zee News Ltd. Under the umbrella of Zee Telefilms will be the newly launched Zee Sports.

    The “sum total of the parts” concept ignited the scrip which, once hovering around Rs 130-150 in mid-2005, has breached the 200-mark and closed today at Rs 222.

    In the second of a four-part series, Indiantelevision.com takes an in-depth look into the de-merged DTH business of Zee Telefilms.

    The battle for supremacy between News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch and Subhash Chandra will be extended to the DTH arena this year. The commercial launch of Tata Sky, a 80:20 joint venture between Tata Group and Star (now expected to happen only some time in August-September), will see a hell of a scramble for subscribers with focus on pricing, quality of service, value-added services and marketing.

    Chandra‘s gameplan is to build a sizeable early lead before the fight for share in the market takes shape. Having launched Dish TV over two years back, he has already snapped up 1.15 million DTH subscribers. And he expects to mop up an additional one million by the end of this fiscal.

    Even before Tata Sky can settle down and get its products out of the door, Chandra is in a hurry to launch an array of value-added services. Movie-on-demand is already available and soon to launch is gaming and interactivity. The idea is to fill up the product portfolio as quickly as possible.

    Working on the content side, he has recently stitched a deal with SET-Discovery to offer a bouquet of 12 channels on his platform. Star‘s channels should also come on board, perhaps closer to launch of Tata Sky. Armed with full content, Dish TV will be able to aggressively target more urban and upscale subscribers in the course of the year.

    The DTH operations has already consumed a net expense of Rs 3.8 billion. A further investment of Rs 2.5 billion has been lined up over a two-year period, mainly to subsidise the set-top boxes (STBs). “But we are sitting on a dynamic model and if Tata Sky and us are aggressively competing on pricing, there is a possibility of the subsidy amount further increasing. It is a factor of what strategies we adopt to develop our subscriber base,” says Essel Group CEO of corporate strategy Rajiv Garg.

    Placing his bets on both cable and DTH, Chandra ensured that he started operations much before Murdoch could jump over the regulatory hurdles. The strategy was in place: mobilise the cable dark and rural subscribers, offer them a basic bandwidth of channels, tie up content as they come, drive in volumes and command clout.

    The start was slow. Then came the “dish-har-chhat-par” (a dish on every rooftop) pricing scheme of Rs 3,990 (almost halving the hardware prices and subscription fees for a year) last April and the market in specific territories just opened up.

    Targeting DD Direct‘s customers, Dish TV also announced a “Dish Freedom Package” plan in January. This offers viewers 40 channels in digital quality without charging any monthly subscription fee, but they had to make a one-time investment of Rs 2,690 in a digi box. Clearly, the strategy was to get into a different segment of customers and slowly entice them to upgrade to the other packages.

    Dish TV‘s subscriber base grew and by the end of FY06 it touched close to one million. Almost 70 per cent of the consumers came from the cable dry and smaller towns, but it suited Chandra to an extent by giving him a headstart over Murdoch. As he also has presence in cable TV, his muscle in the distribution business has grown.

    A fallout of this model, though: low ARPUs (average revenue per user). While revenue from DTH operations stood at Rs 818 million for FY06, net loss was at Rs 790 million on the back of subsidies and marketing expenses. The ARPU by the end of the year was hovering around Rs 190.

    The task this year will, thus, be to drive up the ARPUs to at least Rs 250. The content tie up with Sony and later Star will help achieve this. After the deal with SET-Discovery, Dish TV has increased the price of its basic tier by Rs 38. “By providing the first year subscription for free, Dish TV‘s financials don‘t reflect the paying capacity of the subscribers. But if consumers decide to continue with the service after this period, the incremental subscription revenues from the DTH venture would be sizeable. The problem will arise if they decide to drop out at the time of renewal,” says an analyst.

    Dish TV is also banking on value-added services (VAS) to realise more from subscribers. Says Garg, “Beginning 1 September, VAS will be accounted for separately from the ARPUs. We expect VAS to average Rs 40 per subscriber. Since this will be for a stretch of seven months, the average during the fiscal will work out to Rs 22-23,” says Garg.

    Dish TV‘s revenue projections look healthy. For FY07, the target is fixed at Rs 3.2 billion on a subscriber base of 2.4 million and an ARPU of Rs 250. And in FY08, the turnover is expected to touch Rs 8 billion as subscribers rise to 3.15 million and ARPU to Rs 310.

    An analyst at a trading firm is optimistic about Dish TV‘s growth. “Even after the launch of Tata Sky, the DTH market is large enough to provide space for growth to the two service providers,” he says.

    Dish TV, however, will continue to be in a net loss situation this fiscal. According to a report on Zee by a brokering firm, Dish TV‘s net loss will be Rs 368.4 million while subscribers are expected to grow to 2.07 million and revenue to Rs 3.29 billion on an ARPU of Rs 250. But the picture changes completely in FY08 and the operations become profitable, says the firm.

    The situation, though, is completely fluid and a lot will depend on how Tata Sky prices its services. DTH takeoff will also have to factor in the responses from the cable TV industry and the entry of other DTH operators like Anil Ambani‘s Reliance with its Blue magic offering and Kalanithi Maran‘s Sun Group with Sun Direct.

    So far, Chandra has been clever not to alienate the cable TV operators but play safe on both the platforms. Tata Sky, on the other hand, has drawn hostility from the operators with its MDU (multi-dwelling unit) technology in high-rise residential buildings.

    Prices could plummet if competition intensifies, putting profitability under threat. Tata Sky, in fact, has indicated a monthly subscription price of Rs 250 for all the Hindi channels and an upper-end fee of Rs 550, according to a dealer. It is also expected to subsidise heavily the hardware costs. “The pricing is very tentative at this stage and executives from Tata Sky will have a meeting with the dealers closer to date of launch,” he adds. Tata Sky CEO Vikram Kaushik was not available for comment.

    For an infant business venture, DTH operators may not worry about profitability at such an early stage. Their main concern will be to allow the market to expand, acquire customers, keep them locked over a longer period, and then make them pay more for various services. Volumes is what all of them will be hunting for.

    Dish TV‘s pricing strategy so far has reflected this line of thinking. It has promoted the DTH service packages with a lock-in period bundled along with the initial subscription. Says Garg, “The bulk of the subscription selling has been on the business of this bundle which includes a subsidy element. Subscription revenue, thus, starts typically one year after the creation of the subscriber relationship. So you would see these one million subscribers in FY06 gradually come into the subscription fold during this year.”

    Chandra, meanwhile, is sprucing up the distribution network. Dish TV recently tied up with HCL Infosystems for a five-year partnership to utilise the IT major‘s distribution and service support across the country. While Dish TV will immediately double its distribution reach with this tie-up, the alliance will enable HCL Infosystems to offer digital entertainment services as part of its digital lifestyle portfolio.

    Dish TV has also addressed another problem: how to increase offerings by accommodating more channels per transponder. It has recently tied up with Scopus Video Networks, a provider of digital video networking products. Having taken seven transponders on NSS-6, Dish TV can pack up to 150 channels using this compression technology.

    “Scopus‘ product line will help us achieve very high satellite utilisation and bring down costs on a per channel basis. We plan to implement this better compression technology within a month. We will be able to increase our capacity to 150 channels,” says Essel Group director of technology Amitabh Kumar.

    For pursuing plans of offering 200 channels, Dish TV has booked more transponders on NSS. Even when DD Direct Plus, Doordarshan‘s free DTH service, migrates from NSS-6 to Insat 4B, Dish TV will face no space crunch. “We can bunch all the DD channels into one transponder. We have also requested for more transponders on NSS-6 which will be available during the course of the year for us,” says Kumar. Dish TV currently offers 110 channels in addition to the 33 channels of DD Direct Plus which are also available to its consumers.

    So ahead of the skirmish, Chandra has strengthened his armoury. Sure enough, the war for DTH subscribers is about to begin and escalate.

  • The more or less challenge – the role of outsourcing

    The more or less challenge – the role of outsourcing

     SINGAPORE: With the broadcast industry rapidly going digital, broadcasters need to provide new services on their existing cost bases to achieve operational efficiencies to drive in business changes.

    So, besides other seminars on going digital, the third day’s afternoon session at Broadcast Asia focused on how broadcasters need to focus on their core competencies by outsourcing in other areas.

    Some of the important issues that were raised included – why outsourcing is relevant to the broadcast industry and what benefits it can bring. And most importantly what are some of the ways in which outsourcing can be delivered.

    Throwing light on the rapidly accelerating changes in the broadcast industry, Siemens Business Services Media head Saleha Williams said, “Broadcasters have to grow out of their traditional operating models which are no longer working, because of rapid technological changes and business models. Outsourcing can also save us from various revenue pressures which have come in with lots of competition with more platforms, audience fragmentation and increasing churn and new advertising models.”
    The seminar brought out five core elements to the technology change

    o Broadband

    o Mobile

    o PVR

    o HDTV

    o Increasing competition from gaming and other forms of non broadcast entertainment

    Some of the regulatory-led change are:

    o Digital broadcasting (analogue switch off)

    o Deregulation

    Willaims gave out some pointers on how outsourcing can help broadcasters

    o Outsourcing in broadcast markets as much about innovation as cost savings.

    o Solving new problems, such as distribution to emerging platforms.

    o Outsourcers act as a catalyst, enabling broadcasters to transform ways of working. At heart of every outsourcing relationship.

    o Economies of scale, improved operational effectiveness and off shoring.

    o Typically savings of 20-30%, but depends totally on the nature of the service.

    Williams also listed out some of the benefits achieved by outsourcing other parts of the world.

    o Outsourcing in broadcast markets as much about innovation as cost savings.

    o Solving new problems, such as distribution to emerging platforms.

    o Outsourcers act as a catalyst, enabling broadcasters to transform ways of working.

    · Significant technology investment needed to compete in changing broadcast market.

    o Outsourcers can help broadcasters smooth their investment profile.

    o Pay an annual charge i.e. from capex to opex.

    o Outsourcers and their partners provide greater specialisation.

    o Apply learning from working with other broadcast organisations.

    o Sometimes easier to measure and incentivise services provided externally.

    o At heart of every outsourcing relationship .Economies of scale, improved operational effectiveness and off shoring.

    o Typically savings of 20-30%, but depends totally on the nature of the service.

    o Allows broadcaster to concentrate more effectively on its business strategy.

    o Reduces the level of management attention required for non core activities.

    o Hands problem over to a third party.

    · Driven by cost savings and risk transfer / reduction.

    · Embeds outsource provider in broadcaster’s organisation.

    o Provides transformational change.

    o Driven by risk sharing / reduction and cost savings.

    o Flexibility

    Three Principal Issues

    o Not understood initial cost base or level of savings achievable in house

    o Not factored all costs into deal e.g. transition, management and termination

    o Maintain outsourced services in house (pay twice over)

    o Efficiencies change over time i.e. cost efficient process in 2006 may be an expensive one by 2010

    Reasons and Observations

    o Both actual falls and perception that service levels have fallen are important

    o Broadcaster culture – problems need solving at once even if not “on air”

    o Require realistic service levels to be agreed and communicated to all users

    o Broadcaster and outsourcer need to understand each other’s business drivers

    o Need to protect competitive strengths and strategic identity. For instance, a company outsourcing technology may decide to keep enough of its technology strategists in house to be in control of its technology vision.

  • Dishtv selects Scopus Video Networks to increase transponder capacity

    Dishtv selects Scopus Video Networks to increase transponder capacity

    MUMBAI: Subhash Chandra’s Dishtv has expressed serious intent to increase its channel offerings on the direct-to-home (DTH) platform. The company has selected Scopus Video Networks, a provider of digital video networking products, to support this expansion.

    The technology will help Dishtv pack up 28 channels per transponder, eight more than its current capacity. “We will be implementing this technology within a month. It is a better compression system without sacrificing the quality,” Essel Group director technology Amitabh Kumar tells Indiantelevision.com.

    Dishtv has seven transponders on NSS-6, offering a total of 130 channels. “We are building up the capability to offer more channels on our DTH platform,” Kumar says.

    Dishtv will use Scopus products to enhance its transponders’ utilization and expand its already fast growing DTH market share throughout the Indian subcontinent. The decision to tie up with Scopus comes ahead of Tata Sky’s DTH launch expected in July.

    The deal brings to Dishtv’s headend Scopus’ full line of products including E-1200 encoders, IRD-2900 decoders, IVG-7100 intelligent video gateway (IVG) platforms and network management system software. Scopus is a Nasdaq-listed company.

    Scopus’ IVG platform will provide advanced video processing capabilities including joint transrating, grooming and bit rate shaping. 

    India is beginning its transition to digital TV in which the number of digital subscribers is expected to grow ten-fold within the next five years.

    Says Kumar commented, “We operate in a complex web of multiple satellites and multiple carriers and the unique capabilities offered by Scopus’ product line such as the Intelligent Video Gateway will help us optimize operations while minimizing cost and enhancing reliability in our operations. Scopus has also helped Dish TV achieve very high satellite utilization and bring down costs on a per channel basis.”

    Scopus VP sales Eitan Koter stated, “We are honoured and delighted to continue doing business with the Essel Group, India’s leading media conglomerate. This achievement is a testimony to our on-going commitment to our customers’ success. Scopus is the only vendor that offers a full product portfolio under one roof, enabling us to provide simple solutions to complex requirements such as the ones posed by Dishtv.”

  • Mobile TV is creating a new demographic appeal in the US: Study

    Mobile TV is creating a new demographic appeal in the US: Study

    MUMBAI: Telephia, a measurement information provider to the mobile industry in the US, has announced a research undertaken shows that more than two million, or 1.4 percent, of the US wireless user base subscribed to a mobile video plan during the first quarter of 2006.

    The average U.S. mobile TV subscriber spends $40 a month more on wireless services than non-TV subscribers.

    Telephia president and CEO Sid Gorham says, “Mobile TV represents a huge revenue opportunity for companies in all parts of the communications and entertainment value chain.”

    Telephia research shows that the Hispanic and Black/African-American demographic groups made up 23 and 19 per cent of the mobile TV subscriber base in the US during the first quarter of this year, respectively. This is approximately double the share these groups represent of the broader mobile user population.

    “The early popularity of mobile TV with these groups continues the demographic trend we see in the adoption of all advanced mobile data services. Mobile TV will allow marketers to reach this audience with a wide range of innovative advertising and commerce approaches. To execute successfully on this exciting opportunity, the industry needs detailed research that tracks the evolving behavior and preferences of the mobile TV user. Our clients are particularly interested in using audience measurement data to target advertising and interactive commerce” adds Gorham.

    Telephia, had launched the industry’s first mobile television user panel last month. This longitudinal research panel will provide the mobile industry with detailed measurement of the attitudes and behaviours among the rapidly growing mobile TV audience.

    Telephia will begin by tracking users of the current unicast-based services (e.g. the MobiTV-based offerings on Sprint and Cingular Wireless, and Verizon’s V Cast service). The panel will expand to include subscribers of multicast mobile TV networks when they launch in late 2006 and 2007. Telephia is currently building its panel in the US and the UK and will expand coverage to the rest of Europe and parts of Asia in 2007.

  • Internet TV broadcaster JumpTV adds 11 channels to lineup

    Internet TV broadcaster JumpTV adds 11 channels to lineup

    MUMBAI: The Toronto based JumpTV which provides ethnic television over the Internet, announced that it has signed 11 new exclusive internet broadcast agreements with channels from Pakistan, Thailand, Lebanon, Nigeria and Benin, expanding its network to 270 channels under license.

    Channels signed include: ORTB (Benin), Channels TV, Lagos TV and MiTV (Nigeria), Zam TV and Rung TV (Pakistan), Popper, Rak Thai TV, Panorama 07 and Thai Cable Channel (Thailand) and Mlive (Lebanon).

    The 11 new channels are expected to be individually priced at $9.95 per month when launched commercially, and some will become part of country/region-specific channel bundles at later dates. The addition of the three Nigerian, four Thai and two Pakistani channels brings JumpTV’s Nigerian, Thai and Pakistani channel lineup to seven channels, nine channels and 12 channels respectively, and bundles will be launched for each of these countries soon. The additional Lebanese channel is to be included in JumpTV’s Pan Arab Package, which currently includes 23 top Arab channels for $29.95 per month.

    Commenting on the partnership with JumpTV, ORTB general director M. Julien Pierre Akpaki said, “JumpTV is enabling ORTB to grow from a number one national channel that is available in Benin only to a global channel overnight. Since a majority of our programming is in French, we believe there is a real market for our content not only among the people of Benin, but anyone interested in West African television.”

    JumpTV head of content acquisition and global operations Sila Celik says, “JumpTV is thrilled to announce the addition of 11 channels from countries like Nigeria, Thailand, Pakistan and Lebanon. We understand that our subscribers want an array of content from their country or region of origin and these channels add substantially to our offerings.”

    JumpTV International CEO and president Kaleil Isaza Tuzman says, “The first phase of JumpTV’s business strategy has always been to aggregate the most television content from around the globe. Now with 270 channel partnerships, JumpTV continues to solidify itself as the largest broadcaster of ethnic programming, providing its subscribers with live television, when and where they want it.”

  • Tariffs for CAS areas: Trai seeks industry feedback

    Tariffs for CAS areas: Trai seeks industry feedback

    NEW DELHI: The broadcast regulator is at it again — issuing another set of consultation paper on cable TV prices for CAS areas.

    The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) today floated a paper on amendments to the tariff order for CAS areas asking stakeholders whether the regulator should fix the maximum retail prices (MRPs) of TV channels, amongst other things.

    The last date for the industry to give feedback is 5 July 2006, the day when the government is supposed to revert to the Delhi High Court on the status of CAS rollout in Kolkata, Delhi and Mumbai.

    Pointing out that the latest initiative is at he behest of the industry, Trai said, “Several stakeholders (had) suggested fixation of ceilings for individual channels. Since this is at variance with the earlier decision of Trai, it was considered appropriate to undertake a fresh consultation on the specific issues of regulation of tariff in CAS areas.”

    A Trai, official, however, denied that these consultation papers would any way affect a court case on CAS or that it would give the government some breathing space when it updates the judiciary on CAS’ rollout plans.

    “The issue of consultation papers and government’s stand on CAS are different matters,” the official stressed, refusing to expand any further.

    On 10 March 2006, the Delhi High Court had directed that CAS be implemented in three cities within a month’s time after being petitioned by a group of MSOs.

    Subsequently, the I&B ministry had held a series of meetings with industry stakeholders and consumer groups and had submitted to the court that for an effective rollout of CAS an additional 265 days were needed.

    The court, after making clear its disapproval of such suggestions and penalizing the ministry Rs. 100,000 (RS 1 lakh) for delay, asked the government to come back with a final implementation plan by 5 July.

    The regulator’s fresh consultation paper covers the following issues:

    i) Should Trai fix the maximum retail price for each individual channel?

    ii) If so, what should be the methodology and principles to be adopted for the same?

    iii) Should Trai promote individual choice of channels by fixation of the maximum price as a percentage of the average price of a channel in a bouquet and, if so, what should be this percentage?

    (iv) If the individual MRPs are fixed by Trai, along with a formula as indicated, should TRAI also regulate the maximum permissible discount for the bouquet of channels? If so what should be the discount and what are the principles on which this should be calculated?

    (v) The choice of the precise option out of the several alternatives to regulate prices in a CAS environment.