Category: Technology

Netflix, Disney/ABC Television Group in multi-year licensing deal

MUMBAI: OTT subscription service provider Netflix and Disney/ABC Television Group have announced a new multi-year licensing agreement that will make Netflix the exclusive US subscription television service for the Disney Junior show ‘Jake and the Never Land Pirates‘, as well as the Disney XD show ‘Tron: Uprising‘.

In addition, Handy Manny, special agent Oso and JoJo‘s Circus will also be available for members in the US to watch instantly later this month.

Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos said, “Disney and Netflix have shared a long and mutually beneficial relationship and this deal expands on the incredible line-up of Disney content already available for our members. Families love Netflix and we know they especially love the imaginative and high-quality TV shows and movies from Disney. We‘re excited to bring Jake and the Never Land Pirates, a terrific show for families with preschoolers, to our members.”

Disney-ABC domestic television president Janice Marinelli said, “We are delighted that Netflix‘s members and their young children will be able to experience a selection of tremendously popular original series from Disney Junior and Disney XD. Netflix is a highly valued partner and a terrific platform for families to enjoy these heartfelt characters and entertaining stories.”

Disney Junior‘s series, ‘Jake and the Never Land Pirates‘ is a music-filled interactive treasure hunt that introduces a crew of kid pirates — leader Jake and pals Izzy and Cubby — and follows their Never Land adventures as they work to outwit two infamous characters, the one and only Captain Hook and Mr. Smee, from Disney‘s Peter Pan. Like all Disney Junior programming, ‘Jake and the Never Land Pirates‘ is guided by an established curriculum that nurtures multiple areas of child development: physical, emotional, social and cognitive; thinking and creative skills, as well as moral and ethical development.

May 13, 2013
TRAI orders MSOs and payTV b’casters to file interconnect agreements

NEW DELHI: There has been a hue and cry over the last month or so that broadcasters and MSOs have been extremely slothful in signing channel agreements with each other. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has taken note of this and asked all of them to furnish the names of the MSO or the service provider with whom the interconnection agreement has been entered into along with the service area covered and the validity period of the said agreement by the week beginning 13 May.

The directives were sent individually to all pay broadcasters/ aggregators and MSOs on 6 May.

TRAI has also directed the pay broadcasters/aggregators and MSOs to produce in writing the terms and conditions of their interconnection agreements with MSOs or other service providers wherever they are is providing cable television services through digital addressable systems (DAS).

The direction has been sent under section 13, read with sub-clauses (ii), (iii), (iv) and (v) of clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 11 of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act 1997 for implementation of Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems.

Regulation 5(3) of the regulations provides that every broadcaster has to, within a period of thirty days from the date of receipt of request from the multi system operator, enter into an interconnection agreement or modify the existing interconnect agreement in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Reference Interconnect Offer published under these regulations or as may be mutually agreed.

Regulation 5(6) provides that it shall be mandatory for the broadcasters of pay channels to reduce the terms and conditions of the interconnection agreements into writing; and Regulation 5(7) provides that no broadcaster of pay channels shall make available signals of TV channels to any multi system operator without entering into a written interconnection agreement.

Prior to this notice, TRAI had held meetings with broadcasters and MSOs on 22 March, 2 April, 12 April and 18 April on issues relating to implementation of the phase II of implementation of DAS systems wherein the broadcasters and MSOs were asked to expedite the signing of interconnection agreements and submission of the information of the same to the Authority.

May 11, 2013
Airtel DTH: Q4 2013 revenues & subs up, losses down

MUMBAI: That the DTH market in India is doing well, is something that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) latest quarter report turned up. This is reflected in Bharti Airtel’s digital TV services financials for Q4 and financial year ended 31 March 2013 which were announced earlier this week.

The division’s revenues are up even as average revenue per user (ARPU) has moved northwards (albeit marginally) and losses southwards. But the business is obviously burning cash – though lower than earlier – as competition is forcing DTH players to expand their reach nationally and offer newer services. All this – without being able to pass on costs to subscribers.

Q4 2013 revenues are up 24 per cent to Rs 441.90 crore as against Rs 356.5 crore in the previous corresponding quarter of 2012. The company continues to be EBITDA positive with the number rising to Rs 29.6 crore (Rs 20.9 crore in Q4 2012). Its operating losses are down to Rs 178.4 crore (Rs 194.4 crore). It incurred a capex of Rs 132.6 crore (Rs 98 crore) during the quarter. Its cumulative investments in the DTH business up to end March 2013 stand at Rs 4036.6 crore (Rs 3298 crore).

The good news is that ARPU is also up to Rs 184 in Q4 2013 (Rs 166 in Q4 2012). The company says this was “achieved through product innovations, pricing corrections and up-selling.” Its subscriber base grew 12 per cent from 7.2 million in Q4 2012 to 8.1 million (Q4 2013). The company attributes this increase to the digitisation drive across the four metro cities of the country and it expects this to accelerate further with phase II digitization.

The DTH business’ revenues for the whole year rose 26 per cent to Rs 1629.4 crore (Rs 1296 crore up to March 2012). Its EBITDA numbers were down three per cent to Rs 45.2 crore (Rs 46.5 crore). Its operating loss rose from Rs 719.8 crore to Rs 815 crore. And its operating free cash flow requirement improved seven per cent from a negative Rs 763.4 crore to Rs 709.6 crore.
The company says it is doing pretty well on its HD set top box rollout (HD), digital TV recorders with 3D capabilities, and in providing a superior customer experience. It currently offers 373 channels and services including 15 HD channels and six interactive services. It says it is the first Indian DTH player to “provide real-time integration of all the three screens viz. television, mobile and computer enabling our customers to record their favourite TV programs through mobile and web.”

May 11, 2013
IPTV version launched by PTCL in Pakistan

NEW DELHI: A new website mytv.com.pk has been launched in Pakistan akin to Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) which has a number of movies and TV shows for grown ups and a complete entertainment package that includes kids corner as well.

The entertainment portal has been launched by the Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited (PTCL) for its web customer.

Other items in its entertainment package include updates of important events in Pakistan, fashion news, horoscope, sports, books, culinary and general news. Users of any broadband service can utilize this entertainment service though it is paid content.

Users are required to SMS MYTV from a Ufone number to 9479 which will give a passkey to enter at the site to watch the video.

May 11, 2013
TRAI to hold open house on Cross Media Ownership this month

NEW DELHI: After having received forty responses and counter-responses, the telecom regulatory authority of India (Trai) has decided to hold an open house to take views of stakeholders on media ownership.

The open house has been slated for 18 May in Delhi. It had earlier been slated for 11 May but was postponed by a week.

Interestingly one of the counter-responses is from the administrative staff college of India, which had triggered the second consultation paper by Trai on the issue.

Trai had set 29 April as the last date for stakeholders to offer their cross-comments. The paper had been issued on 15 February but the final date had been extended in view of the ‘complexity of the issue‘.

The paper among other issues has sought comments on devising ownership rules for vertical integration between broadcasting and distribution entities.

The paper will also devise rules/restrictions in case of mergers and acquisitions in the media sector, and media ownership rules within and across media segments.

Methodology to measure ownership or control of an entity over a media outlet, identification of genres to be considered while framing media ownership rules and prescribing norms for mandatory disclosures by media entities are some other issues.

Trai has also discussed in its paper issues relating to identification of media segments wherein media ownership rules are to be prescribed, and identification of relevant markets for evaluating various parameters to be used for devising ownership rules and the methodology for measuring these parameters.

At the outset, TRAI said the paper had been issued at the request of the information and broadcasting ministry earlier last year following a report of the administrative staff college of India, in Hyderabad.

Trai said that it was felt that reasonable restrictions may need to be put in place on ownership in the media sector, to ensure media pluralism and to counter the ills of monopolies. It pointed out that such restrictions do exist in many international markets.

May 10, 2013
SC admits LCOs plea against Tdsat’s DAS order

NEW DELHI: The supreme court today admitted for hearing an appeal by united cable operators welfare association (Ucowa) challenging the revenue sharing model under the digital addressable system (DAS) for cable television.

Chief justice Altamis Kabir, justice Vikramjit Sen and justice S A Bobde also issued notice to the telecom regulatory authority of India (Trai) and the information & broadcasting ministry.

The court also decided to list for hearing this appeal along with the appeals filed earlier by Incable and Digicable.

All the three appeals are against the judgment of the telecom disputes settlement and appellate tribunal (Tdsat) of 19 October last year.

In its petition, the Ucowa said the tariff order and regulations were aimed at helping the television broadcasters and the direct-to-home platforms.

They said it was also clear that the channels were deliberately not revealing their retail tariff per channel.

The counsel stressed that they were not opposed to introduction of digital DAS but some infirmities had to be corrected.

The LCOs had failed to get any relief from Tdsat on their plea that the revenue sharing pattern of 55:45 on the basic service tier (free to air television channels) of Rs 100 and 65:35 on the upper tier of Rs 150 (combination of FTA and pay channels), and their appeals were dismissed.

The appeals by the MSOs had been filed against the unfair fixation of the wholesale rate the price broadcasters can charge of channels for DAS at not more than 42 percent of the non-Cas area rate. The MSOs are concerned about the rate that would be fixed after DAS is implemented countrywide (by December 2014).

May 10, 2013
DTH, internet register growth till end Dec ’12: Trai

MUMBAI: DTH TV in India is doing very well thank you. Bouoyed by the mandated digitisation of India’s cable TV sector and increased marketing activity by the six direct to home television service providers, the number of subscribers to DTH has climbed to 54.52 million subscribers. That’s the finding of The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) in its latest quarterly report ending December 2012.

These numbers were achieved half way through phase I digitisation.

The report also says that the maximum TV channels being carried by any MSO nationally is 267, while traditional analogue cable TV operators were carrying 100 channels. It adds that India has close to 823 private satellite TV channels – in addition to the state owned broadcaster Doordarshan. 184 of these are pay TV channels. The data for the report was collated from 26 broadcast distributors.

The report also says that Indians are taking to the internet more and more with the number of subscribers increasing to 25.33 million from 24.01 million in end September 2012 – registering a quarterly growth rate of 5.49 per cent. The Top 10 ISPs together hold 95.42 per cent of the total internet subscriber base. As far as broadband is concerned, the number of subscribers increased by 2.02 per cent to 14.98 million as against 14.68 million up to end September 2012. Almost 84.82 per cent of these subscribers are using DSL. However, the share of broadband subscription to total internet subscription decreased from 61.16 per cent (end September 2012) to 59.15 per cent (end December 2012).

May 10, 2013
SC postpones IBF petition on digitisation to 8 July

NEW DELHI: The supreme court has once again rejected an application by the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) for staying the court proceedings in the Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh high courts.

Chief justice Altamis Kabir, justice Vikramjit Sen and justice S A Bobde fixed 8 July as the date for further hearing on the petition by the IBF challenging the orders in the Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh high courts.

It also listed along with these cases a petition by IBF against the multi-system operator Digicable.

Some more MSOs from Andhra Pradesh including Chalasani Narendra Varaprasad were allowed to be impleaded in the case.

The IBF petition seeks to ensure that digitization is implemented as scheduled and without hindrance.

When the special leave petition had been mentioned before the court on 16 April, it had declined the prayer to stay any of the proceedings in the various high courts as it was informed that the Karnataka high court judgment on the subject was due. The bench presided over by chief justice Altamas Kabir felt it would await the judgment of the high court before taking up the matter.

The Karanataka, Gujarat and Allahabad high courts have since dismissed as having no merit the petitions seeking extension of the switch-of dates for phase II of digitisation in Bengaluru, Mysore, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara, Agra, Allahabad, Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Lucknow, Meerut and Varanasi.

Petitions challenging digitisation are currently pending in the Madras, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh high courts. These affect the cities of Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam Bhopal, Indore, and Jabalpur.

May 10, 2013
BroadcastAsia2013 returns with an integrated offering for the Indian broadcast industry

MUMBAI: BroadcastAsia2013, a media and communications event is set to feature “groundbreaking” technologies, and spotlight hottest industry trends for the broadcast and film value chain. It is to be held at the Marina Bay Sands Singapore from 18 – 21 June.

The Indian Media and Entertainment industry grew from Rs 728 billion in 2011 to Rs 820 billion in 2012, registering an overall growth of 12.6 per cent. Given the impetus introduced by digitisation, continued growth of regional media, upcoming elections, continued strength in the film sector and fast increasing new media businesses, the industry is estimated to achieve a growth of 11.8 per cent in 2013 to Rs 917 billion. Going forward, the sector is projected to grow at a healthy CAGR of 15.2 per cent to Rs 1,661 billion by 2017, according to the FICCI – KPMG Media & Entertainment 2013 report.

The report also states that although television will continue to be the dominant segment, strong growth is posted by new media sectors, animation/ VFX and a comeback in the Films and Music sectors on the back of strong content and the benefits of digitisation.

Film digitisation and TV distribution infrastructure, growth in new media like increase in mobile and wireless connections; greater sophistication of and segmentation in content with digitisation and finally encouraging regulatory and policy support has been a key enabler of growth for the Indian media sector. The continued cable DAS rollout, Phase III licensing for Radio and 4G rollout this year will spur growth from the medium term.

The report further stated that by 2017, newer media segments such as digital advertising, gaming, animation and visual effects will post double-digit growth. While digital advertising at present accounts for Rs 2,170 billion, it is expected to increase to Rs 87.20 billion by 2017. The Indian film industry is also expected to grow from Rs 112.40 billion to Rs 193 billion by 2017.

BroadcastAsia2013 registers strong Indian participation.

Speaking at the press conference held in Mumbai Calvin Koh, who is assistant project director for BroadcastAsia from organiser Singapore Exhibition Services (SES) said, “With the advent of innovative technology and the recent large scale digitisation, Indian broadcasters and consumers are both at a threshold of a technology revolution. As demand grows for advanced technology and content for the dynamic Indian audiences, the industry, like never before, is embracing world class practices and formats. BroadcastAsia2013 is an ideal platform for the Indian players to partner with world leaders as well as reach out to clients beyond India.”

The Indian companies exhibiting at BroadcastAsia2013 include Further Broadcast Automation Systems, Canara Lighting Industries, Diversified Communications India, Essel Shyam Communication, Indiasign, Rudraksha Technology and WASP3D.

Indian experts including Zeel business head – new media Vishal Malhotra and Shemaroo Entertainment director, owner Jai Maroo will be part of a panel at the BroadcastAsia2013 International Conference.

With the rise of Smart TVs and the blurring of the boundaries between TV and social networks, consumers will be watching TV within social networks and vice versa, impacting the way they engage with TV. BroadcastAsia2013 will be addressing this latest phenomenon with showcases from leading industry bigwigs, as well as up-to-date conference topics, such as 4K TV, OTT, Multi-Screen Streaming, DVB-T2, Satellite/Terrestrial/Cable Broadcasting, Production and Post-Production Software.

New and returning top-notch exhibitors, including Axon, Dalet, Canon, Envivo, Evertz, Ericsson TV, GoPro, GrassValley, Harmonic, Harris, Hitachi, Ikegami, Miranda, Orad, Panasonic, PCCW, Playbox Technology, Quantel, Sennheiser, Snell, Sony, Quantel, Wasp3D, Yamaha will demonstrate their competencies in: future tv / ott / cloud broadcasting, multi-platform broadcasting, satellite / terrestrial / cable broadcasting, digital media asset management / file-based production, DVB-T2, digital tv / hbbtv / hdtv / internettv, broadcast automation, infrastructure and facilities, production / post production software, content editing / colouring restoration, pro audio technology, video content delivery network, broadcast it networking and security.

To complete the entire value chain, ProfessionalAudioTechnology2013 will see professional audio companies showcasing the latest audio products and services for the broadcasting and film ecosystem.

The highly anticipated Cinematography/Film/Production Zone will once again return this year to provide visitors with comprehensive updates on featured technologies such as Animation and Video Effects, Motion and Film Production, Camera, Lenses and Tripods and beyond.

As Asia‘s film and TV industry continues to flourish, the BroadcastAsia2013 International Conference progresses to the next level with four new tracks, four specialised sessions and for the first time, a half day workshop. This will focus on the shift in consumer demand for high quality content on-the-go, on multiple platforms and the emerging business opportunities for OTT in Asia. More than 100 speakers from 31 countries/regions will lead the numerous discussions over four days.

Some of the key confirmed speakers include Peter Hutton (managing director of ESPN Star Sports), Dato Amrin Awaluddin (group managing director of Media Prima Berhad), Graham Kill (CEO of Irdeto), Kurt Hoppe (director of Smart TV Innovation of LG Electronics), Benjamin Grubbs (APAC head of partner marketing of YouTube) and Jay Fulcher (CEO of Ooyala).

The Creative Content Production Conference, back for its fourth successful year, is themed “Producing and Distributing Successful Content in Asia.” The conference will address the challenge of producing appealing and high-quality content for global audiences. Numerous industry stalwarts – AETN All Asia Network, Fox International Channels, Lucas film Singapore, Sony Pictures Television and Viacom International Media Networks will provide their insights on the future of the industry at the two-day conference. A series of new topics and speakers including a ‘Producers Dialogue‘ have been developed to serve as additional forums for participants to address and anticipate the upcoming trends and demands of the industry.

CommunicAsia2013 and EnterpriseIT2013, held alongside BroadcastAsia2013 at the Marina Bay Sands, will feature a complete range of key technologies, such as cloud computing, enterprise mobility, mobile broadband and applications, developments in LTE/4G as well as Over-the-Top (OTT) and more. EnterpriseIT2013 will also highlight the latest technology solutions for enterprises from different vertical industries such as banking and finance, education, government, healthcare, hospitality, and logistics and transportation.

The last edition of BroadcastAsia, together with CommunicAsia, attracted close to 2,000 exhibitors and over 50,000 professional attendees from around the globe.

May 10, 2013
Subhash Chandra ropes in retail and life style veteran Wadhwa to head Siti Cable

Mumbai: There’s tremendous promise and potential in Indian cable TV. No one knows this better than Essel group and Zee TV
chairman Subhash Chandra who floated cable TV firm Siti Cable more than 19 years ago – in the early stages of cable and satellite TV in India.

And with the Indian cable TV sector now undergoing digitisation under a government mandate, he clearly believes he can take India’s leading MSO to greater heights.

Today Chandra announced the appointment of V D Wadhwa as CEO of Siti Cable Network. The cable TV network has close to 10 million subscribers nationally. Reaching out to over 10 million viewers.

As Siti Cable CEO , Wadhwa will be based out of Noida and will be responsible for taking forward the organisational aspirations of growing the business of Siti Cable multifold through digitisation.

His last assignment was with Timex Group India where he was managing director & CEO for business operations in India and Saarc countries. Wadhwa brings with him over 28 years of general management experience in consumer life style and retail industry and largely credited with the profitable turnaround of Timex operations in India and establishing its retail operations in India and south Asian countries.

Wadhwa is an alumnus of Harvard Business School and a fellow member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India. He has served on various Ficci and Assocham committees besides serving as president of the Horological Federation of India.

Says Chandra: “We are delighted to have Wadhwa at the helm of Siti Cable. With his strong business acumen and strategic inputs, we expect the company to touch new highs with the aggressive growth plan in the digital regime. I am confident that Wadhwa’s association with the group will add immense value to the Company and all its stake holders.”

May 9, 2013