ITV

Category: DTH Operator

  • Cas: MSOs strain to meet demand for boxes

    Cas: MSOs strain to meet demand for boxes

    MUMBAI/DELHI: Multi-system operators (MSOs) are under stress and strain to meet the demand for set-top boxes (STBs) as conditional access system (Cas) has come into effect in the notified areas of Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata.

    “We are moving 5000-6000 STBs a day in Mumbai,” says IndusInd Media and Communications Ltd. director-in- charge Ravi Mansukhani.

    Wire & Wireless India Ltd CEO Jagjit Singh Kohli says that while he can’t give a number in terms of the number of boxes being seeded, business has been brisk and smooth. “There have not been any technical glitches. The Cas deployments in the notified areas by all the cable operators has so far been much more than what direct-to-home (DTH) has achieved in these pockets.”.

    For those who are taking the boxes, MSOs are providing all the pay channels for a trial period of 15 days. “We want to give them some time before they can decide on the channels that they want to pay for. After this period, they can choose what they want and they will be billed only for what they have decided to take,” says Mansukhani.

    Adds WWIL executive vice president Arvind Mohan: “This is a transition period, so we are giving all the channels to all the STB subscribers. The processing of the forms being filled up takes some time. We are giving the subscribers a free run of all the channels. By 15 January, the entire system will be in place, and billing will be for the month depending on the channels they have selected.”

    So how long does it take once a consumer orders for a STB? With so many people wanting a box at the same time, the maximum time it would take to get the system installed is a day as it has to be fed into the smart card and billing system, says Mansukhani.

    Interestingly, there are indications that at the ground level there is some confusion in terms of pricing. For instance, this writer, residing in the Colaba area of South Mumbai, paid Rs 2000 on 1 January for a box while the MSO had recently announced a reduction in the price to Rs 1500. “There are some confusions still prevailing on the ground about the prices and packages on offer,” admits a local cable operator.

    Speaking on behalf of the broadcasters, Star India’s distribution head Tony D’Silva says that it is too soon to comment on the adoption rate. “We had expected that there would be some confusion. We are adopting a wait and watch policy. In a few days time the situation should be clear.”

    Zee Turner CEO Arun Poddar says that there is certainly a demand and supply mismatch across all the MSOs. He concedes some last mile operators would not be communicating adequately with consumers, thus leading to confusion.

    Despite some confusion, the Cas rollout in South Delhi is happening steadily as there is a rush for the STBs.

    SN Sharma of Hathway denied that there is any shortage of boxes. “This is a continuous process and we are getting consignments from our Korea company on a daily basis. There is a lag of time for getting connected because the local cable operator has a manpower shortage,” he says.

    The time between a request coming in and a box being connected is about an hour, he adds. “The LCOs have about five or six people working, who have to attend to calls for repairs, collect payments and also deploy the boxes. So the connection giving ability is in the same ratio as the staff strength.”

    According to RWA president GS Gulati, most of the residents in Delhi were still waiting and have not subscribed to either cable or DTH operators. “The cable operator has left a box for me at my shop, but I have not got connected, because we do not know what is better, this or DTH.”

    In some areas, people complained about technical glitches. Sometime during the evening of 1 January, Cas boxes in some areas of south Delhi went blank for about 10 minutes first, and then intermittently for shorter durations about three times.

    “This should not be the case, because the boxes are highly efficient. This must be some fault like a loose connection or a person tinkering too much with the remote control, as people do with all new things,” Sharma says.

  • Insat 4A services disrupted due to minor glitch

    Insat 4A services disrupted due to minor glitch

    MUMBAI: Insat 4A, the satellite which Tata Sky uses for its direct-to-home (DTH) operations, saw a minor disruption in services for about 30 minutes at around 4 pm due to solar disturbances.

    Insat 4A lost earth lock when one of the momentum wheels used for stabilizing the spacecraft got switched off, Indian Space Research Organisation said today in a release.

    Isro engineers at master control facility, Hassan, immediately took action to recover the earth lock and orient the satellite properly within about half an hour.

  • Shemaroo releases comedian Jaswinder Bhalla on VCD, DVDs

    Shemaroo releases comedian Jaswinder Bhalla on VCD, DVDs

    MUMBAI: Shemaroo Video has released comedian Jaswinder Bhalla’s Chhankata 2006 -Kadh’ Tiyan Kasraan on VCDs and DVDs.

    The Chhankata series stars the trio of Jaswinder Bhalla, Bal Mukand Sharma and Ms. Neelu, and is popular for its comedy on politics, social problems, corruption etc.

    Shemaroo says that the audio of Chhankata 2006, also released by Shemaroo has received a good response. Besides the regular thrill-full and meaningful comedy, non-stop satires, jokes and wits; the Silver Jubilee Edition has guest performances from Punjabi Singers like Sardool Sikander, Surinder Chinda,Balkar Sidhu, Sukhwinder Sukhi and Hardev Mahi Nangal who have sung to add special flavour to the album. Also issues like Rakhi Sawant – Mika controversy and molestation of girl students by Punjab Police are among the current topics covered in this comedy show.

    Shemaroo VP Hiren Gada said “Chhankata has become the common man’s entertainment source over the last so many years. We are extremely proud to release the Silver Jubilee edition of the Chhankata series which has entertained the audiences for two decades. We are sure that the edition will be a hit among Chhankata fans and emerge as the best in the series so far.”

    Bhalla says, “With the love and good wishes of my several fans I have been encouraged to provide them with wholesome entertainment year after year. This being the silver jubilee edition I am more than happy to be associated with a company like Shemaroo which has a national presence and is looking keenly to promote local artists and talent in the appropriate manner”.

    Shemaroo has also tied up with telecom operators for providing mobile downloads of the title.

  • Tata Sky, Zee Turner case: TDSAT asks for Trais’s position on DTH operations

    Tata Sky, Zee Turner case: TDSAT asks for Trais’s position on DTH operations

    NEW DELHI: The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (Tdsat) today asked the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) to look into the issue of transponder capacity as raised by direct-to-home (DTH) service provider Tata Sky as a limiting factor.

    The Tdsat has also asked Trai whether it would like to regulate prices for channels on DTH operations, as it has done in the case of cable operations in the Cas regime, or let market forces operate as they are now, in terms of broadcasters fixing their own prices.

    Trai had been asked to state the time they would need to do so, and their counsel wanted two weeks. Trai has been asked to file an affidavit by 19 January.

    Tdsat was hearing the ongoing case between Tata Sky and Zee-Turner, regarding the fixing of channel offered by the latter, which Tata Sky found too high. Tata Sky had filed the case earlier also because according to it, Zee-Turner had not acceded to its request to stream signals over the issue of prices, violating Trai regulation.

    The matter came to head when Tata Sky alleged that Zee-Turner was indulging in cartelisation, since it was not only a MSO, but also part of a broadcaster on behalf of Turner.

    While the Tata Sky counsel was addressing the court, the Zee counsel intervened to say that though Tata Sky was challenging Zee’s contentions on the ground that it was an arm of broadcaster Turner, the same was the case with Tata Sky, which had an agreement with Star television, and could simply not seek to plead as just a DTH operator.

    Tata Sky had said during the arguments that it had to operate through various transponders, and the total capacity of these was limited; but Zee rebutted that over and above the channels Zee was giving Tata Sky, the latter was still able to beam local channels, so the issue of a limited capacity of transponders did not hold good.

    This is when the court decided to rise and discuss the issue between the brother judges.

    On resumption of hearing, the court, instead of allowing the parties to continue arguments, directly addressed the Trai counsel and said that there are “larger issues that are worrying us”, and asked Trai to come out with their position.

    While the counsel for Tata Sky referred to an earlier judgement of the same court (July 14, 2006), the court said certain issues may have been overlooked and hence, it was only Trai that would first need to state its position.

  • Dishtv announces special pricing for Cas

    Dishtv announces special pricing for Cas

    MUMBAI: With conditional access (Cas) coming in shortly in Dehli, Mumbai, Kolkatta, the war is on for the consumer. Direct-to-home (DTH) service provider Dishtv has announced pricing offers for the Cas cities.

    Dishtv has worked on a 2 pronged pricing strategy – both for the hardware as well as for the monthly subscriptions.

    For a dishtv connection, there is now an entry option and an overall value proposition.

    The new pricing options are as follows:

    Down Payment Offer: To deliver better value to its consumers, the existing scheme has been enhanced for all new incumbent subscribers in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata

    On the payment of monthly subscription of one month of any of the two packages, the consumer can enjoy six months viewing. This is applicable on the acquisition of hardware at Rs 2950 along with Rs 200 as installation charges.

    Easy Pay Offer: In order to enable an easy ‘getting started’, Dishtv offers the following scheme for Cas notified areas in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.

    A pay out of Rs 1300 (to take the entire equipment home, on right to use basis) + Rs 200 as installation charges. Thereafter, a monthly rental of Rs 35 for the hardware will apply for a period of five years. This will be charged along with the monthly subscription of any of the two packages that the consumer subscribes to.

    Multi TV households can now get started with dishtv at a special price. For instance, for four TVs in a typical south city home, one now needs to foot a bill of only Rs 6000 to get four dishtv connections. Further, the monthly subscriptions on the second, third and fourth connections would cost only Rs 100 + taxes each month.

    In addition its monthly subscription packages are also two tiered – one with 85 channels at Rs 210 +taxes per month and the other enhanced package with 125 channels at 240 + taxes per month, keeping in view the entertainment needs of varied users.

    Clearly, DTH service providers are taking the fight to the multi-system operators (MSOs). Tata Sky recently announced it would offer free subscription for six months to consumers who fall in the Cas area.

  • Bharti likely to enter DTH arena

    Bharti likely to enter DTH arena

    MUMBAI: The direct-to-home (DTH) space is set to get more crowded in India with the telecom majors planning to join the fray in addition to their IPTV gameplan.

    Bharti Group is the latest player to have shown interest to enter an arena which will be occupied by Kalanithi Maran’s Sun Direct and Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group next year along with the existing DTH operators Dish TV, Tata Sky and Doordarshan’s DD Direct Plus.

    “We are looking at DTH and are rolling out IPTV,” Bharti Enterprises Ltd chairman Sunil Mittal tells Indiantelevision.com.

    Bharti, it is reliably learnt, had preliminary discussions with Indian Space Research Orgainsation (ISRO) officials. With several players interested to kick off DTH operations, Isro is finding it a challenge to meet the growing demand for Ku-band transponders.

    Sun, for instance, has had to wait after the unfortunate failure of the GSLV-F02 launch rocket carrying the Insat-4C communication satellite in July this year. Maran had booked seven high-power Ku-band transponders in this satellite, out of which six would have been used for DTH and one for digital satellite news gathering.

    Bharati, however, has not yet applied for a DTH licence. “We are still evaluating. We haven’t yet applied for a licence,” says Mittal.

    Though telecom companies in India have chalked out ambitious triple play plans, they have not yet managed to sort out the technical issues. Last mile access to customer homes has also remained a big hurdle and private telcos, who have built a strong mobile phone business, have even looked at striking alliances with local cable operators. On the content front, there is no regulatory clarity yet for IPTV rights.

    Bharati, for instance, had conducted test trials with UTStarcom as the digital service provider for IPTV, but later made it open for other vendors as well. A leading mobile service provider, Bharti’s (like the other private telcos) progress on fixed telephone connections has been slow. With an eye to increase this base and raise ARPUs (average revenue per user) by delivering video content into consumer homes, the company has taken several steps for IPTV rollout including setting up a digital headend in Gurgaon on the outskirts of Delhi.

    “With IPTV still to kick off, some telcos feel DTH offers good opportunity and synergy,” says a trade analyst.

    Reliance, thus, is launching DTH under the Bluemagic brand and has roped in former Dish TV CEO Sunil Khanna to head the operations.

    The formula now being worked upon by the telcos is obviously to have a DTH footprint as well as IPTV which would give them access to homes for delivering video content.

  • Pan Asian Mobile TV consortium formed

    Pan Asian Mobile TV consortium formed

    MUMBAI: SK Telecom, TOSHIBA , Glocal Media, and International Mobile Broadcasting Pte. Ltd. have announced the formation of the Pan Asian Mobile TV consortium to enable digital multimedia broadcasting for mobile operators in the region.

    Trials are set to begin in early 2007 with leading mobile operators in Asia, asserts an official release.

    Masashi Suenaga TOSHIBA said, “The vision will bring a new era of Broadcasting in the Asia region. People can enjoy informative, educational and entertaining live contents from all over the world anytime and anywhere with cell phone most cost effectively by adopting S-DMB system that was commercially proven in Japan and Korea.”

    SK Telecom vice president J.H. Kah said, “The Pan Asian Mobile TV initiative will open a window of opportunity for the mass in the Asia Pacific region to enjoy a buffet of global contents ubiquitously through their mobile handset. This multilateral, cross-cultural initiative will exemplify the vision of a united Asia.”

    Project leader Tom Navasero added, “The Pan Asian Mobile TV consortium is the region’s first enabler for a regional mobileTV service. The initiative will contribute to the public by providing mobile learning, and disaster prevention media. Pan Asian Mobile TV will be able to contribute to the mutual understanding and the unification of this region through content reciprocity.”

    Glocal Media CEO Dennis Young said, “Glocal Media is very excited to be the content partner in this mobileTV consortium, we believe strongly that mobileTV is the next big thing and Asia is the place to do it. It offers us content owners a new distribution path to reach our customers and at the same time an opportunity to develop brand new forms of content that will be specific to mobileTV.”

    SK Telecom is Korea based mobile communications company with more than 20 million subscribers. Toshiba deals in digital multimedia broadcasting and is the founder of MBCO (Mobile Broadcasting Company in Japan). Glocal Media is a content aggregator. International Mobile Broadcasting is the holder of Asian mobile TV licenses and spectrum.
     

  • Sierra Ent. unveils ‘Ice Age 2: The Meltdown’ on Wii video games in US

    Sierra Ent. unveils ‘Ice Age 2: The Meltdown’ on Wii video games in US

    MUMBAI: Sierra Entertainment, a division of Vivendi Games, has announced that the video game Ice Age 2: The Meltdown, based on the animated film Ice Age: The Meltdown from 20th Century Fox is available at retailers across the US on the Wii video game system.

    “Ice Age 2 The Meltdown showed its strength as a popular movie-based kids video game with retail sales of over 1.3 million units and in the box office with sales topping $646 million worldwide,” said Vivendi Games president global retail Pascal Brochier. “We are expecting Ice Age 2 The Meltdown for Wii to follow a similar course.”

    The Wii Remote and Nunchuk controllers allow players to guide their favourite Ice Age: The Meltdown pals through challenging puzzles and exciting mini-games.

    Fox Licensing and Merchandising executive vice president Elie Dekel added, “This game is the perfect complement to the film and a great way for fans to extend their experience with the story and its characters.”

    “Ice Age 2 The Meltdown and the Wii are a perfect combination for family fun this holiday season,” said Vivendi Games chief strategy and marketing officer Cindy Cook. “Fox has stepped up as a partner to offer an incredible amount of talent, assets, and effort to the game, which also takes full advantage of the Wii Remote’s motion sensors. The result is an action-packed adventure featuring non-stop entertainment that is sure to appeal to gamers of all ages.”
     

  • ‘Sound of Music’ commemorates 40 years; DVD launched

    ‘Sound of Music’ commemorates 40 years; DVD launched

     MUMBAI: Sound of Music, is commemorating the completion of 40 years. The Event is been celebrated in India with the launch of an exclusive 40th anniversary edition DVD.

    The DVD released by Excel Home Videos (Indian licensee for Twentieth Century Fox) will feature a contest in association with Austrian National Tourist Office and Austrian Airlines for a four day trip to Salzburg, Austria the location where the classic was filmed, asserts an official release.

    The contest is open till the 31 December.The DVD will also feature a 40th anniversary reunion of the cast and crew, remembrance by Julie Andrews and host of other collector’s material.

    Austrian National Tourist Office director Christine Mukharji said, “The movie has a wide following in India, like many parts of the world. We are extremely pleased to host fans from India as a part of the 40th year celebrations of the classic.”

    Excel Home Videos managing director M.N Kapasi added, “The movie with its memorable music has struck a chord with generations of movie buffs across continents and age groups to be synonymous with the term classic. The wide following it enjoys in India, with its script in line with Indian sensibilities, is well established by the consistent demand for its DVD over the years. This 40th anniversary edition will commemorate the special bonding the movie shares with millions of its fans.”

    Austrian Airlines country manager Bernhard Baeck said, “The event is a fitting tribute to the movie that has inspired and connected with generations of movie lovers across the world.”

    According to International websites like (Boxofficemojo, Amazon), the film ranks third in both all-time number of tickets sold behind Gone with the Wind and Star Wars this along with its success around the world in sales of tickets, video cassettes, laserdiscs, DVDs and its frequent airings on television, it is called the most widely seen movie produced by a Hollywood studio, adds the release.

  • MIH India completes acquisition of bixee.com and pixrat.com

    MIH India completes acquisition of bixee.com and pixrat.com

    MUMBAI: MIH Web Private Limited (MIH India), the Indian arm of South African media company Naspers has completed the 100 per cent acquisition of Bixee.com and Pixrat.com, adding strategic properties and technology to capitalise on India’s growing Internet market.

    In addition to all assets of Bixee.com including technologies, the founders and team of Bixee.com will become a part of MIH India, asserts an official release.

    Bixee.com and Pixrat.com are a part of RHR Networks based out of Bangalore and jointly founded by ex-Yahoo employees Rajesh Warrier and Ruban Phukan.

    MIH India has already beta launched its networking, blogging and photo sharing web site called ibibo.com. With this acquisition it claims to further strengthen its technology and increase its network of consumer internet properties in India.

    MIH India CEO Ashish Kashyap said, “With this acquisition, MIH India has commenced setting up an engineering operation in Bangalore in addition to its HQ at Gurgaon. The team will continue to work on augmenting and further developing Bixee.com and other related technologies and develop other innovative applications for the Indian Internet and Mobile space.”

    “This acquisition is clearly in line with MIH India’s objective of bottom up building, investing and acquiring internet companies in the Indian market place,” he added.

    Commenting on the acquisition Warrier said, “We are very excited about being a part of MIH India and are looking forward to working closely as our thinking is completely aligned with MIH India’s plans.”

    Phukan added, “This relationship adds value to our creation and we are extremely positive about our new association.”

    Bixee.com, launched in October 2005, is a vertical search technology and is also India’s first job search engine targeting the Indian market.

    Pixrat.com, launched early this year, is a social picture bookmarking website that lets users collect, organise and share pictures from anywhere on the web.