ITV

Category: Technology

  • Ditto TV strengthens regional bouquet with Raj TV alliance

    Ditto TV strengthens regional bouquet with Raj TV alliance

    MUMBAI: Zee New Media, the digital media arm of Zeel, is slowly and steadily building its over-the-top (OTT) platform Ditto TV. Close on the heels of adding ETV network channels, Ditto TV has strengthened its regional offering by inking a strategic alliance with Raj Television adding the latter‘s bouquet of channels to its regional pack.

    The alliance will now enable Ditto TV to stream live TV content from Raj TV Network to avid viewers of South Indian language channels on their mobiles, PCs and tablets. Raj TV Network‘s bouquet includes channels across genres like GECs, News and Music comprising channels like Raj TV, Raj Digital Plus, Raj Music, Raj Musix and Raj News 24X7.

    Commenting on the partnership, Zeel Business Head – New Media Vishal Malhotra said, “Our partnership with Raj TV is of strategic importance to Ditto TV as it will help us strengthen our foothold in the southern markets that we have already penetrated through the ETV range of channels. More importantly, with the enhanced channels offering on the Ditto TV platform, we are delighted to have reached out to the hearts of Indians from around the world, who yearn for such content.”

    Raj TV Distribution Director M. Rajrathinam said, “With the evolution of technology, we need to keep pace with the demands of our New Age Viewer, who prefers to view content not only at his convenience, but also at the place of his choosing. Our partnership with Ditto TV offers us the right choice for us to reach out to this viewer. The partnership will also help us accelerate our business beyond our audience base in southern India, to national and global markets.”

    The partnership with Raj TV is in addition to the associations Ditto TV already has in place with other leading content providers such as IndiaCast, Multi Screen Media (MSM), Sri Adhikari Brothers (SB), TV Today Network and BBC.

  • Times Internet forms strategic alliance with Business Insider

    Times Internet forms strategic alliance with Business Insider

    MUMBAI: Times Internet (TIL), the digital arm of the Times of India Group, has entered into a strategic partnership with America‘s most popular business news site to launch Business Insider India.

    The partnership will combine Business Insider‘s real-time, intensive approach to news with qualitative editorial expertise of TIL and deliver a strong portfolio of global and localized content for the Indian audience. Times Internet will be Business Insider‘s exclusive partner in India for content development, events, monetisation, and syndication.

    The unique alliance will help TIL give Indian users an access to international news covering a wide range of subjects ranging from business trends & strategy, career skills, digital trends, industry reports, white papers, advertising and much more. TIL intends to use The Times Group‘s multimedia resources to help develop and evangelise the brand locally.

    Times Local Partners (TLP) is a recently launched initiative by Times Internet to partner with global digital companies to launch, build, and grow meaningfully in India.

    Two months ago, TLP announced a partnership with Gawker Media to bring Gizmodo and Lifehacker to India. TLP intends to launch local versions of those sites in April 2013, with a similar hybrid model of local and global content, curated and tailored for the Indian market, which will leverage Times Internet‘s position as the largest Indian network by traffic.

    Discussing the partnership with Business Insider, TIL CEO Satyan Gajwani said, “Business Insider is one of the most successful digital-first news organizations in the world, with a pioneering combination of original reporting, aggregation, and dynamic social engagement tools. Their bold and direct editorial perspective grips readers, and already today attracts a strong loyal following within India. We can‘t wait to expose them to a larger audience and increase their relevance and prominence in India.”

    Business Insider is known for its distinct style of coverage of news from around the world, with 15 million monthly visitors worldwide. After its successful foray with an Australian version earlier this month, the Indian version will further help Business Insider expand its presence in the Asian sub continent. The site already has a wide user base and fetches a good traction in the country.

    Business Insider Founder & Editor-in-Chief Henry Blodget said, “We have many loyal readers in India, so making it the site of the latest international version of Business Insider makes a lot of sense for us. We‘re thrilled to be partnering with Times Internet – which has such a storied history, and breadth of editorial resources and acumen – and we look forward to working with them to engage readers in India with a Business Insider that‘s more tailored to them.”

  • Graphic India appoints Salil Bhargava as COO

    Graphic India appoints Salil Bhargava as COO

    MUMBAI: Graphic India, a character entertainment company, has appointed former Jump Games CEO Salil Bhargava as Chief Operating Officer (COO). The company is focused on creating leading characters, comics and stories for the Indian youth market through mobile and digital platforms.

    Bhargava, an veteran in the industry and brings more than twelve years of experience in media, entertainment and digital companies in India and overseas, will report to Sharad Devarajan, Co-Founder and CEO of Graphic India.

    CA Media, the Asian investment arm of The Chernin Group, had acquired an undisclosed large minority stake in Graphic India in January this year.

    Commenting on the new appointment, Graphic India Co-Founder & CEO Sharad Devarajan said, “Salil has been a leading force in pioneering India‘s mobile entertainment industry over the last decade and I am delighted to bring his experience to Graphic as we build a digital media company that transforms the Indian character entertainment industry with new heroes and stories to inspire the world.”

    Commenting on his appointment, Bhargava said, “I am thrilled to be joining Graphic India which is setting new boundaries in creativity for character entertainment in India. Sharad and his team bring an unparalleled level of experience in this space and there cannot be a more exciting company to work with as we pioneer digital initiatives to make Graphic‘s unique and ground breaking content available across every digital device in the country.”

    Salil has a Bachelors Degree in Commerce from Symbiosis College of Arts & Commerce, Pune. He has studied at Michigan State University in USA and holds an MBA degree from Eli Broad Graduate School of Management.

    Graphic India‘s stories include, Ramayan 3392A.D. and The Sadhu, both currently in development as Hollywood feature films; 18 Days, a reimagining of the great eastern epic, the Mahabharata, by acclaimed graphic novel creator, Grant Morrison; Chakra The Invincible, the first superhero for India from legendary creator Stan Lee; and numerous other heroes and stories.

  • Stage set for a court battle on DAS in Bengaluru

    Stage set for a court battle on DAS in Bengaluru

    MUMBAI: A battle royale is set to take place in the Karnataka High Court tomorrow. On the one hand are national and Karnataka‘s multi system operators (MSOs). And on the other side is the Karnataka Cable TV Operators Association (KCTVOA). The former are are all set to challenge the petition filed by the latter seeking extension of DAS (digital addressable system) in Bengaluru.

    Putting up a united front, the MSOs led by Hathway Cable & Datacom, InCable, Den Networks, Siti Cable and Atria Convergence Technologies will request the High Court to dismiss the writ petition filed by the KCTVOA.

    The MSOs have been made respondents to the petition filed by KCTVOA president V S Patrick Raju. The MSOs are expected to file their responses when the case comes up for hearing before the court tomorrow.

    Hathway Cable & Datacom MD and CEO Jagdish Kumar asserted that the MSOs will request the HC to strike down the KCTVOA‘s writ petition seeking extension of digitisation deadline.

    Kumar feels that there is no need for a stay on DAS in Bangalore as almost 75 per cent of the television households have already been seeded with STBs. The MSOs, he said, are equipped to seed STBs in the remaining 25 per cent homes.

    The Karnataka HC had had on 31 March extended DAS in Bengaluru till 5 April on a petition filed by Raju. The KCTVOA had requested the HC to postpone digitisation in Karnataka‘s capital city as there was no clarity on the set top boxes (STBs).

    Raju says that he had filed a RTI request with the nodal officer in Bengaluru 10 days ago, seeking information on the extent of set top box seeding in the city, but he had not got a response as yet. He says that the entire digitisation process will result in cable TV operators becoming a bill collector and the revenue share of 65:35 in favour of the MSO is not acceptable at all. “We have invested so much in our cable TV networks and by collecting Rs 1,400 for a set top box, the MSO will get our subscriber who is asking us for bills for the set top box, for warranty for mobility to other areas of the city,” he says. “Also the MSOs have not given us a rate card for the channels that they want us to carry.”

    The sunset date for phase II of digitisation covering 38 cities was 31 March however the Information & Broadcasting ministry on 2 April allowed a 15 day grace period to the industry to allow smooth transition from analogue to digital cable.

    The HC is also expected to hear tomorrow a petition filed by Mysore Cable TV Operators Association seeking extension in Mysore due to shortage of STBs.

  • Industry airs views on Phase II digitisation “grace period”

    Industry airs views on Phase II digitisation “grace period”

    MUMBAI: What does the industry think about the government‘s decision to allow a grace period of 15 days for the rollout of phase II digitisation in some cities? Well, we at indiantelevision.com decided to find out by speaking to a cross section of industry to find out.

    Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) president and Multi Screen Media (MSM) CEO Manjit Singh, who is in Kolkata for the first match of the IPL, is clear that “as a broadcaster I would have preferred the government not giving any grace period. But since the ministry is more aware of the ground situation, I will go with its decision.”

    Hinduja Ventures Ltd whole time director Ashok Mansukhani believes that “if the government wanted to give a grace period of 15 days, it should have been after consultation with the MSOs who have been entrusted with the task of majorly implementing digitisation. Where it has been substantially implemented, there was no need to give a grace period. Where deployment is below 20 per cent, discussion could have been held on a longer timeline than 15 days.”

    Mansukhani adds that he would like the digitisation numbers of Phase II which are being released to be revisited for some localities. “There is some dispute about the numbers,” he says.

    He highlights that the objective of digitisation is to end under-declaration by cable TV operators. “If DAS Phase II deployment is uneven then government could have taken a two step process where pay TV channels could have been switched off first and the free to air channels later to allow for a smooth transition,” he says.

    Hathway Cable & Datacom MD & CEO Jagdish Kumar is of the opinion that from his network‘s perspective he would have preferred not to have a grace period at all. “From our perspective, we are well prepared with the ability to deploy set top boxes to almost 90 per cent of our and our joint venture networks,” he says.

    He points out that the lack of initiative on the part broadcasters to sign “digital agreements for phase II towns has been disappointing. We are working with broadcasters to get them moving. Basically, the industry is toying with a fixed fee or cost per subscriber deals.”

    DEN Networks COO M.G. Azhar is of the view that it was good the government has given the grace period keeping the consumers in mind. “Where set top boxes (STBs) have not been deployed effectively, the consumer should not face an analogue blackout,” he says.

    Tata Sky MD & CEO Harit Nagpal has the final word. Speaking to Indiantelevision.com yesterday, he had said that there was “no need for a grace period as the DTH operators are more than equipped to meet the STB demand wherever there is a shortage.”

  • Media entrepreneurs to explore ways to create loyal audiences at Nab

    Media entrepreneurs to explore ways to create loyal audiences at Nab

    MUMBAI: A general session open to all attendees at the 2013 Nab Show will explore how today’s creative media entrepreneurs are finding new ways to produce quality online content and build loyal audiences. The session, “Broadcast Minds™ – Internet Content Creators Talk What’s Next Online” produced in partnership with NewTek, will take place on 10 April in Las Vegas.

    Moderated by Revision3 CEO Jim Louderback, the panel will feature FishBowl Worldwide Media co-founder, president and CEO Bruce Gersh, actor/comedian Tom Green; illusionist, comedian, author Penn Jillette and host and executive producer, “What’s Trending” Shira Lazar.

    NewTek executive VP marketing Carter Holland said, “We are thrilled to team up with the NAB this year and expose a larger audience to Broadcast Minds. Since we started Broadcast Minds in 2010, our goal has remained the same: Expose the world to movers and shakers who are redefining what it means to be a ’broadcaster’ through the use of technology, social media and the Internet. We look forward to the insights that this year’s all-star line-up will reveal about breaking down the boundaries between television content creation, content distribution, social participation and online consumption”.

    The on-going democratization of technology, social media and access to the Internet through mobile devices is reshaping the media and entertainment landscape. “Broadcast Minds” will study the way this trend is pushing content creators to think differently about how to develop, produce and distribute online video content. Panelists will also discuss the impact of consumers’ growing access to niche entertainment programming and their ability to influence the outcome of online TV shows through real-time social media participation. The session will be streamed live online at www.nabshow.com.

  • Aereo wins court fight against US channels

    Aereo wins court fight against US channels

    MUMBAI: In a setback to US television broadcasters, a Federal Appeals court has ruled that Aereo can continue to stream live TV through its site and app.

    The digital TV startup which is backed by Barry Diller will be able to continue operating and the dispute is expected to get a proper court hearing.

    Aereo streams TV channels without compensating them, but the broadcasters feel they will win eventually. But Aereo, which is only available in New York City, plans to offer its service in nearly 24 more cities this year.

    Channels like CBS, Disney and Fox complain that none of Aereo‘s $8 a month fee goes to the local TV stations. This is not the case when programming is carried over cable and satellite services, which have to pay the stations rebroadcast fees – fees the TV stations are increasingly depending on in a time when ad revenue is on the decline because of competition from Internet ad services.

    The broadcasters said in a statement: “This was a loss for the entire creative community. The court has ruled that it is okay to steal copyrighted material and re-transmit it without compensation. While we are disappointed with this decision, we have and are considering our options to protect our programming.”

    Aereo CEO Chet Kanojia said, “We may be a small start-up, but we have always believed in standing up and fighting for our consumers. We are grateful for the court’s thoughtful analysis and decision and we look forward to continuing to build a successful business that puts consumers first.”

  • ‘Game of Thrones’ breaks online piracy records in many countries

    ‘Game of Thrones’ breaks online piracy records in many countries

    MUMBAI: The season premiere of ‘Game of Thrones’ is breaking records on multiple fronts, with a million downloads on BitTorrent in less than a day and proving that never before have so many people shared a file at the same time with more than 160,000 simultaneous peers.

    Data gathered by TorrentFreak further shows that Australia has the highest piracy rate of the popular download destinations, while London tops the list of pirate cities.

    One of the reasons cited for the popularity among pirates is the international delay in airing. Outside the US, fans of the show sometimes have to wait a while before they can see the latest episode. HBO is trying to close these gaps as best it can.

    The new season premiere of ‘Game of Thrones’ has, as expected, generated quite a bit of activity on various BitTorrent sites.

    Thousands of downloaders went out to grab a copy of the show, breaking the record for the largest BitTorrent swarm ever in the process. A few hours after the first torrent of the show was uploaded, the OpenBitTorrent tracker reported that 163,088 people where sharing one single torrent. A total of 110,303 were sharing a complete copy of that particular torrent while 52,786 were still downloading.

    Previously, the record for the largest BitTorrent swarm belonged to the season premiere of the TV-show ‘Heroes’ with 144,663 peers.

    Counting all the different releases, it is estimated that the latest ‘Game of Thrones’ episode has been downloaded over a million times already.

    Delays are just part of the problem though. The fact that the show is only available to those who pay for an HBO subscription does not help either. This explains why many people from the US prefer to use BitTorrent.

    The US comes out on top, followed by the UK and Australia. The number three spot for Australia is impressive and with a population of just over 22 million people it has the highest piracy rate. Looking at other cities, most downloads come from London, before Paris and Sydney.

    But according to HBO, piracy is not killing the show. While HBO would prefer if everyone paid for ‘Game of Thrones’, their programming President Michael Lombardo does not fear piracy. He sees it as a compliment and does not believe it negatively impacts DVD-sales.

  • Govt gives 15 days grace for phase II cable TV digitisation

    Govt gives 15 days grace for phase II cable TV digitisation

    NEW DELHI: Ever since the ministry of information and broadcasting ministry announced that it was enforcing 31 March 2013 for Phase II cable TV digitization and switch-ff of analogue signals in 38 cities in 14 states, there have been yelps from state government chief ministers and cable TV operators, and MSOs all over.

    Media reports were that a large number of viewers in these cities are grappling with blank TV screens as cable TV operators have not been able to speedily provide the set top boxes (STBs) needed to digitize. Some state governments went so far as to ask for a six-month extension to the digitization deadline. A couple of high courts – in Karnataka and Gujarat – had already agreed to a week long postponement in late March and on 1 April

    Late last night, according to a PTI report, the government heard the protesters’ pleas and said it would go slow on enforcing the black out of analogue signals. While categorically stating that the deadline was not being extended, information & broadcasting secretary Uday Kumar Varma, said that the industry was being given “a transition time of 10 to 15 days depending on the ground level situation so that there is no inconvenience to the people.”

    Reports are that almost 25 per cent of the 16 million households in these cities missed the deadline to switchover to digitized cable TV. The ministry has hence told MSOs and cable TV operators “to switch off the signals in a phased manner and depending on the situation in various cities.”

    Says the head of a leading MSO: “It’s good to hear that the government has given us this grace period. During the day there were ghastly reports that nodal officers and SDMs in various cities were threatening cable TV operators and MSOs with arrests if they did not switch off analogue TV signals. This should come as a relief to all of them. As it is we have not been able to sign digital agreements with a majority of broadcasters for these cities. Hopefully we will be able to do something soon.”

    Sources indicate that the ground situation in various cities is varied and that the I&B ministry officials would coordinate with the local nodal officers in order to decide the timing and extent of analogue TV switch offs in order to avoid blank TV screens.

    Data available with the I&B ministry has revealed that towns which are facing a problem include: Vishakapatnam with 12.8 per cent digitization (out of 500,000 TV homes); Srinagar with 20 per cent, Coimbatore with 28.89 per cent, Jababalpur with 34.87 per cent and Kalyan Dombivili (38.59 per cent). Seven of the 38 cities had achieved 100 per cent plus digitization: Ludhiana, Hyderabad, Faridabad, Allahabad, Amritsar, Chandigarh and Jodhpur — reported 100 per cent digitisation while three others — Thane, Meerut and Jaipur — had 90 per cent plus.

    Varma’s announcement came a little after indiantelevision.com reported that cable TV operators had got a reprieve in the Andhra Pradesh high court too. Justice M V Ramanna had directed DAS to be stayed for two weeks and the case is expected to be heard on 15 April. The order came on a petition by the Greater Hyderabad Cable TV Operators Association which took the position that there was no clarity regarding the availability of STBs.

  • Brothers Ambani sign telecom deal

    Brothers Ambani sign telecom deal

    MUMBAI: The news shook the corporate world, though it had been speculated about for some time. The brothers Ambani – Mukesh and Anil – who had reportedly been warring for a few years kissed and made up today.

    The duo announced that elder brother Mukesh’s Reliance Jio Infocomm (a unit of Reliance Industries) will be sharing younger sibling Anil’s Reliance Communications 120,000 km nationwide fibre optic network to help roll out his fourth generation broadband and telecom services in India.

    The filing with the Bombay stock exchange says that the deal is worth Rs 12 billion which is being paid as a one time indefeasible right to use (IRU) fee for sharing the fibre optic network. It allows Reliance Communications to reciprocally share Reliance Jio’s fibre optic network infrastructure too.

    The fibre optic network was built by Mukesh when Reliance was one entity, but was then handed over to Anil when the brothers split the empire their father built.

    The deal is likely to help both companies, say analysts. It will accelerate the pace at which Reliance Jio Infocomm gets to market with 4G. It will also help Reliance Communications, which has been saddled with debt in excess of $6 billion (Rs 37,000 crore).

    Both companies say that the deal is the first of many such arrangements they could end up signing.