ITV

Category: DTH Operator

  • Dish TV aims to boost ARPU with differential pricing strategy

    Dish TV aims to boost ARPU with differential pricing strategy

    MUMBAI: Taking the path that cable operators often do, Direct To Home (DTH) operator Dish TV has decided to offer differential pricing across different cities.

     

    Dish TV chief operating officer Salil Kapoor tells Indiantelevision.com that with the DTH operator having over 40 High Definition (HD) channels and superior quality, the consumers would not mind the “marginal jump.”

     

    According to Kapoor, Indian consumers can no longer be treated as “one size fits all,” especially in metro segments. Kapoor believes that the consumer today has the capacity to pay slightly more for a quality product. “This differential pricing is our strategy to give a boost to our Average Revenue Per User (ARPU),” Kapoor informs.

     

    As part of the first phase, metro cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Pune will be targeted. Each pack in these four cities will now cost an additional Rs 10. The revised prices came into effect from 26 February, 2015.  

     

    Dish TV has already introduced differential pricing for its regional brand, Zing. While in Maharashtra, the pack price is pegged at Rs 189, in the state of Odisha it has been priced at Rs 175. Since the strategy worked successfully for its sub brand Zing, Kapoor is of the opinion that it would also work for Dish TV. 

     

    While the packages have currently been introduced for the metros, no decision on other cities has been taken as yet.

  • DD Freedish revenue from e-auctions to reach Rs 120 crore by March

    DD Freedish revenue from e-auctions to reach Rs 120 crore by March

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan’s free-to-air direct-to-home Freedish platform, which was telecasting 59 channels until recently has added two more channels to its kitty. What’s more, the platform is further looking at adding three more channels to its offerings soon, taking the total number of channels to 64.

     

    In fact, another channel will come on board the platform before the end of the month, according to deputy director general C K Jain.

     

    Clarifying the situation, Jain told Indiantlevision.com that 61 channels had been allotted and another three would be allotted shortly. The last two channels to be allotted were Sony Pal and Dillagi, which is still to go on air.

     

    A total of 20 e-auctions have been held so far, the latest being earlier this week. DD expects to reach a target of Rs 120 crore through these auctions by the end of March this year.

     

    Doordarshan had set a reserve price of Rs 3.7 crore per slot for the 20th online e-auction, though Indiantelevision.com learnt that the bid amount went up to Rs 4.2 crore in the 17th e-auction held on 12 November.

     

    The attempt is to touch the target of 112 television channels in the next few months, Jain said. He said that the delay had been partly due to some technical problems, which were being sorted.

     

    Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar had said recently that the future of Doordarshan was in Freedish and digitisation. He had added that this may mean that some channels would have to be attracted to Freedish by means other than e-auction.

     

    DD sources also said that while Freedish may be encrypted to keep a tab on the number of subscribers, it would however remain free-to-air.

     

    As all these channels are on MPEG2. Freedish, which uses Insat 4B, is migrating from its old platform to a new upgraded platform with MPEG4 in an attempt to increase its capacity. The migration would result in increase of TV channels from 59 to 64 and radio channels from 22 to 24.

     

    Sircar had said in November that while most were coming through e-auctions, some popular channels may have to be ‘attracted’ to join Freedish since satellite television was the future.  

     

    To access the upgraded platform, the viewers need to edit the transponder parameter by changing only the symbol rate from 27500Ksps to 28500 Ksps in four transponders and retune/rescan their Set Top Box (STB) to receive the upgraded TV and radio channels.

     

    Viewers/subscribers who do not rescan their STB will continue to get ten channels for a period of seven days only from the date of upgradation. Out of these ten channels, one channel is an informative channel, which will show detailed procedure for re-tuning the STBs. 

  • Videocon capitalizes on World Cup frenzy

    Videocon capitalizes on World Cup frenzy

    MUMBAI: From HD Streaming to live drone footage, constructive efforts are made to constantly enhance the viewing experience of audience. And when it is cricket World Cup, it becomes mandatory.

     

    Cricket has taken a centre stage in our lives and with World Cup this year; the frenzy has already begun. To define the moment for the customers and make their experience livelier, Videocon has introduced its special World Cup offer, ‘World Cup to World Cup.’

     

    Known for its premium product offering and durability, via this offer Videocon is targeting to secure customers’ purchases and make this year’s World Cup experience memorable.

     

    World Cup to World Cup offer thrives on Videocon’s promise of world class products. Under this offer, on purchase of a Videocon LED, customers will not only enjoy a crisp and detailed picture quality but will also take home a warranty of four years on the LED. Thus, customers will be able to secure their Videocon LEDs from this year to the next World Cup.

     

    The World Cup to World Cup offers is applicable on all Videocon LEDs in the screen size of 39” and above. The extended warranty worth Rs 15,600 will be presented to the customers free of cost. This offer is valid from 10 February till 31 March, 2015.

  • Cisco partners with Videocon d2h for advanced video services

    Cisco partners with Videocon d2h for advanced video services

    MUMBAI: Direct to home (DTH) operator Videocon d2h will deploy advanced video solutions from the Cisco Videoscape product portfolio to enable it to deliver an innovative, high quality television viewing experience to its customers.

     

    Cisco will collaborate with Videocon d2h to create an infrastructure that supports advanced services like 4K, Over The Top (OTT), Video On Demand (VOD), multi-screen video and multi-room Digital Video Recorder (DVR), on a high definition platform.

     

    Cisco is at the forefront of changing the way people experience TV entertainment through its Videoscape platform, which offers best-in-class content management and exceptional user interface capabilities. Cisco Videoscape enables consistent video experiences across multiple devices including TVs, tablets, PCs, mobile phones and gaming consoles. Cisco and Videocon d2h are uniquely positioned to offer an immersive video experience coupled with an array of value-added services and applications on multiple screens.

     

    Videocon d2h director Saurabh Dhoot said, “We pride ourselves in being a frontrunner in bringing futuristic technologies to India, some of which are yet to be experienced in even the most advanced countries. Our collaboration with Cisco will present our customers with the latest and best technology in the DTH industry and will introduce them to a whole new range of next-gen applications. We believe that this partnership will redefine the overall viewing experience through our varied product portfolios and service offerings. We continuously endeavor to provide top quality services to our consumers.”

     

    Videocon d2h chief executive officer Anil Khera added, “As part of our commitment to our consumers, we will be providing an advanced TV-viewing experience with many more interactive services and applications, in keeping with global trends. We are confident that our collaboration with Cisco will provide a greater range of services to our customers. Cisco’s expertise in delivering end-to-end solutions and world-class technology will support us in our vision of being an innovator in the DTH market with the most advanced products and services.”

     

    Cisco Service Provider Video Software Solutions VP sales Asia Pacific Sue Taylor said, “Our mission is to continuously partner with operators who value innovation and strive to offer a wide range of differentiated and superior video experiences to their subscribers. Our expertise in the successful rollout of high-end features and services will enable Videocon d2h to deliver video in more exciting, more engaging and more impactful ways.”

  • Q3-2015: Airtel Digital TV services segment posts 11.4% y-o-y subscriber growth

    Q3-2015: Airtel Digital TV services segment posts 11.4% y-o-y subscriber growth

    BENGALURU: Bharti Airtel Limited (Airtel) reported y-o-y growth of 5.8 per cent to Rs 23217.1 crore in Q3-2015 from the Rs 21938.5 crore in Q3-2014. The company says that consolidated mobile data revenues at Rs 2,872 crore grew by 61.9 per cent y-o-y, uplifted by higher data usage. Mobile data revenues now contribute more than 85 per cent of the incremental revenues of the company. India revenues registered a growth of 12.6 per cent y-o-y across segments, led by 13.0 per cent in mobile, 13.2 per cent in Telemedia and 15.8 per cent in Digital TV.

     

    Overall, the company reported an 8.9 per cent growth in number of subscribers across 20 countries in the current quarter to 31,29,05,000 from 28,74,09,000 in Q3-2014 and a 3 per cent growth from 30,37,09,000 in the immediate trailing quarter. Airtel’s Digital TV services subscribers grew 11.4 per cent in Q3-2015 to 98,10,000 from 88,07,000 in Q3-2014 and 2.8 per cent from 95,40,000 in Q2-2015.

     

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

     

    Revenue from Digital TV services segment grew 15.8 per cent to Rs 623.4 crore in Q3-2015 from Rs 538.4 crore in Q3-2014. During 9M-2015, digital TV services revenue grew EBIDTA for the segment grew 76 per cent to Rs 170.7 crore from Rs 97.2 crore in the year ago quarter. The company reported Rs 7.7 crore positive operating cash in Q3-2015 versus a negative Rs 13.7 crore cash flow in Q3-2014.

     

    Capex for this segment increased by 47 per cent to Rs 163 crore in Q3-2015 as compared to the Rs 110.9 crore in Q3-2014. 9M-2015 capex increased 48 per cent to Rs 651.2 crore in the current quarter from Rs 439.1 crore in 9M-2014. Airtel’s cumulative investments in the segment increased 18 per cent to Rs 5298.4 crore in Q3-2015 from Rs 4471.2 crore in Q3-2014.

     

    Airtel MD and CEO, India & South Asia Gopal Vittal said, “Airtel’s revenue growth in India has continued to accelerate. Revenue growth of 12.6 per cent in Q3-2015 is the highest in 9 quarters. We remain focused on driving topline through stepped up customer acquisitions with continued focus on churn, ensuring pricing stability, and path-breaking innovations in mobile data. Our mobile data growth is at 74.3 per cent in Q3-2015. On the regulatory front, the industry has welcomed the announcement of the timetable for the spectrum auctions in March 2015.”

  • Doordarshan Freedish to hold 20th online e-auction with Rs 3.7 crore reserve price

    Doordarshan Freedish to hold 20th online e-auction with Rs 3.7 crore reserve price

    NEW DELHI: Two months after the last e-auction, Doordarshan will be holding the 20th e-auction for Freedish on 11 February in an attempt to touch the target of 112 television channels in the next few months.

     

     Doordarshan has set a reserve price of Rs 3.7 crore per slot for the online e-auction; though Indiantelevision.com has learnt that the bid amount went up to Rs 4.2 crore in the 17th e-auction held on 12 November. This came shortly after the 16th e-auction on 28 October.

     

     DD sources said while the 19th auction was to fill four slots, it had been decided not to disclose the number of slots in advance this time in order to prevent bidders forming consortia to bid or resort to other malpractices. (It is however learnt that the e-auction is to fill five to seven slots.)

     

    Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar had said recently that the future of Doordarshan was in Freedish and digitization. He had added that this may mean that some channels would have to be attracted to Freedish by means other than e-auction.

     

     DD sources also said that while Freedish may be encrypted to keep a tab on the number of subscribers, it would remain free-to-air.

     

    The e-auction will be conducted by Synise Technologies Ltd., Pune on behalf of Prasar Bharati.  

     

     The reserve price in the 15th e-auction was Rs 3 crore and was raised to Rs 3.7 crore in the 16th auction.

     

     Prior to the 16th auction, the total number of channels on Freedish was 58.

     

     Meanwhile, a Doordarshan official declined to give the number of successful bids in recent auctions as engineers of the pubcaster had to test these channels before verifying any numbers.

     

     The eligibility terms and conditions including other relevant details for this e-auction are displayed on DD website: www.ddindia.gov.in.

     

    However, the participation amount (EMD) in the e-auction is Rs.1.5 crore, which will be deposited in advance on or before noon on 11 February along with a processing fee of Rs 10,000 (Non-refundable) in favour of PB (BCI) Doordarshan Commercial Service, New Delhi.

     

     Applicants have also been asked manadatorily to deposit a Demand Draft of Rs 5,500 registration amount favouring Synise Technologies Ltd., payable at Pune at the time of submission of the application. The time for every slot e-auction will be of fifteen minutes duration.

     

     The applicants must provide details of the uplink/downlink permission documents received from the concerned Ministries with the applications to ensure they are not rejected.

     

    The demand drafts of unsuccessful bidders will be returned immediately or within a week after the e-auction process is completed.

  • DTH players gear up ahead of the World Cup

    DTH players gear up ahead of the World Cup

    MUMBAI: The upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup is this year’s biggest sporting event that promises to not just entertain fans of the sport but also provide windfall gain to advertisers and sponsors. Not be left out are direct to home (DTH) players, who are planning to rake in some moolah through various initiatives. 

     

    DTH operator Tata Sky recently launched India’s first 4K set top box (STB) for its existing customers as well as to entice a new bunch of subscribers.

     

    When asked if the move will help increase its subscriber base, Tata Sky CEO Harit Nagpal says, “Those who have invested in 4K television will need a 4K set top box to watch the matches. So it will help the customers who already have 4K TV, to watch the 4K transmission with the help of the STB.”

     

    For Rs 6,400 subscribers can purchase the Tata Sky 4K STB while existing subscribers can buy it for Rs 5,900. Apart from relaying 4K content, the box can also showcase Standard Definition (SD) and High Definition (HD) channels. The STB has the capability of delivering Ultra High Definition picture quality and Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 surround sound. 4K at 8.3 megapixels (3840×2160) has approximately four times the pixels as that of 2K (1920×1080) – the current HD standard.

     

    Sun Direct managing director Mahesh Kumar too agrees that the World Cup will help increase its existing subscriber base. He reasons, “One, cricket is a religion in India and given that the first few days of the tournament starts off with an India Pakistan match – the fervour is going to be high from the start of the tournament. Two, even though the months of February and March are traditionally dull for DTH due to exam fever, we expect the cricket fever to take prominence and more new connections to come in during this period.  Post IPL the love of cricket has transcended countries with the foreign player participation in local leagues, hence viewer interest will be high not only in India playing matches but also in matches with other countries.”

     

    The DTH operator is offering the Star Sports bouquet on its bestselling Cinema + Sports packs. “This is indeed a big plus for our subscribers who can watch the world cup and best of sports during the World Cup and beyond with Sun Direct,” added Kumar.

     

    Sun Direct is offering its Cinema + Sports package at Rs 195 per month. It will be focusing mainly on this pack for the World Cup as it feels this covers most of the requirements of its customers. It will be coming out with high decibel campaigns on TV and print supported with BTL initiatives and digital media to give a 360 degree communication ahead of the World Cup, informs Kumar.

     

    Airtel Digital TV too has jumped on the World Cup bandwagon. For all customers buying Samsung Curve and UHD TV, it will offer HD DVR connection at the same cost as that of an HD connection. Customers will receive   discount coupons worth Rs 2650. Customers can enjoy watching the matches on an HD DVR by just paying Rs 2350. This box, which has an inbuilt hard disk of 500 GB can record content up to 750 hours enabling a customer  to record and watch the world cup matches at a convenient time. Also customers will get free subscription for up to 12 months through a scratch card offer. On other Samsung models, it is offering a discount coupon of Rs 660 on its HD+ variant. This comes along with an eight GB pen drive worth Rs 399, which is offered free. Additionally customers will get free subscription for up to 12 months through a scratch card offer.

     

    This edition of the World Cup will see the first global broadcast of cricket in 4K. Official broadcaster Star will telecast select matches, including India’s opening match against arch-rivals Pakistan, in the 4K format. Online shopping websites like Snapdeal, Amazon and Flipkart have priced the 4K TV’s between the range of Rs 60,000 (lower end) while the higher end categories are priced at an upwards of Rs one lakh.

     

    Videocon d2h too has launched 4K Ultra HD services. It has priced its STB at Rs 6590 for new customers while existing customers can upgrade to 4K DTH for Rs 5990. In addition to 4K channels and content, subscribers can use the STB to view Standard Definition (SD) and High Definition (HD) channels. While the website of Videocon d2h states that delivery of the STB will be made within two weeks from the date of booking, a call made to a customer care executive revealed that it would take around 48 hours.

     

    Dish TV chief operating officer Salil Kapoor expects the cricket World Cup to help further increase its existing customer base and therefore has tweaked its packaging. “Our packaging is very sports centric. Every tier of our packaging has the maximum number of sports channels. We have also kept in mind that HD will play a big role in the World Cup and therefore have maximum number of HD sports channels,” he says.

  • Q3-2015: Dish TV reports improved performance, lower loss

    Q3-2015: Dish TV reports improved performance, lower loss

    BENGALURU: In its earnings release today, India’s largest DTH operator, Dish TV Limited (Dish TV) informed the bourses that its net subscriber base in Q3-2015 had gone up to 1.25 crore, the company says that it has added a net of 4.16 lakh subscribers in this quarter. In Q3-2014, the company has added net 2.2 lakh subscribers in Q3-2014 and 3.78 lakhs subscribers in Q2-2015. The company says further that its average revenue per user (arpu) is Rs.177, versus an arpu Rs 166 in Q3-2014 and Rs 172 in Q2-2015.

     

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

     

    Dish TV’s total income from operations (TIO) has gone up by 16.5 per cent in Q3-2015 to Rs 713.88 crore from Rs 612.82 crore in Q3-2014 and was 6.2 per cent more than Rs 672.35 crore in Q2-2015. During 9M-2015, Dish TV’s TIO at Rs 2026.93 crore was 13.6 per cent more than the Rs 1783.78 crore in 9M-2014.

     

     The company has reported a lower loss of Rs 2.87 crore in Q3-2015 as compared to a loss of Rs 38.25 crore in Q3-2014 and a loss of Rs 15.07 crore in Q2-2015. In 9M-2015, Dish TV’s loss at Rs 33.98 crore was less than half the loss of Rs 84.63 crore in 9M-2014.

     

    The company reported subscription revenue for the quarter was Rs 655.4 crore up 17.4 per cent y-o-y.

     

     

    Let us look at the other figures reported by Dish TV :-

     

    Dish TV’s Total expenditure (TE) in Q3-2015 at Rs 684.26 crore (95.9 per cent of TIO) was 8.5 per cent more than the Rs 630.68 crore (102.9 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2014 and 3.4 per cent more than the Rs 661.92 crore (98.5 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2015. In 9M-2015, TE at Rs 1975.07 crore (97.4 per cent of TIO) was 8.5 per cent more than the Rs 1819.87 crore (102 per cent of TIO) in 9M-2014.

     

    The company’s programming content and other costs (programming cost) in Q3-2015 at Rs 198.86 crore (27.9 per cent of TIO) was almost the same as the Rs 198.87 crore (32.5 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2014 and 3.1 per cent more than the Rs 192.87 crore (28.7 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2015. 9M-2015 programming cost at Rs 593.13 crore (29.3 per cent of TIO) was 2.8 per cent more than the Rs 576.87 crore (32.3 per cent of TIO) in 9M-2014.

     

    Dish TV paid 18.7 per cent higher license fees at Rs 75.35 crore (10.6 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2015 as compared to the Rs 63.48 crore (10.4 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2014 and 7.8 per cent more than the Rs 69.87 crore (10.4 per cent of TIO) in the immediate trailing quarter. License Fees in 9M-2015 at Rs 210.66 crore (10.4 percent of TIO) was 13.5 percent more than the Rs 185.56 crore (10.4 percent of TIO) in the corresponding period of last year.

     

    The company’s commission expense at Rs 69.07 crore (9.7 per cent of TIO) was 37.1 per cent higher than the Rs 50.37 crore (8.2 per cent of TIO) in Q4-2013 and 13.7 per cent more than the Rs 60.74 crore (9 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2015. Commission expense in 9M-2015 rose 39.3 percent to Rs 185.33 crore (9.1 percent of TIO) from Rs 133.02 crore (7.5 percent of TIO) in 9M-2014.

     

     Dish TV’s other selling and distribution expense for Q3-2015 at Rs 43.99 crore (6.2 per cent of TIO) was 26.8 per cent more than the Rs 34.69 crore (5.7 per cent of TIO) in Q3-2014 and 18.2 per cent lower than the Rs 53.8 crore (8 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2015. In 9M-2015, other selling and distribution expense t Rs 135.65 crore (6.7 per cent of TIO) was 17.2 per cent more than the Rs 115.76 crore (6.5 per cent of TIO) in 9M-2014.

     

    The company’s costs is Q3-2015 increased 59 per cent to Rs 47.86 crore (6.7 per cent of TIO) from Rs 30.10 crore (4.9 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2014 and was 12.6 per cent more than the Rs 42.51 crore (6.3 per cent of TIO) in Q2-2015. The company’s costs in 9M-2015 increased 29.8 per cent to Rs 129.84 crore (6.4 per cent of TIO) from Rs 100.04 crore (5.6 per cent of TIO) in 9M-2014.

     

     “Dish TV recorded marked improvements in its key financials while maintaining market supremacy during the third quarter of fiscal 2015. Overall, the DTH industry led by Dish TV recorded a healthy 29 percent y-o-y growth in gross additions compared to the corresponding quarter last fiscal,” said Dish TV chairman Subhash Chandra.

     

    Highlighting Dish TV’s third quarter performance Dish TV managing director Jawahar Goel said, “We continued to strengthen our reach in phase 3 and 4 towns much ahead of the government mandated revised deadline for digitisation in those markets. Our bouquet of offerings including fully loaded sports packs and High Definition (HD) packages helped us fill in the expectation gap in phase 1 and 2 households as well. The recently launched ‘Zing’ has been a successful product and now caters to eight regional markets with the latest being Tamil Nadu.”

  • Dish TV’s Zing to enter Tamil market

    Dish TV’s Zing to enter Tamil market

    MUMBAI: India’s first DTH service from the Zee stable – Dish TV has now extended its regional offering – Zing TV – to the Tamil market.

     

    After launching Zing in seven states across India, it has now launched in Tamil Nadu and will offer 49 Tamil channels and services (depending on the pack). Overall 145+ channels are available at a price of Rs 99 per month in base pack, making it available at almost the same price as the cable.

     

    Zing TV was specially conceptualized and customized keeping in mind the preferences of its Tamil viewers that are moving over to the digital platform.

     

    The DTH service believes that the TV viewing needs of Tamil viewers are very different as compared to the rest of India. No other DTH player till now has been able to cater to these unique needs in a 360 degree manner, bringing the truly local, state specific and even language specific touch to make it a truly memorable viewing experience.

     

    Moreover, the offerings are not limited to providing regional channels only, the customer will also be provided with a dedicated Tamil speaking call center and local dealers will be empowered to solve all their issues, thus making it a seamless service.

     

    Dish TV chief operating officer Salil Kapoor reveals that a consumer demographic study had indicated that larger segment of TV viewers from tier 2 and tier 3 cities prefer regional content.

     

    “Zing will address this need very efficiently and provide maximum available regional content to viewers through its exciting packs as compared to other DTH brands. Zing is our unique initiative where a complete new brand is being launched to address this need for regional content. Now, not only will packages cater to specific audiences across states, but even communication will be in the customer’s language of choice,” said Kapoor.

  • Govt. has no plans to place restrictions on number of DTH platforms

    Govt. has no plans to place restrictions on number of DTH platforms

    NEW DELHI: Even as it is in the process of revamping its free-to-air direct-to-home (DTH) platform Freedish, the government has made it clear that it has no intentions to impose any restrictions on the total number of DTH licenses.

    The Ministry has till now granted license to six private companies: Dish TV, Tata Sky, Sun Direct TV, Reliance BIG TV, BhartiTelemedia and Videocon d2h.

    These platforms provide DTH services in India under the DTH Guidelines issued on 15 March, 2001, as amended from time to time.

    Information and Broadcasting Ministry sources told Indiantelevision.com that Freedish is in the process of making changes so that it can provide up to 100 FTA television channels in the first stage in addition to All India Radio channels. A total of 19 e-auctions have also been held in this regard.

    DTH licenses, under the DTH guidelines, are granted to those companies which fulfil the eligibility criteria, terms and conditions and subject to security clearance and technical clearances by the appropriate authorities of the Government.

    The details are available on the website of this Ministry at www.mib.gov.in.

    Under clause 3.1 of the DTH Guidelines, the licensee, in addition to an initial non-refundable entry fee of Rs 10 crore, is required to pay an annual license fee at 10 per cent of its gross revenue.