ITV

Category: Special Report

  • Amul, LIC matter to Indians most: Havas Global Top Meaningful Brands 2015 study

    Amul, LIC matter to Indians most: Havas Global Top Meaningful Brands 2015 study

    Amul has emerged as India’s Most Meaningful Brand. In India, Indians have the highest attachment towards Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), the iconic state-owned insurance group, are some of the findings of the India Study Findings of Havas’ Meaningful Brands 2015 study.

    Havas Media India & South Asia CEO Anita Nayyar, CEO explained, “This is our largest India study to date in size and scope. Marketers will be encouraged to know that India once again stands out as the No.1 country, globally, where consumers have the closest relationship with brands. India is also the most ‘grateful’ country, rewarding meaningful brands, in business terms. We are seeing that in a developing economy like India, unlike the West and more developed economies, people are more trusting of brands. People here believe brands can play a meaningful role in their lives and that brands are working hard towards improving our quality of life and wellbeing. This creates tremendous opportunities for brands in India to communicate and connect with their customers, in our organic world – which is at the core of the Meaningful Brands Project.”

    ‘Food’ is one of the most meaningful sectors, attaining strong attachment and trust. Food brands are especially meaningful for making peoples’ daily lives better with their rational benefits of savings, convenience, health and better nutritional habits.

    Local brands like Amul take the lead with multinational corporations like Cadbury who introduce local brands to resonate with consumer context and tastes, locally. The study says that 86 percent of people would care if LIC disappeared tomorrow as compared to globally where most people do not care if 74 percent of brands disappeared the next day.

    In India, brands have a high level of meaningfulness and are seen as providers of personal and collective wellbeing; they are viewed as much more than functional products. Brands in India are also seen to be meeting consumers’ expectations more than in any other region.

    75 percent of Indians believe brands should play a role in improving our quality of life and wellbeing; the Asia Pacific the average being 69 percent and the globally average 67 percent. More than half i.e. 67 percent of Indian’s feel that brands are working hard at improving our quality of life and wellbeing, very impressive, compared to an Asia Pacific average of 55 percent and Global average of 38 percent.

    The top 10 Meaningful Brands in India are Amul, Cadbury, Google, Britannia, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), Microsoft, Intel, HP, Parle, and Samsung, as compared to the Global top 10 Meaning Brands that include Samsung, Google, Nestlé, Bimbo, Sony, Microsoft, Nivea, Visa, IKEA, Intel.

    Havas Media Group India Managing Director Mohit Joshi summarised, “People in India are happy to have brands as partners and as enablers to help them improve their quality of life and wellbeing. While in the West there is a high commoditisation of brands, people in India, have ‘high expectations’ and ‘reward’ those brands that contribute to their wellbeing – this is the second time in a row that LIC has scored as the brand with the highest attachment. The study throws open exciting possibilities for marketers and brands to interact with their customers.”

    Meaningful Brands is Havas’ metric of brand strength. It is a global study in its sixth year globally and in its third year in India, to show how our quality of life and wellbeing connects with brands at both a human and business level. On a global scale, the study covers 1,000 brands, 300,000 people, 34 countries across 12 industries. The research covers aspects of people’s lives that include the impact on their collective wellbeing, in personal wellbeing, and marketplace factors, which relate to product performance such as quality and price.

  • World Radiocommunications Conference calls for preservation of satellite spectrum from telecom

    World Radiocommunications Conference calls for preservation of satellite spectrum from telecom

    Spectrum, or the paucity of it, is an oft repeated complaint by sectors that use it, more so from telecom service providers. Are they fully using the spectrum that has already been allocated to them? How will allocating more spectrum in the ‘C band’ range affect others?  Excerpts of a press release issued by Asia Pacific Satellite Communications Council (APSCC), Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA), EMEA Satellite Operators’ Association (ESOA), Global VSAT Forum (GVF), Interference Reduction Group (IRG), Society of Satellite Professionals International (SSPI), World Teleport Association (WTA), and other international associations of the satellite industry:

     

    Major inter-governmental and private-sector organizations responsible for providing safety-of-life communications to millions of people have requested the national administrations of every region to preserve satellite spectrum for use in delivering mission-critical satellite services worldwide. The unprecedented demonstration of support for satellite spectrum was made during a series of briefings held at the International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU’s) World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC), where the wireless industry is attempting to get access to satellite spectrum despite reports that previous efforts have already disrupted communications services with serious interference.

     

    Included among those calling for safeguarding of satellite services were the United Nations World Food Program and Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the World Meteorological Organization, the World Broadcasting Unions, NetHope, the International Maritime Organization, and the Space Frequency Coordination Group, a group of space agencies from throughout the world.

     

    In a joint statement issued by an international coalition of seven non-profit associations representing the global satellite communications sector, the show of support was strongly commended: “The high level of support from these organizations makes clear the importance of satellite communications in C band spectrum and how further disruption of safety-of-life services due to wireless interference is unacceptable.”

     

    As governments consider whether any portion of the 3400-4200 MHz band (‘C band’) should be identified for IMT, they have heard from the safety-of-life organizations during a series of briefings held for the inter-governmental groups of each major world region, including the Arab Spectrum Managers Group (ASMG), Asia Pacific Telecommunity (APT), the Conference Europeenne de Postes et Telecommunications (CEPT), the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL), and the RCC & Commonwealth of Independent States.

     

    “Some administrations may be under a misimpression,” the coalition statement continued.  “It is not necessary to support IMT identification if they have already authorized WiMax or other terrestrial wireless services.  An identification for IMT is not required to make WiMax or other authorizations comply retroactively with ITU rules.  No ITU rule change is required at the WRC in order to enable national deployments of WiMax or other wireless services.”

     

    Background

     

    1.  Realistic solutions to protect existing satellite links in C band have not been identified; migration of IMT services to this band would cause more extreme harm to the global community that relies heavily on satellite services.

     

    It is clear from the most recent reports and studies from the ITU that mitigation techniques, such as separation distance, earth station shielding, or the use of filters on satellite receive antennas, to block interference from IMT networks into satellite networks are often ineffective and moreover would be far too severe to be justifiable from a technical or economic perspective.  This means that in practice, mitigation measures would not be effectively implemented.  Furthermore current IMT proposals offer no protection for FSS receive-only earth stations, which are deployed broadly and on a licence-exempt basis in many countries.

     

    Within the last few months, satellite stakeholders have experienced further degradation of services in some parts of the world due to terrestrial mobile operations using the same C band frequencies.  For example, millions of Philippine citizens’ television signals were disrupted due to interference from mobile services.  Similar cases of interrupted service were also reported in South Asia, South America, the Caribbean, and Africa.  These are not isolated incidents – disruption of C-band satellite services from terrestrial wireless interference has been taking place around the world since 2006.

     

    It is understood that this has been the result of Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) systems being deployed in the C band.  However, the negative effects will be far more wide-reaching in the case of terrestrial mobile IMT broadband services, which have larger coverage requirements and are expected to transmit at higher rates and consequently with more power.

     

    2. Global and national studies indicate that less than 50% of the spectrum currently allocated to IMT is in use.

     

    Claims have been made that mobile broadband will need between 1100 and 1900 MHz more spectrum by 2020, even though IMT is not using most spectrum currently assigned for its use. In anticipation of the growth of the mobile industry, the ITU has already allocated and/orrecommended a substantial amount of spectrum for use by IMT. Around the world less than 50% of this spectrum is licensed and even less is in use according to a recent detailed study on the subject by LS Telcom.

     

    It would be unwise to unnecessarily reassign spectrum used for other often-critical services. IMT can achieve its growth targets without a need for the additional spectrum they are requesting, often on the basis of predictions, population density and traffic numbers that are grossly exaggerated. 

     

    Conclusion

     

    New and existing C band satellite services are actually bridging the digital divide.  It is the duty of the international community to safeguard these vital services.  The effects of failing to do so fall disproportionately on the developing world and rural areas.  IMT should be directed to use their current frequency allocations fully and more effectively, or concentrate its planning for additional allocations to other, more appropriate bands.

  • Impact of DAS on Sports Ecosystem

    Impact of DAS on Sports Ecosystem

    DAS  (digital addressable system) is here to stay. Despite the shortcomings, the hiccups in the implementation of the first two phases, the government has announced that it will not extend the deadlines of December 31, 2015 for phase III areas and December 31, 2016 for phase IV, when the entire country is expected to be digitised. After complete switchover, cable TV services will be available only through set top boxes in India.

     

    We, at the Indiantelevision.com are starting a new section – ‘The Impact of DAS’ through which thought leaders, experts from the television ecosystem will share their thoughts, ideas, and say their piece on the subject. We are beginning with the impact of DAS on the sports broadcasting ecosystem. 

     

    Our first expert for the section is Sony Six and Sony Kix Business Head Prasana Krishnan. Sony Six and Sony Kix are a part of the Sony Pictures Network (earlier known as Multi Screen Media Network.) 

     

    Excerpts:

     

    How big an impact has phase I and II digitisation made when it comes to subscription revenues?

     

     

    Digitisation is a very significant and essential step for unlocking the true subscription potential.  It is designed to benefit all stakeholders including content owners, broadcasters, distributors and consumers as it brings addressability and transparency into the system.  We are still in early stages of this and full addressability is still some time away but the overall impact on subscription revenues has been very positive. 

     

    From a sports broadcaster’s point of view are you happy with the two phases of digitisation?

     

     

    The first two phases of digitisation have primarily focused toward catering to the change in the 4 metro’s and households in cities with over 1 million in population.  The experience and progress has been quite positive as the consumer in India is today getting unprecedented access to sports content.  The analog regime had some capacity limitations which often meant prioritisation of sports and ignoring niche interests.  Digitisation has been a key factor behind the growth of non-cricket sports viewership in the country as it has enabled access to such content on a consistent basis.  While the overall progress in these markets is very positive, the full potential is still to be unlocked and a lot still remains to be done in terms of full addressability, channel packages, etc.   

     

    Is the sports broadcasting industry in a subscription positive scenario? Or we are still ad dependent?

     

    Globally, sports broadcasting is primarily driven by subscription and in some cases, it can be even as high as 90 per cent of total revenues.  In India, dependence on ad spends is still very high and I think it will continue to be so in the foreseeable future.  But the share of subscription revenues has seen a good increase in recent years with the advent of DTH sector and digitisation and will hopefully continue to grow. 

     

    Are sports like Football, Badminton which are hugely popular but attract limited advertising profitable assets for a sports broadcaster?

     

    With spur in economic developments and maturing viewership preferences, sports viewership in the country has moved from a single sport to a multi-sport consumption. Compelling alternate sports have now taken a step ahead, and we are seeing their popularity permeate down amongst the Indian audiences leading to increased overall demand for alternate sports.  While certain sports like cricket are extremely advertiser friendly due to their format, others like football, badminton, etc have higher limitations in terms of advertising.  But these sports can be profitable especially with the advent of digitisation and the improving subscription market.

     

    With phase III and IV scheduled do you see a substantial upward growth in subscription revenues?

     

     Digitisation is clearly beneficial for sports broadcasting and some of the benefits are already visible from the first two phases.  Phase III and phase IV will help in continuing this growth and would be clearly positive for the industry.

     

    How can a non-cricket sport or a sport with limited ad room turn profitable for broadcasters?

     

    We are currently in a very exciting decade for sports consumption with viewership patterns and preferences showing a particular change over the previous years.  Non-cricket sports have been at the forefront of growth in the country and fans are increasingly connecting with these sports.  Eventually, profitability is clearly a factor dependent on viewer acceptance besides costs.  It is not possible to have a generic answer that applies for all non-cricket sports as it would be a case specific.  If a particular sport has found strong viewer acceptance, profitability will definitely follow irrespective of advertising inventory constraints.

  • Festive season: TV ad spend estimated to touch Rs 70 billion

    Festive season: TV ad spend estimated to touch Rs 70 billion

    Seasonaliity in ad spends is a phenomenon that most Indian marketers are familiar with. Whether you have the rash of heat countering products which pop up on your TV screens during the summer months. Or whether it is the gaggle of brands that roll out the red carpet and bring out their tooting horns during the festive season of Diwali every year. They conserve their ad rupees for these periods when the consumer is willing to spend but wants to be guided or lured in the right direction through messaging.

     

    As per indiantelevision.com’s analysis, this festive season (September, October, mid-November) , advertisers are expected to spend close to Rs 70 billion on television commercials alone.

     

    “Last year, the festive quarter saw television channels garnering nearly 35 to 40 per cent of their annual total ad revenue. One would expect the same from this year, as it is as high as it can get,” says media planning and buying expert Karthik Lakshminarayan.

     

    KPMG’s entertainment industry report for Ficci in 2015 predicted that television would account for Rs 175 billion in ad spending. Going by that yardstick, then TV advertising during the festive season would touch Rs 7,000 crore this year.

     

    When it comes he big spenders, FMCG seem to be stealing the show. “FMCG ad spending rules the the roost, and e commerce are the new kids on the block. FMCGs command 50 per cent of the ad spends while E-Commerce offer another 10 per cent,“ says Lakshminarayan. That would mean FMCG spending is likely to scale Rs 3500 crore on television ads.

     

    Although market analysts admit that E-Commerce players have emerged as big advertisers this season and have raised the bar for the rest of the ad-spenders over all, their contribution to television ad revenue is lesser than last year.

     

    Even as their total ad spend for this festive season has risen to Rs 2000 crore, only Rs 700 crore of that is going to TVCs on channels.

     

    Last year, e Commerce players had according to estimates spent close to Rs 1300 crores on television in the festive quarter. This year only 35 per cent of their total festival spends has been allocated to television, as compared to 60 per cent last year, shares a veteran media planner with indiantelevision.com.

    Having said that, the big players in E-Commerce continue to be strong on the top  television properties.

    “If you look at the slots, all the top properties in television are blocked with ecommerce brands. Given the festive season, the ad slots are going at a premium rates and the ecommerce brands are lapping them up at the higher rates,” says Havas Media Group-India and South Asia, CEO, Anita Nayyar, adding that thanks to these brands the ad rates continue to stay up even with the shrinking ad inventory.

    “While the increase in ad spends is mainly due to E-Commerce, the contribution from the other section of the advertisers like automobiles is expected to pick up as well. The revenue from traditional spenders for this season like jewellers and retailers is almost stable,” informs media analyst and IIM Calcutta professor  Chandradeep (CD) Mitra.

     

    In terms of channel genres, Hindi GECs maintain their lead as advertiser’s favourite with an approximate share of 27.5 per cent of the total spends, with regional channels following.

     

    An order that is directly proportional to the channels’ viewership ratings. According to the FICCI Industry report 2015, Hindi GECs command over 31 percent of the total viewership pie chart followed by regional channels at 15.9 per cent.

     

    Amongst the regional channels, Marathi ad slots are the most expensive to buy, says Lakshminarayan. “Maharashtra rates are higher indexed than other regional markets, and their rate of increase is seemingly more than other markets.”

     

    With the new BARC ratings inclusive of rural data, one can expect an even further increase in their ad spends, market analysts predict.

     

    The news channels too grabbed eyeballs thanks to the Bihar elections coinciding with the festive week, and therefore have gotten due attention from advertisers as well. “News was there in the limelight due to Bihar, that worked well for the retail advertisers looking to put their name out during the festive season as well,” says Nayyar.

  • “I may distribute a news channel. I just do not want to run one” : Kunal Dasgupta CEO SET

    “I may distribute a news channel. I just do not want to run one” : Kunal Dasgupta CEO SET

    It’s the festival of lights. And for many the festival of noise courtesy exploding fireworks. In the hope of reducing the number of those belonging to the latter tribe, we, at indiantelevision.com, decided to put a display of firecracker articles for visitors this Diwali. We have had many top journalists reporting, analysing, over the many years of indiantelevision.com’s existence.

     

    The articles we are presenting are representative of some of the best writing on the business of cable and satellite television and media for which we have gained renown. Read on to get a flavour and taste of indiantelevision.com over the years from some of its finest writers. And have a Happy and Safe Diwali!

     

    Written By: Thomas Abraham

     

    Sony Entertainment Television has secured the cable and satellite television rights for all ICC-designated One-Day cricket for the next seven years, which includes the next two World Cups. But with a reported $255 million acquisition tab, SET CEO Kunal Dasgupta has his task cut out to profit from it. At a media briefing last Friday, Sony presented the captain of India’s successful World Cup campaign of 1983, Kapil Dev, as its brand ambassador. Dasgupta talks of this and other issues like conditional access, DTH, uplinking from India to indiantelevision.com’s Thomas Abraham.

     

    What made you plump for Kapil Dev as your brand ambassador?

     

    The point is, just as Amitabh Bachchan is the icon of movies, Kapil Dev is the icon of cricket and we expect Kapil to do for Sony Entertainment what Bachchan did for Star.

     

    There is this huge investment of $255 million that has been pumped into getting the rights to ICC-designated One Day cricket tournaments. Recovering that is a tough ask any way you look at it. At least as far as the ICC tourney in September and the World Cup next March, are there any programming initiatives that you have in mind?

    There are a number of them we have lined up but I don’t want to talk about these initiatives at this juncture.

     

    What about an outline of your overall strategy? 

     

    First and foremost, we want to take the game beyond the male and offer it as family entertainment. The programming initiatives that we are working on will take cricket beyond the boundary and get the families in. There will certainly be a focus on women in our plans.

     

    Secondly, we have to generate interest beyond the matches India is playing. And we will have to create devices that provide for that.

     

    And the ICC rights that we have include under-19 cricket tournaments. There is no interest for this now but we will have to generate it.

     

    One way is to make the cricketers more media savvy. They will need to be groomed accordingly so as to give the proper sound bytes at the proper time. Tiger Woods is not just a sporting success story but a marketing one as well and this has been achieved by a great deal of coaching on how he conducts himself.

     

    Now that you have acquired this massive cricket property, have you thought of an IPO. Would this not be a good time to raise funds from the market?
    My board doesn’t think so.

     

    “The big question is, will the law make it mandatory to declare the subscriber management systems, which are in the hands of the cable operators? How do you control this is a big worry?”

     

    The big debate currently is around the government’s determination to introduce conditional access systems in the country. What is your stand on this?
    Well I would have to see how it is implemented. My principal concern is that there should not be a disruption of services which is something I am sure the government would ensure when CAS is introduced.

     

    The Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2002 is almost certain to get cleared in the next session of Parliament in July. How long do you think the first phase of the rollout in the four metros will take? 

    It should take about a year or so at the very least, I would think.

     

    What will happen to DTH in this scenario? The whole concept of having tiers means that high-end services can be offered to consumers which would incorporate interactivity and other options like pay-per-view. Would this not make the DTH option a non starter?

     

    The introduction of CAS as is visualised would in fact speed up the entry of DTH. If the customer has any way to invest in a set top to access channels, the quality of service that DTH provides would make it quite a feasible option if the price is right. It should be noted that in India what we are talking about as far as CAS is concerned is an analog service. To digitise, massive investment is needed for cable TV headend upgradation as well as line upgradation. What we are looking at is costs of up to Rs 50,000 crores (Rs 500 billion). At the moment, it is only Reliance that is doing this kind of cabling.

     

    The introduction of CAS would certainly alter the dynamics of the business. What sort of scenarios do you visualise?

     

    Bundling of packages will certainly be there. It will ultimately boil down to who offers the best package. There will be possibilities of a number of currently rival networks like Sony, Star and Zee for instance coming together and offering a shared bundle. India is a unique market. Ultimately, market forces will settle the issue.

     

    What other options are there available to the broadcaster?

     

    One possibility is to supply boxes directly to the consumer. That way we bypass the cable operator altogether by entering into a direct relationship with the consumer.

     

    If you are talking packages, then strong bouquets will still be important. Have you earmarked any candidates for joining “The One Alliance” (what the addition of the Discovery and Animal Planet channels to the Sony Entertainment bouquet of SET, MAX, AXN and CNBC India is called)?
    An English movie channel is top of our wish list. Music and niche channels are our other options.

     

    “We will be continuously introducing new shows but they will be short duration series. The days of the long-running serial are numbered”

    _________

    (Inset) A 1983 file picture of Kapil Dev with the Prudential World Cup trophy.

     

    How many new channels can we expect on the platform by the end of the year?

     

    Ask me on 20 June.

     

    What about a news channel? There is a lot of buzz that a news channel is also on your list.

     

    As long as I am CEO, a news channel will not happen. We do not want to get into issues of editorial management as that would involve taking sides on issues. The issue we have with running a news channel is that we prefer to remain neutral. We have a lot of products that we promote in India besides our channels. There is the movie business, music and electronics goods that we have as well, so that is the position that we are comfortable with.

     

    That is not to say I cannot have a news channel on my platform. I can certainly distribute a channel. I just do not want to run one.

     

    Now that the government has liberalised uplinking, there is talk that broadcasters who uplink abroad will be looking at transferring operations to India so as to bring in new avenues for advertising. Is Sony considering such an option?

     

    Not for the near term at least. If at some later date, we feel there are clear advantages to be derived, then we would have to reassess the situation.

     

    What of programming? Is there anything new happening on Sony?

     

    We will be introducing a new blockbuster series slotted for the weekend prime time. The weekend has been associated with blockbuster movies. Now we are working on a blockbuster series that will run for 39 episodes. With it, we expect to carve out the weekend prime time slot.

     

    Balaji has said it is readying a 39-part weekend series that is going on air within the next two months, slated to run as a one-hour show on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. And the talk is that you are doing a big new show with Balaji. Is this that show?
    Yes it is.

     

    Still, it is the weekday programming that ultimately decides the success of a channel. What have you lined up for the weekdays?

     

    We will be continuously introducing new shows but they will be short duration series. The days of the long-running serial are numbered.

     

    Do you have any big ticket shows lined up?

     

    One show we are seriously looking at is a game show called Russian Roulette.

     

    From whom are you acquiring the rights?

     

    It is a Columbia Tristar property.

     

    (Russian Roulette, produced by Columbia TriStar Domestic Television [CTDT], is a game of chance where every question could cause a contestant to literally “drop out” of the game and has been a hit in countries as wide apart as Russia and Spain. In this knowledge test, four strangers challenge each other to answer a series of multiple-choice questions. If a contestant answers incorrectly, he must pull the lever potentially triggering one or more “drop zones”. When only one contestant is left standing, that person keeps all of the money won and proceeds to the final round. In the US version, the final winner takes home an additional $100,000.)

     

    What about Shubh Vivaah (Sony’s blockbuster marriage reality show)? When do you see it finally launching?

     

    There is a hearing scheduled for 8 July. After that, we will know for certain.

     

    But I thought the issue was settled. Didn’t the Delhi high court ruling (of 3 March) state that Taal (which went to court over claimed copyright violation) gets a lead time of two months if its own show Swayamvar launches on or before 30 June, otherwise Sony would be free to launch Shubh Vivaah?

     

    Well, Taal went in appeal of that ruling. So the judge has put 8 July as the date for final hearing of the case. Basically, Taal is only employing delaying tactics. In any case, we expect to have the show out in the next few months.

  • Mariam Zamaray’s Insight into Ultra HD TV

    Mariam Zamaray’s Insight into Ultra HD TV

    Mumbai: At first glance, you would think she is a host of a television show or an on-screen talent. But don’t make that mistake when you meet up with the very attractive Television Entertainment Reality Network (TERN) CEO Mariam Zamaray who recently launched Insight at MipCom in Cannes. A factual entertainment, youth-targeted, cross media  ultra high definition channel (UHD or 4K TV), it is currently beaming over Europe, Russia, Australia and India.

    The lady knows her television for sure, having worked with Fox International Channels in Amsterdam for a couple of years as channel manager in the previous decade. She later founded Luxury Life a life style cross media format with which she was associated for eight years. And she also got into bed with WizCraft’s IIFA Awards which were held in Amsterdam in 2005 as its local partner.

    Around a year  or so ago, Mariam decided to launch Insight, a UHD or 4K channel, with the backing of General Satellite from Russia and other foreign investors.  To start with she build up a strong management team: Qunita Baars (formely of Fox International Channels), Marjolein Duermeijer (previously head of international sales and development, Tuvalu Media) and Natalie Boot (2waytraffic and Sony Pictures Television interactive manager).

    For production, she roped in leading studios and format owners such as Strix, Kiem, Zodiak Media, among others. For beaming the channel, she hired satellite operator SES Platform Services ( the bird it is beaming from is Astra at 19.2 degrees East), and for online and post-production she hired Dutch company, United4All.  

    “SES was challenged by our requirement of four feeds,” says Mariam.

    More challenges awaited her. There wasn’t adequate 4K content being produced at a frame rate of 50p, most of the productions were at 25p. Additionally, technicians understanding cameras (one shot well underwater, but was not so well indoors)  were few and far between. Online and post-production studios did not have the storage capacity or the processing and rendering power. All these meant costs, and costs.

    But she did not let these hurdles deter her. Her enthusiasm got SES executives coming back to her with a solution within three months. And United4All  decided to invest in post-production gear and storage in order to handle Insight’s high demands.  

    “The producers had no idea how to shoot in 50p 4K.  Most of the UHD shoots were being done at 25 fps. We did 200 days of research and had workshops with them,” she says. “They went out and shots. And when they came back with the product, it looked good and my team gave it the go ahead. If we liked it, we were sure the audience would also like it.”

    Programming includes original factual entertainment shows such as Spartan X (Strix), On The Run (Zodiak Media), Dracula (Strix), 7 Days (Kiem), and Power &… (Kiem). Shows already on air include Around the World in 80 Tricks, Diamond Geezers and Gold Dealers,

    For Europe, InsIght is free to air and is available both as a linear live TV service and as an app for non-linear on-demand content and can be viewed on multiple devices. “Viewers can engage and shape the programmes they watch and they are very interactive,” says Mariam.

     

    The company has partnered with joiz Global for this interactivity and big data and social management.

     

    Insight’s  grab and share interface which allows viewers to reduce the duration of the content they are currently tuned into as per the convenience is something Mariam is banking on. “Consumers can also button down their idea underneath the video and can also upload it on social media platforms. We want to showcase the current trends over technology and content and make it available for the young generation,” she says.

    The channel went live in Europe on 5 October at MipCom in Cannes; and on 8 October in India. It has a 200 hours of 4K programming, most of it original and produced with only 41 hours being acquired.   Mariam is looking to commission and have another 200 hours of 4K content ready by Q2 2016. Additionally, she has ambitiously expressed that she would like to produce a major sports event by October 2016.

    The channel claims It is reaching out to 60 million homes courtesy its partnership with DTH service TriColor (which is linked to General Satellite) in Russia and Information TV Network in India and SES.  In india she had a chat with iTV CEO Kartikeya Sharma, who was a college mate and a deal was struck.

    While it is free to air and commercial free  in Europe, it is being positioned as a pay TV service for India, Asia, Latin America.

     

    “We are not looking for immediate revenues. I am against inserting advertising breaks for the first nine months in Europe. We will however offer drop down menus to advertisers. But India will have a different feed which will have ad breaks,” she says.

    She is confident of revenues from India as it is a priority market for the business, along with Russia.

     

    “The Indian DTH operators are enthusiastic and prices for 4K sets are also coming down. We will be pushing both the 4K and HD feeds. Advertising too will play a role,” she says.

    Content syndication is one of the revenue streams which will keep providing cash flows to TERN. “We are looking for buyers from the US and Canada,” she expresses. “And we are licensing content to mobile operators too. We will be managing the talent which is on the channel as well as licensing the music and our original formats. That will keep our cash register ringing.”

     

  • Brands’ website traffic has direct correlation with TV advertising: study

    Brands’ website traffic has direct correlation with TV advertising: study

    NEW DELHI: A study shows that website traffic rises and falls in direct correlation with TV advertising for majority of call-to-action brands, which depend on immediate results from marketing efforts. 

     
    The Video Advertising Bureau’s (VAB) study Ignition Point: The TV-Traffic Correlation for Call-to-Action Brands came to this finding after studying 125 brands in six categories (restaurants, retail, travel, telecommunications & location-based mobile apps, financial and insurance) representing more than $30 billion in TV advertising in 2014.
     

    The brands studied were a cross-section – large, midsized, smaller, national, regional and local – with more than 100,000 unique visitors per month as measured by comScore. All results are from the February 2014 to March 2015 period. 

     
    A total of 82 per cent of these brands showed a direct correlation between TV advertising and website traffic. Of the 85 brands with unique visitor increases, 87 per cent had increased TV spending – an average of 22 per cent increase in spending and 24 per cent increase in visitors. Of the 40 brands with unique visitor decreases, 70 per cent had lowered TV spending – an average of 10 per cent less TV spending and nine per cent decrease in visitors.
     

    VAB CEO Sean Cunningham said, “TV is the great activator in Internet commerce. A majority of brands with the most on the line for big sales now see their website traffic follow the curve of their investment in TV advertising. TV advertising does more than generate awareness; it triggers the most important action at a time when the Internet functions as a brand’s storefront to the world.”

     
    While the specific ratios of advertising to traffic vary, the pattern is predominant and consistent. On a category level, 72 per cent of travel brands showed a direct correlation between TV advertising and website traffic, versus 76 per cent of restaurants, 82 per cent of retail, 85 per cent of insurance, 86 per cent of financial, and 100 per cent of telco/apps.
     

    This is the second report in the VAB’s commitment to illustrate critical effects of TV advertising that are hidden by the silo nature of syndicated data. Last year, it looked at the correlation between TV advertising and website traffic for 75 pure-play Internet companies, and found 85 per cent showed a direct correlation between TV spending and website traffic.

  • Indian advertising market leads BRIC with 11% growth rate in 2015: Carat

    Indian advertising market leads BRIC with 11% growth rate in 2015: Carat

    MUMBAI: The Indian advertising market is all set to witness a double digit growth rate of 11 per cent in 2015, which is the highest growth rate amongst the BRIC markets. The growth boost came from the ICC Cricket World Cup, which was held earlier in the year. Moreover, in 2016, India is poised to see a growth rate of 12 per cent, according to the Carat Ad Spend Report of September 2015.

    The year 2015 looks buoyant for the Indian advertising market as optimism continues to flood the market with growth prospects remaining high in the country, propelled by the election of a pro-business government in 2014 and the revival in investment.

    Of the other BRIC countries, while the advertising market in both Brazil and China is expected to see a growth rate of six per cent each in 2015, Russia will be an aberration as the economy has been affected by the sharp drop in oil prices and Western sanctions following the annexation of Crimea last year. The Russian advertising market has been severely affected with advertising revenues decreased by 16 per cent in 1H 2015. Carat predicts the total is market forecast to decrease by 14 per cent in 2015, a revision down from the decrease of 7.1 per cent previously forecast in the March 2015 report.

    DIGITAL AND MOBILE FORECAST

    From a regional perspective, Carat confirms on-going positive momentum in 2015 for most regions although volatility occurs in some individual markets, with Western Europe at 2.6 per cent, 4.2 per cent in North America, 4.1 per cent in Asia Pacific and 12.7 per cent in Latin America.

    Despite a slight decline in growth forecasts due to China’s economic downturn, Asia Pacific remains strong in 2015 with an above global spend rate of 4.1 per cent, driven by high-performing India at 11 per cent and growing Australia at 2.4 per cent. 

    The report predicted continued optimism through positive global and regional outlook and solid growth in Digital and Mobile. Based on data received from 59 markets across the Americas, Asia Pacific and EMEA, global advertising spend will grow by four per cent in 2015 to $529 billion, a slight decline from the 4.6 per cent predicted in March 2015. Moreover, in 2016 it is predicted to grow by 4.7 per cent, accounting for an additional $25 billion in spend as per Carat’s latest global advertising expenditure report. 

    Fuelled by the rise of Mobile and Online Video spending trends, the report reconfirms the continued solid growth for Digital media, evident through the upsurge in the predicted share of advertising spend in 2015 of 24.3 per cent and 26.5 per cent in 2016. For 10 of the markets analysed, including the UK, Ireland, Canada and Australia, Digital is now the principle media used based on spend, with the US market predicted to join this list in 2018 when digital advertising spend is forecast to overtake TV advertising by more than $4 billion.

    DIGITAL

    By media, Digital with 15.7 per cent growth in 2015, continues to be the only channel warranting double digital growth and is predicted slightly lower at 14.3 per cent in 2016. This is driven by the high demand for Mobile and Online Video advertising especially across social media, with 51.2 per cent and 22 per cent year-on-year growth expected this year.

    TELEVISION

    Programmatic buying is also experiencing rapid growth at a rate of 20 per cent each year. TV remains both dominant and resilient with a steady 42 per cent market share of global advertising spends in 2015 and is predicted to grow by more than three per cent in 2016, as the upcoming Olympic Games and US elections are expected to drive considerable viewership.

    Thirty eight out of the 59 markets analysed, report TV still as their leading medium, with 17 out of these 37 markets showing that more than 50 per cent of their advertising spend is still placed on TV, including Italy, China and Brazil. 

     

    ONLINE VIDEO

    Online Video is forecast to grow at a rate of 22 per cent this year and a forecast of 19 per cent in 2016, as previously predicted in the March 2015 report. With cross-device measurement tools becoming more robust, and access to premium content increasingly available, greater investments from TV budgets are being allocated into Digital, moving from a ‘channel-first’ mind set to an ‘audience-first’ focused approach. Brands are starting to understand the reach and potential of moving their investment to Online Video as the lines between linear broadcasts and digital increasingly blur. Growth in Online Video will also be fuelled by the rise of programmatic video and more efficient/scalable video production via media partners.

    MOBILE

    Mobile is experiencing the greatest spend growth across all media. The opportunities
    to re-target consumers closer to purchase activity is a big driver. Carat forecasts growth in Mobile spend at 51.2 per cent in 2015, up from the previous prediction of 49.7 per cent in the March 2015 report and a predicted 44.5 per cent in 2016 up from the previous prediction in March 2015 of 41.9 per cent. In the US, Mobile ads targeted to both smartphones and tablets are predicted to capture up to 40 per cent of online display spend by 2019, currently accounting for 24 per cent of digital budgets.

    SOCIAL MEDIA

    Mobile and Online Video are also the key factors for Social Media advertising spend growth. Social Media advertising spend is rising, and moving to mobile and in-app placements. Both Twitter and Facebook report that over 70 per cent of their advertising revenue now comes from mobile, and the vast majority of this is now likely to be in-app rather than through the mobile web.

    NEWSPAPERS

    The age old Newspaper continue to capture the third highest share of total advertising spend, being the second most popular media type in India, and the third most popular for nine of the 13 top spending markets, including the US, Japan and UK. However, the market as a whole continues to fight against a difficult structural trend of spend shifting to digital platforms. As a result, traditional Print spend has been declining every year since 2008. Newspaper share of total advertising spend has been falling by over a percentage point each year, from 23 per cent in 2008 to a predicted 13 per cent in 2015 and 12 per cent in 2016.

    MAGAZINE, CINEMA, RADIO, OOH

    Despite the ongoing decline in Print spend, Carat’s forecasts confirm year-on-year growth for all other media with updated predictions for 2015 highlighting year-on-year growth in Cinema at 4.7 per cent, Radio at 1.3 per cent and Outdoor at 3.4 per cent, with the latter two slightly revised down from March 2015 figures.

    Magazines are forecast to decline by two per cent in 2015 and by 1.9 per cent in 2016. Magazine share of spend is forecast at 6.9 per cent in 2015 and 6.5 per cent in 2016.

    Dentsu Aegis Network CEO Jerry Buhlmann said, “Carat’s latest advertising spend forecast shows optimism balanced with realism during a year of increased volatility in major markets such as Russia and China. Noticeably, the landscape is becoming increasingly complex as previously grouped markets, such as the BRIC economies are now operating differently and economic situations can quickly change markets at pace. Our teams are well positioned to navigate our clients through this multi-faceted marketplace and successfully assimilate new market opportunities at speed.”

    “Digital media continues to achieve outstanding growth as the effectiveness of this medium and results achieved, especially with the millennials, warrants the upsurge in spend levels. As digital rapidly evolves into a more established asset and programmatic and search bring stronger performance and efficiency, we continue to add value to our clients by delivering innovative solutions that are different and better,” he added.

    Carat Global chief strategy officer Sanjay Nazerali said, “The media landscape is more complex and multi-faceted than ever before. The diversity of media, market volatility and the rising impact of geographical events are all influencing advertising spend. For global clients, this means a greater need to be aware of such evolving scenarios, to be agile and able to move spend where it can deliver the greatest return.”

  • Status Check: Indian cinema in FY-2015

    Status Check: Indian cinema in FY-2015

    BENGALURU: Calendar year 2014 can be considered to some extent the start of an inflection point for Indian cinema vis-?-vis the discerning and rapidly maturing movie audiences in India. 2015 and 2016, will tell if the change will be tectonic or not. As compared to 2013, there were fewer movies with ‘good content’ in 2014. The revenues generated by the top ten grossing films in 2014 grew just 2.4 per cent over 2013 and 11.3 per cent over 2012. Movie consumption patterns in India have been changing over time.

     

    The Indian film industry is heavily dependent on theatrical releases, which contribute the lion’s share of revenue to the film industry, which was 74 per cent in 2014 and 73.3 per cent projected for 2015 by the FICCI-KPMG Media and Entertainment Industry Report 2015 (FICCI 2015 Report). In 2019, theatrical releases are projected to contribute 71.1 per cent to the revenue as per the report.

     

    Even small budget movies are now being released across more screens than ever before, more prints are distributed digitally, which enable simultaneous release in 3000 to 4500 screens at one go in a blitzkrieg of sorts. This in turn has resulted in shortening of the box office window. The once rare phenomenon of movies grossing Rs 200 crore within the first week of release is now being witnessed.

     

    Also, 2014 could well be termed as the year of introspection and reality check for the Indian film industry. During the year, the gap between box office collection of the top ten films and the contributions from the rest of industry widened further according to the FICCI-2015 Report. While the category ‘A’ films with top league actors continued to perform well at the box office, the same was not true for films, which lacked both strong content and a big actor to attract audiences to the theatres. With rising average ticket prices (ATP) and availability of alternate entertainment platforms, the audience today seems to have become more discerning when it comes to watching films in theatres.

     

    Domestic theatrical revenue was stagnant in 2014 as compared to 2013. In 2014, domestic theatrical revenue grew 9.9 per cent as compared to two years ago in 2012. Cable and Satellite (C&S) rights contributed about 11.7 per cent to the overall revenues mentioned in the FICCI 2015 Report, in 2013, C&S rights contribution was 12.1 per cent. The FICCI 2015 report projects C&S rights revenue will contribute 11.4 per cent in 2015, and 15.5 per cent by 2019 to overall revenue generated by the Indian film industry.

     

    The revenue generated by C&S rights fell 3.3 per cent in 2014 as compared to 2013, as compared to the growth of 20.6 per cent that 2013 witnessed as compared to 2012. C&S revenue in 2014 grew 16.7 per cent when compared to 2012.

     

    Movie content consumption including music (in a theatre and any kind of screen) will probably change for ever, and, probably for the betterment of the ecosystem. The lacklustre performance of two revenue generating segments in 2014 – theatrical and television or cable and satellite rights says it all.

     

    Another barometer would be the performance of the some major exhibitors. Exhibitors have been expanding their footprint across the country either via mergers and acquisitions (M&A) or opening new properties. Entities such as Carnival Cinemas expanded with acquisitions of Reliance’s Big Cinemas, HDIL’s Kulraj Broadway and Star Gaze’s Glitz Cinemas. PVR has opened nine new properties with 50 screens in FY-2015 (year starting 1 April, 2014 and ending 31 March, 2015) and currently operates a network of 467 screens spread over 105 properties in 43 cities across the country. What’s more, PVR plans to continue its aggressive expansion plans and intends to add approximately 60-70 screens in FY-2016. On the other hand, Inox added 38 screens to its existing kitty with the acquisition of Satyam Cinemas.

     

    PVR touts itself as being amongst the top 10 cinema companies in the world with respect to admissions per screen. During the year ended 31 March, 2015, the multiplex chain entertained 5.92 crore patrons in its cinemas, down by one per cent as compared to the previous year owing to disappointing box office performance of the movie content released during the year.

     

    In PVR’s case, the adverse impact of poor content quality to an extent was mitigated by improvement in non-box office revenues.

     

    In the case of Inox Leisure, footfalls in FY-2015 increased 6.5 per cent to 4.11 crore from 3.86 crore in FY-2014. Footfalls increased by 2.4 per cent to 0.84 crore in Q4-2015 from 0.82 crore in Q4-2014, but declined 15.2 per cent as compared to the 0.99 crore in the previous quarter. Occupancy in FY-2015 declined to 25 per cent from 28 per cent in the previous year and declined from 23 per cent in Q4-2014 to 20 per cent in Q4-2015. In FY-2015, Inox gross box office (GBO) increased 12.4 per cent to Rs 670.38 crore (66.1 per cent of TR) as compared to the Rs 596.56 crore (68 per cent of TR) in FY-2014.

     

    However, the first and second quarters of 2016 have seen tremendous results from some movies, with blockbusters that have had box office collections of Rs 300 crore plus. Multiplex houses such as PVR and Inox saw a manifold increase in their profit after tax (PAT) in Q1-2016 as compared to the corresponding year ago quarter or the loss reported by some in the Q4-2015.

     

    So are Indians movie mad?

     

    Considering the 1000+ movies that the Hindi film industry along with its regional counterparts like Telugu, Tamil, Bengali etc churn out, and the way many deify film stars, most people seem to think so. It is also fair to assume that this would be construed as a fact if one were to consider the super successes of movies in the recent past that have grossed between Rs 100 – 300 crore plus at the box office in India.

     

    In addition, also vital to consider are revenues from other streams like international box office, music, television, digital etc. What’s more, companies like Eros International and Yash Raj Films have also begun to explore and exploit the long revenue generating tail.

     

    One must also consider India’s population numbers along with its cultural and language diversity. While many Indians do consume cinema on the big screen, but considering the long revenue tail that smart Indian production houses have begun to exploit, it should come as no surprise that more cinema is consumed on the small screens like the idiot box, mobile or other digital devices rather than theatrically.

     

    A digression – two languages namely Tamil and Telugu movies, along with Bollywood, churn out about two thirds of the movies produced every year. How the splitting of Andhra Pradesh into two separate states affects the fortunes of the Telugu M&E industry remains to be seen.

     

    It is a fact that celebrities from the celluloid screen as well as the cricket field make a huge impact on the average Indian. One has to just look at the mega deals that many actors sign for brand endorsements. For example, Bollywood A lister Aamir Khan charges an eye-popping Rs 5 crore a day as per a report in the Economic Times. He, however, doesn’t sign up for every brand that knocks on his door.

     

    At the same time, there are regions in the country where actors are worshipped, especially in the south Deccan and coastal areas. Many actors have been raised to the level of gods, with temples that deify them. Actors such as the late Dr Rajkumar in Karnataka have iconic status, and even a perceived slight to them or their memory can result in violence, chaos and mayhem. No one has the kind of pull that a person like him or an NTR or an MGR had. Maybe Rajnikanth is the only exception to the rule today, but that superstar is so down to earth and humble that most Indians would love to have many more like him.

     

    MG Ramchandran, NT Rama Rao, Nara Chandra Babu Naidu and Jayalalitha Jayaram have been elected as Chief Ministers of their states on the back of fame earned on the celluloid screen. Bengali filmdom’s young superstar Dev is a member of the Indian Parliament, while Tamil leading actor Vijaykanth has formed his own political party.

     

    However, it must be noted that elevating the actor to the level of ultimate power (in terms of politics) has been limited to the four southern states, and, except for J Jayalalitha, and Chandra Babu Naidu, all the other superstars that attained the mantle of Chief Minister have demised. Yes, a lot of actors from the film and television world have been and will probably continue to get elected to various levels of power at the national, state or local level, but that trend seems to be dying with the deaths of the doyens. The only one that has bucked the trend in the recent past is Smriti Irani, who is currently the Minister of Human Resources Development in the Government of India.

     

    To some extent, a small portion of Indians can be considered more than just movie buffs, but certainly not crazy.

     

    Conclusion

     

    The Indian craze for cinema isn’t any different than that of its oriental brethren. Jackie Chan is an example. For a movie to be a hit in India, say gross Rs 300 crore (super hit) assuming that the ticket price of Rs 100 each, it has to be watched by just three crore pair of eyes, which is just 2.4 per cent of the country’s population (125.2 crore as per 2013 estimates). This hypothesis begs the questions as to how many super hits do we churn out in a year? 10, 20? How many are just ‘average’? And how many flops?

     

    Despite the 1000 or so films that are churned out every year, just about 10-20 per cent of the population watch movies in a theatre. Today, movies have to compete with other modes of entertainment such as cricket and other major sports that are slowly eroding the number of cinema theatrical eyeballs. The FICCI 2015 Report says that only two of the twenty movies that were released during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2014 performed well at the box office. Release windows have to be tweaked to festival and long school holidays. This results in a number of releases planned for during the second and third quarter (July – December), with Q3 generally being the most prosperous one for the theatrical movie industry players.

     

    Many of the top performing movies have done well on television, as the attached TAM data for the years 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 as week 1-27 of 2015 indicates.

     

    Maybe it is the Indian movie makers that are mad, considering the hopeless, poor or timid story lines, the sad efforts at attempting slapstick and other types of comedy, of wildly aping the west with sequels of movies that were non-starters in the first place.

     

    Even today, theatrical revenue is the largest contributor to the revenue from a movie. Many of the major chains are looking at tier I and II cities for organic expansion, besides takeover of the smaller and regional players. The FICCI 2015 Report brings out some startling differences between the US and India. India has just seven screens per ten lakh population as compared to the 125 screens per ten lakh people that the US has, with the geographical distribution of screens more skewed in favour of urban India.

     

    It now remains to be seen how the movies released in the last four months of 2015 fare at the box office. Diwali and Christmas being favourite release windows for filmmakers, some fireworks at the box office are likely to be in store. 

     

    Disclaimer: Many of the ideas and opinions expressed expressed in this report are personal views of the author with which Indiantelevision.com does not agree or disagree in part or full.

     

    Click here to see TAM analysis

  • DTH operators woo customers with lucrative offerings

    DTH operators woo customers with lucrative offerings

    The year has started on a good note for direct to home (DTH) subscribers. Even as Indian DTH players have seeded close to four million set-top-boxes (STBs) across the country in Q1-2015 alone, with growing competition and increasing digitization push, the companies are now also putting their best foot forward to woo more subscribers, while retaining existing ones.

     

    Going by the latest Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) report, almost 34.90 million DTH subscribers in India are inactive as against the total registered subscriber base of 76.05 million till the quarter ending March 2015. So while the DTH operators have been thumping their chests about adding new subscribers, their constant effort is channelized towards luring existing subscribers to stay on. And one such way to do that is by launching new products and services.

     

     

    As the year kicked off with the ICC Cricket World Cup and Indian Premiere League (IPL), DTH players got into overdrive mode early on with offerings galore. From Tata Sky launching 4K STBs, Videocon d2h rolling out a 4K Ultra HD multi genre channel, Dish TV offering discount packs, Sun Direct giving away an HD DVR connection at the cost of an HD connection on buying Samsung Curve to Airtel Digital TV’s UHD TV, it has been the year when DTH subscribers have been spoilt for choice.

     

     

    Over the past eight months, different players have come up with different strategies to increase subscription as well as add more active subscribers.

     

    Here’s a lowdown on who did what:

     

    Dish TV

     

    The DTH operator, which had in 2014 created a sub-brand called Zing, started the year by launching Zing for the Tamil Nadu market. Dish TV had introduced the sub-brand to cater to the specific needs of consumers in different regions and also give competition to the cable industry. Through this, Dish TV offered more than 145 channels, including 49 Tamil channels and services in a mere price of Rs 99 per month. Soon after, the operator launched Zing for the Kerala region as well. This time, it gave more than 150 channels, including 16 Malayalam channels at Rs 99 per month.

     

    Cashing in on the IPL, Dish TV, which was one of the sponsors for Kolkata Knight Riders, introduced a special Cricket+ package to increase its subscription revenues as well as the entertainment quotient.

     

    Dish TV, in order to get the ‘Art of Living’ lovers onboard launched Anandam Active to showcase the teachings of the spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravishankar. The service was made available to the subscribers of Dish TV with a monthly subscription fee of Rs 59 per month.

     

    “It has been our constant endeavour to make television viewing a wholesome experience for the entire family. We have always believed in offering unique content to our subscribers,” Dish TV COO Salil Kapoor had then said.

     

    Soon after, in order to lure music lovers, Dish TV tied up with Hungama to launch ‘Music Active Service.’ The service was launched to enhance Dish TV’s portfolio in the field of VAS and music and provide unlimited music to subscribers. While it launched the service at an introductory price of Rs 35 till 31 October, it will be priced at Rs 45 starting 1 November.

     

    The platform has something for everyone. In order to satiate the needs of movie lovers, Dish TV launched its first Home Video System – DishFlix. With this first of its kind push VOD service, Dish TV aims to empower consumers to enjoy uninterrupted ad-free entertainment. Through the service, viewers will be able to pause, play, fast forward and rewind movies or TV shows at their own convenience. Another unique feature is that this service will not require an internet connection as the content will be pushed to the customer’s STB via satellite. The customers for the service will need a DishFlix Box, which is priced at Rs 5990 that comes preloaded with 50 movies. Out of these, 15 movies will be refreshed every month on FIFO (First in First Out) basis (one new movie every two days) so that the viewable movie library is always updated. The monthly subscription to Flix studio is Rs 100.

     

    Tata Sky

     

    Tata Sky started its year with the launch of first 4K STB in India at a time when the country was preparing for the biggest cricketing extravaganza, the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. While for the new subscribers, the 4K box was available for Rs 6400, existing subscribers could avail the box at Rs 5900.

     

    Soon after, the DTH operator decided to disrupt the market by making DTH connections affordable for its customers. Keeping this in mind, the operator launched the ‘Daily Recharge’ voucher, which empowered subscribers to pay only for the day they watched TV at Rs 8. This also became the smallest denomination of recharge voucher in the television-viewing sector globally. Tata Sky’s aim was to make inroads into untapped markets.

     

    “This initiative elevates the DTH sector by redefining the pace of digitization and reach to markets nationwide,” said Tata Sky MD & CEO Harit Nagpal at the time of launching the service.

     

    The latest addition to the DTH operator’s offering is its new upgraded STB – Tata Sky+ Transfer, which will enable users to transfer the recorded content onto alternative screens. The new product addresses the growing consumption of video on the move, through smartphones, tablets and other alternative screens. The new STB, which is priced at Rs 9300 for new subscribers and Rs 7200, for existing customers, will work on a Wi-Fi connection.

     

    Videocon d2h

     

    For Videocon d2h, the highlight of the year has been the launch of the first 24-hour 4K Ultra HD multi genre channel in January. The 4K Ultra HD channel is a content pipe that can carry multi genre feeds like movies, video on demand, travel, infotainment, sports etc provided by international broadcasters or independent content providers. The channel was launched just before the ICC Cricket World Cup, thus enabling subscribers to experience the sport in 4K Ultra HD.

     

    In June, the company unveiled its new initiative aimed at preschool and elementary school aged children with the launch of SMART Services. This comprised value-added bouquet of learning activities and games available exclusively to Videocon d2h subscribers at a subscription rate of Rs 45 per month. The banner included Smart Learning, Smart Kids and Smart Games, all available on subscription basis.

     

    Airtel Digital TV

     

    Airtel Digital TV was the first to launch indigenously manufactured STBs, in keeping with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ campaign. The STBs have been made available in HD and soon all of Airtel Digital TV’s STBs will be manufactured in India. These indigenous Airtel Digital TV HD+ STBs offer features like – Full HD 1080p support, MPEG-4 video with Dolby Digital Plus Surround Sound; 5X picture clarity; unlimited recording (via USB-drive); and USB-based Wi-Fi connectivity for On-demand, Anytime TV and Interactive Gaming.

     

    In order to make available DTH account details easily, Airtel Digital TV launched the missed call service for customers. Through this, customers can get their DTH account details on their mobile number by just giving a missed call on 08130081300. The service is completely free of cost for all Airtel Digital TV customers and provides information regarding customer ID, balance and validity, package name, monthly rental, base package rental, top up rental, last recharge date and amount and number of connections to customers on an SMS within five seconds of the missed call.

     

    The company also rolled out an innovative and easy to use Self-Care application for television sets, a first-of-its kind by a DTH service provider. A TV replica of the ‘My Airtel mobile app,’ the Self-Care enables customers within Airtel Digital TV HD STBs could easily access their account details real-time on their TV sets. The app can be accessed by connecting the STB to an internet connection via a LAN cable or with the help of the newly launched plug and play Wi-Fi dongle– Airtel Infinity.

     

    Sun Direct

     

    DTH operator Sun Direct wooed its customers during the two mega sporting events of the year – the ICC Cricket World Cup and IPL. The platform, which believes that events like these help increase its existing subscriber base, came up with special packs during the World Cup and IPL. While it offered the Star Sports bouquet on its bestselling Cinema+Sports pack for the World Cup, it provided Sony Six, the official broadcaster for the league free to new customers in order to incentivize them during the IPL.

     

    Sun Direct offered the Cinema+Sports package at Rs 195 per month during WC and focused on the pack in order to fulfill the requirements of its customers, during the cricketing season.

     

    During IPL, the operator also provided IPL add-on free for customers, who recharged beyond six months. That apart, Sun Direct also came up with an add-on for Rs 44, which allowed customers to watch the T20 matches for the entire duration of the tournament. “We see the IPL as a good tool to win back customers and improve our recharges substantially,” Sun Direct CEO Mahesh Kumar had earlier told Indiantelevision.com.

     

    While DTH operators have been putting their money where the mouth is by launching innovations as well as technological upgrades, the fact remains that close to 45 per cent of DTH subscribers are inactive in India. Going by this figure, DTH players will have to ramp-up their offerings to ensure that those coming onboard stay with them on as loyal customers in the long run.