ITV

Category: DTH

  • Tata Sky demos 4K TV with FIFA World Cup quarter-final match

    Tata Sky demos 4K TV with FIFA World Cup quarter-final match

    MUMBAI: The era of India being a country that lags behind the more developed nations is gone. Indian  DTH operators in the country are waking up, ancticipating  future desires of Indian TV viewers. Which is why one of the oldest and largest DTH operators Tata Sky, is keeping itself and its subscribers up to date with the  introduction of its 4k Ultra HD service.

     

    The first quarter of 2015 will see Tata Sky roll out its set top boxes (STBs) for its 4k Ultra HD service. The STBs are being made by Technicolor and are based on the high efficiency video coding (HEVC) format that 4k uses the world over. However, prices of the STB are not yet known as the DTH operator wants to reveal it closer to the commercial launch date.

     

    At a demonstration event in Mumbai, Tata Sky along with Sony Six unveiled the 4k UHD service with a live uninterrupted broadcast of the France versus Germany FIFA World Cup 2014 quarter final. The FIFA 4k signal rights had been bought by Sony Six while the cost of acquisition and transmission was split 50:50 by the broadcaster and the operator. The telecast took place live via satellite transmission.  

     

    Indiantelevision.com readers will note that Videocon d2h had previewed its 4K service on 3 July 2014 too, a day before Tata Sky..

     

    Even though most industry professionals  claim that it is too early to launch 4k Ultra HD in India, Tata Sky chief commercial officer Vikram Mehra feels otherwise. “When we launched HD in 2010, people doubted us saying it won’t work. As you keep enhancing TV experience, the viewer will appreciate it. So, Ultra HD is our endeavour in that area. A technology becomes popular when mainline pay-TV adopts it.”

     

    Mehra feels that movies and sports will be the initial drivers for 4k technology and talks with broadcasters have already commenced. In three to four years, he expects it to be the way of life for most Indian TV viewers. Even though currently there is a lack of 4K content, he feels that it isn’t too far away. “We will make a product that makes sense to the customer. Customers will not buy STBs to adorn their homes. They will buy it for content,” he says.

     

    Sony Six business head Prasana Krishnan feels that more sporting events should be produced in 4K soon, probably in the next year or so. “4K is the future of broadcasting, specially sports. We saw technology move from SD to HD and now HD has become standard. 4K is next,” he says. Krishnan is aware that a full-fledged 4K channel can’t be expected very soon. Big sporting events will have 4K production on crucial days such as the finals, while the run up matches will be in HD and SD.

     

    The 4K screening of the FIFA World Cup 2014 quarter finals that took place in Mumbai yesterday, 4 July saw the Sony Six logo being superimposed on the FIFA feed on an 84 inch Sony television set that is soon to be launched in India and across the world. 4K screens give four times the clarity as compared to an HD feed.

     

    Mehra  was not willing to venture any guesstimates about how much uptake the Tata Sky 4K service will have when it launches next year as he feels making futuristic statements is of no use. However, the fact that the DTH operator is confident about its prospects is clear from the contract that it has signed with Technicolor, according to which deliveries of 4K set top boxes in “volume” are expected to commence in early 2015.

     

    Adds Mehra: “We started active service in 2007 and today we have 2.9million people paying Rs 45 each for them. Close to 65 per cent of our STBs sold today are HD. This from our total subscriber base of 13.5 million.” It is pertinent to note that Tata Sky, since late last year, has stopped buying any more SD boxes.

  • Videocon d2h innovates once again; announces 4K service

    Videocon d2h innovates once again; announces 4K service

    Updated – 08:46 PM

    MUMBAI: It has built up its reputation as arguably the fastest growing DTH operator in India, apart from delivering snazzy features to subscribers. Now Videocon d2h has added another feather to its cap by becoming the first player in this space to announce its Ultra HD or 4K TV service. Readers should know that the TV picture gets more colour, more depth, and more details once viewed on a 4K TV set. 

    With nearly 11 million and growing subscribers, Videocon d2h MD Saurabh Dhoot is pretty proud of the company’s achievement when he says: “We wanted to be the first company to deliver 4k ultra HD service to India.”

    He is quite sure that demand for its service is bound to increase in India, even though Indian TV viewers are just about beginning to take a fancy to plain old vanilla HD television services. This apart, he is not perturbed by the fact that Indian broadcasters and producers are not really thinking 4K as yet and are ill-equipped to produce even if they decide to do so.  Says the Dhoot family scion: “You have to preempt, at times. We come with the thought process of surprising customers and delivering what they are about to ask for before they ask for it.”

    Indeed, the Videocon group is involved in the entire pipeline of television – right from TV sets to self-made STBs to its own DTH service (Ok so it has left TV channels and content creation to other players). Hence, it has been able to price the Ultra HD box at Rs 10,000 when production starts at its factories. Discussions are on with Broadcom for chips and semiconductors while Cisco is likely to provide the conditional access.  Dhoot expects the price of the box to fall to Rs 4000 or Rs 5000 depending on the demand and production scale.

    The STB works on a technology called high efficiency video compression (HEVC) which is 50 per cent more efficient than the MPEG-4 technology used in HD boxes. “The main investment is in transponder space. To overcome this, we have HEVC technology or else it would be a criminal waste of satellite space,” points out Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera.

    Official roll out of the service will be around October or November 2014, during Diwali when the company expects sale of 4K TV sets to pick up. “Ultra HD TV sales have picked up sharply this year as compared to last year when they were negligible. Over Diwali, we expect ultra HD sales to pick up more,” explains Dhoot.

    While travel and lifestyle, sports and movies are the expected first lot of genres to experiment with 4K technology, it will tie up its first market promotion with a good 4K event. Talks with broadcasters have already commenced for the same, one of the first being Travelxp. 

    Dhoot is quite clear that Ultra HD will be a ‘very very premium service’ constituting a single digit per cent of its entire subscriber base. The initial offering to customers will be a single Ultra HD channel, broadcast from its Noida headend, which will carry content from any producer or broadcaster which wants to show case its Ultra HD content. 

    Eight million pixels versus two million pixels of HD TV is the clarity that this service along with TV sets of size 65 inches and above will provide. 4K UHD TVs are capable of delivering four times the picture resolution of 1080p full HD. It will also provide a cloud based recording facility. 

    The first target audience will be in the metros and their own existing subscribers, even though Dhoot stresses that it isn’t necessary that only cities consume expensive TVs. As and when events come along, communication will be given to subscribers through its channel page. Khera says that 30 per cent of new acquisitions request for an HD box. These will be the likely target audiences.

    Though raising average revenue per user (ARPU) plays a significant role in increased revenues, ultra HD service will take a while to give a significant contribution given that initially it will only be event based such as finals of key sporting events or big movies. “HD subscribers have played a big role in incrementing revenue and ARPUs. The investment in ultra HD is made for a very long time. Once it clicks, the recovery is very fast,” says Dhoot. 

    On the sideline, it has also undergone a re-christening. Bharat Business Channel is now officially Videocon d2h. The main prompt for this was that the company’s identification was its service and for better communication practices, the name needed a change.

    Khera is aware that the biggest issue with recording in 4K is the storage space as well as post production. He is hopeful that broadcasters and producers will test the Ultra HD waters. 

    Click here to view the event pictures

  • RC Venkateish elected as president of DTH Operators Association

    RC Venkateish elected as president of DTH Operators Association

    MUMBAI: A new face will be representing the six direct to home (DTH) operators. In a meeting, held by the DTH Operators Association of India, Dish TV CEO RC Venkateish was unanimously elected as the new president for a term of one year.

     

    The earlier president was Tata Sky MD and CEO Harit Nagpal who was the president for three years. Unlike the earlier rule, where the elected president served a term of three years, it has been now decided that the term will be for one year which can be extendable by another year.

     

    Speaking to indiantelevision.com, Venkateish expressed delight on his new role. “Of course I am happy but it also means more work to be done,” he says. He takes office from 1 August 2014.

     

    The association has also decided that from now on it will hold regular meetings every quarter to address issues.

  • Dish TV’s appeal to the Finance Minister

    Dish TV’s appeal to the Finance Minister

    MUMBAI: The Direct to Home (DTH) industry has been vehemently opposing the heavy taxation being levied on the various operators in the country. In view of the same, the country’s oldest DTH operator Dish TV has appealed to the new Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

     

    The DTH operator in its appeal has requested the Minister to alleviate the crushing burden of multilayered taxation in the DTH industry which is in turn killing the industry. The operators are subject to several taxes such as 10 per cent licence fee, 12.36 per cent service tax from the centre and the state level entertainment tax which is as high as 33 per cent in some states. While the average tax rates in most states is 30 per cent, in some it is as high as 50 per cent.

     

    The appeal states that no other service in the country is subject to both service as well as entertainment tax at the same time. “DTH industry has revolutionised entertainment and information for the common man reaching far flung remote areas of the country where no other source of entertainment and information exists. It has brought transparency and tax revenues to the government which was impossible to ascertain and collect in the old analogue regime,” states the appeal.

     

    Dish TV says that the entire industry has made investments of over Rs 25,000 crore but is still bleeding with no operator making money despite being in business for more than 10 years.

     

    The request by the operator on behalf of the entire industry is to provide relief from the twin burden of entertainment tax and service tax. It requests to allow abatement of service tax to the extent of entertainment tax paid or 60 per cent of service tax whichever is lower.   

  • DTH ops latch onto the FIFA juggernaut

    DTH ops latch onto the FIFA juggernaut

    MUMBAI: The world is in the grip of football fever and India isn’t far behind, though it is traditionally a cricket-crazy country where an Indian Premiere League would score any day higher than a FIFA in terms of fan frenzy.

     

    As aficionados prepare to settle down in front of the idiot box, popcorn and coke in tow, DTH operators are doing all they can to woo customers with special services and what not during the World Cup.

     

    A strategy adopted by almost all DTH operators is to offer Sony Six free for the entire duration of FIFA to all new subscribers taking a connection between June and the FIFA finale. While Tata Sky, Sun Direct and Airtel DTH are offering the channel free-of-charge to all their new subscribers, Dish TV is offering it only to its new subscribers and also to Zing subscribers. “FIFA viewing pockets are West Bengal, Odisha, Kerala and urban cities. So when compared to cricket, it isn’t as big an event in India,” says Dish TV CEO RC Venkateish.

     

    Additionally, Tata Sky and Videocon d2h have timed the launch of two of their services to coincide with the beginning of FIFA. Tata Sky has launched its TV Everywhere application for desktops and laptops, which was hitherto only available on Android and iOS smartphones. Furthermore, Sony Six is the new addition to the list of channels available on the app that would be available to subscribers at the same cost of Rs 60 per month. Tata Sky COO Vikram Mehra says, “The service launch has been timed just before the football World Cup to ensure that the home laptop doubles as the second TV at home, thus allowing youngsters to watch late night football matches on their laptops and headphones without disturbing their entire family.”

     

    Whereas, Videocon d2h has recently launched its earphone service through which, viewers can connect to radio frequency remotes and watch TV. “We have been working on this proposition for our consumers for quite some time. As per extensive research done by us, the typical Indian male consumer likes to watch content late night. Mostly consumption is of sports and movies. Given that in a typical Indian household, television is in the bedroom, volume becomes an issue. With a huge following for the World Cup in India and its late night timing, it coincided well with our plans,” says Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera. Special product offerings will be provided for headphone remote-enabled set top boxes.

     

    Even Sun Direct’s existing customers, who take a recharge of six months or more, can watch Sony Six free during the FIFA period. Those who don’t have Sony Six in their packs can avail the FIFA add-on for a special price of Rs 39 for the duration of the World Cup or buy Sony Six at Rs 30 per month. A mix of above the line (ATL), below the line (BTL), digital and PR activities have been planned close to the beginning of the World Cup. ATL is through radio, TV and focus on Kerala; BTL is through posters, leaflets and wobblers; while other activities are through SMS, OBD and blogs. The operator has already received nearly 40,000 requests for Sony Six.

     

    Dish TV and its second brand Zing are banking not just on Sony Six but also on Sony Aath which will be providing commentary in Bangla. Says Dish TV VP marketing Anjali Malhotra, ”Zing caters to a larger language customer base. Sony Aath is already available in all base packs of Zing as well on Dish TV in the north. With Sony Six available to consumers free of any extra fee during FIFA, it will help people buy Zing and watch it.”

     

    The operator has also rolled out an intense marketing campaign across West Bengal involving print, outdoor and radio mediums.

  • Videocon d2h’s new brand campaign to feature Parineeti Chopra

    Videocon d2h’s new brand campaign to feature Parineeti Chopra

    NEW DELHI: Top Bollywood actor and talented personality Parineeti Chopra is to be the new face of Videocon d2h and will feature in their upcoming brand campaign that focuses on Indian values.

     

    Through the new campaign, the brand will showcase its innovative and technologically advanced Unlimited Asli HD Recorder and the new Radio Frequency Remote with earphones which assures convenience and comfort for television viewing.

     

    Videocon director Saurabh Dhoot said, “Indian values epitomize our society. They are a part of our lifestyle and culture. Our new brand campaign featuring Parineeti captures some of these sentiments of Indian values and integrates it with our product deliverables. We believe Parineeti is the most appropriate choice to communicate our brand values. With all these unique features, one can attend to others, without missing the action on TV.”

     

    Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera added: “With Videocon d2h, now you can pause your TV, record unlimited content, which means you will not have a problem being interrupted anymore. We are happy to have Parineeti as a part of the Videocon d2h family.  In addition to her acting talent, her connect with the Indian masses will definitely help us reach out to our customers. Our main focus is to enhance the customers’ television viewing experience.”

     

    The campaign highlights the solution Videocon d2h will provide its customers with this new product that gives the option of Recording, Pause Live TV, rewind-forward.

     

    “I am very excited and privileged to be part of the Videocon d2h family, India’s fastest growing DTH service. It is a great brand with awesome services like a recording service that they have brought to the Indian consumer at just Re.1 per day and innovations like a RF remote, which you can just plug earphones into and enjoy a private TV viewing experience. What I loved about this campaign is the way in which Indian values are portrayed; it’s quite different and fun. We are all brought up on strong values and so I think it is a nice message to keep Indian values intact. I myself have seen these values disappearing when we are glued to TV. It is a campaign I could really relate to and I think people will as well”, Parineeti Chopra said.

     

    Videocon d2h currently offers 500 Channels and Services which includes 27 Asli “HD” channels & services and a host of regional channels.

  • Tata Sky enters Limca Book of Records

    Tata Sky enters Limca Book of Records

    MUMBAI: Tata Sky, the leading Direct-to-home (DTH) service provider in India has bagged the Limca Book of Records 2014 for airing the longest TV commercial in Indian advertising history – Prison Break, which had a run time of 210 (3min 30 sec) seconds.

     

    In today’s day and age, when airtime is being used sparsely by brands and creative agencies crib about tight time frames to deliver desired message , Tata Sky took a bold step by airing the longest ever TVC, to retain the creative impact and messaging of the story. Through this unique and long advertisement that was run on television, made Tata Sky the first ever DTH brand to enter the Limca Book of Records.

     

    The TVC was conceived by Ogilvy & Mather who worked with Vivek Kakkad, Director – Curious Films to shoot the commercial with an international cast and crew in an actual prison in Hungary.

     

    The TVC was based on the insight that people these days do not find any time to watch television. Tata Sky+ HD, with its recording feature allows busy people to record their favourite programs and watch them at leisure. In other words, it’s ‘For those who don’t have time to watch TV’.

     

    The story revolved around a bunch of foreign convicts imprisoned in an Indian jail. These convicts conspire to escape when they realize that a cricket match is being played between India and Pakistan, assuming that the match would keep the Indian guards and the jailer occupied. But when the jailer and his men intercept their escape, the convicts are fumbled by what kind of Indian doesn’t watch such an epic match. That’s when the clincher kicks in – ‘a hard working Indian’, who with Tata Sky+ HD, can record it & watch it at his own time.

  • Dish TV adds B4U on its platform

    Dish TV adds B4U on its platform

    MUMBAI: Music channel B4U will now be available on Dish TV in all packs that the DTH platform offers.

     

    With this move the music channel aims to strengthen its position in the entertainment world.

     

    The channel’s CFO Sandeep Gupta said, “We are extremely excited to get access on the Dish DTH platform which has more than 11 million active subscriber base. This will facilitate the music loving Indian audience with more choice to entertain themselves. The demand for Indian music across the world has been encouraging us to offer our content through various mediums so that they can entertain themselves with their own choice.”

     

    With a rich film and varied music library, B4U is a strong platform for Bollywood film soundtracks and latest blockbusters to classic old time movie’s which is now contentedly accessible for all the Bollywood music and old classic movie lovers.  

     

    B4U music channel will be available on channel number 668 while B4U movie channel will be available on channel number 207.

  • Videocon d2h launches brand store on eBay India

    Videocon d2h launches brand store on eBay India

    MUMBAI: eBay India has announced the launch of a brand store by direct to home (DTH) operator Videocon d2h. Through this association, eBay India consumers across 4,306 cities, towns and villages in the country will be able to purchase Videocon d2h set top boxes with the added advantage of free installations even in remote areas.

     

    To begin this association, Videocon d2h has announced the online release of region-wise standard, HD and HD DVR offers. Videocon d2h offers special online packages nationally and region-wise for consumers to access their 500 channels and services including 27 ‘Asli HD’ channels for a real-life viewing experience.

     

    eBay India head strategy Ratul Ghosh said, “We are delighted to announce the Videocon d2h brand store on eBay India. This is the first time that the premier DTH provider has launched its online brand store in India. In our constant endeavour to have a wider range of products for our customers, we now have a plethora of brands selling through their official brand stores on our marketplace.”

     

    “eCommerce in India is a mainstream phenomenon today, filling a wide availability gap for consumers in the country’s hinterland. eBay India, with 3,281 Bharat Hubs (tier II & III towns) and 1,015 Rural Hubs, offers an excellent platform for us to reach millions of untapped households in the country. We aim to optimise this large user base as part of our multi-channel strategy to offer consumers an unparalleled television viewing experience,” added Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera.

     

    eBay India provides an eCommerce ready store, popular deal properties and high internet shopper traffic for brands across categories. With over 1.1 million live listings at any given point, eBay India reaches out to over 2.1 million active consumers across 4,306 cities, towns and villages in India, making it an effective eCommerce platform for merchants of all sizes.

  • Airtel digital TV provides SVOD to Disney India

    Airtel digital TV provides SVOD to Disney India

    MUMBAI:  Airtel digital TV, the DTH service arm of global telecommunications company Bharti Airtel has joined hands with Disney India to launch English Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) Service – “Disney Family Movies”.

     

    It can be recalled that early in March this year, HBO had also launched its SVOD service on Tata Sky.

     

    The partnership between Airtel and Disney is aimed to enable the entire family with a never before experience of a one stop shop for popular Disney blockbusters. The new SVOD service on channel number 201 will showcase celebrated Disney movies including Hollywood classics, popular animation movies and live action titles like The Lion King, Aladdin, Pirates of the Caribbean series, Tangled, Alice in Wonderland along with award winning Disney PIXAR animation titles like UP, Toy Story, Cars and more.

     

    Under its SVOD portfolio, Airtel Digital TV showcases Regional, Bollywood and now Hollywood movies, making it one of the largest curators of movies offerings to its customers. The ‘Disney Family Movies’ will showcase English family entertainment movies back-to-back 24×7.

     

    To start with, the channel will showcase 20 new movies which will be replenished regularly. With the ongoing summer vacations, kids can enjoy a wide range of Disney’s celebrated classics, popular animation and live action titles at a subscription fee of only Rs 60 per month with only one ad break.