ITV

Category: DTH

  • Freedish & FM-ization’s slow development will hurt Prasar Bharati’s growth: Parliamentary Committee

    Freedish & FM-ization’s slow development will hurt Prasar Bharati’s growth: Parliamentary Committee

    NEW DELHI: Noting that it had asked the Government to expedite the Freedish Project and make necessary efforts to complete all procedural formalities in this regard, a Parliamentary Committee has expressed concern that the implementation of Conditional Access System (CAS) has been held up due to the inordinate delay in firming up a vendor.

    For Doordarshan to realise the benefits of upgradation and expansion, Prasar Bharati had taken initiatives to enhance the subscriber base and publicity of DD Freedish DTH platform along with providing a dedicated customer service division and a 24×7 call/help centre.

    The Parliamentary Standing Committee for Information Technology, which reviews issues related to Information and Broadcasting Ministry said in a report laid in the Parliament that all these initiatives will not yield the desired benefit unless the DD Freedish initiative is expedited by fast tracking the implementation of CAS.

    As providing Freedish is crucial to enhance competitiveness of Doordarshan vis-a-vis the private TV channels, the Committee in its Action Taken Report said, “It is highly imperative that the procedural hurdles with regard to CAS need to be removed.”

    The Committee, therefore, stressed that Prasar Bharati needed to complete all the procedural formalities for expeditious execution of the Freedish project.

    Similarly, with regard to FM-ization, the Committee had recommended that Prasar Bharati formulate a comprehensive plan on FM-ization at the earliest for seeking Cabinet approval.

    But the Committee, which was suggesting a roadmap for revival of Prasar Bharati said it was “perturbed to note that no action has been initiated so far by the Prasar Bharati to prepare a comprehensive proposal. As FM-ization needs enhanced Plan allocation under the 12th Plan and the proposal can be approved at the time of revision of the 12th Plan before sending the final proposal for approval of CCEA, the Committee urged that Prasar Bharati take urgent steps for preparation of a comprehensive proposal for FM-ization without any further delay.”

    In its original report, the Committee had said, “The Committee recognises that the idea of providing Freedish and progressive FM-ization can play a vital role in shaping the future roadmap for the revival of Prasar Bharati. As part of its FreeDish endeavour, Doordarshan has upgraded the technical infrastructure of DD FreeDish DTH platform and is presently providing free to air 64 SDTV channels in MPEG-2DVB-S. The technical infrastructure of the remaining 48 SDTV channels has also been installed and tested. Once these channels are made CAS enabled in free-to-view mode, subscribers can view these channels with a onetime annual registration. Doordarshan is planning to commission these 48 SDTV channels in Freedish mode only after implementing the CAS Service, upgrading its platform to 112 channels. The Committee need hardly emphasize that popularization of Freedish may indeed prove to be one of the major keys which can turn around Doordarshan in a big way, especially when it is competing with private TV channels who are providing hundreds of channels to its viewers. Therefore, the Ministry should make efforts to complete all the procedural formalities so as to facilitate the expeditious execution of the Free Dish Project.”

    The Committee had also said that to bring Prasar Bharati on the revival track, it needs to move swiftly with its FM-ization initiative. On the issue of FM-ization, the Ministry has informed that it is for the Prasar Bharati to take a call on FM-ization. It had conveyed to Prasar Bharati that the issue can be addressed at the time of revision in the 12th Plan, which may be approved by the Prasar Bharati Board and the final scheme proposal may be forwarded to the Ministry for approval by CCEA. The Committee recommended that Prasar Bharati should accordingly go ahead and formulate a comprehensive proposal on FM-ization at the earliest for seeking Cabinet approval.”

    In response to its queries, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry in their Action Taken Note stated, “Prasar Bharati has informed that Upgradation/Expansion of DD Freedish platform from 59 channels to 112 channels has been partly completed by the Engineering Wing of DD. Upgradation involves introduction of CAS-enabled MPEG-4 channels in addition to the existing “unscrambled” MPEG-2 channels available to current subscribers. Four upgraded and bandwidth efficient MPEG-2 streams have already been enabled with 64 channels. Two MPEG-4 streams capable of carrying 48 SD channels are also being uplinked, but cannot be received by viewers due to non-implementation of CAS. Implementation of CAS has been held up due to inordinate delay in firming up a CAS vendor due to concerns raised with regard to the process adopted to identify a CAS vendor and one of the shortlisted entities, it has been decided to issue a fresh tender to identify the CAS vendor.

    Once implemented, the CAS enabled MPEG-4 streams will open new opportunities for offering Value Added Services (VAS) such as EPG, home channels, overlay of advertisements, and similar other consumer oriented and revenue-generating services. It will also enable DD arrive at a precise estimate of Free Dish subscriber base, on the basis of which it will be able to demand higher carriage fees on its platform. For DD to realize the benefits of Upgradation/Expansion, DD Free Dish has to be supported by an active publicity, sales and support wing, which will help expand the subscriber base and make it the most popular DTH platform. This has to be supported by a dedicated customer service division, along with a 24×7 call/help centre. Both these efforts have been initiated by Prasar Bharati.”

    The Ministry also noted that Prasar Bharati had further informed that Radio Iistenership has moved over to FM Radio because of superior stereo quality and variety of 10 programming. In addition, availability of FM Radio on mobile phones has further enhanced its popularity. AIR FM Radio presently covers only 45 per cent of population. Cost of ensuring FM across entire nation is Rs 3000 crore (approx). This would require enhanced Plan allocation, mid term 12th plan review and generation of new resources. The Ministry has already communicated to Prasar Bharati that any revisions in the approved Plan Scheme will have to be taken up with CCEA after such proposals for revisions are furnished to the Ministry with due approval of Prasar Bharati Board.

  • DishTV rolls out new subscription pack for DAS Phase III markets

    DishTV rolls out new subscription pack for DAS Phase III markets

    MUMBAI: In an attempt to capture a chunk of analogue cable users in Phase III areas of Digital Addressable System (DAS), direct to home (DTH) company, DishTV is gearing up for an aggressive plan. 

     

    The company has launched a new subscription package called Dish99 and has also launched a campaign, which is catered to the specific needs of the phase III audience.

     

    The new subscription package gives users the freedom to choose and make their own monthly pack. Dish99 will give consumers access to 125 channels and services in digital quality and also top it up with a choice of custom-made 17 entertainment add-on packs ranging from Rs 25 – 75 and five regional add-ons for Rs 10 each. 

     

    Speaking on the same, a DishTV spokesperson said, “TV viewing is ubiquitous and the most affordable means of entertainment in the country. It has always been our endeavour to provide unparalleled and most innovative services to our customers for a unique TV viewing experience. Now, with the deadline of phase III of TV digitisation coming to a close, we aim to capitalise the huge captive user base, which would be switching from analogue cable to digital platform. Dish99 offers the ‘power to create their own pack’ and ensure seamless services with uninterrupted entertainment at cost effective rates to every household in India.”  

     
    To augment the digitisation drive in Phase III, DishTV has introduced a 360 degree multi-media campaign spanning TV, outdoor, radio, digital and online that leverages the power of popular TV celebrities. “This DAS campaign features DishTV’s relatable faces to strike a chord amongst the audience and create awareness about TV digitisation among every household to shift from analog to digital platform,” the spokesperson added.

  • DishTV wins ET’s Best Corporate Brand 2015 award

    DishTV wins ET’s Best Corporate Brand 2015 award

    MUMBAI: DishTV bagged ‘The Economic Times Best Corporate Brands’ award in the DTH category.

     

    The award has been presented to DishTV for being one of the most admired corporate that is shaping up the Indian marketplace. 

    The ET Best Corporate brands is an endeavor of The Economic Times, where it conducts a survey across a wide spectrum of consumers and stakeholder’s demographics in eight metro cities and eight other cities on the basis of parameters like familiarity, interaction, loyalty, trustworthiness, innovation and recommendation.

     

    DishTV chairman and managing director Jawahar Goel said, “We would like to thank all our stakeholders for reposing their faith in DishTV. This is a vindication of our belief that our investments in technology, content, distribution and customer service has helped us in securing the leadership position in the category. We are committed to providing the services that help consumers make the most out of their DTH services and ensure a superior viewing experience that mirrors the latest world standards.”

  • Big Magic hops back on DD Free Dish to enhance distribution

    Big Magic hops back on DD Free Dish to enhance distribution

    MUMBAI: In a bid to enhance its distribution and reach out to the masses, Reliance Broadcast Network Ltd’s (RBNL) Big Magic has hopped on back to Doordarshan’s free to air (FTA) direct to home (DTH) platform DD Free Dish albeit after making a few key changes in its programming strategy.

     

    It may be recalled that in November this year, Doordarshan deputy director general C K Jain had told Indiantelevision.com that Big Magic had paid a sum of Rs 6 crore in the 24th e-auction to get back on the platform. The channel, which went off DD Free Dish in August this year, began beaming again from today (18 December).

     

    Pertinent to note here in that in its initial days, the pay channel Big Magic was present on the DD’s DTH platform but after thorough introspection, the network decided to take the channel off from the platform in order to rejuvenate its content. The Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India, after rolling out its rural data has changed the entire game plan. DD Free Dish has emerged as one of the premier factors determining a channel’s performance in terms of ratings and hence making it a must for the broadcasters to present on.

     

    RBNL COO Ashwin Padmanabhan says, “It gives the reach, which helps gain viewership, but only if you have quality content in your catalogue. The reason why we went off the platform in the first place was to fill the gaps in our content. The content needs to be a slice of life and topical; only then people will cherish it. We made a gradual move towards more non-fiction from fiction and now we think we have adequate content to go back to the platform.”

     

    The channel banks on the humour quotient, which automatically tilts them towards a predominantly male audience. However, the network is quite clear when it comes to its target group. “We want to reach out to a pan India audience. I agree to the perception that humour as a genre is more male dominant but at the same time, I believe we have a diverse enough catalogue to cater to both male and female audience. Our target audience is both male and female aged between 15 to 45 years,” adds Padmanabhan.

     

    “General entertainment channels (GECs) are heavily female inclined, news channels cater to males, whereas youth channels have their audience cut out for them. Big Magic is positioned in a unique position where we break all such discriminations and cater to all because humour has universal appeal. We plan to strengthen our humour offering by adding more topical content, which people can relate to,” asserts Padmanabhan.

     

    The production cost of a non-fiction show is way higher than fiction content and RBNL, at this stage, is not shying away from spending. 

     

    Padmanabhan says, “Advertisers are excited about the content that we are creating; there is a lot of room for innovations and branded content. Going forward, we can even conceptualise a show sitting together with the advertiser. So we have confidence on our path ahead and hence if strengthening content needs investment we are happy to do so.”  

        

    Big Magic is available across all DTH platforms as well as major cable operators and with the presence on DD Free Dish, the channel’s distribution is well taken care of. However, Padmanabhan was quick to point out that distribution revenue was minuscule at this stage.

     

    The channel currently airs shows like Fakebook, Ji Sirjee, Family Fortunes, Lete Hain Khabar, Comedy Ka Rocket and Nautanki News.

     

    A senior media planner informs, “The ad rate of a 10 second slot on Big Magic during prime time would be somewhere between Rs 4000 – 5000.”

     

    With strong distribution in place and the added platform of DD Free Dish, Big Magic is well poised to take things to the next level in terms of programming content.

  • DD Freedish set to beam up to 250 channels under 12th Plan

    DD Freedish set to beam up to 250 channels under 12th Plan

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan’s free-to-air (FTA) direct-to-home (DTH) Freedish, which currently has only 64 slots for television channels and is expected to go up to 112 by March-end, has received a shot in the arm for upgradation to 250 TV channels under the 12th Plan.

    Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley told Parliament that the Department of Space had agreed in principle to provide additional transponders on new GSAT 15 satellite required for 250 TV channels

    Meanwhile, he said that DD was facing issues in implementing Conditional Access System (CAS), which is a part of upgraded system. But it had now decided to adopt Indian Conditional Access System (Indian CAS), which is being finalised by Department of Electronics and Information Technology. As was reported earlier by Indiantelevision.com, DD is acquiring the Bangalore based ByDesign India’s CAS.

    Late last year, the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) approved a proposal by ByDesign India to develop an Indian conditional access system. ByDesign was to receive a support amount of Rs 19.79 crore from DeitY to develop the new system in association with Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC).

    The ByDesign model is totally indigenous and built for DVB-C setup. This CAS solution will enable broadcasters to control access to their services by viewers, and thereby enabling them to extend their business models to subscription based schemes. 

    Apart from the TV channels, Freedish also beams 21 All India Radio (AIR) channels. 

    DD director general C Lalrosanga had earlier told Indiantelevision.com that the DTH player will switch over to MPEG 4 from the current MPEG 2 in two phases. “The first phase may begin by early next month,” he informed.

    Meanwhile even as regional channels of DD switched over to INSAT 4B, DD’s main channels have also shifted to GSAT 10, which was launched in September 2012. The regional channels were shifted in view of End of Life (EOL) of INSAT-3A as declared by Indian Space Research Organisation. Four new transponders have been provided for these channels on INSAT-4B by ISRO. 

    It has 12 Ku-Band, 12 C-Band and 6 lower extended C-Band Transponders. 

    Now GSAT 10 started transmission on C-Band transponders.

    The channels that have been switched to GSAT 10 are DD National, DD News, DD Bharati, DD Sports, DD Urdu, DD India, Rajya Sabha TV and DD HD.

     

    Department of Space sources told this website that GSAT 15 satellite will ultimately accommodate Freedish, as it has more capacity of transponders to provide more bandwidth and better coverage. 

    GSAT-15 satellite, launched recently, has planned its mission for 12 years and this satellite will be located at same direction of INSAT-3A / INSAT-4B satellite at 93.5° East Longitude.

    GSAT-15 carries 24 Ku-band transponders with 36 Mhz high bandwidth.

    GSAT-15 also has two GAGAN navigational payloads and 2 Ku-Band beacons. This satellite will be use mainly for Direct to Home services, radio navigation services and VSAT services.

  • Tata Sky partners Madhuri Dixit for interactive dance service

    Tata Sky partners Madhuri Dixit for interactive dance service

    MUMBAI: After launching the Actve Fitness service in association with Suniel Shetty, direct to home (DTH) service provider Tata Sky has now partnered with Madhuri Dixit Nene and Dr. Shriram Nene’s RnM Moving Picture to launch a new interactive service ‘Dance Studio.’

     

    The service will be powered by Dance with Madhuri (DWM) and will enable Tata Sky’s subscribers to learn various dance forms in the comfort of their homes.

     

    Priced at Rs 59, this standalone service, which is not part of Tata Sky’s value added services (VAS) standard package, is expected to target viewers from all demography, across its 15 million customer base. Launching ad free on a subscription only basis, the service will be free for the first 10 days. 

     

    “Dance is universal and after going through a customer feedback survey and researching on consumer insights, we realised that dance cuts across all our target audience – kids, parents, grandparents. For that matter dance as a sector had a huge demand and was under-catered from an ‘at home service’ perspective. So we decided to go ahead with it. The idea was to provide our customers with a service that helps them learn quick steps from the best of dance teachers from all genres in the industry and Dance With Madhuri was an obvious choice,” said Tata Sky chief commercial officer Pallavi Puri.

     

    Off late, the DTH player has launched a slew of interactive VAS services. When asked if video on demand (VOD) and VAS can become a sustainable revenue generating service for the company, Puri says, “For Tata Sky, both VOD and VAS services are two areas that we will be focusing on. These are services, which are distinct to Tata Sky. Our consumers know us for providing them with these unique services, so we will continue to expand them.”

     

    The launch will be complemented with an engaging digital campaign #DanceForHappiness that the DTH player released through their social networking arms earlier this week, thereby going digital first for their marketing and promotions. Tata Sky ran a contest on its Twitter page and the winners were felicitated during the service’s launch. The launch also saw the release of a series of TVCs focused on Dance Studio, featuring Madhuri Dixit.

     

    Explaining the theme behind the campaign, Tata Sky chief marketing officer Malay Dixit says, “Our research revealed that the expression of happiness across the country is instinctively through dance. That was the start of conceptualising the Dance For Happiness campaign, which later incorporated different factors that shape our reasons to learn dancing in the first place. This was the brief that we gave to Prime Focus – our creative partner for this campaign’s marketing and promotions.”

     

    The DTH operator’s home channel is the principal  point of communication and promotion for the new service.

     

    Breaking down the different functions, the entire campaign is aimed to serve. “While the header for the campaign remains Dance For Happiness, we have broken it down into two sections. Since it’s a new product, some parts of the campaign will need to address what the product delivers and the other half will cater to its emotional relevance with consumers. So the campaign will be a mix of product explanation, price point address and the emotion behind dancing,” he explains. 

     

    While he asserts that having a celebrity onboard a campaign does amplify the reach, the core of any product offering is the concept, which needs to be solid. That being said, Madhuri Dixit being the face of DWM, and the brand’s overall reach made it easier to propagate the message to Tata Sky’s consumers, Dixit adds.

     

    This association makes a big brand integration on part of RnM Moving Pictures, run by the husband – wife duo. When asked what that means for the start up,  Dr Nene says, “Being a start up, the key was to figure out sustainability, and how we can make it palatable and affordable at the same time. This particular joint venture opportunity with Tata Sky takes DWM to 15 million households. Individuals can access world class dance lessons at just Rs 59. Therefore, one significant part of our scope is to go out and partner with different brands and services that fits well with what we want to achieve, and Tata Sky just fits the bill like a hand to a glove.”

     

    He adds that Tata Sky also facilitates DWM to penetrate Tier II and III audience, a demographic which is harder to reach out for a digital start up like them. “The challenge has always been to reach out to the mass beyond the metros, and non uniform broadband coverage and internet availability has always hindered us in that respect. But with Tata Sky onboard, we can easily leap over this hurdle,” says an enthusiastic Nene.

     

    Apart from their DTH partnership, RnM Moving Pictures is also looking to expand its services internationally, starting with the United States and gradually moving to Dubai and the UK.

  • Videocon d2h armed with adequate STBs ahead of DAS III deadline

    Videocon d2h armed with adequate STBs ahead of DAS III deadline

    MUMBAI: Indian direct to home (DTH) operator Videocon d2h says it is fully geared up for Digital Addressable Systems (DAS) phase III, the deadline for which is 31 December, 2015. 

     

    The company expects Phase III to be 50 million TV household in terms of size.

     

    The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in its recent communication expressed satisfaction at the progress of the seeding of set-top boxes (STBs) in Phase III areas. TRAI has also advised consumers of urban areas who are still receiving cable TV services without STBs to avail and install STBs before the cut-off date in order to receive uninterrupted TV/services. It has reaffirmed its commitment to meet the deadline.  

     

    It is anticipated that there will be a huge demand for STBs for the Digitisation phase III, and Videocon d2h STBs are available in the markets. TRAI has been taking steps to create awareness among consumers and stakeholders by holding workshops on the implementation of DAS and consumer outreach programmes.

     

    Videocon d2h executive chairman Saurabh Dhoot said, “We welcome the digitisation mandate by Government wholeheartedly and will continue to support this initiative. The latest communication by Government in reaffirming its commitment is encouraging. This will ensure world class services to end consumer and create a level playing field between DTH and cable.”

     

    Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera added, “Consumers who are on analog cable mode can subscribe to a Videocon d2h Digital Set Top Box to access uninterrupted services before digitisation is implemented. Videocon d2h has ample STBs to cater to demand of the digitisation towns. Consumers can subscribe to Videocon d2h to avoid a black out of the analog cable services and enjoy the wide range of channels and services provided.”

  • Q2-2016: Indian DTH players replicate improved performance of previous quarters

    Q2-2016: Indian DTH players replicate improved performance of previous quarters

    Over the past two quarters, the DTH segment of the television carriage industry has posted improved performances as has been mentioned by Indiantelevision.com for Q4-2015 and Q1-2016.

    The industry seems to have reached an inflection point in Q4-2015, with three players that have a combined market share of about 62 per cent posting improved results. The biggest player among them in terms of revenue as well as number of subscribers, Dish TV with about 27 per cent market share even reported a consolidated profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 34.94 crore in Q4-2015, a figure that helped wipe out the losses reported by the company for the previous three quarters. Dish TV reported consolidated PAT of of Rs 3.14 crore for FY-2015.

    As a matter of fact, even Airtel DTH services reported a positive EBIT of Rs 8.1 crore for Q4-2015, as compared to a negative EBIT of Rs 36 crore in Q3-2015 and a negative EBIT of Rs 67.6 crore in Q2-2015. The three players have now reported improved performances for the quarter ended 30 September, 2015 (Q2-2016, current quarter).

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

    (2) This paper covers only three of the seven DTH service providers in India (as had the previous two papers) since the other four– Reliance Digital TV, Sun Direct (about 97 lakh subscribers as on 31 March, 2015), Tata Sky and DD Free Dish are not listed directly on the bourses and their financial numbers are not available, unless the principals of these companies/segments chose to reveal them. The three players – Airtel DTH, Dish TV and Videocon d2h have already been covered in our earlier reports mentioned above.

    (3) Some of the three players mention their financial as well as subscription numbers in millions in their financial reports/investor presentations and other documents that they make available publically. The financial numbers have been converted to Rs crore to an approximation of a single decimal place, though percentages have been mentioned to the second decimal place approximation.

    (4) There could be some ambiguity about the market share of the three players. If one were to go by the latest numbers released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in November 2015 for June 2015. TRAI’s indicator report says that the number of registered DTH subscribers as on 30 June, 2015 was 787.4 lakh. The combined subscription numbers of the three players as on the same day as reported by them individually was 343.12 lakh and hence the market share of these players works out to 45.58 per cent. However, TRAI’s report also says that the number of active DTH subscribers as on 30 June, 2015 was 397.4 lakh. Based on the second TRAI number, the combined total subscribe market share of the three players in this paper works out to 86.34 per cent. The figures of 27 percent and 62 per cent have been taken from Dish TV’s estimates.

    (5) Videocon d2h EBIDTA numbers are adjusted – Q4-2015 Adjusted EBIDTA is before accounting for one off securities issue expenses of Rs 10.543 crore and Employee Share based Compensations cost of Rs. 2.974 crore towards provision of ESOP plan of 2014; Q1-2016 and Q2-2016 Adjusted EBITDA is before accounting for Employee Share based Compensations cost of Rs. 2.944 crore towards provision of ESOP plan of 2014

    Please refer to the graphs below. Panel A, B and C and D show the Q2-2015, Q1-2016 and Q2-2016 combined performances of the three DTH operators in this report and then in alphabetical order- Airtel DTH, Dish TV and Videocon d2h respectively. Panel E shows the ARPU value trends and Panel F shows the Monthly Subscriber Churn of the three players over 6 consecutive quarters starting Q1-2015 until Q2-2016.

    Please refer to Panel A in the graphs below. The combined revenues of the three players in the current quarter grew 16.20 per cent year on year (YoY) to Rs 2149.32 crore as compared to Rs 1849.60 crore and grew 3.12 per cent quarter on quarter (QoQ) as compared to Rs 2084.28 crore. EBIDTA increased 47.96 per cent YoY in Q2-2016 to Rs 680.30 crore (31.65 per cent margin) as compared to Rs 459.8 crore (24.86 per cent margin) and grew 1.90 per cent QoQ as compared to Rs 667.6 crore (31.65 per cent margin). Hence, EBIDTA margin declined slightly in the current quarter as compared to the immediate trailing quarter. Reported Combined Subscription numbers in Q2-2016 grew 12.77 per cent YoY to 351.16 lakh as compared to 311.4 lakh and increased 2.34 per cent QoQ as compared to 343.12 lakh.

    All the three DTH operators reported growth in revenue and subscription numbers, both YoY and QoQ. Dish TV and Videocon d2h reported growth in YoY and QoQ EBIDTA, while Airtel DTH reported a YoY increase, but a QoQ drop in EBIDTA and EBIT for Q2-2016. In terms of subscription numbers as well as revenue, Dish TV is the biggest player among the three. While Videocon d2h has a slight edge in terms of subscription numbers over Airtel DTH, the latter has a slight edge over Videocon d2h in terms of revenue.

    The average revenue per customer (ARPU) in the case of Airtel DTH increased QoQ to Rs 224 from Rs 222, it was flat in the case of Videocon d2h at Rs 205 and declined to Rs 171 in Q2-2016 from Rs 173 in the immediate trailing quarter in the case of Dish TV.

    During the six consecutive quarter period starting Q1-2015 until the current quarter, ARPUs of all the three DTH players show linear increasing trends. Monthly Subscriber Churn also seems to be increasing in case of all the three players as is obvious from the linear broken trend lines in Panel F. As a matter of fact the Monthly Subscriber Churn reported by all the three players in the current quarter – Q2-2016 was the highest during a period spread over six consecutive quarters.

    At the cost of repeating some of what has been mentioned above, let us see how these players have performed in Q2-2016.

    Airtel DTH

    Airtel DTH is a small segment of Indian telecom major Bharti Airtel Limited and its revenues constitute around four per cent of its parent company’s revenues and its EBIDTA is contributes just three per cent to overall EBIDTA. Capex investment however is in the seven per cent region of Bharti Airtel’s overall capex investments.

    Please refer to Panel B in the graphs above. Airtel’s DTH segment reported 12.85 per cent YoY growth in its revenue for the current quarter at Rs 706.8 crore as compared to the Rs 623.6 crore in Q2-2015. QoQ, the segment’s revenue grew 3.21 per cent as compared to Rs 684.8 crore.

    EBIDTA increased 53.24 per cent YoY to Rs 234.3 crore (33.15 per cent margin) as compared to the Rs 152.9 crore (24.41 per cent margin), but was 2.70 basis points lower than the Rs 240.8 crore (35.16 per cent margin).

    Airtel DTH segment reported a positive EBIT of Rs 17 crore (2.41 per cent margin) in the current quarter as compared to a negative EBIT of Rs 67.7 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter. EBIT in the current quarter, however was less than half (declined by 59.04 per cent) as compared to the Rs 41.5 crore (6.06 per cent margin) in the immediate trailing quarter.

    The company reported a 10.86 per cent YoY growth in its subscriber base to 105.76 lakh in Q2-2016 as compared to the 95.40 lakh in the corresponding year ago quarter and a 1.58 per cent QoQ growth from 104.12 lakh in the immediate trailing quarter. Monthly subscriber churn however increased to 1.3 per cent in the current quarter as compared to 1.1 per cent in Q2-2015 and 0.8 per cent in Q1-2016.

    The company reported a slight increase in Average Revenue per User (ARPU) in Q2-2016 in terms of Indian rupees, but a flat ARPU in terms of the US dollar at $3.5, which means that ARPU in dollar terms declined due to the rise in the price of the dollar in Indian Rupees. ARPU in Q2-2016 increased to Rs 224 as compared to the Rs 220 in Q2-2015 and the Rs 222 in Q1-2016.

    Monthly Subscriber churn in Q2-2016 at 1.3 per cent was higher than the 1.10 per cent in the corresponding year ago quarter and the 0.80 per cent in the immediate trailing quarter.

    Airtel MD and CEO India & South Asia Gopal Vittal said, “Airtel’s revenue growth in India has accelerated to 13.3 per cent in Q2 on an underlying basis, the highest in the last 12 quarters. Our smaller businesses – home broadband, DTH and our business segment all continue to perform strongly.”

    Dish TV

    This is the third consecutive quarter that Dish TV has reported growth across important financial and operational parameters including operating revenues (Total Income from operations or TIO), PAT and subscription numbers. During the previous fiscal and its last quarter (year and quarter ended 31 March, 2015, Q4-2015), the Subhash Chandra led Essel group’s Dish TV Limited turned the corner with a consolidated PAT of Rs 3.14 crore and Rs 34.94 crore (margin 4.8 per cent) respectively. The company followed this up with even better numbers in the previous quarter (Q1-2015). Dish TV was probably the first among listed DTH companies in the country in FY-2015 and Q4-2015 to report a profit after tax as opposed to the operating profits reported by a segment of the other Goliaths for whom DTH services is just another small segment or group company.

    Please refer to Panel C in the graphs above. For the current quarter ended 30 September, 2015 (Q2-2015), Dish TV has reported Operating revenue of Rs 752.42 crore, hence registering a 15.77 per cent YoY growth as compared to Q2-2015’s number of Rs 649.90 crore and a 2.14 per cent QoQ growth as compared to Rs 736.68 crore.

    The company reported PAT of Rs 86.96 crore (11.56 per cent margin) for the current quarter as compared to a loss of Rs 14.2 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter and a whopping 60.41 per cent growth in profit as compared to the Rs 54.21 crore (7.36 per cent margin) in the previous quarter.

    EBITDA in the current quarter increased 57.50 per cent YoY to Rs 255 crore (33.89 per cent margin) as compared to Rs 161.9 crore (24.91 per cent margin) and increased 7.69 per cent QoQ as compared to Rs 236.8 crore (32.14 per cent margin).

    The company’s subscriber numbers in Q2-2016 increased by 3.38 lakh to touch a subscriber base of 137 lakh as compared to the 133 lakh subscribers reported at the end of the previous quarter (Q1-2016). Monthly Subscriber Churn increased to 0.8 per cent after remaining flat for the previous five consecutive quarters at 0.7 per cent.

    Dish TV reported a YoY growth in Average Revenue per User to Rs 171 as compared to the Rs 166, but a QoQ decline from Rs 173 in the previous quarter.

    Dish TV chairman Subhash Chandra said, “Dish TV further reinforced its leadership position during the quarter. The company, while being at the forefront of the DTH industry in India, reached out to television viewers with innovative products that promise to enhance their television viewing experience. Dish TV’s improving financial strength coupled with its passion to be ahead of the curve, should be an advantage to further enhance its presence in the vast and still untapped analogue and free-to-air television markets in the country.”

    Videocon d2h

    Videocon d2h reported sales growth in both subscription revenue and revenue from operations for the current quarter. Subscription revenue increased 24.63 per cent YoY to Rs 629 crore as compared to Rs 504.7 crore, and increased 4.67 per cent QoQ as compared to Rs 599.61 crore.

    Please refer to Panel D in the graph above. Total revenue increased 20.35 per cent YoY to Rs 690.1 crore as compared to Rs 573.40 crore and increased 4.12 per cent QoQ as compared to Rs 662.83 crore.

    The company reported lower loss in Q2-2016 at Rs 24.6 crore as compared to a loss of Rs 61.4 crore in Q2-2015, but was slightly higher than the loss of Rs 24.4 crore in the immediate trailing quarter.

    Adjusted EBIDTA in the current quarter increased 31.72 per cent YoY to Rs 191 crore (27.68 per cent margin) as compared to Rs 145 crore (25.29 per cent margin) and was almost flat (increased 0.53 per cent) as compared to Rs 190 crore (28.67 per cent margin).

    The company notched up higher net subscribers at 108.4 lakh in Q2-2016 as compared to 94.6 lakh in Q2-2015 and 106.4 lakh in the immediate trailing quarter. Monthly Subscriber Churn in the current quarter at 1.19 per cent was higher than 0.85 per cent in Q2-2015 and 0.46 per cent in the immediate trailing quarter.

    The company reported higher ARPU at Rs 205 in Q2-2016 as compared to Rs 190 in Q2-2015 but was flat when compared to Rs 205 in the immediate trailing quarter.

    Videocon d2h executive chairman Saurabh Dhoot said, “I am happy to share that we have achieved EBITDA growth of 30.3 per cent in the first half of the current fiscal as against our guidance of 25 to 30 per cent growth. We are on track to deliver even stronger growth in the second half of this year, in line with the guidance shared earlier. During the quarter, we focused on enhancing our channel offering and added 14 Standard Definition and four High Definition channels. We have recently launched two proprietary services, namely d2h Hollywood HD and Darshan. With more than 500 lakh eye balls we also continue to gain traction on advertising revenue with marque advertisers coming on our platform.”

    Speaking on the near term subscriber growth outlook, Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera said, “We estimate around 500 lakh television homes come under Phase III digitization, of which 240 to 250 lakh television homes are already on the digital platform. Thus, the target market under Phase III digitization is the remaining 250 to 260 lakh television homes that are currently on analog cable.”

    End Points

    Implementation of Phases III and IV of DAS presented a potential of about 700 to 750 lakh existing television households plus another 200 to 250 lakh new television households for the carriage industry as per industry estimates. How well each of the players in the ecosystem takes advantage of this  potential remains to be seen. The DTH players in the country are adding to their net subscription numbers, going by the combined 7.64 lakh net subscriber additions that the three players in this paper have reported for Q2-2016 as compared to the immediate trailing quarter. Reported capex investments to the extent of Rs 250 crore in the current quarter and Rs 211 crore in the previous quarter by Airtel DTH and Rs 246 crore in Q2-2016 and Rs 153 crore in Q1-2016 by Videocon d2h indicate that the DTH players are intent on gaining a large portion of this opportunity.

    An Icra Research Services paper of September 2015 on TV Distribution says that DTH players remain well positioned for tapping growth opportunities in Phase III and Phase IV markets due to inherent technology advantage and easier access to cable dark areas. Moreover, incremental investments towards the establishment of infrastructure in the rural markets and relatively high operating costs render it commercially unviable for national MSOs to enter such markets.

    The rural markets continue to remain cost sensitive; hence, MSOs and DTH players are also looking at introducing plain vanilla set top boxes (STBs) specifically for these markets to encourage subscribers to migrate. In this direction, Dish TV launched a lower priced STB under the brand name of Zing, the base pack of which is typically 20 per cent lower than a regular Dish TV STB. Amongst other measures, distributors are also evaluating channel packages with focus on regional content. The media consumption in Phase III and Phase IV markets are driven by regional content and hence such packages are expected to help distributors further expand their subscriber universe in these markets says the Icra report.

    HD channels is another opportunity that DTH players have sensed. Sensing a strong business opportunity Videocon d2h has started augmenting a new strategy early this year. With the number of HD channels set to increase in the coming years, Videocon d2h, which also manufactures STBs, will be phasing out its Standard Definition (SD) STBs over the next year or so. Videocon d2h is looking at 50 to 60 per cent acquisitions in the HD STB space.

    In early May 2015, while speaking at the Asia Pacific Video Operators Summit (APOS) held in Bali, Videocon d2h’s Khera had said, “The cost of difference between SD and HD set top boxes for us is only one and half dollar. In terms of gross adds, the market has been consistently growing and we have seen a growth of eighty to ninety lakh new additions in a year. Net additions has been a challenge, and the industry has been able to get net addition of fifty to sixty lakh. As far as the rotation churn is concerned how one retains customers and provides additional services, is a big challenge.”

    This brings forth another challenge-bandwidth allocation with a limited satellite bandwidth available. Projecting that there would be at least a hundred HD channels over the next one and a half year, Khera had then said, “All the Hindi and English general entertainment channels and movie channels will have a HD and SD feed.” That was six months ago.

    The cut-off date for DAS Phase III – 31 December, 2015 is less than a month away and for DAS IV – 31 December, 2016 just a little more than a year away. Initially the next 13 months followed by a year or two is the period required by the industry to gain some sort of maturity and have a semblance of stability. The next two to four years are going to be real chaotic and exciting times for the carriage industry. For now, the existing analogue consumers and the new television households, are the real low hanging fruits that can be plucked with relative ease. Post digitisation the game will be different, probably with a different set of unwritten rules (and most probably written rules on the path to market maturity).

  • DD Freedish to acquire ByDesign’s CAS technology for MPEG4 expansion

    DD Freedish to acquire ByDesign’s CAS technology for MPEG4 expansion

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan’s free-to-air (FTA) direct to home (DTH) service Freedish is planning to acquire Bangalore based ByDesign India’s conditional access system (CAS) so as to increase its channel offerings to 112 from the current 64 by the end of March 2016.

     

    In conversation with Indiantelevision.com, DD Director General C Lalrosanga said that the DTH player will switch over to MPEG 4 from the current MPEG 2 in two phases. “The first phase may begin by early next month,” he informed.

     

    Late last year, the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) approved a proposal by ByDesign India to develop an Indian conditional access system. ByDesign was to receive a support amount of Rs 19.79 crore from DeitY to develop the new system in association with Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC).

     

    The ByDesign model is totally indigenous and built for DVB-C setup. This CAS solution will enable broadcasters to control access to their services by viewers, and thereby enabling them to extend their business models to subscription based schemes.

     

    This will mean that the Freedish will become encrypted but will remain FTA. In addition to helping increase the number of channels on the platform, this will enable Freedish to gauge the exact number of households relying on Freedish as encrypted set top boxes (STBs) will only be available with authorised dealers.

     

    Lalrosanga said that collection of rural data by the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India had shown that the claims made by Doordarshan about its reach were not erroneous. He said the BARC ratings had shown that both DD and Freedish had a tremendous reach in semi-urban and rural areas all over the country.

     

    Lalrosanga went on to add that many homes were gradually switching over to Freedish as they could then get their entire entertainment for a one-time fee of purchasing a dish, which cost as low as Rs 700 to Rs 1200.

     

    Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar had said earlier this year that Freedish’s aim was to reach 112 channels within a year or so.

     

    At present, there is no vacant slot on Freedish since all channels that were on the platform and whose licences had expired have come back through the 24 e-auctions conducted over the past year.

     

    Interestingly, the two new entrants on the platform – Aaj Tak and Big Magic – are pay channels, which are being run as FTA on Freedish. DD sources said that the reference interconnect agreement signed by these two channels no longer carries any non-discriminatory clause as it refers to Freedish.

     

    Lalrosanga also added that DD was working towards bringing regional language films to the prime time slots over the weekend. Additionally, the pubcaster was actively thinking on the lines of a dedicated channel for children and young people. 

  • Shemaroo Entertainment, Videocon d2h launch religious channel

    Shemaroo Entertainment, Videocon d2h launch religious channel

    MUMBAI: Shemaroo Entertainment has joined hands with Videocon d2h to launch a 24 hr ad free devotional channel “d2h Darshan” according to a press release filed at the bourses by Shemaroo. The channel plans to offer a wide variety of religeous and religion related content such as temple tourism, jaaps, mantras, kathas, popular bhajans, holy Books etc. d2h Darshan can be subscribed at Rs. 30 per month from 1st Dec 2015 and is available for Videocon d2h consumers on channel number 481..

     

    According to the release, d2h Darshan will also attempt to explain the meaning and significance of important elements extracted from the Vedas and other scriptures. The videos programmed on each day of the week will be as per the special significance of that day devoted to a deity. For example Monday is devoted to Shiva, Tuesday for Ganesha, and so on. The channel also plans to offer  customized  content  around important   festivals   and   various   events   based   on   the religious calendar. Shemaroo will draw from its bank of more than 2000 hours of devotional content to specially create this unique service.

     

    Press release quotes

     

    Shemaroo Entertainment Director Hiren Gada said, “Inspite of religion being the way of life in India, there is not enough variety of devotional content available on the television platforms. With the launch of a premium service like d2h Darshan on Videocon d2h, consumers will have access to an array of content. We plan to feature temple documentaries which are almost like a ‘virtual darshan tour’ of some of the most popular shrines across the country.”

     

    Videocon d2h executive chairman Saurabh Dhoot said, “We believe in enriching lives of our valued consumers by providing them varied choice for their entertainment. d2h Darshan is a powerful service which is targeted to a whole segment of viewers who sought these channels as part of their faith and a desire to lead a spiritual lifestyle.”