Category: DTH

Q2-17: Dish TV adds 2.59 lakh subscribers

BENGALURU: Indian direct to home (DTH) company Dish TV India Limited (Dish TV) has reported growth across important financial and operational parameters including operating revenues (TIO) , EBIDTA and subscription numbers. The company reported addition of 2.59 lakh net subscribers for the quarter ended 30 September 2016 (Q2-17, current). It closed the quarter with 151 lakh subscribers. Average revenue per user (ARPU) for Q2-17 was Rs 162 in the current quarter versus Rs 161 in the corresponding year ago quarter..

Dish TV reported 11.9 per cent higher y-o-y subscription revenue of Rs 728.8 crore for Q2-17, as compared to Rs 651.4 crore. Operating revenue in the current quarter increased 9.6 per cent y-o-y to Rs 779.6 crore from Rs 711.2 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. (Refer Note 2.1 and 2.2 below)

Segment Revenue

Three segments contribute to Dish TV’s numbers – DTH; Infra Support Services; and ‘Others’.

DTH segment revenue in Q2-17 declined 14.2 per cent to Rs 509.55 crore from Rs 594.16 crore in Q2-16. The segment reported 15.5 per cent lower operating profit in the current quarter at Rs 86.43 crore as compared to Rs 102.24 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter.

Infra Support services segment reported 13.7 higher y-o-y revenue of Rs 280.65 crore in Q2-17 vis-à-vis Rs 246.91 crore in Q2-16. The segment’s operating profit declined 39.3 per cent in the current quarter to Rs 12.30 crore from Rs 20.26 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter.

‘Others’ segment revenue increased 3.5 per cent in Q2-17 to Rs 5.59 crore from Rs 5.40 crore in Q2-16. The segment’s operating profit grew 5.3 per cent in the current quarter to Rs 2.80 crore from Rs 2.6 6 crore in Q2-16.

A look at the other numbers reported by Dish TV

Dish TV reported PAT of Rs. 70.1 crore in Q2-17, down 19.4 per cent as compared to Rs 87 crore in Q2-16.

EBIDTA in the current quarter increased 3.6 per cent to Rs 264.2 crore from Rs 255 crore in Q2-16.

Expense in the current quarter increased 12.9 per cent y-o-y to Rs 51.51 crore from Rs 456.2 crore. Employee Benefits Expense increased 23.1 per cent y-o-y to Rs 36.4 crore from Rs 29.58 crore. Other operating expenses in the current quarter declined 30.8 per cent to Rs 70.14 crore from Rs 101.30 crore in Q2-16..

Licensing fees in the current quarter increased 1.3 per cent to Rs 54.52 crore from Rs 53.81 crore in Q2-17. Programming/Content and other costs in Q2-17 increased 17.4 per cent to Rs 238.92 crore from Rs 203.54 crore in Q2-16.

Dish TV managing director Jawahar Goel said, “Torrential rains in many parts of the country often force consumers to defer buying a new DTH connection while the existing ones may delay recharging if the going gets too tough. Both sales and recharge however normalize subsequently if the festival season hits early. Targeting phase 3 & 4 markets, our subscriber additions during the quarter remained in-line with expectations.”

Expressing his views on the regulatory developments, Goel, said, “While the draft Regulations have been formulated with an intention of subscriber welfare, there are certain omissions, optimistic presumptions as well as unanswered questions that would hopefully be addressed once the final orders see the light of the day. We appreciate the spirit of transparency and non-discrimination that have been the guiding force behind these draft orders and hope that DTH would soon get the level playing field that it has been seeking. Restrictions placed on carriage fees should go a long way in correcting the industry macro environment.”

“We continue to remain positive about other regulatory interventions including the proposed new license regime for the DTH sector and the impending nationwide roll-out of Goods and Services Tax (GST). The centre proposing 12 per cent and 18 per cent as the standard rates for majority of the taxable goods is a welcome step,” he added.

Discussing the results, Goel said, “Healthy subscriber additions led to a 11.9% y-o-y growth in subscription revenues. EBITDA margin was 33.9 per cent. Net Profit for the quarter was Rs. 701 million (Rs 70.1 crore) and positive Free Cash Flow was Rs. 791 million (Rs 79.1 crore).”

Notes:The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:
(a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.
(b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

October 28, 2016
Q2-17: Videocon d2h top and bottom lines up

BENGALURU: Last quarter, Videocon d2h was the second listed Indian DTH player to report a profit after tax (PAT), after the Essel group’s Dish TV that turned the numbers black last year. Taking that trend further, Videocon d2h reported PAT of Rs 6.32 crore (0.8 percent margin) for the quarter ended 30 September 2016 (Q2-17, current quarter). For the corresponding year ago quarter (Q2-17), the company had reported a loss of Rs 24.59 crore while for the immediate trailing quarter (Q1-17) the company had reported profit of Rs 2.66 crore (0.3 percent margin).

Videocon d2h reported 12.5 percent y-o-y growth in total revenue from operations for Q2-17 at Rs 776.16 crore as compared to Rs 690.08 crore and a 1.7 percent q-o-q growth from Rs 763.25 crore.

The DTH major also reported 15.5 percent year-over-year (y-o-y) growth in net subscriber numbers at 125.2 lakh for Q2-17 as compared to 108.4 lakh and a 1.9 percent quarter-over-quarter (q-o-q) growth from122.9 lakh. Monthly Average revenue per user (ARPU) in the current quarter increased to Rs 209 from Rs 201 in Q1-16 but declined by Rs 2 from Rs 211 in the immediate trailing quarter.

Subscriber matrices

Subscriber acquisition cost (SAC) in Q2-17 was higher at Rs 1,869 as compared to Rs 1,775 in Q2-16 but was lower than Rs 1,872 in Q1-17.

Subscriber monthly churn in the current quarter was 0.95 percent; in Q1-16 it was slightly higher at 1.19 percent, while in the immediate trailing quarter it was much lower at 0.49 percent.

DAS III and IV are sunshine periods for the television carriage industry. Activation revenues have been adding to the top lines and bottom lines of most of the players. Videocon d2h computed subscription and activation revenue in the current quarter increased 21.9 percent y-o-y to Rs 710.70 crore and increased 2 percent q-o-q from Rs 697 crore.

A look at some of the other metrics reported by Videocon d2h

Adjusted EBIDTA grew 38.3 percent y-o-y to Rs 260.41 crore (33.6 percent margin) from Rs 188.26 crore (27.3 percent margin) and grew 4.3 percent q-o-q from Rs 249.78 crore (32.7 percent margin). Videocon d2h reports that EBIDTA per subscriber has increased to Rs 71 in Q2-17 from Rs 59 in Q2-16 and from Rs 70 in Q1-17.

Content costs margin in Q2-17 has reduced to 38.7 percent as compared to 40.7 percent in the corresponding year ago quarter and was flat as compared to the immediate trailing quarter.

Total expense in Q2-17 increased 5.2 percent y-o-y to Rs 684.29 crore from Rs 650.70 crore and was flat q-o-q as compared to Rs 684.53 crore.

Selling and distribution expense in the current quarter increased 22.4 percent y-o-y to Rs 60.7 crore from Rs 49.6 crore, but declined 5.2 percent q-o-q from Rs 64 crore.

Employee benefit expense in Q2-17 were 4 percent higher at Rs 31.5 crore as compared to Rs 30.3 crore in Q2-16 but were 2.2 percent lower than the Rs 32.2 crore in Q1-17.

Net finance cost in Q2-17 was Rs 71.7 crore; in Q2-16 net finance cost was Rs 80.2 crore and in Q1-17 it was Rs 75.9 crore.

Company speak

Commenting on the results and company outlook, Videocon d2h executive chairman Saurabh Dhoot, said, “I’m pleased to report a terrific quarter with over 37% increase in EBITDA year on year, in spite of the previously announced increase in taxes which impacted ARPU. Our quarterly results performance is consistent with our five point strategy to 1) grow subscriber base, 2) enhance subscriber monetization, 3) focus on localization and premium services, 4) lead the market in technological innovation and 5) enhance operational efficiencies and improve margins. These imperatives are drivingour success at creating sustainable shareholder value.

“We are excited and fully prepared to seize the significant subscriber growth opportunity ahead of us through our leading distribution, customer service and differentiated content offering, supported by a strong balance sheet,’ added Dhoot.

“We achieved positive profit after tax and turned free cash flow positive during the current fiscal year, which we believe is a great achievement,” concluded Dhoot.

Speaking on the results, Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera said, “We are extremely excited with the business growth opportunities ahead of the company. We welcome the regulators’ initiative to review and draft a tariff order that aims to create complete transparency in carriage and content deals and bring in commercial parity amongst distribution platforms.”

Note: The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:

(a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.

(b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

October 27, 2016
Q2-17: Videocon d2h top and bottom lines up

BENGALURU: Last quarter, Videocon d2h was the second listed Indian DTH player to report a profit after tax (PAT), after the Essel group’s Dish TV that turned the numbers black last year. Taking that trend further, Videocon d2h reported PAT of Rs 6.32 crore (0.8 percent margin) for the quarter ended 30 September 2016 (Q2-17, current quarter). For the corresponding year ago quarter (Q2-17), the company had reported a loss of Rs 24.59 crore while for the immediate trailing quarter (Q1-17) the company had reported profit of Rs 2.66 crore (0.3 percent margin).

Videocon d2h reported 12.5 percent y-o-y growth in total revenue from operations for Q2-17 at Rs 776.16 crore as compared to Rs 690.08 crore and a 1.7 percent q-o-q growth from Rs 763.25 crore.

The DTH major also reported 15.5 percent year-over-year (y-o-y) growth in net subscriber numbers at 125.2 lakh for Q2-17 as compared to 108.4 lakh and a 1.9 percent quarter-over-quarter (q-o-q) growth from122.9 lakh. Monthly Average revenue per user (ARPU) in the current quarter increased to Rs 209 from Rs 201 in Q1-16 but declined by Rs 2 from Rs 211 in the immediate trailing quarter.

Subscriber matrices

Subscriber acquisition cost (SAC) in Q2-17 was higher at Rs 1,869 as compared to Rs 1,775 in Q2-16 but was lower than Rs 1,872 in Q1-17.

Subscriber monthly churn in the current quarter was 0.95 percent; in Q1-16 it was slightly higher at 1.19 percent, while in the immediate trailing quarter it was much lower at 0.49 percent.

DAS III and IV are sunshine periods for the television carriage industry. Activation revenues have been adding to the top lines and bottom lines of most of the players. Videocon d2h computed subscription and activation revenue in the current quarter increased 21.9 percent y-o-y to Rs 710.70 crore and increased 2 percent q-o-q from Rs 697 crore.

A look at some of the other metrics reported by Videocon d2h

Adjusted EBIDTA grew 38.3 percent y-o-y to Rs 260.41 crore (33.6 percent margin) from Rs 188.26 crore (27.3 percent margin) and grew 4.3 percent q-o-q from Rs 249.78 crore (32.7 percent margin). Videocon d2h reports that EBIDTA per subscriber has increased to Rs 71 in Q2-17 from Rs 59 in Q2-16 and from Rs 70 in Q1-17.

Content costs margin in Q2-17 has reduced to 38.7 percent as compared to 40.7 percent in the corresponding year ago quarter and was flat as compared to the immediate trailing quarter.

Total expense in Q2-17 increased 5.2 percent y-o-y to Rs 684.29 crore from Rs 650.70 crore and was flat q-o-q as compared to Rs 684.53 crore.

Selling and distribution expense in the current quarter increased 22.4 percent y-o-y to Rs 60.7 crore from Rs 49.6 crore, but declined 5.2 percent q-o-q from Rs 64 crore.

Employee benefit expense in Q2-17 were 4 percent higher at Rs 31.5 crore as compared to Rs 30.3 crore in Q2-16 but were 2.2 percent lower than the Rs 32.2 crore in Q1-17.

Net finance cost in Q2-17 was Rs 71.7 crore; in Q2-16 net finance cost was Rs 80.2 crore and in Q1-17 it was Rs 75.9 crore.

Company speak

Commenting on the results and company outlook, Videocon d2h executive chairman Saurabh Dhoot, said, “I’m pleased to report a terrific quarter with over 37% increase in EBITDA year on year, in spite of the previously announced increase in taxes which impacted ARPU. Our quarterly results performance is consistent with our five point strategy to 1) grow subscriber base, 2) enhance subscriber monetization, 3) focus on localization and premium services, 4) lead the market in technological innovation and 5) enhance operational efficiencies and improve margins. These imperatives are drivingour success at creating sustainable shareholder value.

“We are excited and fully prepared to seize the significant subscriber growth opportunity ahead of us through our leading distribution, customer service and differentiated content offering, supported by a strong balance sheet,’ added Dhoot.

“We achieved positive profit after tax and turned free cash flow positive during the current fiscal year, which we believe is a great achievement,” concluded Dhoot.

Speaking on the results, Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera said, “We are extremely excited with the business growth opportunities ahead of the company. We welcome the regulators’ initiative to review and draft a tariff order that aims to create complete transparency in carriage and content deals and bring in commercial parity amongst distribution platforms.”

Note: The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:

(a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.

(b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

October 27, 2016
Q2-17: Airtel Digital TV revenue up, sees highest subscriber growth

BENGALURU: Indian telecom major Bharti Airtel Limited’s Digital TV Services segment (DTH segment) reported 21.9 percent year-over-year (y-o-y) increase in operating revenues for the quarter ended 30 September 2016 (Q2-17, current quarter). Also, Operating Profit (Earnings Before interest and Tax – EBIT) of the DTH segment in the current quarter more than quadrupled (by 4.11 times) y-o-y.

Airtel DTH reported revenues of Rs 854.5 crore in Q2-17 and Rs 706.8 crore in Q2-16. EBIT for the corresponding periods was Rs 69.9 crore (8.2 percent margin of the segment’s operating revenue) and Rs 1.7 crore (2.4 percent margin of the segment’s operating revenue) respectively.

However, quarter-over-quarter (q-o-q) the segment reported 42.7 percent drop in EBIT for the current quarter as compared to Rs 121.9 crore (14.6 percent margin of the segment’s operating revenue) in the immediate trailing quarter. Revenue in Q2-17 was 2.1 percent higher q-o-q than Rs 836.9 crore in Q1-17.

Subscription numbers, ARPU

Airtel’s DTH segment added 18.29 lakh subscribers between Q2-16 and Q2-17, or a 17.3 percent y-o-y increase. The company says that this is the highest growth in percentage terms over seventeen quarters. It had 124.05 lakh subscribers as on 30 September 2016. Q-o-q, the segment witnessed a 2.1 percent growth (2.56 lakh adds) in subscribers from 121.49 lakh in Q1-17.

ARPU in Q2-17 increased to Rs 232 from Rs 224 in the corresponding year ago quarter, but declined marginally (by Re 1) from Rs 233 in the immediate trailing quarter.

Airtel numbers

Bharti Airtel Limited saw a 3.4 percent increase in operating revenue to Rs 24,651.5 crore in Q2-17 as compared to Rs 23,835.7 crore in Q2-16, but witnessed a 3.5 percent q-o-q decline from Rs 25,546.5 crore. Profit after tax (PAT) in the current quarter declined 4.9 percent y-o-y to Rs 1,460.7 crore (5.9 percent margin) from Rs 1,536.1 crore (6.4 percent margin) and was almost flat (0.1 percent decline) q-o-q as compared to Rs 1,462 crore (5.7 percent margin).

The JIO effect – Company speak.

In a statement, Airtel MD and CEO, India & South Asia, Gopal Vittal said, “Our strong focus on enhancing customer experience and building a robust network has resulted in continued acceleration of revenue market share. Overall revenue momentum in India has been sustained during Q2 with a growth of 10.1 percent y-o-y. This is primarily due to the strong performance of our non-mobile businesses which grew in aggregate at 18.8 percent y-o-y, albeit our mobile business has experienced a slowdown in growths due to free services being offered by a new operator. But, we remain excited about the long term opportunity in India and believe that with the recently acquired spectrum, we are well positioned to lead India’s data revolution”.

October 26, 2016
Q2-17: Airtel Digital TV revenue up, sees highest subscriber growth

BENGALURU: Indian telecom major Bharti Airtel Limited’s Digital TV Services segment (DTH segment) reported 21.9 percent year-over-year (y-o-y) increase in operating revenues for the quarter ended 30 September 2016 (Q2-17, current quarter). Also, Operating Profit (Earnings Before interest and Tax – EBIT) of the DTH segment in the current quarter more than quadrupled (by 4.11 times) y-o-y.

Airtel DTH reported revenues of Rs 854.5 crore in Q2-17 and Rs 706.8 crore in Q2-16. EBIT for the corresponding periods was Rs 69.9 crore (8.2 percent margin of the segment’s operating revenue) and Rs 1.7 crore (2.4 percent margin of the segment’s operating revenue) respectively.

However, quarter-over-quarter (q-o-q) the segment reported 42.7 percent drop in EBIT for the current quarter as compared to Rs 121.9 crore (14.6 percent margin of the segment’s operating revenue) in the immediate trailing quarter. Revenue in Q2-17 was 2.1 percent higher q-o-q than Rs 836.9 crore in Q1-17.

Subscription numbers, ARPU

Airtel’s DTH segment added 18.29 lakh subscribers between Q2-16 and Q2-17, or a 17.3 percent y-o-y increase. The company says that this is the highest growth in percentage terms over seventeen quarters. It had 124.05 lakh subscribers as on 30 September 2016. Q-o-q, the segment witnessed a 2.1 percent growth (2.56 lakh adds) in subscribers from 121.49 lakh in Q1-17.

ARPU in Q2-17 increased to Rs 232 from Rs 224 in the corresponding year ago quarter, but declined marginally (by Re 1) from Rs 233 in the immediate trailing quarter.

Airtel numbers

Bharti Airtel Limited saw a 3.4 percent increase in operating revenue to Rs 24,651.5 crore in Q2-17 as compared to Rs 23,835.7 crore in Q2-16, but witnessed a 3.5 percent q-o-q decline from Rs 25,546.5 crore. Profit after tax (PAT) in the current quarter declined 4.9 percent y-o-y to Rs 1,460.7 crore (5.9 percent margin) from Rs 1,536.1 crore (6.4 percent margin) and was almost flat (0.1 percent decline) q-o-q as compared to Rs 1,462 crore (5.7 percent margin).

The JIO effect – Company speak.

In a statement, Airtel MD and CEO, India & South Asia, Gopal Vittal said, “Our strong focus on enhancing customer experience and building a robust network has resulted in continued acceleration of revenue market share. Overall revenue momentum in India has been sustained during Q2 with a growth of 10.1 percent y-o-y. This is primarily due to the strong performance of our non-mobile businesses which grew in aggregate at 18.8 percent y-o-y, albeit our mobile business has experienced a slowdown in growths due to free services being offered by a new operator. But, we remain excited about the long term opportunity in India and believe that with the recently acquired spectrum, we are well positioned to lead India’s data revolution”.

October 26, 2016
Three new TV channels join DD FreeDish bouquet; 24 get extension

NEW DELHI: Doordarshan earned a sum of Rs 1293 million (Rs 129 crore ) by sale of three new slots and extension of the licence of another 24 on the 31st auction of its free-to-air direct-to-home platform FreeDish on 20 and 21 October.

The auction was called off on 6 October 2016 because of technical glitches. The new channels which successfully bid for the slots are — News State Uttarakhand/Uttar Pradesh, 9x Bajao TV, and a teleshop channel.

A DD announcement had earlier said the reserve price per slot is Rs 4.3 crore. FreeDish has not raised its reserve price, although the price for one channel went up to Rs 5.3 crore in an earlier auction. The reserve price had been Rs 3.7 crore till last year but was raised to its present level for the 25th e-auction in January.

The e-Auction was conducted by M/s. C1 India Pvt. Ltd., Noida which also conducted the first stage of the FM Radio Phase III auctions on behalf of Prasar Bharati.

Earlier this month, a senior DD official told indiantelevision.com that the “glitches were experienced by the bidders”. Following several complaints received in this regard, “the Competent Authority has cancelled the e-Auction conducted for the slots on 5 and 6 October 2016”.

DD had made it clear that all registered bidders for the 31st e-Auction will be eligible for participating in the fresh bidding process on the rescheduled date, “which will be communicated in due course of time”.

Meanwhile, DD has formally announced that it is now capable of carrying 104 television channels on its FTA FreeDish and the 24 channels being added to the present 80 channels will be the first to be launched on MPEG4 technology.

DD officials also confirmed that FreeDish will soon be capable of carrying up to 250 channels.

The official confirmed that a Call Centre would be set up for subscribers as soon as MPEG 4 becomes fully operational. The customer care service will have extensive complaint redressal mechanism.

DD has decided to implement Indian Conditional Access System (iCAS) on DD Freedish Platform. iCAS, an initiative of the Central Government, is being initially introduced in the 24 MPEG-4 Channels. The introduction of iCAS will provide enhanced viewing experience to the viewers.

DD officials said these additional 24 MPEG-4 SDTV channels will be available to viewers in FTA mode. The existing viewers will continue to get 80 SDTV channels, but will have to obtain iCAS-enabled authorised Set Top Boxes for accessing all 104 channels.

Although FreeDish will remain free to air with no monthly or periodic fee, the viewers will be required to register with DD Freedish on getting the new STB from Doordarshan authorised STB dealers.

FreeDish was launched with a modest bouquet of 33 channels in December 2004 and now carries 80 TV channels and 32 radio channels.

The platform has a bouquet of channels consisting of 22 Doordarshan channels, two Parliamentary channels, seven general entertainment channels, 18 movie channels, 13 news channels, seven ,music channels, three religious channels and eight channels of other genres.

After active consultation with all the stakeholders, DD has started the process for rolling out MPEG-4 STBs for its DD Freedish with iCAS. Doordarshan has invited e-Applications for authorisation/empanelment of STB original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to sell / distribute DD approved CAS enabled DD Freedish STBs in India. In this regard a pre bid meeting with the Indian STB manufacturers was held on 3 October 2016.

Once the Indian STB OEMs are authorised by DD, they will start manufacturing quality STBs in India. They will set up their distribution network all over India for selling Indian STBs and providing services to Doordarshan Free Dish viewers.

The participation amount (EMD) in the e-Auction was Rs.1.5 crore which had to be deposited in advance before or by 12 noon on the date of auction along with processing fee of Rs.10,000 (non-refundable) in favour of PB (BCI) Doordarshan Commercial Service, New Delhi.

Incremental amount for the auction will be Rs 10 lakh and the time for every slot e-auction will be of fifteen minutes duration. This may be extended by five minutes if a bid is received before the closing time.

Of the reserve price, Rs 1.1 crore will be deposited within one month of placement and another Rs 1.1 crore within two months along with service tax of 14.5 per cent on the bid amount.

The balance bid amount will be deposited within six months, failing which the deposited amount will be forfeited and the channel discontinued after a 21-day discontinuation notice.

Tags: e-Auction, FreeDish, Doordarshan, C 1 India, MPEG4, iCAS, Prasar Bharati, Set Top Box, Original equipment manufacturers,

Also read: FreeDish ready to beam 104 TV channels; 24 on MPEG4

October 21, 2016
Three new TV channels join DD FreeDish bouquet; 24 get extension

NEW DELHI: Doordarshan earned a sum of Rs 1293 million (Rs 129 crore ) by sale of three new slots and extension of the licence of another 24 on the 31st auction of its free-to-air direct-to-home platform FreeDish on 20 and 21 October.

The auction was called off on 6 October 2016 because of technical glitches. The new channels which successfully bid for the slots are — News State Uttarakhand/Uttar Pradesh, 9x Bajao TV, and a teleshop channel.

A DD announcement had earlier said the reserve price per slot is Rs 4.3 crore. FreeDish has not raised its reserve price, although the price for one channel went up to Rs 5.3 crore in an earlier auction. The reserve price had been Rs 3.7 crore till last year but was raised to its present level for the 25th e-auction in January.

The e-Auction was conducted by M/s. C1 India Pvt. Ltd., Noida which also conducted the first stage of the FM Radio Phase III auctions on behalf of Prasar Bharati.

Earlier this month, a senior DD official told indiantelevision.com that the “glitches were experienced by the bidders”. Following several complaints received in this regard, “the Competent Authority has cancelled the e-Auction conducted for the slots on 5 and 6 October 2016”.

DD had made it clear that all registered bidders for the 31st e-Auction will be eligible for participating in the fresh bidding process on the rescheduled date, “which will be communicated in due course of time”.

Meanwhile, DD has formally announced that it is now capable of carrying 104 television channels on its FTA FreeDish and the 24 channels being added to the present 80 channels will be the first to be launched on MPEG4 technology.

DD officials also confirmed that FreeDish will soon be capable of carrying up to 250 channels.

The official confirmed that a Call Centre would be set up for subscribers as soon as MPEG 4 becomes fully operational. The customer care service will have extensive complaint redressal mechanism.

DD has decided to implement Indian Conditional Access System (iCAS) on DD Freedish Platform. iCAS, an initiative of the Central Government, is being initially introduced in the 24 MPEG-4 Channels. The introduction of iCAS will provide enhanced viewing experience to the viewers.

DD officials said these additional 24 MPEG-4 SDTV channels will be available to viewers in FTA mode. The existing viewers will continue to get 80 SDTV channels, but will have to obtain iCAS-enabled authorised Set Top Boxes for accessing all 104 channels.

Although FreeDish will remain free to air with no monthly or periodic fee, the viewers will be required to register with DD Freedish on getting the new STB from Doordarshan authorised STB dealers.

FreeDish was launched with a modest bouquet of 33 channels in December 2004 and now carries 80 TV channels and 32 radio channels.

The platform has a bouquet of channels consisting of 22 Doordarshan channels, two Parliamentary channels, seven general entertainment channels, 18 movie channels, 13 news channels, seven ,music channels, three religious channels and eight channels of other genres.

After active consultation with all the stakeholders, DD has started the process for rolling out MPEG-4 STBs for its DD Freedish with iCAS. Doordarshan has invited e-Applications for authorisation/empanelment of STB original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to sell / distribute DD approved CAS enabled DD Freedish STBs in India. In this regard a pre bid meeting with the Indian STB manufacturers was held on 3 October 2016.

Once the Indian STB OEMs are authorised by DD, they will start manufacturing quality STBs in India. They will set up their distribution network all over India for selling Indian STBs and providing services to Doordarshan Free Dish viewers.

The participation amount (EMD) in the e-Auction was Rs.1.5 crore which had to be deposited in advance before or by 12 noon on the date of auction along with processing fee of Rs.10,000 (non-refundable) in favour of PB (BCI) Doordarshan Commercial Service, New Delhi.

Incremental amount for the auction will be Rs 10 lakh and the time for every slot e-auction will be of fifteen minutes duration. This may be extended by five minutes if a bid is received before the closing time.

Of the reserve price, Rs 1.1 crore will be deposited within one month of placement and another Rs 1.1 crore within two months along with service tax of 14.5 per cent on the bid amount.

The balance bid amount will be deposited within six months, failing which the deposited amount will be forfeited and the channel discontinued after a 21-day discontinuation notice.

Tags: e-Auction, FreeDish, Doordarshan, C 1 India, MPEG4, iCAS, Prasar Bharati, Set Top Box, Original equipment manufacturers,

Also read: FreeDish ready to beam 104 TV channels; 24 on MPEG4

October 21, 2016
DishTV launches Kids Active in partnership with Shemaroo

MUMBAI: Value added services has been a focus area, a clear differentiator and an integral part of our offering. By not leaving any stone unturned in order to provide a wide range of content and services to its subscribers, DishTV Asia’s largest DTH brand has partnered with Shemaroo, one of India’s leading entertainment content houses that provides learning and entertainment to launch a new premium service called Kids Active and enhanced its bouquet of value added services to 10.

With the launch of Kids Active service, the DTH category’s most trusted brand has doubled their active services since last six months. Kids Active offers original content ranging from exciting stories, movies, songs, scientific experiment series and many more shows.

Kids Active is packaged 24X7, ad free infotainment service for kids in the age group of 6-12 years. With the activation of the service, subscribers get an opportunity to view Tales of Akbar & Birbal in English, animation songs, jungle tales, children’s movies and show promos, Grandpas treasure of wonderful stories and fun learning with scientific experiments.

DishTV CEO said, “We are delighted to announce our specialty offering targeted at the youngest generation. Kids segment is an area which is constantly in focus for us. Launch of Kids Active service is yet another step for us to enhance our value added services portfolio and cater to a wider set of audience.”

Kids Active is a premium ad free subscription based service targeted at enhancing the TV viewing of DishTV’s young subscribers. This service will be available as a free preview till the 24 October, after which a nominal amount of Rs 25 per month will be charged. This Kids Active service will be available on channel number 514 on DishTV.

Dish TV is Asia Pacific’s largest direct-to-home (DTH) company and part of one of India’s biggest media conglomerate – the ‘Zee’ Group. Dish TV has on its platform more than 575 channels & services including 22 audio channels and over 55 HD channels & services. Dish TV uses the NSS-6 satellite platform which is unique in the Indian subcontinent owing to its automated power control and contoured beam which makes it suitable for use in ITU K and N rain zones ideally suited for India’s tropical climate. The company also has transponders on the Asiasat 5 platform and on the SES-8 platform which makes its total bandwidth capacity equal to 828 MHZ, the largest held by any DTH player in the country.

October 20, 2016
DishTV launches Kids Active in partnership with Shemaroo

MUMBAI: Value added services has been a focus area, a clear differentiator and an integral part of our offering. By not leaving any stone unturned in order to provide a wide range of content and services to its subscribers, DishTV Asia’s largest DTH brand has partnered with Shemaroo, one of India’s leading entertainment content houses that provides learning and entertainment to launch a new premium service called Kids Active and enhanced its bouquet of value added services to 10.

With the launch of Kids Active service, the DTH category’s most trusted brand has doubled their active services since last six months. Kids Active offers original content ranging from exciting stories, movies, songs, scientific experiment series and many more shows.

Kids Active is packaged 24X7, ad free infotainment service for kids in the age group of 6-12 years. With the activation of the service, subscribers get an opportunity to view Tales of Akbar & Birbal in English, animation songs, jungle tales, children’s movies and show promos, Grandpas treasure of wonderful stories and fun learning with scientific experiments.

DishTV CEO said, “We are delighted to announce our specialty offering targeted at the youngest generation. Kids segment is an area which is constantly in focus for us. Launch of Kids Active service is yet another step for us to enhance our value added services portfolio and cater to a wider set of audience.”

Kids Active is a premium ad free subscription based service targeted at enhancing the TV viewing of DishTV’s young subscribers. This service will be available as a free preview till the 24 October, after which a nominal amount of Rs 25 per month will be charged. This Kids Active service will be available on channel number 514 on DishTV.

Dish TV is Asia Pacific’s largest direct-to-home (DTH) company and part of one of India’s biggest media conglomerate – the ‘Zee’ Group. Dish TV has on its platform more than 575 channels & services including 22 audio channels and over 55 HD channels & services. Dish TV uses the NSS-6 satellite platform which is unique in the Indian subcontinent owing to its automated power control and contoured beam which makes it suitable for use in ITU K and N rain zones ideally suited for India’s tropical climate. The company also has transponders on the Asiasat 5 platform and on the SES-8 platform which makes its total bandwidth capacity equal to 828 MHZ, the largest held by any DTH player in the country.

October 20, 2016
DishTV takes total HD channel count to 55; adds regional HD channels

MUMBAI: Catering to the demand of regional viewers and bringing them under the High Definition umbrella, DishTV, Asia’s largest DTH service provider, has added four new regional HD channels to its HD offerings. With addition of these channels, DishTV encourages regional language subscribers to opt for HD TV viewing in their preferred language such as Marathi, Kannada, Bangla & Telugu.

Dish TV is Asia Pacific’s largest direct-to-home (DTH) company and part of one of India’s biggest media conglomerate – the ‘Zee’ Group. Dish TV has on its platform more than 575 channels & services including 22 audio channels and over 55 HD channels & services.

DishTV India CEO Arun Kapoor said, “DishTV has always taken a lead in enhancing TV viewing experience and exploring opportunities to bring wholesome entertainment to the audience. With a sharp focus on regional language content, the move aims at connecting strongly with the regional language subscribers. Addition of four new regional HD channels will not only strengthen our presence in the HD space but will also diversify our offerings.”

Having already built a strong connection with the regional speaking audience through their regional channels in HD such as Gemini HD in Telugu, and Sun TV HD, Sun Music HD and KTV HD in Tamil, the addition of 4 more new channels exemplify DishTV’s commitment to cater to a wide range of viewers in all the regions. The newly added channels from DishTV include Zee Talkies HD, Colors Kannada HD, Colors Bangla HD and ETV HD. With these measures, DishTV has taken the total count of HD channels from 51 to 55.

DishTV’s newly added channels will be available to the subscriber for a free preview till November 1, 2016.

In order to take the most viewed HD channels to the households, DishTV has also introduced special festive offers to enable customers to opt for a new High-Definition connection by just paying Rs 120 extra. Customers just have to pay an introductory price of Rs. 1990 which will include subscription of one-month Super Family Pack/ Jumbo Pack and any one HD add-on (worth Rs 75) for one month at no extra cost. Customers will also get options to select HD sachets as per their interest at a nominal price of Rs.75.

Dish TV uses the NSS-6 satellite platform which is unique in the Indian subcontinent owing to its automated power control and contoured beam which makes it suitable for use in ITU K and N rain zones ideally suited for India’s tropical climate. The company also has transponders on the Asiasat 5 platform and on the SES-8 platform which makes its total bandwidth capacity equal to 828 MHZ, the largest held by any DTH player in the country.

October 18, 2016