ITV

Category: DTH

  • Sharlton Menezes joins Tata Sky as head of digital content

    Sharlton Menezes joins Tata Sky as head of digital content

    MUMBAI: Sharlton Menezes has joined DTH operator Tata Sky as head of content for digital. Based in Mumbai, Menezes, who took up the role last month, is reporting to Tata Sky’s chief content officer Arun Unni.

    Menezes has around a decade of experience in the content world. He started his content journey with Zee Entertainment Enterprise Ltd (ZEEL), where he was head of content and marketing English entertainment (Zee Cafe and Zee Studio) for the majority of his tenure. In August 2015, he was elevated to business head-digital video at the company.

    He subsequently joined LeEco, a Chinese multinational conglomerate corporation. It entered into the Indian market with mobile phones. Menezes worked with LeEco for over a year till May 2017.

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  • Dish TV-Videocon d2h deal on course

    Dish TV-Videocon d2h deal on course

    MUMBAI: After a few hiccups, the merger deal between direct-to-home (DTH) operators Dish TV and Videocon d2h is on course again.

    As part of the amalgamation scheme, Dish TV and Videocon d2h will file the relevant intimations/e-forms with the registrar of companies (ROC) and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) in the last week of February 2018.

    In a filing to the BSE, Dish TV has said that it “intends to take further steps for effecting the said merger.”

    The filing date shall be the effective date for the scheme.

    On 11 January, Dish TV had said that it is evaluating whether insolvency proceedings against the promoters of the Videocon Group will have an impact on its rights and obligations under its agreement with Videocon d2h.

    Dish TV had asked its advisors to the transaction to evaluate the position and advise the company with its findings within a period of 60 days.

    Before this sudden development took place, the two DTH companies were expected to file the relevant intimation/E-Forms with the RoC, MCA, Maharashtra, Mumbai, by 27 December 2017. However, the filing got delayed after Dish TV got to know about the insolvency proceedings against Videocon d2h promoters.

    Dish TV also said that the merger deal is being taken forward after receiving a go-ahead from the advisors. “Upon evaluation of the above circumstances by the Advisors to the Scheme, the Company shall be taking necessary steps for completion of the Scheme,” it added.

    For the purpose of seamless integration of the businesses of Videocon d2h into Dish TV India and for synchronising the operations of two companies to derive the benefits and objectives of the scheme, Dish TV has nominated two Directors namely Amitabh Kumar and Raj Kumar Gupta on the board of Videocon d2h.

    On 15 December, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) had approved the merger between the two companies.

    Commenting on the merger deal, Dish TV India CMD Jawahar Goel said, “We acknowledge our shareholders’ growing impatience with respect to the merger. We would like to assure them that work around the completion of the deal is going ahead at full steam now and should be completed soon.”

    Also Read:

    Dish TV-Videocon d2h merger date postponed

    Sluggish rural consumption, distribution expenses pull down Dish TV’s Q3 numbers

    Dish TV re-evaluating Videocon d2h merger

  • Sluggish rural consumption, distribution expenses pull down Dish TV’s Q3 numbers

    Sluggish rural consumption, distribution expenses pull down Dish TV’s Q3 numbers

    BENGALURU: A recovered but not fully-up-to-speed rural sector and higher selling and distribution expenses during festival time led to Indian direct-to-home (DTH) major Dish TV India Ltd (Dish TV) reporting lower numbers for the quarter ended 31 December 2017 (Q3 2018, the quarter under review) as compared with the corresponding year ago quarter (yoy). Though the company added net 250,000 subscribers during the quarter, lower ARPU brought down Dish TV’s operating revenue and EBITDA by 1 per cent and 15.5 per cent, respectively, yoy. The company reported a net subscriber base of 1.61 crore at the end of Q3 2018. ARPU of Rs 144 in Q3 2018 was the lowest in the current fiscal as against Rs 148 in Q2 2018 and Rs 149 in Q1 2018. Dish TV’s ARPU before demonetisation in November 2016 was Rs 162. The company has reported net loss after taxes of Rs 3.58 crore in Q3 2018 as against profit of Rs 8.39 crore in Q3 2017.

    Dish TV CMD Jawahar Goel said, “One year down the line from demonetisation, we have come a long way but somehow the sting in rural consumption is still missing. This was probably well recognised by the government and hence the impetus towards a stronger rural India. Television continues to remain the cheapest and most wholesome means of entertainment for the masses. DTH has presence in places where few other television service providers have reached. Dish TV, amongst such DTH players, has perhaps the deepest rural connect and hopes to benefit from rural India’s increasing propensity to consume everything including television content.”

    In its investor release for Q3 2018, Dish TV said that the pending Dish TV–Videocon d2h merger had hit a roadblock as the company was forced to evaluate the impact of certain proposed proceedings, against the Videocon group, on its rights and obligations under the definitive agreements, and consequential effects on the transactions contemplated thereunder.

    Dish TV, on 15 December, had secured the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s approval to the request made by the company for closing the merger of Videocon d2h with and into Dish TV.

    Talking about the merger, Goel said, “We acknowledge our shareholders growing impatience with respect to the merger. We would like to assure them that work around the completion of the deal is going ahead with full steam now and should be completed soon.”

    “We are excited about the future of the merged entity and are raring to put the business in overdrive as soon as the merger completes. Though we have lost some time in FY18, we would want to regain our leadership as well as extract the highest possible synergies in the year ahead,” he explained.

    A look at the numbers

    Dish TV reported a 1 per cent yoy decline in operating revenue for the quarter under review at Rs 740.77 crore as against Rs 747.98 crore. EBITDA for Q3 2018 was 15.5 per cent y-o-y at Rs 200.52 crore (27.1 percent margin) as compared with Rs 237.42 crore (31.7 percent margin).

    Total expenditure for Q3 2018 increased by 4.3 per cent y-o-y to Rs 775.12 crore. Employee benefits expense declined 1.5 per cent y-o-y to Rs 35.80 crore. Operating expenses in Q3 2018 increased by 6.2 per cent yoy to Rs 374.08 crore. Other expenses during the quarter under review increased by 8 per cent to Rs 127.84 crore yoy. Finance costs in Q3 2018 reduced by 18.4 per cent yoy to Rs 50.16 crore.

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    Dish TV reports improved operating profits for second quarter

     

  • Will clear bills of broadcasters in 4 weeks: Pantel

    Will clear bills of broadcasters in 4 weeks: Pantel

    MUMBAI: Even as Reliance Big TV announced its shutdown, it owed more than Rs 100 crore to broadcasters like Star India, ZEEL, Sony Pictures Networks India, TV18, Viacom18, Sun TV, and Discovery Communications India.

    The tribunal stated that the accommodation has been granted to Pantel and other non-official respondents on the condition that they will make sincere efforts to settle the claims of the broadcasters, particularly those of Star India and ZEEL at the earliest.

    The tribunal had also directed Star India not to disconnect signals to the DTH operator till the next date on the condition that a further amount of Rs 50 lakh will be paid by Pantel by 2 February.

    “We have been assured on behalf of respondent no. 3 that it will make sincere effort to settle the claims of all the petitioners at the earliest and in total it may require about four weeks to do so,” the TDSAT noted.

    Earlier, the tribunal had stayed the disconnection notice by Star India on the condition that an amount of Rs 3 crore will be paid on account by Pantel before the next date 30 January.

    Pantel had paid 50 per cent of the amount within one week while the company’s counsel handed over the cheque for the remaining Rs 1.5 crore before the tribunal. The delay in paying the balance Rs 1.5 crore on time was condoned by the tribunal.

    It also assured of settling Discovery Communications India’s claim of Rs 7.23 crore in the same time frame. The tribunal directed Pantel to settle the dues of Cinema 24×7 also within a week or two.

    ABP News Network, which has also impleaded in the matter, submitted the claim for a small amount of Rs 14 lakh approximately. The Pantel counsel assured that this claim will be settled as per mutual satisfaction within a week or two.

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    Reliance Big DTH to take FTA route under new management?

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  • Airtel to transfer 25% stake in DTH arm to Nettle

    Airtel to transfer 25% stake in DTH arm to Nettle

    According to a BSE filing, Bharti Airtel will transfer its 25 per cent stake in DTH arm Bharti Telemedia to wholly owned subsidiary Nettle Infrastructure Investments.

    The transaction has been approved by the Bharti Airtel board. The date of sale of the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals. The company will receive cash as consideration for the sale.

    “We wish to inform you that the Board in its meeting held on January 18, 2018, has approved the transfer of 25 per cent equity shares of Bharti Telemedia Limited (Subsidiary Company) to its wholly owned subsidiary, Nettle Infrastructure Investments Limited,” Bharti Airtel said in a filing to the BSE.

    Airtel in December signed agreement to sell 20 per cent stake in Bharti Telemedia to private equity firm Warburg Pincus for about $350 million (around Rs 2,310 crore).

    A company official said that the stake transfer to Nettle does not include equity to be sold to Warbug Pincus. Upon closing of the transaction with the equity firm, Airtel was left with 80 per cent equity stake in Bharti Telemedia.

    In a separate filing, Airtel said that the company’s board on the same day also approved acquisition of 5 per cent stake in its subsidiary Indo Teleports (also known as Bharti Teleports) for Rs 2.3 crore. Bharti Airtel already holds 95 per cent stake in Indo Teleports.

  • Airtel Digital TV revenue, PAT and EBITDA up in Q3 2018

    Airtel Digital TV revenue, PAT and EBITDA up in Q3 2018

    MUMBAI: Bharti Airtel’s DTH arm Airtel Digital TV has seen a 10.4 per cent revenue growth in the quarter ending 31 December 2017 (Q3-2018) compared with Q3 2017 (y-o-y). Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 22 per cent y-o-y in Q3 2018. Airtel DTH’s contribution to the overall Airtel revenue and EBITDA has stayed the same at 6 per cent.

    Airtel Digital TV’s revenue for Q3 2018 saw revenue rise to Rs 964.2 core from Rs 936.9 crore in Q2 2018 and higher than the Rs 873.5 crore y-o-y. EBITDA rose to Rs 370.8 crore from Rs 351.7 crore in Q2 and Rs 302.6 crore y-o-y.

    Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) saw a huge jump from Rs 123 crore in Q2 2018 to Rs 150 crore this quarter, a 22 per cent rise. This was 2.2 times than Rs 68.4 crore reported in the year ago quarter.

    The DTH segment assets were Rs 2,659.1 crore, up from Rs 2,590.7 crore in the previous quarter and Rs 2,399.3 crore in Q3 2017. The segment’s liabilities increased to Rs 33,19.3 crore from Rs 3,279.8 crore in the previous quarter and Rs 3,030.8 in Q3 2017.

    Airtel Digital TV’s capex during the quarter under review was Rs 236 crore, 11 per cent lower y-o-y from as against Rs 265 crore spent in the corresponding year ago quarter. Cumulative investments increased by 8 per cent y-o-y to Rs 7,799.3 crore from Rs 7,212.7

    Subscribers grew by 3.1 per cent to 1.3937 crore, up from 1.3521 crore in the previous quarter and a 10.7 per cent increase y-o-y from 1.2588 crore. A total of 416,000 subscribers were added in the corresponding quarter. Average revenue per user (ARPU) remained flat at Rs 233 (just 0.4 per cent growth from the corresponding quarter a year ago). Monthly churn reported for Q3 2018 stood at 1.2 per cent (1.4 per cent reported in the previous quarter; 1.3 per cent in Q2 2017).

    The DTH business saw no additions of districts this quarter and the number remained at 639 numbers.

    Airtel’s overall revenue dropped by 12.9 per cent y-o-y to Rs 20,319 crore from Rs 23,336 crore. Its revenue dropped to Rs 15,294 crore, 11.3 per cent y-o-y and down from the Rs 16818.3 crore in the previous quarter. This was mainly due to mobile drop of 17.6 per cent. Mobile broadband customers increased by 64.9 per cent to 6.21 crore from 3.77 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Mobile data traffic grew by more than 6 times to 110,600 crore MBs in the quarter as compared with 172,000 crore MBs in the corresponding quarter last year. Total India mobile subscribers increased by 2.9 per cent from the previous quarter to 29.0 crore, which is also 9.1 per cent growth y-o-y.

    Airtel’s profit before tax stood at Rs 838.1 crore, lower than the Rs 1298.8 crore reported in the previous quarter. Net income also dropped to Rs 305.8 crore from Rs 343 crore.

    Airtel India and South Asia MD and CEO Gopal Vittal said. “Regulatory fiat in the form of a cut in domestic IUC rates has exacerbated the industry ARPU decline in Q3 18. The recent announcement of reduction in international termination rates will further accentuate this decline and benefit foreign operators with no commensurate benefit to customers. Continued investments in data capacities, strategic partnerships with content and handset providers and focus on customer friendly innovations like data rollover has led to healthy customer additions of 0.81 crore during the quarter. Q3 2018 has also seen the highest ever broadband site deployment of 32K in any quarter, complementing the robust data and voice traffic growth of 544 per cent and 50 per cent respectively on a y-o-y basis. We are committed to remaining the operator of choice for all customers in this rapidly consolidating industry.”

    Also Read :

    Airtel Digital TV revenues, op profits rise in Q2 FY 2018

    Airtel Digital TV sub base expands, even as ARPUs dip

  • Sun Direct adds Sun NXT free with DTH subscription

    Sun Direct adds Sun NXT free with DTH subscription

    MUMBAI: Sun Direct is finding ways to hold on to its subscriber base amidst the hordes of consolidation and shutdowns happening in the industry. Strengthening its hold in the South, which forms the largest chunk of its territory, it has announced a free membership of its video-on-demand (VOD) platform Sun NXT for active Cinema Plus, Mega Pack and World Pack subscribers.

    The subscription-based VOD platform offers three plans–monthly for Rs 50, quarterly for Rs 130 and annually for Rs 490. The first 30 days constitute the free trial period after which the payment kicks in. Offline download and viewing are available in the app as well.   

    Sun TV Network’s Sun NXT, which was launched in mid 2017, offers over 50,000 hours of live TV content, movies, originals, kid’s content, music across four South Indian languages–Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. It also streams movies from Kollywood, Tollywood, Mollywood and Sandalwood.

    Sun NXT being a screen-agnostic platform is also available on Smart TVs and streaming devices like Amazon Fire TV, Google Chromecast, Apple TV etc.

    Sun Direct has six packs, which include Mega Pack with 204+ channels, Tamil Super Value with 179+ channels, Tamil Cinema + Sports with 174+ sports, Tamil World Pack with 172+ channels, Tamil Value with 128+ channels and Tamil Economy Pack with 82+ channels, for one month, three months, six months and twelve months. Sun Direct packages start from Rs 1499 (Tamil Economy Pack for 96 months) and go up to Rs 5290 (Mega Pack for 12 months).

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  • Dish TV re-evaluating Videocon d2h merger

    Dish TV re-evaluating Videocon d2h merger

    MUMBAI: The Dish TV-Videocon d2h merger had reached the final stage with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) giving it the green signal. Then, suddenly on 22 December, Dish TV announced that the union would be delayed beyond 27 December 2017 citing technical reasons. Now those reasons–it basically is revaluating the deal–are likely to hold up the fusing of the two DTH operators even further.

    Dish TV yesterday informed the BSE that it had told its advisors–which include financial advisor Morgan Stanley, E&Y, SR Batliboi & Co and Luthra & Luthra Law Offices-to re-examine the deal terms within 60 days.

    It said that it was taking this step as “it has come to our knowledge that certain entities belonging to the Videocon group, including the promoters of Videocon D2h Ltd, have become subject to insolvency and/or enforcement proceedings by lenders. The company is evaluating as to whether there is any impact of the same on its rights and obligations under the definitive agreements, and consequential effects on the transactions contemplated.”

    The companies had announced a merger in November 2016 tom-tomming the benefits that would accrue to the two if they went ahead. And both companies went about the process getting the various regulatory approvals required. In early March 2017, the merger got the NOC from the BSE and the NSE, Competition Commission of India clearance on 4 May 2017, shareholder approval through a meeting convened by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on 12 May 2017, and the NCLT green flag on 27 July 2017, and the MIB go ahead on 15 December 2017.

    As per the terms of the merger Dish TV Videocon d2h was to issue 857.79 million fresh shares. Shareholders of Videocon d2h were to get 2.02 shares of Dish TV Videocon for every share of Videocon d2h. D Dish TV shareholders would own 55.4 per cent shares of the merged entity while Videocon d2h would own the remaining 44.6 per cent.

    Dish TV is pressing the pause and review button at a time when at least two transactions in the direct-to-home segment have been completed.  Late last year, private equity firm Warburg Pincus picked up a 20 per cent piece of Airtel DTH for a handsome price of $350 million valuing the entire operation at $1.7 billion. Then Delhi-based Pantel Technologies and Veecon Media bought out all the losses, debt, and liabilities of Reliance Big DTH from the Anil Ambani group, bringing to a close a long struggle by the latter to exit the DTH business.

    Also Read :

    Dish TV-Videocon d2h merger date postponed

    DTH’s year of consolidation

    DTH subscriber growth down in second quarter

     

     

     

     

  • Tata Sky partners Irdeto to secure content

    Tata Sky partners Irdeto to secure content

    MUMBAI: Tata Sky has signed a deal with Irdeto to ensure the safety of the DTH operator’s content relayed to any device across its satellite and over-the-top (OTT) platforms. The company will be implementing Irdeto’s Cloaked CA and middleware technologies for better customer experience.

    Tata Sky MD and CEO Harit Nagpal said, “At Tata Sky, we are committed to providing our customers with the most innovative video services across satellite and online platforms in India. To provide consumers with greater choice and convenience, we need a security partner that gives us the freedom to innovate without fear. In Irdeto, we are working with a strong security partner with a forward-looking approach and future-proof solutions. This enables us to continue innovating our solutions and services while giving us the peace of mind that our content is secure.”

    Irdeto will manage the planning and deployment of the project for Tata Sky to seamlessly integrate security technology with third-party solutions. Cloaked CA is a conditional access system for broadcast and IPTV operators. It reduces the need for a smart card and reduces cost and complexity.

    “We are honoured to be selected by Tata Sky as their long-term security partner for Conditional Access and Middleware,” said Irdeto CEO Doug Lowther.“This deal further reinforces Irdeto’s commitment to the dynamic and fast-growing media market in India and we are excited to continue working with Tata Sky to help them meet their business goals.”

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  • Sun Direct may add 20 HD, 100 SD channels

    Sun Direct may add 20 HD, 100 SD channels

    MUMBAI: Sun Direct, the DTH service from Sun Network, is likely to add 20 new high definition (HD) and 100 new standard definition (SD) channels and has been allocated 144 MHz of spectrum on the recently launched Measat-3B satellite.

    A social media user by the name of ‘Raja Chennai‘ shared a screenshot of the application made by the company informing the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) about the allocation of the new satellite capacity, according to an article on Ultra News.

    Once these channels find a home on the new Measat satellite, Sun Direct will be able to add an extra 20 HD channels to take its total HD channel count to 80 while increasing total SD channel list to 320.

    The company was forced to halt its HD channel expansion on GSAT 15 two months ago due to the termination of its channel-sharing deal with Reliance Digital TV and divert some of the HD capacity to handle the fallout.

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    In the application, the company is shown informing the DoT that four new transponders of 36 MHz each have been allocated to it by the Department of Space for use on its DTH service.

    Sun Direct has been facing a severe spectrum crunch due to a fire on an ISRO satellite that knocked out most of its satellite capacity in 2010. The fire forced the company to move satellite to Malaysian-owned Measat 3A, and manually realign the dish antennae of millions of its customers.

    Some relief was in sight when Measat launched a second satellite at the same location in 2014, boosting capacity.

    Sun Direct was widely expected to book extra capacity on the new satellite, particularly after it lost a sharing deal two months ago with Reliance Digital TV. Reliance Digital TV changed hands when the Anil Ambani Group sold it to another group as part of a fire sale.

    The DTH service is expected to start adding new channels in a matter of days.

    The new capacity is expected to lead to the addition of around 100 new SD channels while another 50 channels are expected to be moved to it from GSAT 15—the HD satellite for Sun Direct.

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    The growth of DTH in India

    Sun Direct partners Harmonic to add 80 HD channels