ITV

Category: IPTV

  • IPTV subscriptions in Western Europe to climb by 7 mn between 2015- 21, overtaking satellite TV

    IPTV subscriptions in Western Europe to climb by 7 mn between 2015- 21, overtaking satellite TV

    MUMBAI: The numbers of homes paying IPTV in Western Europe are expected to climb by nearly 7 million up by 27 per cent between 2015 and 2021, thus overtaking the pay satellite TV which is slated to fall by 300,000 between 2015 and 2021 for 18 countries in the region.  

    According to the Digital TV Western Europe Forecasts report, IPTV revenues will reach $5.77 billion in 2021 – up by $1.2 billion.

    The report indicates that this is due mainly to some operators, especially in Spain and Italy, converting their DTH subs to more lucrative bundles on their broadband networks.

    Satellite TV revenues will fall for every year from 2011 – and will decline by $1 billion between 2015 and 2021.

    Western European Pay TV is fast maturing, with penetration forecast to grow from 56.8% at end-2015 to 59.5 per cent in 2021. The number of pay TV subscribers will climb from 97.4 million in 2015 to 104.3 million in 2021.

    So, Pay TV subscriptions will only increase by 6.9 million which is 7 per cent between 2015 and 2021. However, the number of digital pay TV subs will increase by 19 per cent nearly 17 million over the same period. Digital cable subs will increase by almost 10 million.

    The 9.9 million analogue cable homes remaining at 2015-end will be the hardest to convert to digital as many of these subscribers pay for very basic packages as part of their rent.

    Digital TV Research principal analyst Simon Murray said, “The remaining analogue cable TV subs are the most obstinate. These homes have had several years to transfer to digital platforms – including those from their existing operators, but are still holding out. When conversion finally happens, these homes are more likely to convert to free-to-air platforms such as DTT or satellite than their predecessors.”

    In fact, only seven (Finland, France, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom) of the 18 countries covered in the report had fully converted to digital by 2015-end.

    By 2021, pay TV penetration will range from nearly 100 per cent in the Netherlands to 36 per cent in Italy. Eight countries will exceed 90 per cent pay TV penetration in 2021. However, pay TV penetration will fall in Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland – countries with a large number of legacy analogue cable subscribers.

    Despite the number of pay TV homes increasing, pay TV revenues will remain flat at around $31 billion. The UK ($7,217 million) will remain the most lucrative pay TV market. Regardless of having the most pay TV subs by some distance, Germany’s pay TV revenues will remain a lot lower than the UK – at $4,183 million by 2021. In fact, France and Italy will not be too far behind Germany, despite having far fewer pay TV subscribers.

  • IPTV subscriptions in Western Europe to climb by 7 mn between 2015- 21, overtaking satellite TV

    IPTV subscriptions in Western Europe to climb by 7 mn between 2015- 21, overtaking satellite TV

    MUMBAI: The numbers of homes paying IPTV in Western Europe are expected to climb by nearly 7 million up by 27 per cent between 2015 and 2021, thus overtaking the pay satellite TV which is slated to fall by 300,000 between 2015 and 2021 for 18 countries in the region.  

    According to the Digital TV Western Europe Forecasts report, IPTV revenues will reach $5.77 billion in 2021 – up by $1.2 billion.

    The report indicates that this is due mainly to some operators, especially in Spain and Italy, converting their DTH subs to more lucrative bundles on their broadband networks.

    Satellite TV revenues will fall for every year from 2011 – and will decline by $1 billion between 2015 and 2021.

    Western European Pay TV is fast maturing, with penetration forecast to grow from 56.8% at end-2015 to 59.5 per cent in 2021. The number of pay TV subscribers will climb from 97.4 million in 2015 to 104.3 million in 2021.

    So, Pay TV subscriptions will only increase by 6.9 million which is 7 per cent between 2015 and 2021. However, the number of digital pay TV subs will increase by 19 per cent nearly 17 million over the same period. Digital cable subs will increase by almost 10 million.

    The 9.9 million analogue cable homes remaining at 2015-end will be the hardest to convert to digital as many of these subscribers pay for very basic packages as part of their rent.

    Digital TV Research principal analyst Simon Murray said, “The remaining analogue cable TV subs are the most obstinate. These homes have had several years to transfer to digital platforms – including those from their existing operators, but are still holding out. When conversion finally happens, these homes are more likely to convert to free-to-air platforms such as DTT or satellite than their predecessors.”

    In fact, only seven (Finland, France, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Spain and the United Kingdom) of the 18 countries covered in the report had fully converted to digital by 2015-end.

    By 2021, pay TV penetration will range from nearly 100 per cent in the Netherlands to 36 per cent in Italy. Eight countries will exceed 90 per cent pay TV penetration in 2021. However, pay TV penetration will fall in Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland – countries with a large number of legacy analogue cable subscribers.

    Despite the number of pay TV homes increasing, pay TV revenues will remain flat at around $31 billion. The UK ($7,217 million) will remain the most lucrative pay TV market. Regardless of having the most pay TV subs by some distance, Germany’s pay TV revenues will remain a lot lower than the UK – at $4,183 million by 2021. In fact, France and Italy will not be too far behind Germany, despite having far fewer pay TV subscribers.

  • High 4K TV partners Splendid Media for India launch

    High 4K TV partners Splendid Media for India launch

    MUMBAI: The New York headquartered multi-genre linear Ultra High Definition (UHD) entertainment channel – High 4K TV, which features a mix of travel, entertainment, lifestyle, sports and original content in 4K, is slated to launch in India via Splendid Media.

    The channel will be available on digital TV platforms and Splendid Media is in talks with various DTH  and cable companies for the channel’s distribution.

    High TV head of business development Justin Borrelo said, “It is indeed a major milestone for us, as an international 4K channel, to be present in India through a leading media company such as Splendid Media, with the highest reach. We are excited to be bringing the very best in lifestyle and entertainment programming to an audience that embraces entertainment as the very essence of their culture.”

    Splendid Media founder and CEO Amit Srivastava added, “We are delighted to be the exclusive agents of High 4K TV in the Indian sub-continent. We will be tying up with various leading DTH and digital cable providers for bringing this unique experience to Indian consumers. We are confident that our viewers will be truly entertained by the breadth and depth of lifestyle and entertainment coverage, as well as benefit from the tips that High 4K TV programs offer.”

  • High 4K TV partners Splendid Media for India launch

    High 4K TV partners Splendid Media for India launch

    MUMBAI: The New York headquartered multi-genre linear Ultra High Definition (UHD) entertainment channel – High 4K TV, which features a mix of travel, entertainment, lifestyle, sports and original content in 4K, is slated to launch in India via Splendid Media.

    The channel will be available on digital TV platforms and Splendid Media is in talks with various DTH  and cable companies for the channel’s distribution.

    High TV head of business development Justin Borrelo said, “It is indeed a major milestone for us, as an international 4K channel, to be present in India through a leading media company such as Splendid Media, with the highest reach. We are excited to be bringing the very best in lifestyle and entertainment programming to an audience that embraces entertainment as the very essence of their culture.”

    Splendid Media founder and CEO Amit Srivastava added, “We are delighted to be the exclusive agents of High 4K TV in the Indian sub-continent. We will be tying up with various leading DTH and digital cable providers for bringing this unique experience to Indian consumers. We are confident that our viewers will be truly entertained by the breadth and depth of lifestyle and entertainment coverage, as well as benefit from the tips that High 4K TV programs offer.”

  • Indian satellite TV revenues to touch $2.5 billion by 2020: Digital TV Research

    Indian satellite TV revenues to touch $2.5 billion by 2020: Digital TV Research

    NEW DELHI: Satellite TV (DTH or DBS) revenues will overtake total cable TV revenues in 2015, and the growth of digitisation in India will have a major role to play in this.

     

    According to Digital TV Research, India will add the most satellite TV revenues to the tune of $2.5 billion, moving from tenth to fifth place between 2014 and 2020.

     

    India will add $3.2 billion in digital cable TV revenues to take its total to $4.3 billion. India’s revenues will climb by $4.7 billion between 2014 and 2020, with China up by $1.6 billion and Japan increasing by $1.1 billion.

     

    Covering 138 countries, the Digital TV World Revenue Forecasts report estimates that satellite TV accounted for 44 per cent of the total in 2014, going up to 46 per cent by 2020. However, cable TV revenues (both analogue and digital) will drop from 46 per cent of the total in 2014 to 40 per cent in 2020. Meanwhile, IPTV – the fastest growing platform – will climb from a 10 per cent share in 2014 to 13 per cent by 2020.

     

    Satellite TV revenues will reach $94.8 billion in 2020. The United States will remain satellite TV market leader. Brazil will be second by 2020 ($6.8 billion); having overtaken the United Kingdom in 2013. However, the US will fall by $421 million, Canada by $805 million and France by $232 million.

     

    Global cable TV revenues peaked at $93.8 billion in 2012, and will fall to $81.9 billion in 2020. However, cable operators will gain extra revenues by converting subscribers to bundles. Analogue cable TV revenues will plummet by $14.4 billion between 2014 and 2020 to only $1.5 billion.

     

    Digital cable TV revenues will climb by 5.6 per cent from $76.1 billion in 2014 to $80.3 billion in 2020 – or up by nearly $19 billion between 2010 and 2020. Digital cable TV revenues in the US will fall by $8.9 billion between 2014 and 2020 to $34.1 billion. In fact, digital cable TV revenues will drop for 20 countries over the same period. Second-placed China will increase its revenues by $2.1 billion to $8.9 billion and third-placed Japan by $2.0 billion to $5.1 billion.

     

    IPTV revenues will climb to $27.9 billion in 2020; triple the 2010 figure. US IPTV revenues will increase by $1.3 billion between 2014 and 2020 to $9.5 billion, with Canada second with $2.3 billion. Third-placed China will be up by $1.1 billion to $2.1 billion – just ahead of Japan.

     

    Pay-TV revenues will more than double in 33 countries between 2014 and 2020. Most of the fast growing nations by percentage increase will be in Africa, with Myanmar, Laos and Bangladesh providing notable exceptions. India’s revenues will climb by $4.7 billion between 2014 and 2020, with China up by $1.6 billion and Japan increasing by $1.1 billion.

     

    Global pay TV revenues (subscription fees and on-demand movies and TV episodes) will only grow by 2.6 per cent between 2014 and 2020 to $207 billion. This follows 14.5 per cent growth between 2010 and 2014. 

     

    Total revenues in North America will fall by 11.7 per cent (or $12 billion) between 2014 and 2020. Western Europe will be flat at $32 billion.

     

    On a more positive note, revenues will grow by nearly $10 billion (up by 30 per cent) in the Asia Pacific region to $42 billion. Asia Pacific will overtake Western Europe in 2015, and will be larger than the whole of Europe by 2019. Eastern Europe will add $1 billion (up by 17 per cent) between 2014 and 2020. Latin America will add a further $2.6 billion (up by 13 per cent) between 2014 and 2020.

     

    Revenues will rocket by 76 per cent (up by $2.7 billion) in the Sub-Saharan Africa region and by 32 per cent (up by $1.4 billion) in Middle East and North Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa will pass Middle East region in 2018.

  • Global pay TV subscriber base to surpass 1.1 billion in 2020

    Global pay TV subscriber base to surpass 1.1 billion in 2020

    MUMBAI: The worldwide pay TV market grew at a steady rate of four per cent in 2014 to reach 923.5 million subscribers according to a recent study by ABI Research.

     

    “Despite the growth in subscriber base, weak currency exchange rates resulted in a slower increase of pay TV market service revenue. Worldwide the pay TV market generated $257 billion in 2014 and is expected to surpass 1.1 billion subscribers in 2020 with a CAGR 2.7 per cent,” said Core Forecasting VP and practice director Jake Saunders.

     

    Cable and terrestrial TV markets had weaker growth rates in 2014 compared to satellite and IPTV platforms. However, high definition (HD) penetration is increasing across all pay TV platforms because of the increasing number of HD channels added by operators. In 2014, 44 per cent of the worldwide pay TV subscriber base were HD subscribers, with the highest HD penetration in Western Europe and North America. HD penetration is expected to reach 60 per cent of the total pay TV market in 2020.

     

    Pay TV operators are now moving towards 4K or Ultra HD service. In November, US satellite operator DirecTV launched its first 4K programming without any additional monthly charges to subscribers with its HD DVR, Genie and DirecTV 4K Ready television set, which is any of Samsung’s Smart 4K TV models. Online video streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon also started to offer 4K content in late 2014. When content availability and 4K TV set adoption increase, 4K services are likely to become a differentiator for pay TV service providers.

     

    In 4Q 2014, US cable operators lost roughly 100,000 subscribers while Comcast gained 7,000 subscribers. The country’s largest satellite TV provider, DirecTV gained 149,000 subscribers in 4Q 2014, which is the highest net addition since 2012.

     

    “As competition in the pay TV market increases, quality of content, innovations, and service pricing are among the important factors for pay TV operators to maintain customer base. ABI Research forecasts that the global pay TV market will generate $313 billion service revenues by 2020,” added industry analyst Khin Sandi Lynn.

  • IPTV to drive growth of global pay-TV market

    IPTV to drive growth of global pay-TV market

    MUMBAI: The worldwide pay-TV market is expected to have grown five per cent in 2014, surpassing 924.4 million subscribers. “IPTV is expected to grow a market leading 14 per cent in 2014, followed by satellite TV platform at seven per cent. The growth rates of cable and terrestrial TV platforms are expected to slow to around three per cent,” said ABI Research VP and practice director of core forecasting Jake Saunders.

     

    Global cable TV market growth is driven by the Asian-Pacific and Latin American markets. A combination of the two regions is likely to add over 13 million subscribers in 2014 while the cable TV market in North America is expected to decline approximately one per cent in 2014. In 3Q 2014, major cable TV operators in North America lost over 400,000 TV customers, although cable companies are doing well in broadband.

     

    Video streaming services such as Netflix and TiVo, which cost less than $10 in monthly fees are attractive alternatives for pay-TV customers. Traditional pay-TV operators are now trying to compete with these services by developing their own video-streaming products or by integrating these services in their existing services. Online video service Netflix has agreed to deals with some of the pay-TV operators in Europe to offer its streaming service to European broadband customers. Canadian companies such as Cogeco, Rogers Communications, and Shaw Communications also recently announced deals to offer Netflix’s video streaming service to their own broadband customers.

     

    Bundled packages help pay-TV operators try to reduce churn. In addition, HD channels, advanced PVR services and premium content such as sport content contribute to increased ARPU. “The worldwide HD subscriber base is growing on all pay-TV platforms. Approximately 57 per cent of total pay-TV subscribers will be HD subscribers by 2019. ABI Research forecasts the global pay-TV market will generate $324 billion in service revenues by 2019,” added industry analyst Khin Sandi Lynn.

  • Chinese IPTV company inks 3 year broadcast deal with BAFTA

    Chinese IPTV company inks 3 year broadcast deal with BAFTA

    MUMBAI: The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has inked a three year deal with Youku Tudou – China’s leading internet television company. The company will stream the EE British Academy Film Awards on 9 February, 2015 for the very first time, as part of this deal.

     

    Alongside the EE British Academy Film Awards, the BAFTA-Youku Tudou package includes streaming of the British Academy Games Awards, the British Academy Television Awards and the long-running series of on-stage interviews, BAFTA A Life in Pictures. IMG, a global leader in sports, media and fashion, brokered the deal on behalf of BAFTA.

     

    The EE British Academy Film Awards is among the leading international film awards ceremonies and regularly attracts the biggest names in the world to its red carpet, which last year included Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Amy Adams, Judi Dench, Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, Eddie Redmayne, Tom Hanks, Steve McQueen, Leonardo Di Caprio, Martin Scorsese, Michael Fassbender, Uma Thurman, Emma Thompson, Cate Blanchett, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Helen Mirren, Oprah Winfrey and BAFTA president HRH Prince William, The Duke of Cambridge.

     

    The nominations for this year’s ceremony were announced earlier this month: The Grand Budapest Hotel received 11 nominations. Birdman and The Theory of Everything were each nominated in 10 categories, The Imitation Game had nine nominations, Boyhood and Whiplash were each nominated five times, Mr. Turner, Nightcrawler and Interstellar received four nominations and Pride received three.

     

    The EE British Academy Film Awards take place on 8 February at The Royal Opera House in London’s Covent Garden. Stephen Fry will be returning to host this year’s ceremony, which will be broadcast exclusively on BBC One in the UK – preceded by a red carpet show on BBC Three – and in all major territories around the world.

  • Vice Media sells 10% stake to A+E Networks

    Vice Media sells 10% stake to A+E Networks

    MUMBAI: Shortly after media reports about Time Warner ending talks to buy a stake in Vice Media flashed, Financial Times reported that Vice is wrapping up a deal to sell a 10 per cent stake to A+E Networks, the cable television group jointly owned by Walt Disney and Hearst Corporation for $250 million.

     

    According to the report, the sale could be announced as early as next week. This deal puts the entire company’s market value at $2.5 billion which represents a steep increase in Vice’s valuation since last year. The company, last year, sold a 5 per cent stake to Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox for $70 million, valuing the company at $1.4 billion then.

     

    Talking to the Financial Times, Vice Media co-founder Shane Smith said, “It’s a great deal for us, it means we can preserve our independence and it gives us a war chest for another three years of dramatic growth.”

     

    Smith also added that Vice is exploring the possibility of having its own channel, for the moment it will be producing programming for the network, which runs shows such as Duck Dynasty and Storage Wars.

     

    Vice operates a global network of online channels covering news, sport, technology and music. The company currently has 25 offices across six continents, while its YouTube channel has around 4 million subscribers and over 500 million views.

     

    According to reports, while Vice will produce digital and cable programming for A+E as part of the deal, it will not currently take over running any of its cable channels.

     

    Until recently, Time Warner was in acquisition talks with Vice about buying a 40 per cent stake in the company. The deal would have reportedly valued the company at about $2 billion. But talks stalled due to disputes over Vice’s valuation, The New York Times reported.

     

    Founded in 1994, Vice started out as a Montreal music and youth culture magazine but has since expanded into web content, making a splash with its myriad documentary videos on YouTube. It also has a television series on HBO. Vice’s free magazine is printed in 28 countries. 

  • CISCO sees major opportunities in India, shakes-up top posts

    CISCO sees major opportunities in India, shakes-up top posts

    NEW DELHI: In a major shake-up, three new presidents have been appointed in Cisco by splitting up responsibilities in the enterprise IT vendor.

     

    This follows the exit of, Cisco president of India & SAARC, Jeff White, after a dismal performance in some of the recent quarters.

     

    Cisco India posted 1 per cent decrease in revenue in Q3 fiscal quarter and 18 percent dip in the first quarter of fiscal 2014. Cisco recently said it is expecting a decline in its global revenue in the current quarter.

     

    The new leadership team includes India & SAARC sales president Dinesh Malkani; India Site leader and Engineering president Amit Phadnis; and India and CIO, Asia Pacific and Japan and Greater China strategy planning & operations president VC Gopalratnam..

     

    Earlier, White was responsible for Cisco’s sales and operations in the region. White had the role of leader of a new India Board, which comprises executives from Cisco headquarters as well as India. Earlier, White was reporting to Cisco in Asia Pacific, Japan and Greater China (APJC) president Jaime Valles.

     

    White was supposed to partner with Industry Solutions and India Site leader and industry solutions senior VP Faiyaz Shahpurwala, to drive innovation and talent in alignment with the national agenda to transform the economy through technology.

     

    The mandate for White was to support the growth by strengthening local innovation, and continuing to forge strong relationships with customers, partners and the government.

     

    The new team will accelerate Cisco’s momentum by strengthening its focus on innovation to lead market transitions.

     

    Dinesh Malkani, who takes over from White, will report to Cisco president Asia Pacific & Japan Irving Tan

     

    Malkani’s main responsibility will be to lead the company’s efforts to help transform the country’s economy through technology. He will drive Cisco’s senior level external engagement, including those with government and industry associations, to drive growth and market leadership in India and SAARC, according to Cisco sources which also said the IT vendor was expecting more work with Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasizing on new technologies.

     

    As the new India Site leader, Phadnis will lead Cisco’s focus on innovation, ecosystem and talent development in the country. He will focus on strengthening the interlock between Cisco’s teams, including engineering and sales, and customers and partners and employee engagement.

     

    Phadnis will continue to report into the organisation led by Enterprise Networking Group isenior VP and GM Rob Soderbery in the US.

     

    In the newly created role of president of strategy, planning and operations for Cisco India, Gopalratnam will help create synergies between Cisco’s internal IT organization and the company’s technology roadmap as well as drive infrastructure development and operations to facilitate growth and productivity.

     

    He will continue to report to Cisco’s global CIO Rebecca Jacoby.