Category: Technology

MUMBAI: The tightening of Government rules for cable TV digitisation, along with possible increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows and consolidation, will prod over 30 per cent growth for digital cable till 2015, according to a Frost & Sullivan report on digitisation in India.

However, it is noted that several cable multiple-system operators (MSOs) in India are more than likely to miss the Government-proposed October-November 2012 digital deadline, which mandates use of set-top boxes (STBs) in metros.

Frost & Sullivan estimates the current penetration rate at a little over 25 per cent, or 7.7 million subscribers. India is the third largest market in cable TV penetration in the world with 85 per cent of total TV households, and 126 million cable subscribers.

According to Frost & Sullivan Research Director Vidya Nath, “The current shortfall will require an investment of INR 3,000 Crore, at least, in metros. Though current digital penetration data reports from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting are implausible, we are bullish on the future growth potential of the cable TV market in India.”

Cable digitisation in India holds immense business potential in terms of service and investment. It will unlock new revenue streams for the TV industry, with positive impact on the broadband market as well due to upcoming TV-Internet services, the research agency noted.

Multiple service offerings, spectrum efficiencies, and transparent system operations are expected to bring about a revolution in digitisation of television services in India, at the same time creating an advantage for broadcasters, MSOs, STB manufacturers, consumers, and stakeholders.

“While strong Government hand in regulatory mandates will drive faster penetration, the cable industry needs to take initiatives from within to speed-up implementation,” observes Nath. “Digitization bodes well for the cable and the broadcast industry in the long term. A more thorough path of evangelism and consolidation is what is required to encourage transition toward digitization through the local cable operators‘ (LCOs‘) network.”

At present, investment requirements for digitisation are very high in India and hence the process requires extensive subsidies to produce and purchase equipment, which eventually compels local cable operators to consolidate.

According to Frost & Sullivan, FDI in digitisation would result in higher returns and rise in broadcast, cable, and direct to home (DTH) services in India. Also, it will leverage the opportunity for technology support, subscriber acquisition, and strengthen smaller players.

Another area where Frost & Sullivan identifies prospect for digitisation is the approach toward switchover. The transfer process should be executed strategically, as the technology used for switchover in the first phase would act like a barometer and help determine quality of switchover in the entire region.

In India, the transition process in areas that solely rely on Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) should preferably begin with low-population densities. The switchover policy in India is expected to occur in four phases, with the final phase due for completion by 31 December 2014.

MUMBAI: Two High Court verdicts in different directions, political oppositions, a disgruntled set of local cable operators (LCOs) and a few unstitched deals between broadcasters and multi-system operators (MSOs). That is how India is going to march into a new phase of television history on 1 November as consumers in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata get to watch their popular shows only through a digital set-top box (STB).

Chennai gets excluded due to a court verdict that will hear once again on 5 November while the rest of the country waits for its turn to welcome or oppose the entry of the digital box. Under a government mandate, cable TV networks have to go digital across India by 31 December 2014.

India has historically learnt to change amid chaos and confusion. The cable TV world is no different. Consumers with STBs installed in their homes do not know what pack of channels they will get at what price, LCOs are wanting to push digitisation to a future date of history and a few MSOs are still waiting for the STBs to arrive from foreign land. Add to this the government‘s high figures on digitisation, which are believed in private by very few in the industry and hotly contested by the cable operators, and you realise how hard it is to fix the ground situation.

The consumers, used to low monthly cable TV subscription bills, had not called for this overhaul. A personal bond had developed with the local cable operator, strengthened by a commercial gain of not having to pay more for watching more channels that have progressively launched over the years.

Many TV viewers also fear that they will have to pay more subscription fees in the new era, driven by entertainment and service taxes that can no longer be masked by cable operators and an agenda by the MSOs and broadcasters to lift ARPUs (average revenue per user). In an interview with Indiantelevision.com, Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd MD & CEO Punit Goenka had said that the industry couldn‘t survive on ARPUs of Rs 180.

There is space for opposition parties to make political hay out of digitisation. In Mumbai, the Shiv Sena realises that a political vote bank is up for grabs and is, thus, keen to extend support to the local cable operators who have much to lose in this new era of TV signal transmission through a digital addressable system. The operators have been pocketing a bulk of the subscription revenues that cable TV consumers have been paying due to lack of transparency as television signals into homes have been mostly analogue. The MSOs, who have been investing in the cable networks, and the broadcasters have no means available to measure their actual subscriber base and their incomes have been depressed.

The Shiv Sena has for years tried to woo the cable operators and Anil Parab, their MLA, has been leading an association to look into their interests. But a good number of cable operators are muslims and have stayed away from the Sena. The Shiv Sena, however, feels that the situation today is different and Parab, in fact, has called for a joint meeting of cable operators on 1 November following which there will be a protest march.

In Kolkata, the state government under Mamata Banerjee is preparing to protest against TV going blank on analogue cable. “When set top boxes are not in hand, analogue system should be allowed to continue and the centre has no right to blackout TV. We cannot simply accept this stand of the centre,” Banerjee thunders.

Far down south, the Jayalalithaa government has also expressed its intent to push back the digitisation deadline in Chennai by a few months. The state-backed Arasu Cable has not even got a DAS (digital addressable system) licence to kick-start operations.

In Delhi, the BJP may be waiting to seize the political opportunity if it finds there is a sizeable vote bank to capture. The capital city of India also presents another difficulty: local operators take multiple inputs from MSOs, making it difficult to gauge the actual number of STBS that have entered into consumer homes.

The comforting truth, however, is that the two main metros, Mumbai and Delhi, belong to the ruling Congress party at the centre. And it is in these cities that the cable TV industry is more prepared for digitisation.

Mumbai and Delhi, in fact, look more receptive to digitisation at this stage. The Shiv Sena’s anti-stance has come only at the tail end of the deadline. So it remains to be seen how serious it is in actually taking to the streets. And though there has been some individual voices raised, the BJP as a party has not made any statements so far.

For the ruling government at the centre, the initial days of digitisation would indeed be crucial. If there is a public backlash and consumer discontentment grows, the political will to push for digitisation would go the other way. The government can turn around and say that the industry is not yet ready for digitisation and the new Information and Broadcasting minister Manish Tewari would need time to weigh the ground reality. The end result: extend digitisation deadline by a few months.

The LCOs would want a law and order situation to prevail on the ground that a large number of homes would go cable TV empty. A counter-strategy could be to be soft on piracy of TV signals in selected pockets for a short period of time.

Digitisation across 90 million cable homes could cost as much as Rs 250 billion, according to various estimates. MSOs and direct-to-home (DTH) service providers feel that foreign companies, who are recently allowed to own 74 per cent stake from the earlier 49 per cent cap, will bring in new capital to trigger growth in the broadcast-carriage services sector. The loss-making broadcasting industry also hopes to turnaround in a digitised environment as subscription becomes a strong revenue stream while carriage fees to cable networks get corrected.

The historic date of 1 November will tell us whether India has reached full fitness for digitisation or not.

MUMBAI: A large multi system operator (MSO) Siti Cable Network, formerly Wire and Wireless India Limited, narrowed its consolidated net loss to Rs 126.5 million in the second quarter ended 30 September from Rs 141.8 million a year earlier on higher other income.

On a standalone basis, Siti Cable‘s net loss stood at Rs 119.16 million in the second quarter, up from Rs 97.43 million a year earlier, on increase in expenditure as it acquired customers ahead of the 1 November digitisation deadline in the four metro cities. Its income from operations increased to Rs 885.97 million from Rs 634.1 million a year earlier, while expenditure rose to Rs 919.49 million from Rs 653.4 million.

The Subhash Chandra-promoted Siti Cable‘s consolidated operating revenues grew 5 per cent to Rs 935.3 million in the second quarter from Rs 893 million a year earlier, while its consolidated operating expenditure fell 4 per cent to Rs 850.6 million from Rs 889.3 million a year earlier.

Operating revenue is primarily generated from subscriber related income, income from bandwidth charges, income from advertisements, STB activation charges and other operating revenues.

Its other income (income from sources other than normal business transactions) in the second quarter was 52 per cent higher at Rs 104.5 million compared with a year earlier. The MSO‘s interest cost in the second quarter rose 35 per cent to Rs 195 million from Rs 144.2 million a year ago and its depreciation provision increased 52 per cent to Rs 117.3 million from Rs 77.3 million.

The company‘s main operating expenses include cost of goods and services, employees‘ cost, selling & distribution expenses and other expenditure. Major cost item on a consolidated basis was cost of goods & services recorded at Rs. 621.5 million during the quarter representing 60 per cent of the total revenue compared to Rs. 637.4 million in the second quarter of the last fiscal, representing 66 per cent of the total revenue.

Siti Cable‘s consolidated administrative expenses during the quarter decreased 10 per cent to Rs 130.3 million from Rs 145 million. The company‘s staff costs grew 1 per cent to Rs 69.5 million from Rs 68.6 million.

Siti Cable COO Anil Malhotra said the company has acquired one million subscribers in the four metros that are switching to digital cable in the first phase from 1 November.

Siti Cable said it has executed DAS Interconnect agreement with about 60% of local cable operators in its networks in the four cities and with majority of the broadcasters to give a big push to digitisation. It have also has introduced monthly digital cable television packages for consumers namely Janta & Popular packages.”

Malhotra said, “We have acquired approx 1.0 million digital subscribers in these metros and remained focused on increasing our operating revenues and cost control thereby improving the bottom line. We are confident that the significant positive momentum of digital cable will not only continue to drive Siti‘s growth for the rest of the fiscal year, but also strengthen the company‘s growth in the years to come.”

The company said it has given Rs 1.73 billion as business advances to its subsidiaries and other companies for meeting working capital requirements and for acquisition of MSOs/ direct points, technological upgrading.

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: The government’s drive for first phase of cable TV digitisation in the four metros from 1 November received a boost with the Bombay High Court dismissing a petition by local cable operators (LCOs) seeking its delayed implementation.

The digitisation push, however, hit a minor hurdle with the Madras High Court extending the deadline to 5 November on the ground that only less than 70 per cent of cable TV homes have installed set-top boxes (STBs) required to receive television channels in digital mode.

The Bombay High Court declined to grant relief to the LCOs saying a significant portion of television homes in the city has already been digitised. The Bombay High Court was of the view that the remaining households which still received analogue television signals would also be digitised in due course.

The judges hearing the petition said: “In June, you knew you have time till October. What have you done till today?”

The judges, however, wanted the Union government to consider giving relief to TV viewers during the Diwali festive season. “We do not want people‘s Diwali blacked out. Television is the basic source of entertainment for the average middle-class family. We are concerned about the consumers and not the operators,” judge Chandrachud said.

The dismissal of the petition by the Bombay High Court was confirmed to Indiantelevision.com by Kuldeep Puri, one of the petitioners and a promoter in Hathway Bhawani Cabletel and Datacom Ltd. A clutch of cable operators had approached Bombay High Court seeking extension of the digitisation deadline as they needed more time to get their networks fully ready for digital delivery of television channels.

The government has set 1 November as the deadline for compulsory switchover to digital delivery of television channels in the four metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata.

Apart from Puri, the other petitioners were Paresh Thakkar, all associated with multi-system operator (MSO) Hathway Cable & Datacom, and a group of cable operators from the eastern suburbs of Mumbai like Chembur, Ghatkopar and Govandi.

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry’s counsel told the court that Mumbai was already 100 per cent digitised and it could be confirmed from the MSOs.

In Chennai on the other hand, the cable operators got interim relief. Madras High Court judge Paul Vasanthkumar pointed out that the government itself has admitted that the cable operators in the city had achieved less than 70 per cent of the target of installing digital STBs.

The Madras High Court order came on a petition by Chennai Metro Cable Operators’ Association (CMCOA) General Secretary M R Srinivasan.

The petitioner’s counsel V P Gopalan argued that there were four million TV households in Chennai but STBs had been installed in just 200,000 homes, while another 700,000 were covered by direct-to-home (DTH) television service providers.

The I&B counsel told the Madras court that according to data received by the ministry from the MSOs, 62 per cent of cable TV homes have switched to digital television, and after inclusion of DTH homes the figure goes up to 86 per cent.

Talking to Indiantelevision.com from Chennai, Srinivasan said CMCOA will ask for extension of the deadline by at least three months when the case comes up for hearing on Monday.

CMCOA’s argument is that the actual number of homes seeded with STBs is only 200,000 out of 4 million cable television homes and that a large number of TV sets will go blank if the government sticks to the digitisation deadline.

Srinivasan also said the government will have to direct the MSOs to procure enough boxes and monitor the digitisation process on a weekly basis to ensure that the digitisation target is met.

The state-owned MSO Arasu Corporation, he said, was not present in Chennai and is yet to receive DAS licence which also added to the delay. Furthermore, other MSOs (Kal Cable and SCV) in Chennai are offering STBs only to cable operators who are paying in advance as per requirement.

MUMBAI: Sab was launched as a part of the View Asia pack on Sky-DTH platform and is now available free-to-air on both DTH and DTT platforms in the UK.

Sab is available free-to-air on BskyB, Freesat and Freeview in the UK.

Digital terrestrial television in the United Kingdom encompasses over 100 television, radio and interactive services broadcast via the UK‘s terrestrial television network and receivable with a standard television aerial.

“This makes Sab the south Asian channel with the highest distribution,” the channel said.

Primetime International AVP International Sales Jenish Shah said, “This development makes Sab’s distribution even higher than the current market leader in the South Asian channel space. We are pleased that it will help us to provide better visibility to our advertisers.”

Sab is now also rated on BARB (Broadcaster’s Audience Research Board) which is the official ratings agency for UK television audiences.

MUMBAI: BBC iPlayer, the BBC’s video on demand service, has launched on Sky+, bringing the best of the BBC’s TV programmes directly to the living room.

Up to 6.7 million homes with a Sky+ HD box and broadband connection will be able to enjoy the best of the BBC on demand in a familiar, easy to use BBC iPlayer experience that helps audiences catch up on programmes they have missed.

Audiences can access BBC iPlayer directly from Sky’s on demand programme guide, and choose from many of the BBC’s most popular shows, including Doctor Who, Strictly Come Dancing and EastEnders.

BBC iPlayer is available alongside catch-up TV from Sky, ITV, Channel 5, with Channel 4’s 4oD due to be added early next year, completing the line-up of free-to-air terrestrial catch-up TV services on Sky+. Sky On Demand also offers on demand access to shows from a number of other leading channels including UKTV, MTV and Discovery, in addition to movies on demand and drama ‘box-sets’ such as Boardwalk Empire, Mad Men and Stella.

BBC iPlayer has been integrated into Sky’s existing electronic programme guide and on demand menus. It contains a number of features that make it even easier for Sky customers to find the BBC programmes they want, with content separated into a series of simple categories. Viewers are able to browse through content by channel, day and genre, and can gain easy access to BBC shows in high-definition. Regional and signed programmes are also available through dedicated categories. Once a customer has made their choice, the programme is downloaded directly to their Sky+ planner for them to watch at a time that suits them.

This deal between the BBC and Sky builds on a substantial history of industry partnerships for BBC iPlayer, which is now available on over 650 platforms and devices.

Sky director of TV Products Luke Bradley-Jones said, “We’re delighted to have partnered with the BBC to bring the best of the BBC on demand to Sky customers. Providing customers with the flexibility to enjoy their favourite TV on demand, our comprehensive catch-up TV service perfectly complements the genius of Sky+, which already helps millions of our customers take charge of their viewing. We continue to put Sky customers in control, with the addition of BBC iPlayer to Sky+ sitting alongside a range of innovations including remote record, series link and now even being able to use your iPad as a remote control.”

BBC Programmes and On-Demand GM Daniel Danker said: “BBC iPlayer has had a record-breaking year, with two billion requests for programmes in 2011 and nearly 200 million requests in September 2012 alone. Available on over 650 platforms and devices across PC, mobile, tablet and internet-connected TVs, we are delighted that iPlayer is now also available to millions of Sky+ homes. 20% of all iPlayer use is already on the living room TV. By partnering with Sky, BBC iPlayer is available on all major UK TV platforms at no extra charge, making sure our audiences can access the best of the BBC’s content at home and on the go, whenever and wherever they choose.”

MUMBAI: Digital advertising and video monetisation player Vdopia has appointed Shivam Srivastava as director business development – APAC operations.

He is joining Vdopia from Zenith Optimedia where he was working as the associate vice president.

Vdopia VP and sales head for APAC Preetesh Chouhan said, “Vdopia has established itself as the fastest growing company in video advertising and now it‘s time to broaden our horizon and target emerging markets in SEA and MENA.”

Srivastava said, “These are exciting times for digital advertising, and I see Mobile and Video playing an important role in its growth. Video is going to create its own ecosystem in the digital space, whereas mobile will hit the tipping point because of its sheer numbers and targeting capabilities. 2013 is the year of the mobile, and I am very excited to be part of both these ecosystems. Also coming from an agency background, I am well aware of the agency and client‘s objectives and will try and align our products portfolio‘s with the client‘s requirement.”

Srivastava has earlier worked with digital brands like Times of India and Sify He brings on board experience of Sales and Marketing with significant exposure to different markets geographically.

MUMBAI: The Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (Casbaa) has released its annual estimate of Asia Pacific Multichannel TV homes, reinforcing the overall healthy state of the market.

Casbaa CEO Simon Twiston Davies said, “Now with 446 million multichannel homes and a 57 per cent penetration of all TV homes, the Asia Pacific remains a global engine room for the multichannel TV sector. Even as the rest of the world worries about overall economic indicators, the Asia pay-TV market remains in robust health”.

What the data also says:

• Multichannel TV homes in the Asia Pacific grew by 39m in the last 12 months


• 53 per cent of global multichannel homes are found in Asia


• 70 per cent of viewers in the Asia Pacific watch multichannel TV, even as terrestrial TV viewership continues to shrink


• Affluent Asian multichannel TV audiences are early adopters and comfortable with pay-TV advertising


• TV in general remains the dominant advertising medium accounting for 61 per cent of global ad spend
   
  

The TV ad spend in India, China, Indonesia and Hong Kong is positioned to fulfill aggressive growth predictions made for 2012 while new markets such as Myanmar, Mongolia, Sri Lanka and Cambodia are becoming central to the positive growth story.

Meanwhile, technology is relentlessly changing the way people view HD, 3D, VoD and OTT platforms – and the third screen is “Everywhere” with global sales of tablets expected to pass 127 million in 2012, up from 82 million units in 2011.

“The opportunity to significantly enhance viewer interaction with TV programming through companion screens is re-energising viewer engagement,” added Twiston Davies.

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition filed by local cable operators seeking extension of digitisation deadline of 1 November mandated by the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry.

The Court refused to grant relief to the operators on the ground that a significant portion of television homes in the city has already been digitised and the remaining analogue households would also be digitised in due course.

The dismissal was confirmed to Indiantelevision.com by Kuldeep Puri, one of the petitioners.

A clutch of cable operators had approached Bombay High Court seeking extension on the ground that they needed more time to get their networks up and running.

Apart from Puri, the other petitioner was Paresh Thakkar, both associated with Hathway Cable & Datacom, besides operators from the eastern suburbs of Mumbai like Chembur, Ghatkopar and Govandi.

Also read:

Madras HC pushes digitisation deadline to 5 November in Chennai

NEW DELHI: The licence for digital addressable system to the multi-system operator Home Cable Network [P] Limited was today restored by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry after he had obtained an order from the Delhi High Court.

Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Vipin Sanghi of the Delhi High Court had on 18 October asked the Ministry to take a decision on restoring the licence and asked Home Cable to submit all relevant documents within a day.

The Court also permitted the MSO to negotiate and enter into the DAS Interconnect Agreements with the Pay TV broadcasters/ Channel aggregators.

The registration of Home Cable along with that of Swami Cable Network had been revoked by the Ministry on 28 August on the ground that they had failed to submit necessary documents regarding preparations for implementation of DAS and their plans for infrastructure expansion as mandated in the DAS regime.

The Ministry said in its order that the papers submitted by Home Cable were found to be in order and the order of cancellation was being revoked “in keeping with the Company’s responsiveness in adherence to the instructions of this ministry.”

Home Cable Vikki Choudhary had argued that there was no ground available with the MIB to take such a punitive action against the MSO, which already had already installed DAS and had been running it since 2007 and catering to more than 11,000 Digital subscribers since Conditional Access System was introduced in South Delhi with a capacity to carry 650 Digital TV Channels.

Reiterating that he had submitted all documents well in time, Choudhary also submitted that Home Cable had failed to get replies to various issues cited by it to the Ministry concerning the interest of millions of the Cable TV subscribers and may result in a situation of complete chaos, blackouts, exploitation of consumers and eventually deficiency in the service provided when DAS is implemented from 1 November in the four metros.

Following failure of the Ministry to take action on the court order, Choudhary had written a letter to the Ministry.