ITV

Category: DTH

  • MobiTV integrates broadcast, cellular networks for seamless mobile TV service

    MobiTV integrates broadcast, cellular networks for seamless mobile TV service

    MUMBAI: Mobile video service provider MobiTV Inc, said it has successfully integrated today’s cellular networks with new forthcoming DVB-H technologies to deliver live and on-demand television via both unicast and broadcast networks in one seamless unified service solution.

    MobiTV chairman and CEO Phillip Alvelda said, “One of the most important lessons we have learned from operating this live TV network for mobile phones over the past few years, is that the future of mobile television requires a multinetwork offering that hides all of the multinetwork complexity from the consumer. This astounding new technology allows us to extend the MobiTV solution that has been so successful over the last few years to encompass any of the new broadcast TV delivery standards and address capacity, interactivity and quality requirements all at the same time.”

    Cellular and broadcast networks address different usage scenarios. While broadcast and multicast technologies address concentrated demand for the most popular content, cellular networks provide a dedicated connection which enables carriers to offer personalized content and integrated mobile-commerce. Combining network infrastructures allows operators to take advantage of the strengths of each to deliver consistently high-quality media content to consumers, said MobiTV executives, according to an official release.

    “As usage grows and the number of customers using mobile television grows, networks will require careful capacity management through co-existing solutions such as unicast, in-band multicast and DVB-H solutions. If broadcast technologies are needed in the future, we believe the ideal solution for operators and subscribers is a system that seamlessly leverages and combines the strengths of the available networks solutions,” said MobiTV COO and co-founder Paul Scanlan.

    MobiTV also will deliver features including seamless navigation and content discovery; unified billing, provisioning and authentication; live and on-demand media ingestion; electronic programming guide; premium channel purchase; mobile commerce; in-stream advertising; integrated music content; integrated clip assets; VoD and PVR functionality; location-based services; blackout management; and DMA content restrictions.

    MobiTV has also announced that over one million users now subscribe to its mobile television services worldwide. Since launching in November 2003, MobiTV has signed-on more than 50 international content partnerships and deployed its television services on more than 20 mobile networks worldwide.

    Earlier this year at the 3GSM World Congress, MobiTV announced support for several other network delivery standards including DMB, MBMS, BCMCS, TDtv, WiMax, and WiFi.

  • DD to demand carriage fee from broadcasters for DTH service

    DD to demand carriage fee from broadcasters for DTH service

    NEW DELHI: Prasar Bharati has decided that it would demand an annual carriage fee of Rs.10 million from private broadcasters to be on its DTH platform, DD Direct+.

    “We have written to some broadcasters on this and are awaiting their response,” Prasar Bharati CEO KS Sarma said today during an annual Press meet.
    According to him, after DD Direct+ increases its capacity to 51 television channels from May, a fee would be taken for being aboard the world’s first subscription-free DTH service, which on last count had approximately 1.1 million subscribers.

    Over 40 broadcasters, including some Indian and foreign religious channels, German pubcaster DeutcheWelle and the proposed AlJazeera International English news channel, are waiting in the queue to hop on to DD Direct+ seeing its obvious advantages.

    “We don’t anticipate any problems regarding drop-outs from the present lot as many channels are waiting with the requisite fee in hand for our nod,” Sarma said, adding some entertainment channels, including South Indian ones, too have evinced interest.
    However, charging a monthly subscription from the subscribers has been ruled out. “We want to remain free for some more time,” Sarma explained.

    To subscribe to DD Direct+ DTH service, a consumer has to buy the hardware for approximately Rs. 3,000, which can be considered as one time investment. No monthly subscription is charged from subscribers.

    Apart from DD Direct+, the other DTH player in the country is Subhash Chandra-controlled Dish TV. A Rupert Murdoch and Tata joint venture is proposing to launch Tata Sky DTH service later this year in market that might yield 15 per cent to DTH services over the next two-three years.

    Meanwhile, Prasar Bharati informed that a low-cost DTH set-top box has been launched in the market for radio channels.

    “We are quite excited by this and would strengthen our services to take advantage of this low-cost receiver,” All India Radio DG Brijeshwar Singh said.

  • Security concerns threaten enterprises rollout of mobile technology: Global survey

    Security concerns threaten enterprises rollout of mobile technology: Global survey

    BANGALORE: Security concerns are the biggest obstacle to the widespread adoption of wireless and remote computing in businesses worldwide today, according to a global survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit, sponsored by Symantec Corp.

    More than 60 per cent of companies are holding back on deployment, citing security concerns. Close to 47 per cent of respondents cite cost and complexity as a major obstacle to deployment. All the while, almost one in five businesses has already experienced financial loss due to attacks via mobile data platforms.

    The Economist Intelligence Unit’s research highlights serious weaknesses in firms’ present security arrangements for mobile devices. While 82 per cent of businesses worldwide, indicate that they see the damage from virus attacks as the same or greater on a mobile network than on a fixed network, only 26 per cent have actually assessed security risks of smart phones, compared with 81 per cent of enterprises conducting security assessments for laptops. Despite the proliferation of mobile device use in the enterprise, only 9 per cent of companies have incorporated a new security architecture designed to include mobile device access. Of the rest, ten per cent of the companies have no measures for addressing mobile security, 39 per cent are granting mobile devices access to corporate networks on an ad hoc basis and another 39 per cent are integrating mobile devices into their existing fixed network security architecture.

    “It’s prudent for enterprises to gain experience in mobile deployments and security before a serious attack makes it mandatory and time critical,” said Paul Miller, director mobile and wireless solutions, Symantec Corporation. “In today’s enterprise, there are multiple end points to account for and proper protection cannot be tackled as one-size-fits-all. While most enterprises are aware of the risks introduced with mobility, they continue to lack the appropriate security measures and policies required to protect themselves from potential threats.”

    The Economist Intelligence Unit, surveyed more than 240 global company executives and conducted a number of in-depth interviews with executives across a range of industries, to explore awareness of security risks associated with the widespread adoption of mobile data solutions. The research also looked at business readiness to respond, should a security threat be realized. Regional responses were aligned on a number of matters, with regional contrast strongest around security risk assessment on specific devices and security software deployment. For example, 55 per cent of Western European businesses have deployed security software to protect mobile data, compared to 44 per cent in Asia-Pacific and just 36 per cent in North America.

    “Security is the one particular issue that continues to impede the widespread adoption of mobile computing in the workplace and if it continues to be overlooked there is a danger that some businesses will miss the advantages mobility can bring to their workforces,” said Economist Intelligence Unit director of custom research Gareth Lofthouse.

    The Symantec Internet Security Threat Report Volume IX, published in March 2006, highlighted that malicious code that targets mobile devices, particularly smart phones, continued to grow through the second half of 2005. The report also highlighted several new examples of malicious code for smart phones including Cardtrp, which was the first cross-platform threat with the ability to affect both Symbian and Windows operating systems. The end of 2005, also saw the emergence of Pbstealer, which is distributed as a file that represents itself as a phone book utility for smart phones, in order to entice a user to download and execute it. Once a device has been compromised by one of these Trojan horses, information such as the user’s phonebook, notepad, calendar, and to-do list will be transmitted to Bluetooth-enabled devices that are within range. This may pose a serious breach of confidentiality if a corporate device is compromised in this manner, as sensitive contact information and appointments could be shared. The risks connected with mobile data will increase as larger mobile networks become a more attractive target for cyber-criminals.

    “A coherent strategy for mobile security would work towards alleviating the concerns of many enterprises. Companies can begin leveraging mobile technology as a competitive advantage by adding mobile protection to 5 or 10 per cent of their mobile workforce and heeding to best practices. This measured approach will help tremendously in preparing for major deployment,” said Miller.

  • Ntl:Telewest to acquire Virgin Mobile in $1.7 billion deal

    Ntl:Telewest to acquire Virgin Mobile in $1.7 billion deal

    MUMBAI: In another major buy out deal in the global telecom arena, UK cable company Ntl:Telewest has agreed to buy Virgin Mobile for 984.9 million pounds ($1.7 billion).

    The new company will operate under the Virgin brand following a 30 year licensing agreement.

    Richard Branson, whose Virgin Group owns 71.2 per cent of Virgin Mobile, has agreed to receive a mix of cash and Ntl:Telewest stock worth 378 pence per share for his stake, plus a licence fee for the Virgin brand worth about 9 million pounds a year.

    Reportedly, Branson will be the largest shareholder in the combined company with a stake of about 10 per cent, and he will have a representative on the Ntl:Telewest board.

    Virgin Mobile’s operating business will continue to be led by members of Virgin Mobile’s current management team, and it is intended that a marketing director from Virgin will join Ntl:Telewest, bringing Virgin’s brand expertise to the Ntl:Telewest management team.

  • World’s first broadband environmental channel green.tv launched

    World’s first broadband environmental channel green.tv launched

    MUMBAI: The world’s first broadband TV channel dedicated to environmental issues green.tv, developed with support from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), has been launched, aiming to become a “one-stop shop” of broadcast information on the environment covering everything from climate change to children’s stories on wildlife.

    UNEP said green.tv would also go live today as a podcast on iTunes as well as having a front-page listing, courtesy of Apple computers. It will carry films from around the world produced by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), community filmmakers, public sector bodies and companies with a firm interest in protecting the environment.

    “Green.tv is a truly innovative project which will no doubt influence the field of environmental film-making and research. It will eventually offer a comprehensive ‘one stop shop’ for environmental TV programming – something that has so far not been available,” said UNEP’s Division of Communications and Public Information director Eric Falt.

    “Green.tv has the potential to become a broadband reference point or benchmark in this field.”

    It will have seven channels covering: air, land, water, climate change, people, species and technologies, in each of which there will be a feature, a news item and a children’s story. With the look and feel of a global TV channel, green.tv will combine this with the best elements of the internet, giving users access to online chatrooms and the ability to watch video on demand, UNEP said in an official release.

    Director-producer Ade Thomas, who first thought up the idea, compared it to the popular Google search engine. “If you want to see a news item about climate change, watch a kids’ story about penguins or a feature about wind farms, go to www.green.tv and you’ll be able to see some engaging and thought-provoking films about the environment, at a time when a greater understanding and awareness of these issues is critical,” he said.

  • UK study highlights the need for more innovative TV on mobile phones

    UK study highlights the need for more innovative TV on mobile phones

    MUMBAI: The results of a new study, Mobile TV – Attitudes to Broadcast on Mobile, confirms the need for broadcast and entertainment brands to work harder to tailor their content to mobile phones.

    The qualitative study by Red Bee Media (formerly BBC Broadcast) and digital media research agency, iBurbia, aimed to research consumer attitudes to specially made or tailored mobile content compared to TV streamed to mobile phones.

    The findings suggested that full length programming on mobile is not as popular as made for mobile TV because screen sizes are too small, opportunities to watch full length programmes on-the-go are rare and subjects preferred to watch full-length programming on the TV.

    iBurbia’s Omar Bakhshi says, “We talked with a broad range of people in this study and there was significant interest in concepts that complemented TV viewing with extra and exclusive content on mobile phones. But, the content had to be sufficiently compelling to be worth the effort and there is a fear of billing abuse, meaning that cost needs to be made clear”.

    The results have also suggested that the most effective way to market mobile TV will be using on-screen prompts within related television shows. The most successful mobile TV will also be of the right quality to work on a mobile screen and targeted to a specific audience. Participants in the study found that, on the smallest of mobile screens, any content over three minutes was too long and anything over one pound was too expensive.

    The recent Oxford trials confirmed that there is an appetite for mobile TV, but this research highlights how ‘TV’ for mobile is wildly different from the ‘TV’ of linear broadcasting. New rules for advertising, navigating and entertaining apply. We worked with iBurbia to find out what viewers really want to watch on their mobile phones. Red Bee Media has built a successful business in understanding consumers’ needs in order to create and tailor content and communicaton for multiple platforms and formats.

    Red Bee Media business director new creative content Catriona Tate says, “The results point towards the mobile TV market being driven in the short term by advertiser funded content and mobile video that compliments or promotes TV programmes”.

    The qualitative study was produced by iBurbia in its interactive media research centre in West London. It included six focus groups – two groups made up of people aged 16-25, three 26-40 and one 41-60. One of these groups consisted of ‘gadget’ users (26-40 age group), the rest only having freeview TV at home and mostly using their mobile phones just for calls.

    The subjects were shown content specially made for mobile on mobile handsets that was created by Red Bee Media. The content included a sport clip, comedy clip, one minute mobidrama, advertiser funded programme, interview with football manager and reality TV clip. As a comparison, subjects were also shown a full length High Definition programme on a PSP (portable Play Station) and a Freeview channel streamed live to a mobile phone.A

  • Hong Kong to launch digital TV next year

    Hong Kong to launch digital TV next year

    MUMBAI: The Hong Kong Commerce, Industry and Technology Bureau has set up working groups with Asia Television Limited (ATV) and Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) to ensure timely and smooth launch of digital services next year.

    Led by the Hong Kong office of the Telecommunications Authority, the groups will work with the TV stations to solve technical issues related to the transmission and reception of digital terrestrial TV, and facilitate inter-departmental coordination to ensure successful migration from analogue to digital TV at different stages.

    Media reports indicate that a new website has also been launched as part of a major publicity drive to raise awareness and improve understanding of digital TV. Beijing’s 2008 Olympic Games are the driving force speeding up the introduction of digital terrestrial television in Hong Kong. The administration will require the territory’s two terrestrial television broadcasters to start digital transmissions by next year.

    In July 2004, Hong Kong Broadcasting Authority announced the implementation framework for digital TV in Hong Kong.

    The bureau approved the investment plans of ATV and TVB for their digital TV programme service and network rollout.

    According to the blueprint, ATV and TVB will start broadcasting their existing services in both analogue and digital format (simulcasting) and launch a new digital service on the respective additional frequency channel assigned to them by 2007.

    The government has yet to decide its transmission standard. If the mainland has not promulgated a national standard before the end of 2006, ATV and TVB will adopt the European digital video broadcasting – terrestrial standard which has been widely adopted internationally.

    The government has set up two working groups, led by the Office of the Telecommunications Authority, to work with the two broadcasters to ensure an integrated launch of digital TV.

    According to the government timetable, ATV and TVB shall provide their existing services in both analog and digital format by 2007.

    Subject to further market and technical studies, the government will direct ATV and TVB to cease analogue broadcasts by 2012, Lai said.

  • Dish TV MD Sunil Gupta on way out

    Dish TV MD Sunil Gupta on way out

    MUMBAI: Zee’s DTH service Dish TV, which will soon be demerged as part of a major overhaul to streamline Subhash Chandra’s broadcasting business, is also seeing changes in its top management.

    Sunil Gupta, who joined Dish last November as managing director from Coke India where he was VP external affairs, South Asia, is leaving what is currently India’s only private DTH operator.
    Chandra confirmed to Indiantelevision.com that Gupta, whose initial responsibilities when he came aboard included increasing Dish TV’s subscriber base and penetration of the service across the country, would soon be leaving the company.

    Gupta was working along with Dish TV CEO Sunil Khanna in leading New Era Entertainment Network Limited (NEENL), which manages the affairs of Dish TV. Zee Telefilms holds 20 per cent stake in the company.

    Gupta has earlier worked with The Times of India as well as had a stint at Jain TV as COO.
    Dish TV is close to 1 million subscribers and is signing up around 3,000 customers a day. The average revenue per user (ARPU) is reportedly running at Rs 200 per month with services subsidised through the provision of a free annual subscription after a one-time charge of Rs 4,000.

  • Murdoch: Still hungering for DTH

    Murdoch: Still hungering for DTH

    There was great speculation whether Rupert Murdoch would do it again – raise the DTH issue, which has got Star TV into trouble time and again in the past, what with rivals rushing to ministers and getting them to unenthuse over-excited information and broadcasting ministers about allowing it in India. But Murdoch apparently seems to have been undeterred by the past, when he met with I&B minister Arun Jaitley. He popped the same proposal: allow DTH. In a different garb though.

    The minister – in a meeting with journos – said that Murdoch has proposed that he will use DTH for long-distance education in India in conjunction with the Internet, a proposal former ISkyB number 2 Urmilla Gupta has been flaunting for some time now. Jaitley said that Murdoch told him that he was considering tying up with some Indian Universities to promote distance education and health training.

    In a forty minute discussion with the Minister, Murdoch said that he was in favour of an open skies policy wherein he expected the Govenment’s whole-hearted support. Murdoch also highligthed the fact that Ku-band broadcasting is not harmful and it is the wave of the future and India cannot be left out of it. True, because even a so-called totalitarian (in Murdoch’s words) state like China is experimenting with DTH.

    When asked about the restructuring of Star TV, he said that the process was still on but there was no time-frame for its completion. Mr Murdoch further revealed that he had picked up a small stake in a Bangalore based IT company about which no details were disclosed by him.

    Murdoch told reporters that Star TV is considering going in for an for an Initial Public Offering but a time frame for it has not been set as yet. He later met Information Technology Minister Pramod Mahajan with whom he discussed infotech policy outlines, and also discussed the old bubear, DTH, and convergence in India.

    Later at night, Murdoch attended a bash thrown by Star TV on behalf of Janata Ki Adalat host Rajat Sharma where even Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was supposed to turn up.

    After the party, he flew into the night in his private jet, headed for Hong Kong to ensure his partnership with C&WHKT is fine fettle and sort out other issues relating to Star TV in Asia.

  • Worldspace subscription revenues up 160 % in Q4

    Worldspace subscription revenues up 160 % in Q4

    MUMBAI: Radio satellite service provider Worldspace has reported its financial and operating results for the fourth quarter and year ended 31 December, 2005.

    It finished the year with 115,306 subscribers. The company added 40,235 subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2005, an increase of approximately 160 per cent over the 15,545 subscribers added in fourth quarter of 2004.

    In India, the company had 74,574 subscribers at the end of the fourth quarter of 2005, up over 100 per cent from 35,670 at the end of the third quarter of 2005 and up nearly 800 per cent from 8,335 at the start of the year.

    At the end of the fourth quarter of 2005, WorldSpace had rolled out its satellite radio services in nine cities in India — Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Pune, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh.

    Service in Kolkata, India’s second largest city, was launched in February 2006. Worldspace’s market distribution is now available to a population of nearly 63 million, including nearly 35 million people in the top three economic segments targeted by the company.

    Worldspace chairman and CEO Noah Samara says, “Worldspace made important progress against all of our key operational metrics during the fourth quarter of 2005, especially in delivering strong subscriber growth. We believe we have gained significant traction in our efforts to acquire new subscribers, and will continue to do so as our visibility and brand awareness grow with the roll-out of our service to additional metropolitan areas, supported by targeted marketing campaigns. We also have made great strides in building our senior management teams, internationally and at the corporate level, by adding quality people with key areas of expertise that will be critical to our forward momentum.”

    The firm introduced 19 new programming channels, including the first India sports talk radio channel and many regional language channels in India, as well as the world’s first global hip hop channel, bringing the total number of channels broadcast on WorldSpace’s global system to 220 by the end of the year.

    It also completed an initial public offering (IPO) in August 2005, raising net proceeds of approximately $221 million; It raised strategic capital from and formed a technology sharing partnership with XM Satellite Radio in July 2005, including an investment of $25 million by XM Satellite Radio.

    Also, three-year warrants valued at $37.5 million were issued to XM Satellite Radio exercisable at the IPO price provided XM has made substantial technological contributions to WorldSpace, including in the areas of products, chipsets and terrestrial repeater development and deployment;

    The firm continued the expansion of the distribution and geographic presence in India, with over 650 retail points of presence in nine cities at the end of the year covering approximately 30 million people in Worldspace’s target market segment of the India population; It managed to obtain terrestrial repeater licenses in United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, the first L-band terrestrial repeater licenses for satellite radio.

    Samara adds, “2006 is a pivotal year for WorldSpace.
    We are working hard to gain key regulatory approvals for the delivery of mobile services in certain of our markets, and to increase the variety of our receivers.

    We are moving into more cities in India and we are gaining strength in other countries where subscribers can be added at little incremental cost. We started the year well with the FCC’s approval of our license application for our Afristar-2 satellite, which when launched, will enable us to broaden our offerings in Europe and the Middle East.”

    For the fourth quarter of 2005, WorldSpace reported quarterly revenues of approximately $4.4 million, representing a 95 per cent increase compared with revenues of approximately $2.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2004. Subscription revenue increased approximately 160 per cent to approximately $1.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2005 compared with subscription revenue of approximately $0.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2004. On an annual basis, total revenues for 2005 were $11.7 million in 2005, a 36 per cent increase over 2004 total revenues of $8.6 million. Subscription revenue in 2005 was $3.7 million, a 255 per cent increase over $1.0 million in 2004.

    Worldspace recorded a net loss for the fourth quarter 2005 of $33.2 million compared with a net loss of $418.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2004, a period that included stock compensation expenses and other costs associated with an inter-company consolidation and subsequent debt restructuring.

    For the year, the company’s net loss was $79.9 million compared to a net loss of $577.4 million in 2004. In the fourth quarter of 2005, WorldSpace spent approximately $9.6 million on sales, marketing and subscriber acquisition expenses globally, including $8 million in India compared with $4.9 million and $4.1 million respectively in the third quarter of 2005.