Category: Technology

MUMBAI: Den Networks has posted net profit of Rs 114.3 million from its cable TV business in the three months through June, up 13 times from the year-ago quarter profit of Rs 8.7 million.

Income from operations was up 23 per cent to Rs 1.84 billion from Rs 1.49 billion a year earlier.

Revenue climbed 21 per cent to Rs 1.90 billion while expenditure was 9 per cent higher at Rs 1.43 billion.

The Sameer Manchanda-promoted cable TV services company said its operating profit before forex losses of Rs 23.7 million in the first quarter ended June 30 2012 was Rs 461.9 million, up 77 per cent from Rs 261.2 million. The company’s Ebidta margin stood at 24.3 per cent in the first quarter against 16.6 per cent a year earlier.

Den Networks CEO S N Sharma said, “The quarter gone by has been very satisfactory for Den and we have (also) made rapid progress in digitisation. We expect the business to continue to exhibit strong growth momentum in the coming quarters and we are looking forward to the 31 October deadline for Phase 1 of digitisation.”

The company’s consolidated first quarter net profit rose to Rs 122.2 million from Rs 18.3 million a year earlier. The sharp rise in the net profit is because of the lower base in the first quarter of 2011-12.

The company’s consolidated Ebidta (before forex losses of Rs 23.7 million) was Rs 474.3 million, up 72 per cent from Rs 276.3 million a year earlier. The company’s Ebidta margin was 23.7 per cent.

Den’s consolidated net revenue for first quarter was Rs 2 billion against Rs 2.83 billion a year earlier. Expenses during the quarter decreased 44.76 per cent to Rs 1.53 billion from Rs 2.77 billion in the year ago period.

The company, however, clarified that the consolidated revenue figures were not comparable as MediaPro, a joint venture company of Star Den and Zee Turner, has changed its financial reporting to net revenue from gross revenue (Net revenues = Gross Revenues less Cost of Distribution Rights paid to Broadcasters). Star Den is an equal joint venture of Star and Den.

The change has had no impact on the profit figures of the company, Den said.

Den said it is rapidly digitising its subscriber base in the Phase 1 cities of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata with a major chunk of its subscriber base in Delhi already having been converted to digital.

The operator also stated that supplies for the estimated number of set top boxes required for digitising all Phase 1 markets have been secured to ensure timely seeding and no disruption in television services for consumers in its service areas. Den has partnered Cisco as one of its set top box suppliers.

Den has secured funds for investments in its digital infrastructure and set top boxes required for digitising its subscribers.

Den said it has built a sales team which is undertaking direct selling activities through DSAs (direct selling agents) in association with the Local Cable Operators (LCOs).

The MSO has also tied up with Resident Welfare Associations in its service areas to organise digitisation-centric events.

The company asserted that it continues to consolidate its presence in existing towns and strengthen its position as the leading cable service provider in India by entering strategic markets like West Bengal, Bihar and Jharkhand.

MUMBAI: Going by the great response that Reliance Entertainment‘s animation film Krishna Aur Kans has been garnering, developer and publisher of mobile games Jumps Games has collaborated with Reliance Animation to launch the official mobile game based on the film. It releases on the auspices day of Janmashtami on Friday.

“I‘m sure this Janmashtami, casual gamers of all ages across India will enjoy enacting Krishna via the mobile game,” Reliance Animation CEO Ashish Kulkarni, said in a statement.

“Krishna Aur Kans revisits one of the greatest stories ever told – the story of Krishna, the naughty prankster who emerges as the greatest saviour. While developing the movie and the game, we have given special attention to adhere to Indian sensibilities towards our heritage characters,” he added.

The launch of the game was deliberately planned around Janmashtami, says Chaitanya Prabhu, Jump Games, India‘s business head. We wanted to participate in the celebration of Janmashtami by creating a game based on Krishna, and this movie gives us a perfect platform to engage with the casual gamers across markets,” he added.

The Krishna Aur Kans game will be available on all leading mobile platforms like Android, Blackberry and Symbian, across all the leading mobile operators.

MUMBAI: Star India‘s Tamil channel Vijay TV has launched on Freebox TV, the IPTV platform of French telecom operator Free.

This launch makes it Vijay TV‘s first IPTV carriage deal in France and also strengthens Free‘s current offering of Indian content.

Vijay TV is available on free view from end of July till 15 August and viewers can catch a special line-up of programmes for the Indian Independence Day on 15 August.

Star UK & Europe Vice President Yeshpal Sharma said, “We are very proud to be at the forefront of the Asian television entertainment offering and delighted to partner with Free to launch our leading Tamil entertainment channel in France.”

Free users can subscribe to the Star Pack including Star Plus, Star Gold, Star Life OK, and ABP News for 15.99 Euros a month.

MUMBAI: Airtel Digital TV, the direct-to-home (DTH) business of telecom major Bharti Airtel, has slipped into operating loss for the three months through June, after four straight quarters of profit.

The DTH operator‘s operating loss for the fiscal-first quarter was Rs 23 million compared to operating profit of Rs 209 million in the trailing quarter. In the three successive quarters beginning April-June 2011, the company had reported operating profits of Rs 50 million, Rs 116 million and Rs 90 million.

The company has apparently changed the procedure for how it accounts for the content cost.

Airtel Digital TV added 172,000 net subscribers during the quarter ended 30 June 2012, representing 8 per cent growth from the trailing quarter, but monthly churn climbed to 1.7 per cent, from 1.2 per cent.

The company‘s customer base stood at 7.4 net million customers. Market leader Dish TV, the first to launch DTH services in India, has 9.8 million net subscribers while its churn is 1 per cent for the fiscal first quarter (from 1.1 per cent in exit quarter of FY‘12).

Airtel Digital TV‘s ARPU (average revenue per user) stayed flat at Rs 166, higher than Dish TV‘s Rs 156 (despite rising from Rs 151 in trailing quarter).

The company‘s loss before interest and tax jumped 16.49 per cent to Rs 2.26 billion for the first quarter ended 30 June compared to a loss of Rs 1.94 billion in the preceding quarter.

Airtel Digital TV‘s revenue during the quarter remained flat at Rs 3.65 billion, representing a change of 2.56 per cent from the earlier quarter. Revenue for the year-ago period was Rs 2.93 billion.

During the quarter, the company incurred a capital expenditure of Rs 3.24 billion in digital TV services, up from Rs 981 million in the preceding quarter. In the previous fiscal, the capex stood at Rs 3.01 billion.

As of 30 June 2012, Airtel‘s cumulative investment on the digital TV services stood at Rs 35.40 billion, up from Rs 32.98 billion in the preceding quarter. In the corresponding fiscal, the cumulative investments was Rs 29.29 billion.

During the quarter, the company expanded its footprint to 616 districts, up from 609 districts in the earlier quarter, covering 96 per cent of the populace.

MUMBAI: While the mobile Value Added Service (mVas) market is expected to grow to Rs. 671 billion by 2015 which would account for 30 per cent of mobile revenue, there are challenges. One challenge is the lack of consumer trust in data services. The focus of operators should rest on building relevance of services to the consumer.

This point was made at the Mobile Innovation Conference organised by IAMAI. Idea Cellular MD Himanshu Kapania spoke on ‘Services Beyond Voice and SMS‘. He noted that handset users have to be made aware of the benefits of accessing the net. For Vas revenues to grow, technology, big ideas and platforms are needed to help the process but consumers also have to believe in the value. “For mobile data to grow in terms of revenue you need a great network. At the same time you cannot leapfrog technology.”

He disagreed with the view held in some circles that 4G would bypass 3G. “2G users will upgrade to affordable 3G handsets which costs $70. This price will go down to $35-$50. This is where the takeoff will happen. What is happening today in China will happen in India in the coming four years.”

“The mobile data business has to move from push to pull. Operators cannot force feed applications on to consumers. Consumers have to demand services, which is why AT&T is doing so well in the US. Consumers have to be at the centre of what is being done. Mobile operators need to spend time on understanding consumers and why they aren‘t happy.”

He also stressed the fact that mobile operators and Mvas companies need to work in a partnership and there should be a long term plan. Also the government should be seen as a friend and not as an adversary. “People should have choice, ease of access and the ability to discover services in the manner that they want to.”

NEW DELHI: The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (Tdsat) is to hear on 24 August petitions by multi-system operator (MSO) Digicable Network (India) Pvt. Ltd, Delhi Distribution Company, and United Cable Operator’s Welfare Association challenging the digital tariff order of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai).

Although Tdsat had issued notice to Trai and the Union of India in this connection on 2 July, it was informed Tuesday that the regulator had filed its reply late last week and the petitioners wanted time to file their rejoinders.

Chaiperson Justice S B Sinha and member P K Rastogi accordingly listed the matter for 24 August.

Tdsat had earlier listed for 25 August a petition by IndusInd Media and Communications Ltd (IMCL) in this regard, even as it permitted news broadcasters NDTV, Time Global (holding company of Times Now), India TV, TV Today, Total TV, and News Broadcaster‘s Association (NBA), Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF), and other broadcasters to be a party to it. However, it said the broadcasters‘ impleadment would be subject to the objections raised by IMCL.

Digicable has approached the broadcast tribunal opposing the sector regulator’s new revenue sharing mechanism. In its petition, Digicable said Trai’s tariff order is “unjust, unfair, unreasonable, arbitrary, irrational, and discriminatory” and is tilted towards the broadcasters. According to the Trai tariff order, charges collected from the subscription of paid channels or bouquet of paid channels shall be shared in the ratio of 65:35 between MSO and the local cable operator respectively.

Earlier, local cable operators (LCOs) opposed the Trai tariff order. United Cable Operator’s Welfare Association had approached the Tdsat seeking better revenue share from the MSOs and an extension in date for digitisation.

Meanwhile, the deadline for the first phase of digitisation in the four metros has already been postponed by four months to 1 November.

MUMBAI: Sky Movies is dedicating an entire channel – Sky Movies 007 HD – to the full James Bond film catalogue from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios throughout October. The Sky Movies 007 HD channel will launch on 5 October.

UK pay TV service provider Sky said that all 22 James Bond films will be available in HD, without commercial breaks and in one place – Sky Movies HD.

And as an added bonus they will be joined by two non-Eon titles 1967 ‘Casino Royale‘ and ‘Never Say Never Again‘.

Bond fans will have the films at their fingertips via Sky Movies’ comprehensive TV on-demand service Sky Anytime+, with all of the films also available on demand and on the move via Sky Go, Sky’s award-winning multiplatform TV service available across PC, Mac, laptop, iPhone, iPad and Android phones.

In addition, customers who subscribe to Sky Movies via NOW TV, the brand new internet TV service from Sky, will also be able to enjoy entire the Bond catalogue.

The 23rd film in the franchise, Skyfall, will be available to rent through Sky Store and on Sky Movies next year.

The films arrive on Sky Movies to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the franchise, with the first film, Dr No, released on 5 October 1962.

Sky Movies director Ian Lewis said, “The Bond movies are a very special franchise and we want to ensure that our customers to be able to experience it in a way they’ve never been able to before, and so we’re going to create a dedicated channel Sky Movies 007 HD devoted entirely to James Bond showing the entire catalogue of films and loads of extra material.

MUMBAI: Zee Americas, the American subsidiary of Zeel, has entered into a long-term distribution agreement with Ethnic Channels Group for Zee Cinema in Canada.

The deal provides Ethnic Channels Group the rights to distribute the service on Cable and Satellite platforms.

Zee Cinema CEO Suresh Bala said, “This is exciting for us in that for the first time ever we are able to focus our marketing and unlock the strength of the Zee Cinema brand in Canada. Ethnic Channels Group is an expert at marketing to ethnic audiences and expects to grow our distribution and our subscription base significantly. Currently Zee Cinema is only available as a linear service, but we expect to work out the details of mobile distribution in the not so distant future.”

Zee Cinema boasts of a library featuring over 5000 hours of movies including movies such as Agneepath, Agent Vinod, Don 2, Desi Boyz and Barfee along with all time hits such as Taare Zameen Par, Rock On, Jab We Met and classics such as Awara, Sholay, Bobby and Padosan.

“We are delighted to partner with the Zee TV Group for the launch of Zee Cinema in Canada. Bollywood today is a global, phenomenon and Zee Cinema is its biggest custodian,” said Ethnic Channels Group co-founder and CEO Slava Levin.

Added Ethnic Channels Group President Hari Srinivas, “Ethnic Channels Group believes in the brand equity of its content partners, and it will be our primary objective to increase this for Zee Cinema in Canada.

MUMBAI: Intelsat 20, satellite designed and built by leading commercial satellite provider Space Systems/Loral, has launched on 2 August and is performing post-launch maneuvers.

The satellite based on the Space Systems/Loral 1300 platform will replace Intelsat 10 and Intelsat 7, and is expected to have a service life of more than 18 years.

Intelsat 20 will provide high-power distribution of video, voice, and data network services in C and Ku-bands across four continents from its orbital slot at 68.5 degrees East longitude.

The Intelsat 20 video neighbourhood provides premium content that is carried by India‘s leading cable MSOs and DTH operators, reaching more than an estimated 90 million pay-TV subscribers across India. It also hosts the largest DTH platform in Africa.

The satellite deployed its solar arrays on schedule following its launch aboard an Ariane 5 launch vehicle provided by Arianespace from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, and has begun firing its main thruster to complete its travel to geostationary orbit.

“The launch of Intelsat 20 is one more testament to the success of our longstanding relationship with Intelsat and our ability to work together as a team,” said Space Systems/Loral president John Celli.

MUMBAI: The Ku-band market will continue to be the main growth engine for the commercial satellite operators who are aggressively targeting new markets such as mobility and other high value services in order to maintain sustained revenue expansion for the coming years, according to a report.

The NSR’s Global Assessment of Satellite Supply & Demand report says that the commercial satellite operators grew capacity leasing revenues by $635 million between 2010 and 2011.

“The Ku-band market will continue to be the main growth engine for the commercial satellite market for the coming ten years”, noted NSR Senior Analyst and the report author Patrick M. French.

“The direct-to-home (DTH) TV market alone could add $1.4 billion in net new revenues by 2021 out of $4.3 billion expected in total for the Ku-band segment. Solid Ku-band revenue gains are also expected from the video distribution, enterprise data, commercial mobility and gov/mil verticals.”

A major finding in the report is that the commercial satellite industry is finally beginning to fully grasp the significance of High Throughput Satellites (HTS) and their potential to drive new market growth in many other market verticals beyond satellite broadband access services.

The report found that all HTS markets combined could add almost $1.9 billion in net new revenues to the industry in the coming ten years, which is the second biggest gain after the Ku-band market.

“The widebeam Ka-band market, especially for the gov/mil segment in the Middle East, is also beginning to get some real traction for the industry even if total revenue growth is expected to be substantially smaller that the Ku-band or HTS side of the business,” added French.

“There should also be continued strong growth in C-band video distribution services driven by expanding carriage of HD and SD channels, plus slow ramp up of 3D and eventually Ultra HD channels.”

The only cloud NSR identified on the horizon was the potential for weakening C-band backhaul demand after 2015 should the industry begin to rapidly migrate to the use of HTS and O3b capacity for data-intensive 3G and 4G backhaul.