ITV

Category: iWorld

  • Spuul adds action thriller film “Gunday”

    Spuul adds action thriller film “Gunday”

    MUMBAI: What is more fun than to watch your favourite stars at your ease. Spuul, the popular online streaming service for Indian cinema and television, has added Gunday on pay per view basis to their extensive catalogue movies offered via subscription services. The movie would be available for the fans worldwide.

     

    “Gunday” is an action crime thriller film written and directed by Ali Abbas Zafar and produced by Aditya Chopra. The film features Ranveer Singh,Arjun Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra in the lead roles with Irrfan Khan in a special appearance. Based in Calcutta during its most unsettled times in the ‘70’s, the film deals with the inseparable life of Bikram and Bala, who become gun carriers and coal bandits and eventually the most powerful goons of Calcutta.

     

    Speaking on this development, Prakash Ramchandani, Chief Content Officer, Spuul said, “We have added Gunday within few months of its release to ensure that we provide the latest and the best of Bollywood movies to our subscribers. Every content added on Spuul is to enhance the users overall experience in terms of quality and feel. We are delighted to give access to the recent releases to movie watchers online and we aim to continue the process.”

     

    “A digital distribution platform like Spuul provides us a window to connect with the viewers and also enables them to access our catalogue of films at their convenience.” said Mr. Anand Gurnani, Vice President – Digital, Yash Raj Films Pvt. Ltd.

     

    The users can also enjoy latest premium and best of Bollywood movies with offline sync. Spuul, standing by its promise of providing new and exciting content recently had a day and date release of Club 60, Jackpot and Aankhon Dekhi earlier. To opt for the premium subscription, users can also pay via carrier billing.

  • 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.

  • Time Warner Cable to offer free Wi-Fi to business internet customers

    Time Warner Cable to offer free Wi-Fi to business internet customers

    NEW DELHI: Time Warner Cable Business Class (TWCBC), a provider of communication services for enterprises, is to offer its free Wi-Fi hotspot solution to their business internet customers across all TWCBC markets.

     

    This solution will enable businesses to offer their customers Wi-Fi access on any Wi-Fi enabled device including smart phones, tablets and laptops, said TWCBC in a statement.

     

    According to a TWCBC commissioned survey in May, 80 per cent believe their customers expect free Wi-Fi and also rank it as a top way to attract new customers, but 43 per cent of businesses offer it.

     

    The Wi-Fi access point comes with its own internet connection to ensure security to the business’s private internet traffic — with no interference from their public Wi-Fi internet traffic.

     

    Enterprise users will benefit as the solution provides a self-service management portal. The business owner can configure the service to require a password for free access or set daily time allotments for free access, ranging from 15-60 minutes. Owners can add their business name, logo and marketing message to the Wi-Fi welcome webpage.

     

    TWCBC provides signage and marketing materials to the business to promote Wi-Fi availability on-site, also helping attract more customers.

  • Ditto TV adds Fox International HD channels

    Ditto TV adds Fox International HD channels

    MUMBAI: Zeel’s OTT distribution platform Ditto TV has partnered with Fox International Channels (India) to host three of its HD channels. Nat Geo Wild, Nat Geo People and Baby TV will be available Live to Ditto TV viewers.

     

    The former two channels will have a range of wildlife and adventure shows that portray the culture and lifestyle of people from across the globe. Baby TV on the other hand will show content for kids and parents.

     

    Ditto TV business head Manoj Padmanabhan said, “Our partnership with Nat Geo will give the consumers access to high quality, exciting and entertaining content in HD. This is the first time HD channels streaming is being made available on an OTT platform. We hope to continue our efforts to provide the maximum value and a seamless viewing experience to our consumers.”

     

    Fox International Channels (India) distribution SVP Farhan Hoda commented, “We are very excited to partner with a premium service like Ditto TV for our content. The immense penetration of the internet and the growing number of internet-enabled mobile devices are stimulating demand and we believe this will transform into a very significant viewing platform in time. This partnership will enable us to showcase top quality content to our avid viewer base in India and the SAARC markets.”

     

    Currently Ditto TV has channels from IndiaCast, Multi Screen Media, Bennett Coleman and Co, TV Today Network, BBC, Turner India, Bikini TV, ZEE etc. It claims to have over four million users.

  • Cisco to help Portuguese telecom service provider for convergence of IPTV

    Cisco to help Portuguese telecom service provider for convergence of IPTV

    NEW DELHI: Cisco is to join Portuguese telecom service provider NOS for convergence of Internet Protocol (IP) video services and broadband.

     

    Cisco will provide IP-delivered video services of NOS that offers mobile and 4G networks, covering more than 90 per cent of the Portuguese population, and free internet at more than 600,000 hotspots in Portugal and 12 million across the world.

     

    Cisco in a statement said its technology will enable the Portuguese mobile service provider to offer video and broadband (DOCSIS) services over a single access infrastructure. The strategy will be enabling optimised network usage and reduced operational expenses. Cisco does not share specific details on reduction in Opex.

     

    By combining delivery of video and broadband services with the Cisco Converged Cable Access Platform (CCAP), NOS can manage its infrastructure to address varying demands on its digital video and IP traffic. Moreover, Cisco said its Evolved Services Platform will support NOS to provide software orchestration that manages the capacity migration from video into DOCSIS on the Cisco CCAP platform.

     

    Cisco said its CCAP will provide operational simplicity, service velocity and scalability for NOS cable business.

     

    The deployment includes the Cisco Universal Broadband Router uBR10K, 3G60, RF Gateway 10 and DS384 line cards, Cisco said.

     

    CTO of NOS Miguel Veiga Martins said: “By converging IP delivered video services and broadband access network, we can invest the right capacity in the right places at the right time. Cisco’s CCAP solution has proven to provide us with the operational efficiency that we need to ensure that we can continue to offer innovative experiences to our subscribers.” 

     

  • Cisco expands reach in Indian digital homes

    Cisco expands reach in Indian digital homes

    KOLKATA: US technology major, Cisco has expanded its reach to more than 40 million digital homes across India with its video guard conditional access (CA) and digital rights management (DRM) solutions.

     

    Using the industry estimated average of five people per household, Cisco is now enabling a rich and advanced TV experience for more than 200 million viewers in India, an important milestone that  reinforces the company’s leadership at a time when the pay-TV industry is on the cusp of a major transformation, view the analysts.

     

    Cisco’s CA and DRM technology ensures critical protection of premium content with a zero piracy track record. A strong team of engineers working at the research and development center in Bangalore is dedicated to the technology needs of leading satellite and cable service providers in India and worldwide.

     

    Cisco is a pay-TV technology partner for more than 150 pay-TV operators as well as media and entertainment companies worldwide, including leading direct-to-home and cable operator customers in India, such as Airtel Digital TV, Asianet, DEN, GTPL, Hathway and Tata Sky.

     

    “In the changing landscape of pay-TV services in India, this milestone highlights our continued growth with several leading MSOs in the country,” said Cisco Service Provider Video Software Solutions vice president sales Asia Pacific Sue Taylor.

     

    Cisco India and SAARC president Dinesh Malkani said, “Achieving the milestone of 40 million homes in India reinforces our commitment to the government’s mandate to digitise the cable industry and also speaks of our ability to provide best in class solutions and technology. We work closely with our customers to enable them to provide an unparalleled experience to their subscribers as well as help monetise their investments.”

  • India’s Home Cable partners with Indonesia’s BesTV to launch global OTT/IPTV services

    India’s Home Cable partners with Indonesia’s BesTV to launch global OTT/IPTV services

    NEW DELHI: India’s Home Digital Media has joined BesTV Indonesia to launch its OTT (Over the Top)/ IPTV services globally to target the 25 million Indian diaspora living outside India by using the CDN “Content Delivery Network” of Akamai and Octoshape.

     

    Home Digital Media which is a subsidiary of Home Cable Network, an independent Delhi based multi system operator (MSO) and a “Class B” ISP in India headed by Vikki Choudhry, has successfully tested the system.

     

    BesTV and Home Digital Media have been working in close association on this partnership project for the past three years and  have rolled out its global OTT services on the various application platforms  of Intan, MyTVapp, Relay TV and Home Digital Anytime/Anywhere TV.

     

    Choudhry told indiantelevision.com that this strategic association will provide Live TV channels, Movies and Music on Demand content through various applications specially developed for Android, iOS, 3GPP and Windows with a tailored solution of push and lev transcode made for low bandwidth with adaptive bitrates supporting multi format live streaming for the Aviation and the Maritime Industry.

     

    Targeting about 90 million passengers travelling every month, it will enable passengers on ships and even airlines to watch excellent quality Live TV Indian and International content on their handheld tablets, ipads and laptops while on the move.

     

    Home Digital has a worldwide footprint through its Sillicon valley headquartered technology partner company Gaian Solutions with R&D development centres in India and China. Gaian is a leading edge media technology platform company that caters to all aspects of the content distribution, content streaming, DRM, and also STB solution for delivery over Cable, Satellite, OTT and IPTV platforms.

     

    BesTV Indonesia is an affiliate to BesTV International, a subsidiary of Shanghai Media Group (SMG), China. BesTV Indonesia and BesTV International are principally engaged in the provision of technical content and marketing services for TV, computer and mobile terminals through media source platforms. The Company’s main business includes Internet protocol television (IPTV), mobile, smart television and network video, broadcasting integration movie, television and multimedia production business.

     

    BesTV China is also the pioneer and founder of Chinese IPTV business model in 2005 and has already grown into the world’s largest IPTV operator with more than 20 million effective IPTV users in China.

     

    BesTV International operates its business in North Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa.  BesTV has worked enthusiastically to develop comprehensive strategic partnerships with leading manufacturers through close cooperation, with the purpose of building the bridge between television and telecommunications industry, sharing industry opportunities and realizing common development.

  • Star Sports and Twitter partner to launch ‘Tweeplay’

    Star Sports and Twitter partner to launch ‘Tweeplay’

    MUMBAI: Starports.com and Twitter have tied up with TenTenTen Digital Products to launch a new interactive experience on Twitter called ‘Tweeplay’. 

     

    This innovation promise entertainment for sports fans across India as they can now be certain of watching replays of major sports events by just sending a tweet. This unique experience on Twitter will be available during the IPL playoff matches right up to the final on 1 June.

     

    Fans can avail of instant replays by just following four simple steps…

     

    Step 1: Twitter users tweet “@StarSportsIndia #StarSportsTweeplay Help”

     

    Step 2: They will receive a reply with an appropriate set of commands that they can use to demand for specific highlight videos of the match

     

    Step 3: They can then tweet with the specific command and receive a real-time reply from @StarSportsIndia with the highlight video e.g. @StarSportsIndia #StarSportsTweeplay Dhoni 6

     

    Step 4: Watch the video right within their TWEET AND Twitter timeline

     

    On the development Star India head of digital business Ajit Mohan said, “Star Sports has always strived to innovate on digital and we areexcited to partner with Twitter to debut this one-of-a-kind offering which empowers fans to pick and watch sports moments of their choice. This is an experiment and could potentially be a path breaking accompaniment to the starsports.com experience. We have had more than 50 million visits on IPL to date and introducing this innovation at the playoffs is a great way to sign off on the tournament.”

     

    Twitter India head of sports Aneesh Madani said, “As a platform for live, public conversations, Twitter and sports have always been a great fit. Our goal is to reach and delight all sports fans in India by bringing them closer to their game of choice and re-live the best moments of the match. 

     

    We applaud starsports.com and TenTenTen for this breakthrough initiative of near real-time interactivity on the platform.”

     

    Tweeplay is created and being managed by TenTenTen Digital Products. TenTenTen MD and CEO Ramesh Srivats said, “Tweeplay is a unique way to offer snack-sized content on-demand on Twitter. We are very excited about launching it with starsports.com  during the Pepsi IPL playoffs and hope that a never-seen-in-the-world-before service like Tweeplay will help drive online buzz & content consumption.”

  • Frost & Sullivan: Growth Opportunity for Broadcast, Cable and DTH Companies is in Multiscreen

    Frost & Sullivan: Growth Opportunity for Broadcast, Cable and DTH Companies is in Multiscreen

    MUMBAI: Frost & Sullivan is all set to host the third edition of its ‘Digital Media India Summit’ on June 24, 2014 at Le Meridien, Delhi. The summit aimed towards participants from broadcasters, pay TV operators, digital media service providers, digital equipment manufacturers, and production houses, will seek to address trends such as collaborative workflows, asset management, multiscreen video acquisition, and distribution.

     

    Digitization has changed the way in which video is consumed, and presently video content is available to viewers over multiple media and devices. This ubiquitous demand for video has made it a ‘screen-less’ enigma for media businesses. On one hand, media companies have to enhance linear TV content and services to make it attractive as a pay TV offering; on the other, they have to make their content available over multiple devices via multiple platforms to satisfy consumer demands and keep a check on the competition. With 160 million cable and satellite households in the country, and many more viewers internationally for Indian content, the country presents an enviable opportunity for the media industry worldwide. Yet, broadcasters and service providers along with advertisers are grappling with the innumerable complexities of both technology advancements as well as next generation business models. In this regard, the Digital Media India Summit aims to seek solutions and a way forward for the Indian digital media industry.

     

    Vidya S. Nath, Director, Digital Media, Frost & Sullivan says, “An otherwise vibrant growth market, India’s challenge lies in its legacy of older technologies, regulations, and policies. The growth of the industry will depend on how the various stakeholders work to innovate with technology adoption for new business models, supported by a fresh look at regulation for the video business in India.”

     

    The key areas of discussion at the summit will include next generation business models for TV everywhere, cloud based solutions for media and entertainment, digital asset management, collaborative workflows and digital rights management, along with challenges in the regulatory environment in India for the broadcast and service provider industry. These topics will be analyzed and discussed by various speakers from across the breadth of the industry, such as:

     

    ·        Vynsley Fernandes, Director, Castle Media

    ·        Satya Gupta, Advisor, FICCI, SAAM Corp Advisors, ex-TRAI

    ·        Ujwal Nirgudkar, Chairman, SMPTE-India Section

    ·        George Kuruvilla, Director (O&M), BECIL

    ·        Subhashish Mazumdar, Sr. Vice President, IndusInd Media & Communications Ltd.

    ·        Sameer Kanse, Business Head – Tata Communications Media Services

    ·        Roop Sharma, President, Cable Operators Federation of India, and many others

     

    In addition, we will also have senior international analysts and thought leaders from Frost & Sullivan including:

    ·        Joe Fristensky, Partner and Global Head, ICT Practice 

    ·        Mukul Krishna, Sr. Director, Digital Media (Global)

    ·        Vidya S. Nath, Director, Digital Media

    ·        Avni Rambhia, Principal Analyst, Digital Media

     

    The summit will also witness one-of-its-kind Growth and Strategy Workshop hosted by Frost & Sullivan for the CXOs that will help senior executives leverage in-depth market analysis to identify opportunities and formulate business strategies. These will include analyst presentations and group discussions, and use diagnostic tools and techniques to translate market, technical, and economic implications into specific growth opportunities. These sessions have proven to improve productivity and foster growth for our clientele worldwide.

    Tata Communications is the Event Partner for the Summit, meanwhile, the Media Partners are – Broadcast & CableSat, Cablequest, Convergence Plus, Digital Studio, Indian Television, and Light Reading India.

  • Telenor selects Nokia for radio access equipment for modernising network

    Telenor selects Nokia for radio access equipment for modernising network

    NEW DELHI: The Telenor Group has selected Nokia as a candidate supplier for radio access equipment and professional services over a period of five years.

     

    The operator is modernising its existing 2G and 3G networks and continuing to deploy LTE across Europe and Asia.

     

    However, both Telenor and Nokia refused to spell out details of the financial deal.

     

    “We continue to invest in the modernisation of our network to provide excellent end-user experience as part of our vision of internet for all,” said Telenor Group EVP, group industrial development Hilde Tonne. “For this important radio access technology area, we have selected Nokia as a partner due to our excellent working relationship and the company’s proven expertise in mobile broadband and services.”

     

    “This project is another important milestone in our long-standing collaboration with Telenor Group which dates back to the 1990s, and we are currently supplier to several of Telenor’s business units across Europe and Asia,” said Nokia EVP Europe and Latin America René Svendsen Tune. “We are committed to support Telenor in developing a high-capacity mobile broadband infrastructure that will meet its subscribers’ needs today and tomorrow as well as those of new markets.”

     

    Nokia is a leader in mobile broadband, having the most 3G references and supplying LTE in the most advanced markets on the globe. The company’s single RAN advanced, based on the compact, scalable Flexi Multiradio 10 Base Station, runs different technologies on a single hardware platform to simplify macro radio networks, enabling the fastest rollouts and saving site costs significantly. Its NetAct operation support system provides comprehensive and consolidated management for all communications networks, and all of Nokia’s solutions are supported by its full range of global services.