ITV

Category: DTH Services

  • Transponder charges: Plan afoot to retain DTH services on Indian sats

    NEW DELHI: The Department of Space (DoS) has said that a technical strategy is under formulation to retain direct-to-home services in the indigenous INSAT/GSAT system as well as to migrate DTH services from foreign satellite systems to indigenous system.

    This has been stated by the DoS to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Parliament, which had, early in 2016, in its fortieth report, complained about loss due to non-revision of transponder charges.

    In its action-taken report (ATR) tabled in the Parliament by the PAC recently, it has also noted that a Committee to look into the subject matter is being constituted, and its recommendation will be addressed by the DoS.

    Referring to non-revision of prices for transponders, the DoS told the PAC that lease agreements with foreign satellites are entered for a short term in order to make a provision for the end user to migrate the services from foreign satellite to the Indian satellite. This approach, the DoS claimed, is in line with the recommendation of the Cabinet approved ‘Norm, guidelines & procedures for implementation of the policy framework for satellite communication in India’.

    The Department said as the foreign operators quote lease charges in dollar terms, differential charges among indigenous capacity and foreign lease is unavoidable due to currency fluctuations and withholding taxes.

    However, it said it will work towards a scenario wherein the best possible solution for DTH services will be arrived at.

    In its original report last year, PAC had noted that DTH transponder lease agreements had a lease period from 5 to 10 years with no provision for revision of prices whereas lease agreement varied from 5% to 33%. The lack of such basic provisions resulted in revenue forgone to the tune of Rs 361.7 million.

    Furthermore, Vetted Comments of Audit Central PAC in its report last year had also wanted the DoS to set up an inquiry to look into the lease agreements with various parties and take stringent action against those responsible for agreeing to terms that were against the interest of the exchequer and apprise the Committee of the action taken within three months.

    However, it noted in the Action Taken Report that the Department did not initiate any action and instead said it had appointed a committee to look into these aspects as the lease agreements with foreign satellites are entered for a short term period and to examine periodic revision clause.

    But, the Committee said the fact remained that DTH transponder lease agreements had a lease period from 5 to 10 years with no provision for revision of prices whereas lease agreements with foreign satellites ranged from one to 6 years with provision for price revision from 5 to 33%. The price revision clause is required to be there in all the transponder lease agreements which extend for more than one year irrespective of the fact that the contract is for a shorter duration or longer duration.

  • Learn acting on Tata Sky’s Adda for Rs 59 a month

    MUMBAI: Tata Sky, India’s innovative content distribution platform, HAS announced the launch of its latest interactive service ‘Tata Sky Acting Adda’ powered by FTheCouch (FTC).

    This service priced at Rs 59/- month will be available exclusively to Tata Sky subs on #111 & on Tata Sky Mobile app.

    This revolutionary service will not only offer acting lessons to all the Bollywood dreamers but also offer a platform where they can send auditions and try for their big break from the comfort of their homes. Tata Sky has partnered with FTheCouch (FTC), a Suniel Shetty and Mukesh Chhabra initiative, to create exclusive content with the best acting teachers and to source the best job opportunities across Movies, TV shows, Theatre, Advertising and more.

    Tata Sky Acting Adda had a star-studded launch with National Award winner Ajay Devgn, Bollywood stalwart Suniel Shetty, the leading casting director of Bollywood, Mukesh Chhabra along with Tata Sky’s Chief Commercial Officer, Pallavi Puri, at a press conference in Mumbai. Its tagline ‘Bade Break Ka Bada Manch’ came to life with an engaging live performance depicting the journey of a Bollywood aspirant and culminating with the launch of an ad campaign featuring the legendary superstar Amitabh Bachchan.

    Speaking at the launch, Pallavi Puri, Chief Commercial Officer, Tata Sky, said, “There is a hidden actor in many of us. But, not everyone has the means to hone their talent or the access to find the right opportunities. With Tata Sky Acting Adda, we have tried to bridge this gap. This service will help acting aspirants get a little closer to their dreams of acting on any platform. That too without leaving their homes and landing in Mumbai, the way thousands do today.”

    She further added, “For those not keen on facing the camera, there is a lot of exciting original content to keep them entertained like exclusive star interviews, behind the scenes & more.”

    An exclusive service for Tata Sky subscribers, Tata Sky Acting Adda is the first service on Indian television to offer acting lessons delivered by experts from FTII, NSD, Barry John School of Acting and more. A unique curriculum has been designed for this service where each day, one can learn different aspects of D.R.A.M.A. – Dialogue, Roleplay, Action & Dance, Makeover and Auditions. There’s even special content like acting workshops for kids and short films over the weekend.

    Speaking about his vision, Suniel Shetty says, “The media industry largely depends on new talent, which is the key word to unlock all doors for its growth. Having spent a quarter of a century in front of the camera, I strongly felt the need to streamline the behind-the-scenes processes, to provide new talent, the platform it deserves. Hence Acting Adda, powered by FTC was conceived and curated. To deliver this service, I couldn’t have found a better associate than Tata Sky, with whom we have already successfully partnered, for our ongoing Fitness service. Henceforth those in search of stardom, can start off by just clicking 111, rather than dashing off to Mumbai. From Acting to Auditions, we teach it all.”

    Mukesh Chhabra said, “In my professional capacity as a casting director, having given breaks to Sushant Singh Rajput, Richa Chaddha, Fatima Sheikh, Sanya Malhotra, child artiste Harshali Malhotra, amongst many others, it’s a privileged next stop, for me to be associated with AAA and FTC, two fully integrated digital platforms. They are both bound to expand the base of talent, at a click of a button.”

    The interactive segment of Tata Sky Acting Adda will offer audition details, a fun Bollywood quiz and exciting video based challenges to test acting skills and reward winners with gratification that may just take them one step closer to achieving their dreams of acting.

  • Dish TV expects significant growth from DAS P III & IV markets

    MUMBAI: Even as India’s consolidating MSOs race ahead to digitise India’s cable TV infrastructure — albeit in fits and starts — in smaller towns and villages, direct to home platform (DTH) owners expect to capture a slice of the action there. Amongst those who have been pushing in the heartlands include state-owned pubcaster’s DD FreeDish. And, it has registered some gains there. Dish TV — which is slated to complete its merger with Videocon d2h later this year — is also hoping to partake the TV subscriber harvest in heartland India.

    “We are anticipating that 70 per cent of the new connections over the next two years would come from those living in small towns and rural markets,” Dish TV CEO Arun Kapoor told PTI, adding that, “it would be primarily because of implementation of Digital Addressable System (DAS) in Phase III and IV.” Of Dish TV’s 15.5 million subscriber base at present, around 35 per cent are from top 100 cities, and the remainder from small towns and rural markets.

    Dish TV is expecting the Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) of the DTH industry to grow over two-fold in the next five years to Rs. 450-500. ARPU would increase from the current industry average of Rs. 150-160. This would be primarily driven by growth in number of HD channels, Value Added Services on DTH platform and implementation of DAS,” Kapoor added.

    Dish TV, the Zee group DTH service arm, is hoping to formally complete the merger with Videocon Group’s DTH arm Videocon d2h by October 2017 after receiving the required regulatory approvals. The merged company would have a subscriber base of 27.2 million, making it the largest DTH service provider in the industry. The merged entity will be renamed as Dish TV Videocon Ltd., the total revenue of Dish TV and Videocon d2h together was Rs. 5,915.8 crore on a pro-forma basis for the fiscal ended 31 March, 2016.

    Dish TV has an active subscriber base of 15.5 million, while that of Videocon d2h stands at around 12.2 million. The DTH industry has around 62 million active subscribers.

    Kapoor said it was soon expecting approvals from regulatory bodies such as National Company Law Tribunal, the Competition Commission of India, and stock exchanges.

    According to Kapoor, the DTH industry, which has players such as Sun Direct, TataSky, Airtel digital TV, Reliance Digital, has a current growth rate of 10 to 12 per cent.

    Also Read  :

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    DishTV expands its portfolio by 23 channels

    Active DTH subscriber growth subdued in Oct-Dec’16 quarter

  • Could India blocking ABS’ FTA TV signals lead to breach of ITU norms?

    MUMBAI: Government of India, it seems, could find itself in a Catch-22 situation over a directive to Department of Space (DoS) to block free-to-air channels available in India broadcast through Asia Broadcast Satellite (ABS)-2, a foreign `bird’ not licensed to provide KU-band or DTH services in India. Reason: such a blockade may breach international laws relating to spillover of satellite signals.

    Signals of ABS-2 satellite —hosting on its South Asian beam a Nepalese and a Bangladeshi DTH service licensed in their respective countries — have been spilling over into India and a mix of Indian, Nepalese and Bangladeshi TV channels are available to Indians as a FTA service that can be accessed via some plain vanilla hardware (read set-top boxes and an antennae) at a nominal cost. This has raised the heckles of India authorities over possible national security.

    While last week junior minister for Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) Rajyavardhan Rathore informed Parliament that his ministry has requested DoS to block the “unauthorized” DTH or KU-band ABS-2 service, the foreign satellite operator feels it has not broken any Indian regulations.

    ABS source claimed that the issue is of “natural spillover” of satellite signals into neighboring countries that are outside the service area of the countries offering licensed DTH services, but falling within the coverage area of the satellite. Such issues have been debated by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) where it was concluded that such a spillover or overlap of coverage areas (countries) is in “full compliance” with ITU provisions. “Consequently, ABS is not in violation of any existing provisions/guidelines stipulated by the government of India,” a company source explained.

    ITU is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies or ICTs. It allocates global radio spectrum and satellite orbits, develops technical standards that ensure networks and technologies to seamlessly interconnect and strives to improve access to ICTs to underserved communities worldwide. Originally founded in 1865 as the International Telegraph Union, ITU is one of the oldest existing international organizations. India is also a member of the organization and Indian satellites’ slots too are co-ordinated by ITU.

    Categorically denying that the company has “been providing” a DTH service in India, ABS sources said ABS-2 satellite has two customers on its South Asian beam. The customers are Bangladeshi DTH service provider marketing under brand name Realvu and Nepalese Humro TV platform. Both these services are licensed in their respective countries, the sources claimed, adding there was a “natural spillover” of these services into India that is being lapped up by Indian viewers as it has a mix of regional content in an un-encrypted format.

    ABS also clarified that it does not sell any hardware in India, nor does it advertise or provide any service to the Indian TV channels within the country. The ABS series of satellites are owned by the Bermuda-based Asia Broadcast Satellite, a comparatively young global satellite operator with offices in the United States, UAE, South Africa, Philippines, Indonesia and Hong Kong.

    Of course, this ABS-2 service is available to Indian consumers at no monthly charge and all they need to do is install a standard STB, easily available in the open electronics hardware market, which also means that the TV channels on the platform stand to gain from additional eyeballs that can be used for marketing purposes by the TV channels.

    According to an estimate, presently there are approximately 20 satellites broadcasting over the Indian skies beaming channels into India and viewers wanting to watch those channels can watch via an ordinary STB and pointing the antenna to the desired satellite’s geo-stationary location. Though this synchronization of antennae with a specific satellite’s position may be technical in nature, there would be hordes of service providers in India with adequate knowledge to do so for a small price.

    Free to view platforms have an advantage over paid DTH services like Dish TV or Tata Sky or Videocon d2h or Reliance BIG TV in the rural areas of the country where consumers may not be too quality conscious. This FTA phenomenon is evident from the considerable reach of pubcaster Doordarshan’s KU-band or FTA DTH service, FreeDish, and a clamour amongst private TV channels too to be on the platform that has a limited shelf capacity.

    Rathore, while responding to queries from three Members of Parliament last week, had said the move to block ABS-2 signals was being done keeping in view any threat to national security via a service not licensed in India. He said MIB was the licensing authority for DTH services in India and it had not received any application or reference from ABS regarding ABS-2 services. However, the minister also admitted that there was no violation of downlinking guidelines by licensed Indian channels on the ABS-2 platform.

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  • NTV MIR expansion in Europe via Globecast’s Eutelsat HOTBIRD

    PARIS: Globecast, the global solutions provider for media, has been selected by NTV Broadcasting Company to broadcast NTV MIR TV, the international version of NTV, to cable and DTH homes across Europe. Globecast is providing fibre connectivity via its Globecast Backbone Network for the channel to be delivered from Moscow to its Paris location, where the signals are then uplinked to Eutelsat’s HOTBIRD position at 13° East (transponder 126).

    NTV MIR TV joins an unrivalled neighbourhood of 38 Russian-speaking channels at the popular HOTBIRD position, of which 28 are available free-to-air. Broadcasting in MPEG-2 SD, the channel offers a mix of news and documentaries, as well as entertainment content and sports.

    The agreement with NTV positions Globecast as the preferred choice for Russian broadcasters to extend their international footprint. Globecast already broadcasts Channel One and RTR PLANETA (Group VGTRK) and broadcasts NTV MIR across Asia via AsiaSat 5.

    Biliana Pumpalovic, General Director of Globecast in Moscow, commented, “We’re delighted that NTV Group has once again called on us to distribute its content, this time across Europe. Eutelsat’s HOTBIRD neighbourhood, with its strong Russian line-up, was the obvious choice for us and makes it easy for NTV MIR to increase its cable and DTH audience across a vast footprint. This deal also illustrates what Globecast does best, which is deliver content to a new audience cost-effectively.”

    Eutelsat’s cluster of three high-power HOTBIRD satellites at 13° East deliver an unrivalled line-up of more than 1,000 channels. Over 135 million homes in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa watch channels broadcast by the HOTBIRD constellation through Direct-to-Home reception, cable, IP and DTT networks. Part of the Orange Group, Globecast provides agile and seamless content acquisition, management and distribution services globally.

  • AION Capital to acquire majority interest in PlanetCast Media Services

    NEW DELHI: AION Capital Partners Limited (the “AION Fund”) is to acquire a majority interest in PlanetCast Media Services Limited (earlier known as Essel Shyam Communications Limited) from shareholders including affiliates of the Essel Group, the Shyam Group and private equity firm Kubera Partners.

    However, the full terms of the transaction were not disclosed. This represents the second transaction affiliates of Apollo Global Management, LLC have done with the Essel Group, having invested $100 million into DishTV in 2009, having successfully exited that investment in 2015.

    The AION Fund is an India-focused fund established by an affiliate of Apollo together with ICICI Venture Funds Management Company Limited. With approximately US$825 million in committed capital, AION Fund is currently one of the largest private equity funds in India.

    Founded in 1996, PlanetCast is a professionally managed, market-leading provider of technology-led managed services to the broadcasting industry in India and neighbouring countries, with a rapidly growing footprint across Southeast Asia.

    PlanetCast provides comprehensive, customized solutions across content management operations (including storage, enrichment and automated play-out) and distribution (including satellite broadcasting, digital streaming and cloud distribution). Following the acquisition by the AION Fund, PlanetCast will continue to be led by the current management team.

    “We are excited for the AION Fund to acquire PlanetCast” said AION Fund partner Utsav Baijal. “We believe PlanetCast is a market leading franchise that delivers best-in-class digital media solutions to its customers. We look forward to working with PlanetCast’s talented and dedicated team to continue the business’s strong heritage of innovation and customer satisfaction”

    “We are pleased to have sponsored PlanetCast during this period of significant growth and transformation. PlanetCast’s foundation as a leader in the broadcasting services industry, position the company well for its new ownership under the AION Fund,” PlanetCast promoter Jawahar Goel said.

    PlanetCast Executive Director M N Vyas said, “We are grateful to our existing shareholders for all the support and guidance to date and look forward to our relationship with the AION Fund”.

    Executive Director Lalit Jain added that “We believe that under the new leadership, PlanetCast can build on its industry leadership position and invest in emerging technologies to become the leading service provider to both the traditional and digital media economy”.

  • Videocon d2h partners Netflix for HD Smart Connect

    MUMBAI: Videocon d2h has signed a deal with the internet television network Netflix. With this partnership, Videocon d2h connected box customers will now be able to access seamlessly the extensive library of Netflix TV and movie titles.

    Videocon d2h consumers will be able to enjoy Netflix on a large screen by simply clicking a dedicated Netflix button on the remote control of HD Smart Connect Set Top Box (STB).

    Videocon d2h executive director Saurabh Dhoot said, “Our partnership will strengthen our DNA of innovation by providing TV screen experience for Netflix users in a seamless manner. This partnership in India with Netflix gives the customers the simple click of a button to easily select between our DTH and world class apps like Netflix services on the HD Smart Connect Set top box.”

    Netflix will be available on an exclusive app available on connected Set top box, HD SMART STB (Connected STB) which converts any existing TV into a smart TV besides showing you more than 600 channels and services in high definition and standard definition. The HD smart connect set top box allows consumers to watch their favourite channels in SD and HD, using the satellite feed like any other Videocon d2h set top box. The set top box can be connected to the internet through any Wifi or ethernet connection in the home for accessing a curated set of applications available through the internet. The minimum internet speed needed is 2 Mbps. These apps, both free and paid cover a range of content genres and utility apps.

    Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera added, “With Netflix on board, Videocon d2h is enhancing its position as the customer’s first choice of entertainment. Integrating premium entertainment services like Netflix into our services offered via HD Smart Connect Set Top Box will make us even more attractive for our consumers. We will continue to deliver exceptional entertainment and give consumer the power to view content and enhance our leadership in homes with wifi/broadband.”

    Netflix co-founder and CEO Reed Hastings said, “While there are millions of consumers all over the world using Netflix, enjoying the ability to watch anywhere, anytime and the incredible variety of programming we offer, we are really only at the beginning of our journey here in India. This partnership with Videocon d2h is important for us in the way we reach to the diversity of the Indian market and will make it much easier for Indian consumers to watch Netflix.

  • DishTV partners with ICICI for digital payments

    MUMBAI: DishTV has tied up with ICICI Bank by consolidated assets, to make payments and recharges easier. The association enables subscribers of the DTH platform to recharge their connections on any Unified Payment Interface (UPI) enabled app and through *99#, a National Unified USSD Platform (NUUP) in a hassle free and cashless manner.

    Dish TV India CEO Arun Kapoor said, “This is another customer oriented initiative in the DTH industry to recharge through UPI transactions. This alliance with ICICI Bank through UPI will drive higher customer adoption and allow them to be a part of the digital economy. This will also aid our vastly spread customers with or without internet access to recharge conveniently. The nation is becoming cashless, so are our DishTV subscribers.”

    With an aim to increase digital transactions, DishTV will be rolling out special offers for its customers. DishTV subscribers can benefit from 50 per cent cashback (up to Rs.100) on their first UPI merchant transaction from ICICI Bank’s iMobile or Pockets app.

    ICICI Bank senior general manager and head digital channels Abonty Banerjee added, “ICICI Bank has played a key role in conceptualizing the UPI initiative along with NPCI to bring in interoperability among banks for ease in payments. We are happy to be associated with Dish TV to launch a unique solution that enables customers to renew their subscriptions simply from ICICI Bank’s iMobile, Pockets and other UPI enabled apps like BHIM among others. I am confident that Dish TV consumers will widely use the solution.”

    A DishTV subscriber can make a payment to UPI ID which is specific for each subscriber in the format. Payments can also be made without using internet through NUUP. Customers have to just dial *99# from their mobile number registered with their respective bank accounts, select the option ‘send money’ and enter the UPI ID as the payment address for making the payment.

  • PEMRA raids DTH & cable operators showing Indian content

    MUMBAI: A PEMRA team has seized illegal hardware and apparatus of DTH and Cline cable network from various electronics shops in Silanwali (Sargodha), Pakistan, and raided DTH re-broadcasters and viewers who are watching or distributing Indian TV channels.

    Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority assistant general manager Malik Qasim Nawaz said the government had banned foreign channels and dish antenna, the News International reported. Nawaz added that the raids would continue and action would be taken against electronic shops and cable operators for allegedly violating government policies.

    The Sindh High Court earlier vacated its interim order regarding suspension of PEMRA’s ban on Amir Liaquat Hussain’s private TV programme and directed that PEMRA’s order would shall remain in force as per the apex court directive. PEMRA had submitted that it had received hundreds of complaints against the petitioner anchorperson for virulent hate speech during the period — 2 January to 24.

    A senior lawyer of the apex court earlier refused to further represent the Sindh provincial government in a case pertaining to the appointment of advisers for the chief minister Murad Ali Shah.

    Former attorney general Makhdom Ali Khan who was representing the province in the instant matter in private capacity recused himself in view of the Supreme Court verdict taking exception to the practice of federal and provincial departments of hiring services of private lawyers in various cases and paying hefty sums from the national exchequer as their fees.

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  • Dish TV & ALi tie up – chipset tech vital for secure VAS, enriched viewing

    MUMBAI: India’s largest DTH operator Dish TV is tying up with ALi Corporation, a STB (set-top box) manufacturer, for launching its Liberty project.

    Also, ALi Corporation is integrating Conax robust cardless security client into HEVC series system on chip (SoC) family, expanding operator STB offering, which is aimed at emerging markets such as India, LatAm, APAC and Africa. The ALi HEVC family includes SoCs for Satellite, Cable and IPTV decoders.

    ALi’s project with Dish TV would be based on its system-on-a-chip technology to offer next-gen security, performance and flexibility while being cost-efficient needed for India. The aim of the project is to provide VAS to expand Dish TV’s market share, hike revenue and enhance user experience. ALi and Dish TV will launch the Liberty project to accelerate convergence and target future expansion opportunities. The Liberty project is based on ALi Corp.’s cutting-edge and sophisticated SoC technology.

    India is the largest DTH market in the world based on the number of subscribers. According to statistic reports in 2016, subscribers reached approximately 65 million in India. Since the introduction of the DTH service in 2003 by Dish TV, the market has experienced exponential growth through multiple digitalisation phases.

    Throughout Phase 1 and Phase 2, four metropolitan areas of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata had gone digital in 2012. In Phase 3, most of the urban areas in India had gone digital and completed ASO (Analogue Switch-Off) process. As Phase 4 is around the corner, the operators are looking forward to the opportunity targeting at the households in rural areas and thus the whole country will be digitalised. For operators to stay ahead of the game, chipset technology plays a significant role in their capability to supply value-added yet secured services that will help them establish a wider subscriber base by offering enriched viewing experience.

    “Dish TV serves over 14 million subscribers by 2016, leading the Indian DTH market,” said Dish TV COO VK Gupta. “To maintain our market leadership and prepare for future opportunities, we implemented ALi Corp.’s SoC solution to launch the Liberty project, which will improve our DTH operations. ALi Corp. has the expertise to help us provide whatever it takes to realise the true spirit of the Liberty project.

    “Ranked among the world’s top 3 with a good chance to be further boosted amid the industry reshuffle, ALi Corp. has a proven track record in delivering high-performing and competitive STB chipset solutions,” said ALi Corp COO Tony Chang. “The Dish TV deployment of ALi Corp. SoC platforms further signifies recognition on our global achievements in helping partners go through ASO and digitalisation processes. We are confident to offer innovative and revolutionary features and services to Indian views and we will fully support Dish TV in their expansion,” Chang added.

    DTH satellite pay-TV sector in India is a growth-oriented industry. Media Partners Asia had forecast it will generate revenues of US$ 4.04 billion by 2018 and US$ 5.6 billion by 2023 in the country. The DTH active subscribers may increase to 60 million by 2018 and 70 million by 2023. This means a 39 per cent share of the overall market by ’23 and a 56 per cent of the digital pay-TV market.