Category: Technology

MUMBAI: Jain TV Group-owned NSTPL (Noida Software Technology Park Limited) has christened its yet-to-be-launched Headend-In-The-Sky (HITS) platform as Jain HITS.

NSTPL claims to have signed a few broadcasters for content. However when questioned, a top official did not want to disclose the names of the broadcasters, saying that “this was confidential information”.

NSTPL has said that Jain HITS shall follow the logic of “Connect and Collaborate approach”.

The promoters of Jain HITS believe that the achievements of practical energy and technical skills of small and medium size cable operators can be channelised by organising them through the federation of cable operators.

Jain HITS‘ “New Generation Network” and its set-top box (STB) will have special provisions to turn into a hybrid platform providing both broadcasting as well as broadband Internet services.

Hybrid platforms will be able to provide many Value Added Services including Voice Over Internet Protocol and the day is not far that today’s cable operator shall be providing through his local area network triple play services, the company said.

NSTPL already has a multi-year, multi-transponder agreement for C-band capacity on Intelsat 902 at 62 degree East. The company will use the capacity to create a white label, turnkey channel package that can be received and distributed by multiple system and local cable operators throughout the country.

HITS is a New Generation Network (NGN) that consists of Satellite Transponders in the outer space, spectrum on the airwaves, teleport equipped with a dish farm that can downlink all the satellite channels, decrypt each channel, bundle them together, encrypt the aggregated signal in digital form, aggregate multi program streams and uplink to the Satellite in the outer space so that cable operators can receive on a single dish all the 200 to 500 channels.

NSTPL has roped in former Trai chairman Pradip Baijal as a mentor for the HITS project. He will provide leadership on a full-time basis.

It must be noted that WWIL, which had launched its HITS services in 2008, had to suspend its services in 2010 citing lack of clarity in the regulations.

MUMBAI: Ortel Communications, Orissa’s leading multi-system operator (MSO), has abandoned its Rs 1 billion public float plans due to choppy market conditions and is scouting for private equity investment while deciding to do a rights issue to take care of its interim funding needs.

The company has mandated Equirus to find an investor and is looking at raising Rs 1 billion. Equirus had earlier helped Ortel to get private equity fund New Silk Route which had bought 23 per cent stake from the promoters for Rs 600 million and additional equity from Actis to take its total holding to 35 per cent.

Ortel plans to invest Rs 500 million over two years for its digital and new territory expansions. The MSO has cable TV operations in Orissa, Chhatishgarh, parts of coastal Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal.

The funding will be through a mix of rights issue and debt. The existing shareholders will be participating in the rights issue. Ortel promoters currently hold 63 per cent stake in the company, after buying out SREI Group’s equity in 2008. New Silk Route has 35 per cent stake and the balance two per cent is with the employees and others.

“We are looking at a rights issue and the two existing shareholders have agreed in principle to subscribe to it. Post the issue, the shareholding will be almost the same. We have a funding requirement of Rs 500 million over 12-24 months depending on our growth and we will do this with debt and the funds that we raise from the rights issue,” Ortel CEO Bibhu Prasad Rath tells Indiantelevision.com without disclosing the size of the rights issue.

The company has parallelly started looking for private equity investment. “We got Sebi clearance for the IPO (initial public offering) last August but have decided to shelve it due to market conditions. We will have to file again as the one-year period is getting over (companies have to tap the market within a year of Sebi clearance or it expires). We will wait until conditions in the market improve before taking any such decision. We have mandated Equirus to find us a private equity investor at the right valuation,” says Rath.

Ortel had filed for an IPO earmarking a funding requirement of Rs 850 million, including a capex plan of Rs 344.30 million on development of its analogue and digital services, Rs 289.04 million towards expansion of network for providing video, data and telephony services and Rs 217.40 million for developing its broadband services.

New Silk Route had expressed intent to fully exit from its investment in Ortel Communications through an offer for sale in the IPO. Sources say the private equity firm had put in Rs 840 million for Ortel’s stake.

Ortel, which offers cable TV, broadband and VoIP services, has a debt of around Rs 1.5 billion. Revenue in FY‘12 stands at Rs 1.25 billion, up 25 per cent over the earlier year, while Ebitda margin is close to 30 per cent. The company incurred a net loss of Rs 150 million in the fiscal.

Ortel requires funds for digitisation and expansion of the network. A dominant player in Orissa, the company is making efforts to penetrate into the neighbouring geographies of Chhatishgarh and parts of coastal Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal where its presence is still thin.

While other MSOs mainly provide their services through the local cable operator (LCO), Ortel follows the last mile ownership model. “We are favourably positioned to implement digitisation because we have the last mile. We have already digitised 15 per cent of our network,” says Rath.

MUMBAI: Times Internet Ltd (TIL) has elevated Gautam Sinha as the chief operating officer.

Sinha was hitherto working as director – technology at Times Group, which he joined in 2007.

He will report to TIL CEO Satyan Gajwani who is replacing Rishi Khiani. Khiani, who had resigned in June, will serve his notice period till 17 August.

Sinha has over 26 years of experience. Prior to joining Times, he was working with CashEdge as chief operating officer / chief technology officer. He has also worked with Sevant, Aspect Telecommunications and DRDO.

MUMBAI: LinkedIn Corporation‘s net profit dipped 37.7 per cent in the second quarter of 2012 to $2.8 million from $4.5 million a year earlier.

Its revenue for the April-June quarter was $228.2 million, an increase of 89 per cent compared to $121 million in the second quarter of 2011.

LinkedIn‘s adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter was $50.4 million, 22 per cent of revenue. It was $26.3 million a year earlier.

The company‘s revenue from the US totaled $147.3 million, and represented 65 per cent of total revenue while revenue from international markets totaled $81 million, and represented 35 per cent of total revenue in the second quarter of 2012.

Revenue from the field sales channel totaled $129.4 million, and represented 57 per cent of total revenue in the second quarter of 2012. Revenue from the online, direct sales channel totaled $98.8 million, and represented 43 per cent of total revenue in the second quarter of 2012.

“LinkedIn had a strong second quarter with all of our key operating and financial metrics showing solid performance,” said Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn. “Our ongoing investment in product innovation drove healthy engagement as measured by unique visiting members and member page views, and our three revenue streams all experienced significant growth.”

Hiring Solutions: Revenue from Hiring Solutions products totaled $121.6 million, an increase of 107 per cent. Hiring Solutions revenue represented 53 per cent of total revenue in the second quarter of 2012, compared to 48 per cent in the second quarter of 2011.

Marketing Solutions: Revenue from Marketing Solutions products totaled $63.1 million, an increase of 64 per cent. Marketing Solutions revenue represented 28 per cent of total revenue in the second quarter of 2012, compared to 32 per cent in the second quarter of 2011.

Premium Subscriptions: Revenue from Premium Subscriptions products totaled $43.5 million, an increase of 82 per cent representing 19 per cent of total revenue in the second quarter of 2012, compared to 20 per cent of revenue in the second quarter of 2011.

MUMBAI: The Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (Casbaa) has appointed Christopher Slaughter as its chief executive officer designate. The incumbent CEO Simon Twiston Davies will continue and work with the new CASBAA management team until 31 December.

Also, John Medeiros will be promoted to the new role of chief policy officer and will become senior government relations advisor to the Casbaa Board. He will report to Casbaa chairman Marcel Fenez.

Casbaa has appointed Jill Grinda as executive vice president focusing on operations and Casbaa‘s advertising initiatives.

Fenez said, “The Board of Directors is delighted with the appointment of Christopher Slaughter and the enhanced roles being taken up by John Medeiros and Jill Grinda. The new team‘s mandate and combined industry experience bring significant additional capacity to Casbaa and the services it provides to its 130 Members.”

Slaughter is a seasoned industry executive, having worked in Asia since 1986. He joins the Casbaa executive team from his role as managing director at production company APV in Hong Kong. He was previously the Asia Pacific head of The Yankee Group, a telecom, media, and technology research company, as well as the Hong Kong and Shanghai bureau chief for CNBC Asia. He has also worked in Taiwan, Singapore, Japan and India and is a fluent Mandarin speaker.

Medeiros has driven Casbaa‘s regulatory agenda over the past seven years. Prior to this he has held senior leadership roles in several US embassies in the region and in Europe.

Grinda, who joined Casbaa as vice president – operations in early 2011, has more than 20 years experience in global media and communications. She was previously responsible for the launch and distribution of several international television channels across Asia.

MUMBAI: The Department of Telecom has selected Times Internet Limited as the auctioneer for 2G spectrum auction process following a bidding process.

Mumbai-based NCDEX Spot Exchange and the Bangalore-based Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation were also in the fray but the two could not qualify the technical bids.

The e-auction will entail inviting applications, resolving queries of potential bidders, finalising eligible bidders, holding public information sessions and a mock auction.

The e-auction of spectrum will be in 1800 MHz and 800 MHz bands. “Online auction is the most transparent method of holding large auctions. As a technology leader, we are excited to facilitate this process,” said TIL CEO Satyan Gajwani.

The empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) is scheduled to meet Tuesday to decide on the auction timeline.

MUMBAI: Sunrise TV, the telecommunications company in Switzerland, has launched channels from Star network that include Star Plus, Star Gold and Vijay TV.

The channels that were launched on Sunrise TV on 19 July, provide subscribers with Tamil, Hindi entertainment and Bollywood channel content with English subtitles.

They are a mix of drama, events, lifestyle shows, celebrity chat shows, religious and cookery shows, music and dance reality series and Bollywood blockbusters.

Star vice president UK and Europe Yeshpal Sharma said “We are pleased with our partnership with Sunrise TV for the launch of Star channels in Switzerland. This reflects our commitment to bring the best of Asian television entertainment toour viewers in Europeand we look forward to a continued relationship with Sunrise.”

Sunrise TV users can subscribe to the Star Pack including Vijay TV, Star Plus, Star Gold at 20 CHF a month.

MUMBAI: Maya Digital Studios, the studio that pioneered the art and technology of animation and visual effects in India in the 1990s, has started yet another ‘industry first‘ initiative where young animation, VFX & 3D stereoscopy professionals will undergo advanced training based on a Studio Ready Training Modules with employment at Maya‘s studio facilities in Mumbai and Goa. The, initiative by Maya called ‘Maya In Studio Training‘ (MIST), will be formally launched on 11 August in Mumbai.

Elaborating about MIST, Maya co-founder and director Deepa Sahi said, “Our focus at Maya has always been on artists and I‘m proud to say that even after so many years Maya is the dream place to be for any animation and visual effects artist- as the saying goes- “Your work is as good as the person behind the machine”.

We are therefore committed to nurturing the men and women ‘behind‘ the machine! Hence we are now starting with the facility for a dedicated in studio training facility within the studio to create studio ready artists, who have the right blend of creativity & production skills.”

Earlier, Maya had launched an academic training institute and created over 50000 animation and visual effects professionals in the Indian industry. At that time, the industry was new in India training was critical, which is when Maya decided to launch the training facility to create an animation and visual effects ecosystem in the country.

Elaborately, talking about MIST, Maya chairman & managing director Ketan Mehta stated, “As the training industry evolved for Animation & Visual Effects the focus shifted from creating artists to mass production. Thus, there was no focus on teaching them the studio skills and production processes to create consummate Techno-Artists in this field.

With Maya In Studio Training, MIST we are all set to fill in this gap that exists between Animation & Visual Effects training and the studio environment, between ‘knowing‘ and ‘doing‘. Freshers will work with studio veterans and learn while working on live projects at MIST.”

MUMBAI: Saban Brands is adding game to its digital capabilities. The company has acquired The Playforge business, a mobile games developer and publisher, known for Zombie Farm, the third highest grossing iOS app in 2011 and a top 10 grossing game for nearly two years, accounting for more than 37 million downloads.

This acquisition continues Saban Brands‘ growth since reacquiring the Power Rangers property and purchasing lifestyle brand Paul Frank in 2010. Additionally, the company announced in July that it is launching Vortexx, a broadcast television block on US broadcaster The CW network and an online destination for action, adventure and comedy entertainment.

The company plans to extend current and future free-to-play mobile games developed by the San Mateo-based The Playforge into licensing, merchandising and media opportunities.

In addition, the acquisition greatly expands Saban Brands‘ development capabilities, providing additional resources for advancing games currently in its slate. The Playforge team adds more than 25 employees to the organisation and gives Saban Brands a solid footprint in Silicon Valley.

Saban Brands VP of digital Dan Silberberger said, “Mobile is becoming the default medium for entertainment, and games are the future of social engagement. The Playforge has a demonstrated record of creating sustainable, high-quality mobile social games. This acquisition allows us to take a leadership position in the space, combine our brand expertise with the development capabilities of The Playforge, and further expand our reach to wherever consumers want – from mobile to online to television.”

The Playforge, founded by husband and wife team Vince McDonnell and Susan Salvador, will continue to release game titles under its own brand, continuing the company‘s reputation as a leading developer of highly engaging, character-based games. The Playforge already has three live games in the iTunes App Store (Zombie Farm, Zombie Life, and Tree World) and is the only company, with the exception of Rovio and its Angry Birds game, to be in the Top 10 grossing iPhone apps on the iTunes Rewind in both 2010 and 2011.

As of the end of 2011, Zombie Farm is the No. 1 top grossing free-to-play application of all time and The Playforge was only bootstrapped company to make the top 10 grossing list.

The Playforge CEO Vince McDonnell said, “By partnering with Saban Brands we‘re able to take our products to new heights where they can be enjoyed and experienced by a much broader audience through licensing, merchandising and media opportunities, areas that are tremendously exciting to us. We look forward to collaborating with Dan and his team in support of our three additional title launches in 2012, and as we plan for the future.”

The Playforge has taken a focused approach to game development with a team of product managers, producers, developers, designers and artists focused on the core aspects of a game. The approach has worked well for its highly-successful Zombie Farm franchise.

Saban Capital Group director of private equity Richard Yen said,”Zombie Farm is one of the first iOS games to sell virtual currency redeemable for virtual goods. This continues to reinforce The Playforge‘s position as an industry pioneer and leader as this model now represents the lion‘s share of iOS app revenue”.

Saban Brands president Elie Dekel said, “As Saban Brands continues to grow and evolve, we are thrilled to be working with the talented team at The Playforge. We look forward to a steady stream of new games, new intellectual properties (IP), and new strategic collaborations that bring together and amplify the strengths and capabilities of the combined group”.

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: The deployment of set-top boxes (STBs) in three metros is dismal, indicating that the sunset date of 31 October for switching off analogue cable in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai under the first phase of digitisation will be a herculean task.

Mumbai looks the most prepared with 50 per cent of cable TV homes already having digital STB installations. But Delhi and Kolkata seem to be struggling with the rate of STB installations around 25 per cent while Chennai is way behind.

Installation of STBs in cable TV homes is the most crucial precondition for digital switchover of cable television. The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has, thus, been constantly reviewing the preparedness of the industry for the digital switchover.

A review by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has revealed that in Mumbai city there is an estimated requirement of 3.485 million STBs and so far 1.707 million have been installed.

The MSO-wise installation of STBs in Mumbai is as under:

“If the progress stays so sluggish, how will the government be able to force digitisation by 31 October? Things have to improve or we shall possibly be headed for another deadline extension,” a media analyst said.

Another headache for the Ministry is the absence of agreements between the broadcasters and the multi-system operators (MSOs). No deal has been signed so far, making it difficult for the cable operators to sell digitisation to their subscribers. MSOs and independent cable operators will also have to prepare channel packages, making them attractive for consumers to buy.

The completion of negotiation and the signing of interconnection agreements between the channel aggregators/ broadcasters and MSOs is one of the prerequisites for implementation of digital switchover.

The Ministry has been constantly coordinating with the stakeholders of the cable television industry, namely, broadcasters, MSOs and local cable operators (LCOs) to ensure that the deadline of 31 October 2012 is met and TV viewers in the four metro cities are in position to have the pleasure of experiencing digital broadcast without any interruption.

Fortnightly meetings of the Task Force are being held with all the stakeholders to take constant stock of the progress and to chalk out the measures to address emerging concerns.