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Category: Technology

  • Court passes landmark judgement to protect digital sports rights holders against telcos

    Court passes landmark judgement to protect digital sports rights holders against telcos

    NEW DELHI: In a landmark judgment that will have long term effects on revenue sharing and monetisation, the Delhi High Court has said mobile phone companies cannot provide to their subscribers live match updates for sporting content for which Star India has the rights.

    Mobile operates can offer updates of cricket scores with a lag of 15 minutes or by obtaining a license from Star.

    The Court upheld the petition by Star India against Crickbuzz, On Mobile and Idea Cellular.

    “We had moved the court against these companies and the verdict could be a harbinger of change in monetising digitised content,” Star India CEO Uday Shankar said.

    Star India paid Rs.38.51 billion in 2012 for exclusive media rights to cricket matches organised by the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) between 2012 and 2018. This included all international cricket matches in India and domestic competitions including the Ranji Trophy and the Irani Cup. The Star deal also includes Internet and mobile rights and covers 96 matches.

    Shankar said this was the first time that such an order had come and it would lay the foundation on how the rights can be exploited and monetised on mobile platforms.

    “When we bid for the cricket rights last year, our idea was to create a homogenous high quality consumer experience. We had bid for all rights, including mobile and digital, where there was no monetisation. We pay Rs 5 million per match for the digital rights, but have not monetised so far”.

    Shankar added that the lack of clarity on this was severely compromising the ability of rights owners to invest to create great experiences for sports fans. “This decisive verdict finally creates clarity on who owns the rights and a mechanism for monetisation and fair revenue share. For me, this is a huge boost to the entire digital and mobile space.”

    In his judgment, Justice M L Mehta issued a limited interim injunction restraining the defendants from disseminating contemporaneous match information in the form of ball-by-ball or minute-by-minute score updates/match alerts for a premium without obtaining a license from the plaintiff.

    At the same time, the Judge said: “There shall be no restriction upon the defendants to report ‘noteworthy information’ or ‘news’ from cricket matches, as and when they arise, because ‘stale news is no news’.”

    Furthermore, there will be no requirement for the license if the telecom operators ‘do it gratuitously or after a time lag of 15 minutes’, he added.

    The Court reiterated that ‘there is a difference between contemporaneous dissemination of match information in the form of ball-by-ball or minute-by-minute score updates/match alerts and reporting noteworthy information or news.’

    While hearing Star India’s petition, the High Court also observed that providing live score updates prevents Star India from effectively monetising its exclusive rights.

    “It would be just and reasonable for the defendants to either obtain a license and gain equal rights to their subscribers, or make them wait for some time, in order to not prejudice the right of the plaintiff (Star India) to earn revenue from the match information,” the court said in its order.

    “Those who do not obtain a license from the plaintiff, may not disseminate the score update or match alert before 15 minutes from the moment such score update or match alert is telecasted or broadcasted by the plaintiff (Star India).”

    The Court rejected the argument that the moment the match goes live on television, it is in the public domain. “I find that match information has not entered ‘public domain’ that is, it is not readily available to the class of persons who do not have access to TV/radio, who also happen to be the target consumers.”

    However, he said there was ‘considerable merit’ in the argument that the operators had a fundamental right to disseminate such information as demanded by the public.

    But he said that “it is imperative for this Court to balance the right of the organiser of an event to monetize his own event as against the right of the public to receive information regarding such event and the right of the media to provide access to such information demanded”.

  • Govt firm on Phase 2 deadline, claims 60% digitisation in 38 cities

    Govt firm on Phase 2 deadline, claims 60% digitisation in 38 cities

    MUMBAI: The Information & Broadcasting secretary Uday Kumar Varma has asserted that the government is firm on 31 March deadline.

    Giving a keynote at the Valedictory session of Ficci Frames, Varma said that the second phase of digitisation is on track with 60 per cent of households already going digital.

    "Digitisation is happening smoothly. We have achieved 60 per cent digitisation in the second phase. Subsequent to 31 March, the process will be irreversible," Varma said.

    Out of the 38 cities that are going digital in the second phase, as many as 10 cities have achieved 75 per cent digitisation.

    Four cities have been slow in implementing digitisation, Varma added. These include Ranchi, Srinagar and one in Tamil Nadu, where the state government is vehemently opposed to digitisation.

    "Out of 16 million STBs that are to be installed, 10 million have already been installed while six million are yet to be installed. However, we are confident that these will be installed within the deadline period," Varma asserted.

    Varma also said that the industry needs to keep the spirit of alignment to take the digitisation to its logical conclusion. However, he hastened to add that digitisation is still an incomplete task as even in phase 1 only set-top box (STB) has been installed and other aspects like Subscriber Management System (SMS) and billing are yet to be put in place.

    Digitisation, Varma said, will correct the aberrations of business model in the broadcasting industry and usher in an era of transparency.

    He also said that the role of state government is important for effective implementation of digitisation.

    He reiterated that the government can step in to provide guidelines for an independent television audience measurement system should the industry ask for it.

    "We need a robust and healthy ratings measurement agency," he said.

  • Digitisation to fuel revenue growth models: Manish Tewari

    Digitisation to fuel revenue growth models: Manish Tewari

    NEW DELHI: Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari has said that the ongoing digitisation process would help in building transparency in the system and enable the growth of revenue models in the broadcasting industry.

    The process would also help broadcasters in identifying a balanced growth model through the increased share from the subscription revenues.

    Delivering the key note address at the Seema Nazareth Award function for excellence in print media here today, the Minister said there was urgent need for key stakeholders within the media to introspect in view of the trends that had emerged as a result of corrosive discourse on one side and responsible discourse on the other.

    Referring to the challenges that had emerged because of the growth of social media, Tewari said these tools had created an unprecedented potential to connect with target audience for the dissemination of news and information.

    The impact of this medium was so profound that it had also integrated with the print media in the dissemination mechanism. The changing paradigm in the media landscape had resulted in creating opportunities for the journalistic fraternity.

    Tewari said the institution of the Seema Nazareth Award had provided an ideal platform to encourage and inspire young journalists in the print media. He conferred the Award on Sushmi Dey and two Special Mentions on Shelly Walia and Debolina Sengupta. The Seema Nazareth Award has been instituted by Business Standard.

  • App monetisation remains a challenge

    App monetisation remains a challenge

    MUMBAI: App monetisation remains a challenge in India, experts at Ficci Frames 2013 said here today, while outlining factors that could trigger growth in the sector.

    An important change is the explosion of connected devices which could transform India from being the largest consumer market for apps to also one of the largest revenue generators.

    “What will help the app market is the fact that phones are getting cheaper and the technology is getting better. Mobile will be a game changer from a data perspective,” said DisneyUTV MD Digital Vishal Gondal.

    With advertising being the main business model, monestisation is a challenge. There is also the issue of operators taking away 70 per cent of revenue. "Vodafone changed this by taking only 30 per cent and giving the rest to the app developer," Gondal stated.

    Oovoo.com CEO Jay Alan Samit feels that voice calls will go the way of the fax machine and become extinct. "People today prefer sending text messages. If it is somebody they love and care about, then they will use video," he said.

    Samit also noted that apps are viral and can come from anywhere. Angry Birds, for instance, comes from Finland. "Also celebrities will use apps if they connect people. This was seen during the Oscar awards where stars like Hugh Jackman used apps to reach out to fans," he averred.

    India has a base of 2.5 million app developers. "This gives us strength. Our plan is to ensure that an app is present regardless of whether a user has a smartphone or a feature phone," said Nokia India marketing director Viral Oza.

    But what are the challenges the app market faces in India? The absence of a venture funding system for apps is surely one major deterrent. The other challenge is that innovations in the user interface are not happening outside of the US, Samit said.

    The fact is that many users discard an app after using them just once. Oza touched on the importance of app quality. Nokia, for instance, has a filtering system before an app is put on the Nokia Store. "About 50 per cent of apps downloaded in India are from a Nokia store. This shows that apps have quality as well as stickiness,” he said.

  • Eurocinema, Miramax enter VoD film pact

    Eurocinema, Miramax enter VoD film pact

    MUMBAI: On the heels of its successful TV partnership with “My French Film Festival,” Eurocinema®, North America’s VOD movie network, has announced a multi-year agreement with Miramax making European films of all time available on demand.

    Beginning on 15 March, Eurocinema will debut some of the most exciting films from Miramax’s extensive international catalog. Popular Miramax foreign titles featured this month will be highlighted by the leading ladies of the big screen including Malena with Monica Bellucci, About Adam with Kate Hudson, Daughter of D’Artangnan (Revenge of the Musketeers) with Sophie Marceau, and Dirty Pretty Things with Audrey Tatou.

    Eurocinema chairman, CEO Sebastien Perioche said, “Eurocinema’s partnership with Miramax is unprecedented. Never before will such a high quality and diversified collection of world screen gems be available in one place and on demand. Eurocinema has become the go-to destination for fans of European cinema.”

    Eurocinema is currently available to over 35 million subscribers via cable and telco systems, on such major providers as Comcast, Cablevision, Charter and Verizon, among others.

    New Miramax titles will be made available each month, adding to Eurocinema’s already robust offering of films on demand. Titles will be available to view for $3.95-$4.99.

  • Industry needs to come together to put all systems in place for Phase 2: Parameswaran

    Industry needs to come together to put all systems in place for Phase 2: Parameswaran

    MUMBAI: The multi system operators (MSOs) might have successfully installed set top boxes (STBs) in majority of homes in phase 1 of digitisation but the government feels that is just one aspect of the drive and other aspects like subscriber management system (SMS) and billing system need to be put in place if the real benefits of digitisation have to be realised.

    The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) wants the industry to set things right for Phase 2 of cable TV digitisation. Trai consultant N Parameswaran said Tuesday that the stakeholders need to work towards having all the systems in place in order to implement digitisation in letter and spirit.

    “Digitisation has not happened in a manner that we wanted to. It’s not a regulatory issue. The industry has to come together and ensure that that all the systems are in place from day one for phase 2,” he said.

    According to Parameswaran, the real benefits of digitisation have not reached people. "The subscriber management system is not in place. What has happened is only set top boxes have been installed,” Parameswaran said, while taking part in a panel discussion on digitisation at Ficci Frames 2013.

    Parameswaran said that the Trai had recently issued notices to MSOs and LCOs (Local Cable Operators) to make their SMS operational in DAS areas to ensure things fall in place.

    While commending the industry for achieving digitisation in a short span of time, Den Networks CMD Sameer Manchanda assured that the SMS and billing system will fall in place in 60 days.

    “We should have all things in place in 60 days. Putting eight million STBs was a herculean task. Digitisation has taken years in other countries,” Manchanda said.

    IndiaCast Group CEO Anuj Gandhi said the ARPUs (Average Revenue Per User) will increase gradually. The key is to segment existing channels and create packages accordingly. A case in point, Gandhi said, was having a South Indian channel package for Mumbai.

    Gandhi urged the industry to take one step at a time. The immediate priority, he said, was to get back-end systems in place. “For broadcasters, it’s a scary thought that the customers are getting more channels for the same price,” averred Gandhi.

    According to Multi Screen Media (MSM) CEO Man Jit Singh, government should continue to play the facilitators role like it did in the first phase. He also said that STBs have installed, subscribers are getting digital signals but little has changed apart from that.

    “What we have shown in first phase is that we came together as an industry to implement digitisation. The government also has a critical role to play. It should continue to play the facilitators role to bring together different stakeholders in the industry,” Singh said.

    He added, “Tiering and ARPU is incremental to drive the market together by understanding the consumer needs and expectations. The burden of expansion has to be shared by the Local Cable Operator (LCO), Multi System Operator (MSO), broadcaster and the consumer.”

    IBM Global Business Services India/SA Director & Partner, Industry Leader – Media & Entertainment Raman Kalra said that it is important for the industry to keep parallel strategy in place as the business model is evolving continuously.

    “Consumer is willing to pay but the industry should know how to extract it. The key is to know your customers to facilitate micro-segmentation and then work on the content strategy accordingly,” Kalra said.

    Reliance Broadcast Network Limited (RBNL) CEO Tarun Katial said the advent of digitisation has made things easier for new channels as the carriage and placement is not a big problem anymore.

    He also said that the availability of more channels has meant that consumers are sampling more channels which is good for niche channels. He also felt that dynamics will change as advertisers will now have to shell out more for advertising on television as subscription revenues go up and advertising duration is cut down.

    Times Television Network (TTN) MD & CEO Sunil Lulla said, “The current economics are not adequate for the success of Phase 2 of digitisation. There is an urgent need for industry transformation and an effective change in consumer experience. We are sitting at the cusp of change where widespread and deep digitisation will happen on the back of consumers, regulators and government working together.”

  • Cartoon Network, Pogo launch on Sri Lankan IPTV platform Peo TV

    Cartoon Network, Pogo launch on Sri Lankan IPTV platform Peo TV

    MUMBAI: Sri Lankan IPTV provider Peo TV has inked a carriage deal with Cartoon Network and Pogo.

    The channels bring series such as ‘Ben 10‘ and ‘Scooby Doo‘ to even more viewers and fans on the island nation. Both channels are available in English.

    Turner International India senior director network and content distribution, South Asia Troy Lobo said, “Sri Lanka is a key market for Turner and we are happy to announce this strategic move to strengthen our presence here. The ever-evolving kids’ entertainment genre has huge potential in Sri Lanka, allowing us partner with SLT PEO TV to broadcast both Cartoon Network and Pogo.”

    SLT VisionCom CEO Malraj Balapitiya said, “We are excited to launch Cartoon Network and POGO – the two leading kids’ channels dedicated to young viewers. The launch is in response to our viewer preferences, which we at SLT PEO TV pay a lot of attention to. Every audience segment is important to us and we thrive in providing a varied choice to every single member of the family.”

  • Indian companies not exploiting full potential of social media: BMI report

    Indian companies not exploiting full potential of social media: BMI report

    BENGALURU: A study by blueocean market intelligence (BMI) has found that Indian companies have a long way to go with respect to maximizing the benefits of social media.

    blueocean market intelligence recently unveiled the results of its ‘2013 Social Effectiveness Index (SEI) 20’, a nationwide study accessing the Social Media Effectiveness of 20 of India’s Most Admired Companies (Fortune India-The Hay group survey). The study incorporated sectors that included IT, ITES, BPO, Oil & Gas, Automotive, Apparel, FMCG, Metals & Mining, Infrastructure, and Auto Components.

    BMI contends that the key challenge for Indian companies is to understand exactly how social media interacts with consumers, enables product and brand recognition, and drives customer acquisition, retention and loyalty. With social media in its nascent stages, there is an undeniable opportunity for companies to create a well-established, customer-centric image.

    BMI says that the SEI 20 ranking methodology is designed to measure business impact by integrating analytics, measurement, and monitoring. It captures conversations across the breadth of social networks and online communities, and correlates their impact with key business metrics such as revenue and brand value. It also directly measures business to consumer interactions in social media, including how Facebook and Twitter drive site visitors and purchase behaviour.

    BMI claims that it employed a comprehensive ranking methodology covering five key parameters that correlate to business metrics such as revenue and brand value. The brand’s share of volume of online conversations, customer engagement rate, depth of customer engagement, number of influencers and advocates on social channels, and net sentiment were measured by capturing conversations across the breadth of all social networks and online communities.

    The 2013 SEI 20 rankings revealed the following as top five performers –
    1. Tata Steel
    2. Tata Motors
    3. Dell India
    4. Tata Consultancy Services
    5. Bosch

  • Reliance Games aquires companies in Korea & Japan

    Reliance Games aquires companies in Korea & Japan

    Mumbai: In a bid to expand its global presence, Reliance Big Entertainment‘s Reliance Games has acquired a mobile game development and publishing company in Japan and a mobile game development studio in Korea.

    The recent ingress of Reliance Games into Japan and Korea will play a pivotal role in the company’s international roadmap. According to the company, the Japanese and Korean business set-ups give Reliance Games direct access to the two largest mobile gaming markets known to the world.

    The company aims to adopt a two pronged approach for the new set-ups; while the Japanese and Korean facilities will develop IPs targeted to local consumers, they will in future also be responsible for R&D of multi-player mobile games for the western markets.

    In Tokyo, Japan, Reliance Big Entertainment has through its subsidiary Reliance Big Entertainment Japan fully acquired the gaming division of Funnel Japan along with its team and all the IPs under development and has created Reliance Games Japan. The company in Japan will be responsible for development and publishing of games for the local market.

    In Busan, Korea, Reliance Big Entertainment Japan has bought a majority stake of 51 per cent in the gaming studio Bluesom. As a part of the deal, the company has also acquired a few IPs.

    Reliance Entertainment Digital CEO Manish Agarwal said, “Reliance Games, after the success of Real Steel and F1 2011 mobile games globally, has embarked on a journey of expanding its business beyond North America markets. With this acquisition in Japan and Korea Reliance Games has made inroads into the world’s largest mobile gaming markets and looks forward to tap the 5.5 Bln USD and 1.3 Bln USD mobile gaming markets of Japan and Korea respectively.”

    “Investment in the development studio at Busan, Korea and in the distribution team at Tokyo, Japan will enable us to develop games for local markets instead of trying to force fit western games in these markets. I have full confidence on teams at Korea and Japan to establish Reliance Games as a very innovative and successful gaming brand,” Agarwal added.

    Reliance Games VP-Global Studios Eric Marlow said, “The Company’s expansion into the Japanese and Korean markets is significant and strategic. We see now a clear path that allows us product and development capacity in both countries. We are extremely excited by the new capabilities added to our team and we think our customers will enjoy the games we are preparing for them.”

    The company has brought on board Hwa Seok Choi in the role of chief revenue officer for Reliance Games Japan.

    Reliance Games will be launching three games in the ‘social card game’ and ‘real time strategy game’ categories, on feature phones and smart devices in the next three quarters in Japan and Korea. Apart from these new games, Reliance Games will also be launching its Hollywood IP based games localised for these markets.

    The company has also created mobile games for IPs like Real Steel, Total Recall, F1 2011, Mirror Mirror and Electric City.

  • Jayaraman to head Zee’s distribution and placement business

    Jayaraman to head Zee’s distribution and placement business

    MUMBAI: Former Hathway Cable & Datacom managing director and CEO K Jayaraman is joining Zee Group as head of distribution and placement business. He will also guide and anchor all such roles across the businesses of the Zee group which requires his specialisation.

    Designated as president, Jayaraman will take over his new role from 12 March and will report directly to Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd MD and CEO Punit Goenka.

    He can also advise and guide the directors on the board of Media Pro to maximise the revenue for the distribution company. Media Po is a joint venture between Star Den and Zee Turner.

    “He will be responsible to the promoters of the group in updating and providing necessary heads up on various issues of the domain. He will hold hand and provide all kind of support to the CEO of Siticable business, without getting involved on day to day affairs of the business,” Goenka wrote in an internal note.

    Deepti Verma, who has been leading the initiatives so far, will report to Jayaraman.

    A Chartered Accountant and with more than 15 years experience in the media distribution industry, Jayaram had resigned from Hathway after Jagdish Kumar took over as MD and CEO of the company. Jayaraman was made vice chairman of Hathway, a post he did not accept.