Category: Technology

MUMBAI: New York-based independent digital studio Believe Entertainment Group (BE Group) has announced plans for ‘EpicEDM’, a new, ongoing original content series featuring electronic dance music (EDM) artists, festivals and clubs worldwide that will be the first studio originated content series designed specifically for the Twitter platform.

Financed by Believe Entertainment Group and executive produced by studio co-founders Dan Goodman and William H. Masterson III, EpicEDM is slated to premiere in late 2012 on social media platform Twitter.

EpicEDM will be the inside source for all things EDM, from the artists and tours to the world’s most exclusive nightclubs and biggest music festivals. The new series will live at @EpicEDM along with a range of new content providing 24/7 EDM insider access.

To host this new worldwide hub for EDM and premiere this original content series, Believe Entertainment Group will utilise Twitter’s entire Promoted Suite of products, including Twitter’s latest innovations, such as interest and geo targeting, allowing EpicEDM to showcase the best content and enable real-time conversations among EDM fans.

Believe Entertainment Group co-founder Dan Goodman said, “The social media space is at the heart of this massive, global movement, so it made sense to us to curate an EDM series on the same social media platform that continues to fuel its growth. Our approach with Twitter is to own the social engagement around this movement.”

Believe Entertainment Group co-founder William H. Masterson III said, “We’re building where the EDM community and DJs already intersect to amplify what’s happening. The goal is to create a unifying platform for the artists, fans and everyone involved in the EDM explosion that serves as a dedicated place to share the best things happening anywhere, at any given time in the EDM world.”

A network of official partners, unofficial friends and user Tweets curated by EpicEDM will bring always-on programming including weekly in-studio video updates and exclusive artist interviews with some of the biggest DJs and producers in the world, access to pre and post-events, contests and ticket giveaways, daily news Tweets, video blogs, photos and more.

Believe Entertainment Group will finance and sell EpicEDM. Additional details on advertiser partnerships for EpicEDM will be announced soon.

MUMBAI: AT&T U-verse TV customers can now access an expanded lineup of full-length episodes from Viacom‘s BET, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, Spike and VH1 on demand, on the Web.

AT&T U-verse TV customers can watch episodes of shows online from any computer by logging in to any of the following Viacom authenticated websites with their AT&T U-verse ID.

The new online offering for AT&T U-verse TV customers marks the first “TV Everywhere” offering from AT&T and Viacom. Customers may also have access to Viacom programming on U-verse.com and U-verse apps for smartphones, tablets, and other devices in the near future.

AT&T Home Solutions president of content, ad sales Jeff Weber said, “We‘re excited to give customers online access to Viacom‘s compelling content. This is just one more way we‘re offering U-verse TV customers the best entertainment experience, wherever they are.”

Viacom Media Networks executive VP of content distribution, marketing Denise Denson said,”AT&T U-verse continues to bring great entertainment to its customers in every corner of their lives, and Viacom networks are a powerful part of that experience that viewers can count on to enjoy on every screen”.

MUMBAI: Sportel Monaco, the international market for television and new media which concluded on Thursday, saw 2409 participants from 75 countries representing 980 companies.

The event saw 20 per cent increase in participation from new companies.

“We are excited about the new variety of visitors and exhibitors and also are happy to receive reports of high level of deals being made, even on the last days of Wednesday and Thursday,” Sportel Monaco GM 2011 Amparo Di Fede.
 
Among the highlights during Sportel Monaco 2012 have been the annual Georges Bertellotti Golden Podium Awards, the International Symposium with the subject “Olympic Impact – What is the Legacy of London 2012 for the Sports Media Industry?” and the Sportel & SVG Experts Panels on “2014 technology forecast on Production and TV Anywhere.”

Sportel Monaco will be held from 14 to 17 October next year while Sportel Rio 2013 will run from 11 to 13 March 2013 at the Sofitel Copcabana.

Mumbai: Subhash Chandra-owned direct-to-home television services provider Dish TV on Thursday reported a flat operating profit in the second quarter ended 30 September from a quarter earlier as fall in content costs was offset by a sharp rise in selling and distribution expenses other than commission.

Dish TV‘s Ebitda in the second quarter was Rs 1.55 billion, the same as in the first quarter but up 18.3 per cent from a year earlier. Ebitda margin for the second quarter was 29.2 per cent, at the same level as in the previous quarter.

The DTH service provider‘s average revenue per user (ARPU) was up by Rs 3 to Rs 159 in the second quarter compared to the previous quarter, following an increase in prices. This was reflected in a robust 4.73 per cent rise in subscription revenues in the second quarter to Rs 4.72 billion from Rs 4.55 billion a quarter earlier.

Dish TV managing director Jawahar Goel said, “In line with our expectation, the price hike initiated in the last quarter flowed through partially to deliver an encouraging ARPU increase.”

Its programming and content costs was down to Rs 1.42 billion from Rs 1.51 billion in the first quarter but selling and distribution expenses other than commission rose 31 per cent to Rs 396.1 million in the second quarter from Rs 302.8 million a quarter earlier.

An exceptional gain of Rs 764 million in the second quarter resulted in Dish TV reporting a net profit of Rs 551 million, against a loss of Rs 323.2 million in the previous quarter. The exceptional gain was on account of a change in the accounting treatment of fluctuation in foreign currency rates following a clarification from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Despite the push towards digitisation in the key markets of Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata from 1 November, Dish TV added only 477,000 new subscribers in the second quarter against 504,000 in the first quarter. The total number of subscribers of Dish TV as on 30 September was 13.9 million, of which 10 million were active subscribers.

Dish TV Q2 Performance:

Particulars	Quarter-ended Unaudited
	30.09.2012	30.06.2012
Total income from operations (net)	53,362	51,996
Total expenses	53,126	51,557
Finance costs	3,172	5,722
Profit / (loss) from ordinary activities after finance costs but before exceptional items	(2,133)	(3,232)
Exceptional items	7,643	–
Net profit / (loss) for the period	5,510	(3,232)

Goel said, “The second quarter took off sluggishly, largely due to the macro headwinds and price hike at the entry level, however, our sound strategy and efficient on ground execution enabled a pickup in additions post the first month. Our launch of ‘Dish+‘, India‘s first standard definition recorder, helped us differentiate and attract consumer interest in a crowded market.”

“In terms of digital conversions, despite regular data on steady growth in digital deployment flowing in, on ground implementation remains lukewarm and nowhere close to numbers doing the rounds. However, with the government sending firm signals against extension of the analog sunset date, we continue to target reasonable subscriber uptake going forward,” he added.

Dish TV‘s total revenues in the second quarter at Rs 5.33 billion were up 2.56 per cent quarter-on-quarter up 2.56% and up 10 per cent from a year earlier.

Goel said “Dish TV continued to be free cash flow positive for the third consecutive quarter. Cost line items remained as projected; an expected hike in marketing cost came in due to additional spends around digitisation.”

Subscriber churn remained at 1 per cent per month despite the package price increase last quarter,” he added.

MUMBAI: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has finally set up a Control Room with effect from 15 October with a toll free telephone number 1-800-180-4343 in order to facilitate a seamless transition to digital cable in the four metros ahead of the digitisation deadline of 31 October.

The MIB said that the Control Room will function on all days, including holidays, from 8 am to 10 pm to address and clarify various queries relating to acquisition of Set Top Boxes, various schemes of purchase of STBs, package rates offered by MSOs etc.
Consumers and other stakeholders can call on this toll free number during this period.

Representatives of five national level MSOs namely DEN, In Cable, Hathway, Digi Cable, and Siti Cable are also available in the Control Room during this period to address any specific queries relating to their respective networks/services.

MUMBAI: Social media website Facebook said that it is giving access to mobile app developers for their apps to be promoted within the Try These Games box right in the middle of the mobile News Feed.

One of the possible reasons for beta partners seeing expansion reach with their mobile app ads may be that these ads were not targeted as other Facebook ad products.

Usually on Facebook, advertisers may include the users‘ interests as a targeting parameter. In case of mobile app ads, developers have to use broader targeting options like region, age, gender and mobile operating system. Facebook though has indicated that new targeting parameters may eventually be made available.
 
The social networking website conceded that it will continue to make updates that improve the user experience and the performance of mobile app install ads.

MUMBAI: Dish TV, India‘s largest direct-to-home (DTH) company, is eyeing expansion in neighbourhood countries and is preparing to capitalise its Sri Lanka subsidiary.

Dish TV is planning to invest Rs 700 million in Dish TV Lanka, a joint venture company in which it holds 70 per cent stake while local partner Satnet Private Limited has the other 30 per cent.

Dish TV has got the shareholders’ approval to invest Rs 700 million in the venture. The Sri Lanka operations is, however, not in the immediate agenda as India will take all the attention with digitisation in the four metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai nearing deadline.

Dish TV has not created a broadcasting centre or satellite link facility yet. The company, however, plans to enter into the Sri Lanka DTH market at some stage as the ARPUs (average revenue per user) are much higher.
“The DTH market in Sri Lanka is much smaller than India.But while the ARPUs in India are in the range between $3 and $4, in Sri Lanka it is close to $9. Dish TV is attracted by those ARPUs and Sri Lanka is a neighbouring territory,” said an industry source.

Dish TV Lanka was oncorporated on 25 April. The minority partner Satnet has a DTH Licence in Sri Lanka.

Dish TV said its shareholders have approved a “Special resolution under Section 372A of the Companies Act, 1956 to make loans/investments or give guarantee or provide any security to provide up to Rs 700 million in Dish TV Lanka (Private) Limited, over and above the limits prescribed under the said section.”

In Sri Lanka, the DTH market is dominated by Dialog TV, a subsidiary of telecom major Dialog Axiata. Dialog TV has an estimated 200,000 subscribers and its revenue grew 18 per cent to Rs 2.4 billion in the calendar year.

Shares of Dish TV rose 4.68 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange to Rs 80.35 at close on Wednesday.

Dish TV will announce its fiscal second-quarter financial results tomorrow. Meanwhile, the shareholders of Dish TV have approved the re-appointment of Jawahar Goel as the managing director of the company for a period of three years effective 6 January.

MUMBAI: Discovery Kids, the new 24-hour kids channel, has expanded its direct-to-home (DTH) reach following an agreement with Tata Sky with immediate effect.

The kid‘s channel, which is part of One Alliance bouquet, is already available on DTH services like Dish TV and Videocon d2h. Discovery Kids is available on channel no. 617 on Tata Sky.

Discovery Kids covers a variety of programming ranging from iconic global content to multiple India-themed series. Its programming formats include highest-quality animation and engaging live action series under multiple genres such as adventure, mythology, nature, history and science.

The channels programming slate features fun, enriching and entertaining programmes such as Papyrus, Sally Bollywood, Howzatt, The Legend of Enyo and Wild Kratts.

Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific SVP and GM – South Asia Rahul Johri said, “Discovery Kids has ushered in a new wave in kids‘ entertainment in India – one which will have kids engaged and their parents satisfied. The encouraging response has reiterated our commitment to offer enhanced value to the viewers, affiliates and advertisers alike.”

Tata Sky Chief Content and Business Development Officer Nicola Bamford added, “We are happy to partner with MSMD and enlarge the Discovery portfolio brand in India with its latest addition. Both brands deliver on the brand promise to provide a broad range of quality programming across every genre keeping in mind every member of the family. With the launch of Discovery Kids, we have further strengthened the learning based entertainment push amongst our younger audiences. We are certain the informative and entertainment quotient provided by Discovery Kids would be a perfect blend to keep children entertained in the comfort of their homes.”

MSM Discovery President Rajesh Kaul said, “Discovery Kids is present on most of MSOs and DTH platforms since the time of the launch of the channel. Inclusion of Discovery Kids on Tata Sky is a perfect fit as both the brands carry the common trait of high quality content offerings to their end consumers. The channel adds further variety to the multifaceted bouquet of Tata Sky.”

MUMBAI: One year after its launch on DStv in Africa, Studio Universal has launched in high definition (HD) on the platform, while Universal Channel has also launched in HD. The HD launches correlate to remarkable viewership growth for both channels across Africa and demonstrate Universal Network International‘s (UNI‘s) on-going commitment to the African market.

Universal Networks International MD emerging markets Colin McLeod said,”We are marking the phenomenal success of Studio Universal and Universal channel in Africa with HD launches of both channels. The channels‘ high-quality international series and movies, tailored to the local market, have resonated with the African audience and we will continue our investment in the region to further enhance viewer experience”.

Studio Universal offers action and comedy movies. The movie channel‘s programming, on-air packaging, as well as communications strategy have been specifically tailor-made for Africa.

Universal Channel offers drama, comedy and crimes series and its autumn line-up includes the premieres of the season finale of ‘Law and Order‘ as well as a new season of ‘Rookie Blue‘. Both launches are supported by extensive marketing campaigns.

MUMBAI: The Casbaa Convention 2012, to be held in Hong Kong between 29 October and 1 November, will field speakers to debate the multichannel TV industry in the Asia Pacific.

Themed ‘18 Reasons Why‘, Casbaa has lined up its list of speakers.

Casbaa CEO Simon Twiston Davies said,”The Convention continues to attract the most respected and influential speakers from the multichannel TV industry, solidifying its position as one of the most important forums taking place anywhere in the world”.

The roster will feature:

Ben Silverman (Founder & Chairman, Electus)
Winn Maw (CEO, Forever Group)
Anthony Bay (VP, Digital Video, Amazon)
Saul Berman (Partner & VP, Global Strategy Consulting Leader, IBM Global Business Services)
Richard Freudenstein (CEO, Foxtel)
Shuichi Mori (Representative Director, President & CEO, J:COM)
Gerhard Zeiler (President, Turner Broadcasting System International)
Jana Bennett (President, BBC Worldwide Networks & Global iPlayer)
Ye Htut (Deputy Minister, Ministry of Information, Myanmar)
Rohana Rozhan (CEO, ASTRO)
Harit Nagpal (MD & CEO, Tata Sky)
 
Additional confirmed speakers at CASBAA Convention 2012 include A+E Networks executive VP, international Sean Cohan, Scratch/Viacom Media Networks executive VP Ross Martin, Dolby senior VP, broadcast business group Giles Baker and ESPN Star Sports MD Peter Hutton.

From “Great Ad Brands at Work with Great Channel Brands” to “Socialising TV in Asia” and “How to Love Your Regulator” to “OTT”, executives from across the region and around the world will share their insights on a vast array of topics that directly influence the future of the pay-TV business.

The Convention 2012 will also feature workshops on “cross media” research, the magic of “transcoding” and “marketing strategies”, along with CASBAA TV Upfronts 2013, The Regulators Roundtable, the annual Golf Masters tournament, closing night Charity Ball, a delegate matching service and a dozen networking breakfasts, lunches and cocktails.