ITV

Category: DTH

  • Tata Sky launches first ever DTH Karaoke service in the World

    Tata Sky launches first ever DTH Karaoke service in the World

    MUMBAI: In a global first, Tata Sky, the leading DTH player today announced the launch of a new video-based music service, Karaoke in partnership with Hungama.com.  This innovation, gives Tata Sky subscribers a fun way to spend time with loved ones this Valentine’s Day.

    Commenting on the launch, Mr. Vikram Mehra, Chief Commercial Officer, Tata Sky said: “The love for singing & dancing is epitomized by Bollywood movies. Be it wedding celebrations, a picnic or a night out with friends, singing our favourite Hindi songs in loud chorus adds tremendously to the fun factor of any evening. Capitalizing on this sentiment, Karaoke enables our subscribers to share a few laughs and great moments with family & friends without the need for an occasion. Simply, tune into the service any time of the day for non-stop entertainment.”   

    Unlike other traditional Karaoke services, Tata Sky’s Karaoke service showcases music videos along with lyrics which enhance the overall singing experience.  A distinctive feature of the service is the ‘Sur Meter’ that rates an individual’s singing performance and provides for interesting competition opportunities. The song library will be refreshed on a monthly basis to keep boredom at bay.

    Neeraj Roy, Managing Director, CEO of Hungama.com also emphasized that, “Hungama’s relationship with Tata Sky has been deep rooted with the vision of providing entertainment to their consumers.

     
    Music is a derivative of films that generates mass appeal and now we are presenting a new innovation to the consumer giving them the ability to watch and sing music with Actve Karaoke. A first in the industry this should prove to be a game changer of how the masses will enjoy music.”

    Karaoke systems available in the market are very expensive. At just Rs 1990 for a mike & annual subscription, the Tata Sky Karaoke service is affordable and definitely worth the investment.  The service will be   available   from 20th February 2014 and can be enjoyed by subscribers with the Tata Sky+ HD box.

     Salient features

    •    A Karaoke mic along with 12 month subscription will cost Rs.1990

    •    On-going annual subscription will cost only Rs. 600/-. One album will always be available free for subscribers to sample the service

    •    Albums available on the service include popular songs of Salman Khan, romantic hits, party hits and a range of foot tapping nos. from Sonu, Shreya & others

     

  • CASBAA India Forum 2014 Indian Content: Going Global?

    CASBAA India Forum 2014 Indian Content: Going Global?

    MUMBAI: CASBAA’s annual India Forum will take place on Wednesday, March 5, 2014 at the Shangri-La New Delhi where an international and local roster of high-level speakers will explore the Indian cable and broadcasting markets in the context of the global economy and challenging regulatory regimes.

     

    “With over 146 million non-terrestrial TV connections in the country representing a 92 per cent reach of the population and multichannel TV accounting for nearly 90 per cent of TV advertising, India continues to be one of the most important markets in the Asia Pacific,” said Christopher Slaughter, CEO, CASBAA. “But to be truly successful nowadays, it takes more than doing well in your own back yard. This year’s forum will explore what it takes to be factor on the global stage.”

     

    Bringing their unparalleled knowledge and experience, thought-leaders representing the many facets of the broadcasting industry will participate in a variety of keynotes, panel discussions and conversations to explore the India market. Confirmed guests for 2014, up to now, include Dr. Rahul Khullar (Chairman, TRAI), Terry Bleakley (Regional VP, Asia Pacific Sales, Intelsat), Paul Brown-Kenyon (CEO, MEASAT), Thomas Choi (CEO, Asia Broadcast Satellite), Jawahar Goel (MD, Dish TV), Punit Goenka (MD & CEO, Zee Entertainment), Siddharth Jain (MD, South Asia, Turner International India), Bharat Ranga (Chief Content & Creative Officer, Zee Network), Narayan Rao (Exe. Vice-Chairperson, NDTV; President, NBA), Shailesh Shah (Secretary-General, IBF) and many others.

     

    Themed “Indian Content: Going Global?”, the forum programme will provide a platform to look inwards on issues such as the ongoing digitization of country’s cable networks and the state of the DTH industry as well as global matters including foreign direct investment and the ‘internationalisation’ of Indian content.

     

    The CASBAA India Forum 2014 continues the Association’s mandate to inform, represent and connect its membership base with key market influencers in the multichannel TV sphere.

    The CASBAA India Forum 2014 recognizes Supporting Sponsor SES and Sponsors AsiaSat, Eutelsat and MEASAT for their generous participation at this year’s event.

     

    For more information about the event, please visit http://www.casbaa.com/events/events-calendar/details/431-casbaa-india-forum-2014.

  • Tata Sky adds nine SD and six HD channels to its bouquet

    Tata Sky adds nine SD and six HD channels to its bouquet

    MUMBAI: One of the leading direct-to-home (DTH) players of the country – Tata Sky – has new offers for its 11 million subscribers. The DTH player has added nine standard definition (SD) and six high definition (HD) channels to its bouquet, taking the total tally of HD channels to 24. Viewers now have more options.

     

    The nine SD channels are Discovery Tamil, Jaya Plus, Home Shop 18, News Express, News Nation, Jai Maharashtra, Zee Marudhara, Zee Khana Khazana and Zee Q. The six HD channels are Zee Studio HD, Life Ok HD, Sun TV HD, Gemini TV HD, Sony Six HD and CNBC Prime HD. The channels are a mix of entertainment, music, news and regional language channels.

     

    “Tata Sky has always taken the lead in enhancing its value proposition and believes in providing the maximum and the best in entertainment to its subscribers. The addition of these new channels is in line with the vision to offer the best content to our subscribers across the country,” says a release from Tata Sky.

                                              

    Interestingly, another DTH player Videocon d2h also added new channels to its bouquet recently taking its HD channel count to 27.

  • Videocon d2h launches Sun HD channels

    Videocon d2h launches Sun HD channels

    MUMBAI: Videocon d2h is growing leaps and bounds in strengthening its position in the High Definition (HD) space. The direct to home (DTH) operator has added four Sun HD channels on its platform, thus taking the total number of HD channels and services to 27. These channels are: Sun TV HD, KTV HD, Sun Music HD and Gemini HD.

     

    The addition, according to the DTH player, is an extension of its mantra ‘Delighting the Customer Always.’ The four HD channels will be available in the South Platinum HD pack at Rs 540.45. The DTH player through a release, informed that the Sun TV HD will be available on channel no 802, KTV HD on channel no 797, Sun Music HD on channel no 798 and Gemini TV HD on channel no 872.

     

    “The presence of the four new south HD channels on our platform will definitely give us an edge over other DTH players in the highly competitive south market. Viewing preferences are very important for us and we ensure every effort to provide more content for customers suiting their needs. We look forward to consolidating our leadership position in high definition category and delighting consumers,” said Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera.

     

    The announcement of the four new HD channels has come after the DTH player had recently announced the addition of another 20 channels on its platform in the past 2-3 weeks. These channels include GSTV, India News, News X, Oscar Movies, Reporter TV, Zee Anmol, Big RTL Thrill, Gemini Life, Sun Life, Surya Music, T News, Chintu TV, Kushi TV, etc.

     

    “Our aim of continuously raising the bar in the High Definition category has got a further boost. We always strive to provide the best to our consumers and in this endeavor we have been continuously adding new channels and services. With growing demand for the high definition channels from subscribers and especially addition of Tamil and Telugu HD channels, we are definitely on the right track,” informed Videocon group director Saurabh Dhoot.

     

    “The ‘South base pack’ and the ‘South Silver pack’ has been made extremely strong by adding 55 channels which includes almost all south language channels. The operator with this has 290 channels and services at Rs 175.28 per month,” the release said.

  • 10 Million DTH Connections in just 4 years – a major landmark for Videocon d2h

    10 Million DTH Connections in just 4 years – a major landmark for Videocon d2h

    MUMBAI: Videocon d2h, Asia’s Most Promising Brand & Fastest Growing DTH Service has crossed 10 million connections.  The youngest & latest entrant in the DTH industry went pan India in 2010 and has grown tremendously in the last 4 years.  

    On celebrating the success story of 10 Million connections in a very short period of time, Videocon d2h credits this growth and popularity of the brand to the wide range of channels and services, high definition services and impeccable focus on customer service & satisfaction. For Videocon d2h, the encouraging response from the customers is an ample testimonial to the trust placed on the brand and its superior performance.  Videocon d2h has also firmly established itself as the leader in the High definition category.

    Videocon d2h’s success is a reflection of its commitment of ushering in pioneering industry defining propositions to ensure customer delight.  
     

    Mr. Anil Khera – CEO Videocon d2h added, “We would like to thank our customers for reposing their faith in the brand and continuing to support us in achieving 10 million connections.  Our offerings like Maximum Channels & Services, India’s first active 3D channel, India’s 1st 1000 GB Asli HD Recorder, India’s 1st Radio Frequency Remote and many more have brought smiles to millions of households across India. We are continuously differentiating ourselves from competitors by offering quality services and great customer experience.”

     

  • Airtel DTH Q3-2014 yoy EBITDA up fivefolds; revenue up 26%; improved Arpu

    Airtel DTH Q3-2014 yoy EBITDA up fivefolds; revenue up 26%; improved Arpu

    BENGALURU: The DTH segment of India’s largest mobile services provider Airtel DTH reported earnings before interest taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of Rs 97 crore for Q3-2014, 560 per cent more than the Rs 14.7 crore during Q3-2013 and 50.4 per cent more than the Rs 64.5 crore during the immediate trailing quarter.

     

    Airtel’s DTH segment reported a 25.8 per cent growth in revenue during Q3-2014 at Rs 538.4 crore as compared to the Rs 428 crore during Q3-2013 and 6.15 per cent more than the Rs 507.2 crore during Q2-2014.

     

    Overall, Arpu (Average revenue per user) improved by 11.29 per cent to Rs 207 during Q3-2014 as compared to the Rs 186 during Q3-2013 and was 4.55 per cent more than the Rs 198 during the immediate preceding quarter.

     

    The segment reported a 11.57 per cent y-o-y growth in total number of subscribers during Q3-2014 to 88.07 lakhs (100 lakhs = I crore = 1,00,00,000) with a net addition of 2.35 lakh new subscribers and a monthly churn of 0.8 per cent. During the corresponding period of last fiscal, the DTH segment had reported a subscriber base of 78.94 lakh with a net addition of 4.39 lakh and a monthly churn of 1.3 per cent. Corresponding figures for Q2-2014 were q-o-q growth of 2.74 per cent as compared to the 85.72 lakh customers in Q2-2013, with net addition of 1.2 lakh and a monthly churn of 1 per cent.

     

    Airtel DTH segment’s EBIT figures, though negative, also improved. The segment reported a Q3-2014 EBIT of Rs (-108.1) crore, which was 46.9 per cent better than the Q3-2013 EBIT of Rs (-182.8) crore and 26.7 per cent better than the Q2-2014 EBIT of Rs (-147.3) crore.

     

    Though the DTH segment contributed just 3.73 per cent to Bharti Airtel’s India revenues of Rs 14,443 crore during Q3-2014, the company invested 6.37 per cent of its capex spends of Rs 1742 crore in India.

     

    The company invested Rs 110.9 crore in capex for the DTH segment during Q3-2014, this figure was 17.91 per cent lower than the Rs 135.1 crore during Q3-2013, but 6.43 per cent more than the Rs 104.2 crore invested on capex in Q2-2014.

     

    Consequently, the company’s Operating free cash flow (EBITDA-Capex), though negative, improved more than eight fold (8.66 ties) to Rs (-13.9) crore in Q3-2014 as compared to the Rs (-120.4 crore) in Q3-2013 and by almost three times (2.85 times) the Rs (-39.7) crore during Q2-2014.

     

    Click here for full report

  • First Indian Digital TV Honours celebrates digitisation’s leading practices

    First Indian Digital TV Honours celebrates digitisation’s leading practices

    NEW DELHI: It was a day when the stalwarts of the Indian cable, broadcast and direct to home television industry converged to witness the best or leading practices of the industry being recognised at indiantelevision.com’s first ever Indian Digital TV Honors (IDTH).  The event, held at the Lalit  Hotel in Delhi late last eveing saw 15 professional/initiatives/organisations getting a citation for evolving best practices during phase I and phase II of digitisation over the past 18-24 months, ever since digital addressable system (DAS) was mandated by the government.

     

    An advisory panel comprising 13 professionals from broadcast, cable TV, consulting and technology , along with the editorial team of indiantelevision.com, helped finalise the honoraries after a tough round of discussion for over a month on the merits and demerits of those being sought to be honoured for their great work and innovations.

     

    The  event was attended by close to 200 professionals from the cable, DTH and broadcast industry and the regulatory body.

     

    The evening was anchored by Indian Television Dot Com Founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari along with TV actor Prerna Wanvari  who hosted the two hour long proceedings.

     

    The First Indian Digital TV Honours, which were powered by leading Indian MSO DEN Networks began with Tata Sky being honoured for its obsessive focus on consumer service and product quality. The direct to home operator (DTH) has for long being spoken of excelling in the area of customer services, and this honour  only further supported that perception.

     

    India’s oldest DTH operator Dish TV  was honoured for its dervish like focus on its financial health and for protecting and creating shareholder value. The citation was received by CEO RC Venkateish, who shared the fact that he has to answer to public and other shareholders regularly, making  it imperative for the company to be bottom line focused. 

     

    “We have been generating free cash flow for quite sometime, and probably are the only Indian DTH company to do so,” said  Venkateish. “Things could be better if we could rationalise content costs which are still way too high.”

     

    Videocon d2h was recognised for its technological innovations and for the use of indigenous set top boxes which the group’s sister organisation manufactures indiegenously

     

    Additionally MSO Hathway Cable & Datacom was honoured for its pioneering push into broadband internet services, way before anyone else in the business. “With over 400,000 users we have gained a lot of experience which will only further help us as we move forward. Consumers are demanding a lot more bandwidth as they are guzzling a lot more online content,”  said  Hathway CFO G. Subramaniam. “We will be the best company providing  the broadband internet service in the future.”

     

    Tata Sky was also recognised for its its Value Added Services (VAS)  which it says is helping lure subscribers to them.

     

    DEN Networks, which had in 2013 attracted an investment of $160 million from Goldman Sachs at a time when every other MSO was being turned away, was honoured for becoming a beacon for the cable TV sector in the area of raising capital. Elated with the honour, DEN Network CFO Rajesh Kaushal said, “This is a very cash guzzling business and so there is a lot of investment and infrastructure that is needed. We have enough capital with us to see us through Phase I, II  and III  of DAS.”

     

    The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) was recognised for its marketing and promotional campaign to encourage the smooth spread of digitisation.  Almost every channel aired the commercial several times a day to push the message and educate consumers about digitisation and set top boxes. The same was recognised by the Indian Digital TV Honours advisory committee.

     

    “We wanted to incite consumers through the ad campaign. We had aired the promos for at least eight times a day on 150 channels,” said IBF secretary Shailesh Shah while receiving the honour.  Leading broadcaster Star India was also recognised  for its strategy to invest big money in sports. Sports TV worldwide is a big driver of pay TV and Star India’s early initiative to invest big money is only going to see a similar play being played out here.  And this in turn will likely encourage the process of digitsation.

     

    SitiCable Network was honoured for fostering Local Cable Operator (LCO) partnerships and being the first ones to give carriage fee revenue share to the LCOs. “We believe that LCOs are an integral part of the cable TV ecosystem and that is the reason we have given them the access to our subscriber management system and also are sharing the carriage fee revenue with them,” informed SitiCable COO Anil Malhotra.

     

    It was in 2013 that Doordarshan owned DTH service DD Direct Plus was rechristened as Freedish. The DTH player which introduced several innovations for its consumers in the year was recognised for catering to the needs of Indian consumers through Freedish. “Freedish is the most profitable venture of Prasar Bharti. Broadcasters are changing their business model for us, which is welcome change,” said Doordarshan additional director general Ranjan Thakur while receiving the honour.

     

    Two industry leaders have put their shoulder to the wheel and have played a major role in promoting digitsation over the past 18-24 months and have themselves invested heavily in it: Hathway Cable’s Raheja family led by Viren Raheja and DEN Networks’ founder Sameer Manchanda. “If you have patience, scale and execution one can excel in this field which holds a lot of scope. Cable will grow exactly how mobile grew in India, but you will have to wait minimum for five years to see results,” opined Manchanda. “You have to have the passion to see your belief in cable TV come true.”

     

    The evening also saw Seven Star Digital Network being honoured for effectively managing digitisation as an independent operator. Honours were also given to Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India for their push in making India a digitised nation. Most of industry has begun hearing of the Maharashtra Cable Operators Federation (MCOF), which represents the interests of the last mile owner.  In time, if it does manage to facilitate a feasible formula on revenues and shares with MSOs, then it stands a strong chance to be honoured  in next year’s Indian Digital TV Honours.

     

    More power to the industry’s elbow!  

  • Da Vinci Learning partners with Airtel Digital TV, Siticable and Digicable

    Da Vinci Learning partners with Airtel Digital TV, Siticable and Digicable

    MUMBAI: Da Vinci Learning, the fun edutainment TV channel for the whole family, today announced their partnership with three of the biggest operators in Indian television- Airtel Digital TV- one of India’s leading Direct to Home operators; Siticable and Digicable who are leading MSOs. The partnership is aimed at developing the channels foothold in the Indian television industry prior to its launchlater this year, and to give Indian viewers an opportunity to sample Da Vinci Learning’s rich content portfolio.Da Vinci Learning, which is targeted at 4-14 year olds and their parents, is known for turning TV watching from passive observation into a meaningful and fun experience, helping children develop various skills early-on, encouraging older viewers to keep asking questions and inviting families to take their learning journeys together.

    To showcase the channel’s extensive programming, which covers a wide array of topics ranging from physics and chemistry to history and nature, Da Vinci Learning has struck a Video on demand deal with Airtel Digital TV. As part of the deal, Da Vinci will provide 150 hours of content to Airtel Digital TV, which will be available in the kids section of their VODVOD service. With Siticable, the channel will receivea 6 month branded block while with DigiCable the channel will have a 12 month branded block. With Airtel Digital TV and Siti Cable, the channel will showcase programs like Kid Detectives and Lab Rats Challenge, while with Digicable the channel will present shows such as Logo Animation and Indent Kid amongst others.

    Speaking on the occasion, Mohit Anand, Managing Director-India, Da Vinci Learning said “We are very excited to work with this prestigious group of partners as each of them is committed towards using new technologies to improve communications to and between kids. For us, this is a great platform to showcase the interesting and interactive programming that we have to offer to the Indian audience. We are positive that these associations will enable the Indian viewers to be part of a meaningful and fun learning experience focused on educational shows and documentaries from around the world.”

    Saurabh Sinha, Chief Producer-Siti Cable said “As a channel partner getting a very good response from the branded block of Da Vinci Learning. The audience is conceiving it as ‘Education with entertainment’, programme like, Kid Detectives – (easily detailed about forensic science with entertainment), Little Einstein- (One can easily understand about Einstein theories) etc. Siti channel being channel partner with DaVinci’s has definitely helped us in garnering better audience base.”

    Mr. Narinderpal Singh – Senior Vice President – Broadcaster Relations believes“Digicable, which has been at the forefront of introducing many new innovations in Digital cable Television, is now pleased to inform that we are ready to offer our discerning subscribers the Best of International Edutainment thru its association with the DaVinci Channel.”

     

  • Tata Sky brings the ithaas of Ramayana to you

    Tata Sky brings the ithaas of Ramayana to you

    MUMBAI: Tata Sky, India’s leading DTH service provider brings Ramayana, the popular and timeless Indian epic once again on to television with a twist. Starting this month, the Ramayana tales will a part of Tata Sky’s interactive platform – Actve Music every Sunday.

    Tata Sky gives its subscribers an opportunity to relive a total of 1300 minutes of exhilarating audio entertainment of the Ramayana at convenient time slots throughout their Sundays with voice over’s from some of Indian cinemas most profound and famous personalities such as Anupam Kher, Naseeruddin Shah, Javed Jafri, Om Puri etc. The classic epic is divided into 120 episodes of 10 mins each which will be played on Bhakti Sagar channel every Sunday.

    Commenting on this unique introduction, Vikram Mehra, Chief Commercial Officer at Tata Sky said, “In today’s day and age every parent seems to be struggling to ensure that their child in the 21st century, should be aware of Indian history and religious folks, one way or the other. This offering ensures that customers from all age groups to enjoy the offering, relaxed on a Sunday with their entire family in the comfort of their homes.”

    Tata Sky’s Actve Music has time and again revamped itself, catering to the likes of its subscribers, this time by introducing music genres such as Classical, Kannada Devotional, Spiritual Music, Blues and Jazz, English Hits & Classics. Actve Music’s USP continues to be a 24×7 music platform with subscriber’s choice of music with no ad-breaks, no RJ or VJ interruption. Now with the Ramayana on Actve Music subscribers have an enduring epic as new offerings to enjoy.

     

  • Euroconsult presents premier report on India Satcom Value Chain & Markets

    Euroconsult presents premier report on India Satcom Value Chain & Markets

    MUMBAI: According to Euroconsult’s newly released report, “India Satcom Markets 2014”, India’s satellite communication sector has experienced significant growth over the past five years driven by explosive demand from   platforms and growing telecommunication needs in the country. The satcom value chain is strongly influenced by the Indian Space and Research Organization (ISRO) that is present all along the satcom value chain including for satellite manufacturing, launch, satellite operations, regulations and partially for services.

    On the manufacturing level, roughly half of the country’s satellite manufacturing sector spending is currently dedicated to developing communications satellites. “While ISRO dominates the satcom manufacturing landscape, outsourcing to foreign and national companies will continue to provide growth opportunities for a number of players with hundreds of millions of dollars to be outsourced from 2013-2021,” said Deepu Krishnan, Senior Consultant at Euroconsult.

    Satellite capacity demand from DTH broadcasting grew at a CAGR of over 7% from 2008-2013, now representing 32% of the country’s total commercial satellite capacity usage. TV distribution services to cable operators and VSAT enterprise networks have equally seen growing demand in recent years, leading to an increasing number of players now operating in the country’s teleport and VSAT service market. In particular the cellular backhaul market has begun to see strong take-up in India with the arrival of HTS systems such as IpStar, but also government backed networks connecting schools, remote villages, etc., are currently growing with increasing capacity needs. Alongside satellite services, the annual satellite ground equipment market has also seen growth, generating $40 million in equipment revenue in 2012, dominated by international ground terminal manufacturers.

    While domestic operator ISRO/Antrix enjoys significant regulatory advantages in the market, only a proportion of the commercial demand for satellite capacity is being met by domestic capacity today, with the majority being provided by foreign satellite operators. Regulatory barriers and capacity supply constraints still challenge market growth.

    “Changes in the country’s satcom policy, which is expected to be released in 2014, should bring positive changes and contribute to additional growth in satcom markets over the coming years, in particular for services using Ku-band capacity from foreign operators,” said Krishnan. In total, demand for regular C- and Ku-band capacity is expected to grow at 6% p.a. between 2013 and 2023 in addition to new demand for satcom services using HTS systems that should see strong take up towards the end of the decade.