Category: Technology

MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide Digital Entertainment and Games has announced that Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock, which is based on the television show, is now available for download on PlayStation Network on PlayStation 3 globally.

Players take on the roles of the Doctor and River Song as they travel across time and space to save the Earth, and time itself. In order to be successful, they must master the complexities of time travel through exceptional time-based gameplay – changes made in one time will impact another, creating multiple possibilities and challenging players to solve puzzles across the centuries.

Equipped with the Doctor’s “sonic screwdriver,” River’s “blaster” and other fantastic gadgets, players journey through four London time periods and a number of other-worldly locations in search of answers. With collaborative multiplayer capabilities, players can take part in the game simultaneously across different time periods, facing some of the most fearsome monsters including Silurians, Cybermen, Daleks and the Silence.

BBC Worldwide Digital Entertainment and Games executive VP Robert Nashak said, “Doctor Who is such a beloved BBC franchise, and we’re fortunate to work collaboratively with the creative minds behind the TV show, bringing fans an authentic experience in the universe that is Doctor Who.”

The stars of the Doctor Who TV series Matt Smith (the Doctor) and Alex Kingston (River Song) provide voiceovers for the game, and motion capture technology creates in-game character movements to add realism to the ultimate Doctor Who gaming experience.

MUMBAI: The Indian set-top box (STB) market has been increasing at a steady pace over the past few years. A strong surge of consumers moved to satellite platforms during 2011. Despite the large cable TV subscriber base in India, satellite TV growth will slow somewhat from the 10 million consumers that added services last year.

Principal analyst Sam Rosen said, “The cable TV digitisation, mandated by the government, will spur set-top box shipment increases in India for the next several years. 19.3 million set-top boxes will be shipped in India during 2012.”

The government‘s cable TV digitisation policy now specifies that cable TV digitisation will occur in four phases by December 2014. Therefore, cable STB deployments will surge from 2012 as larger operators begin their digital STB deployments. The cable digitisation process will progress far slower than the government mandate specifies – otherwise, consumers will be forced to abandon cable in favor of satellite as cable operators struggle to procure the set-top boxes.

Research analyst Khin Sandi Lynn said, “High definition (HD) STB adoption in India currently accounts for only 11 per cent of overall shipments. The increasing adoption of HDTV sets and cable TV digitisation is expected to bring more HD channels and HD services in India”. HD STB adoption in India will accelerate in the coming years.

Nearly 70 per cent of set-top boxes installed in Indian households are imported from foreign manufacturers, especially from China. In 2011, Huawei was the top STB vendor in India with 24 per cent market share, followed by Pace with 12 per cent market share. Chang Hong, Cisco, and Skyworth are also selling set-top boxes in India. Domestic STB production is likely to increase in the years to come with some overseas manufacturing set-top box factories in India, as well as Indian companies focused on building low-cost set-top boxes.

MUMBAI: Hungama Digital has launched application for Star Network‘s recently launched show, ‘Satyamev Jayate‘.

At present, the application is available for iTunes and works on Ipods, Iphone and Ipads.

The application lets users stream songs and watch videos. One can share them with friends and communities and follow the official Satyamev Jayate twitter timeline.

With every episode, the application is also updated with the new song and video released on that episode.

According to the official communiqu?©, within a couple of days of launch, the app is the No. 1 in the “entertainment category” and No. 3 in the “Top 25” of all the apps on the app store for iphone.

Mumbai: Sony Entertainment Television (Set) has launched its high-definition (HD) feed starting today.

The HD feed will be available for analogue and digital distributors. It will be available on direct-to-home (DTH) providers like Dish TV, Tata Sky, Airtel Digital TV and Videocon D2H.

Additionally, it will also be available on cable networks like Hathway cable & Datacom and Seven Star.

Multi Screen Media COO NP Singh said, “I am pleased to announce that our flagship channel Sony is all set to be broadcast in HD. Traditionally, SET Network has always embraced technological excellence and going HD is another step in that direction.”

Set senior EVP and business head Sneha Rajani said, “As a channel that has always been a pioneer in its content offering for the TV audience at large, Sony will continue to keep its viewers in the forefront and be a leader in the marketplace. Going HD is a continuation of that focus and a very proud moment for us all.”

Other Hindi general entertainment channels – Star Plus, Zee TV and Colors – already provide HD feed.

Six, the recently launched sports channel from the Multi Screen bouquet, is already available in HD.

MUMBAI: Al Jazeera‘s sports network beIN Sport has selected Eutelsat Communications to broadcast its two new channels for the French market, beIN Sport 1 and beIN Sport 2.

The two channels will be broadcast through Eutelsat Hot Bird satellite TV neighbourhood at 13° East and Eutelsat 5 West A satellite at 5° West.

beIN Sport 1 is on track for launch on 1 June and will show premium coverage of the Uefa Euro 2012 championship from 8 June. Its sister channel, beIN Sport 2, will follow this summer.

The contract with Eutelsat follows beIN Sport’s acquisition of LFP Ligue (France’s Professional Football League) and Uefa Champions League rights and many other premium sports for the French market.

Favouring two satellite TV positions already well-anchored in French TV homes will enable beIN Sport 1 and 2 to optimise their reach from day one and ensure the highest broadcast quality for live and exclusive viewing of premium sports.

Eutelsat CEO Michel de Rosen said, “The longstanding presence of two of our leading satellite TV neighbourhoods in France’s media landscape will be further consolidated by the arrival of beIN Sport’s first television channels for viewers in France. The launch of these new TV ventures also testifies to the dynamic of the satellite broadcasting market that continues to welcome new players and programming concepts in order to deliver viewers premium content and the finest image quality.”

Mumbai: Indian youth like his entertainment on the move. His least favourite gadget is the TV, with less than one per cent voting for it, reveals TCS GenY survey 2011-12.

GenY‘s favorite gadget with 28 per cent votes is the mobile phone. Gaming consoles are also increasingly becoming popular even in mini-metros with a little over 16 per cent of students owning at least one gaming console as compared to nearly 45 per cent in metros. Music players are also very popular with 60 per cent of the respondents owning them.

Tablet PCs and Tabs, though nascent, have penetrated far more intensively in metros with 15 per cent respondents listing it as their choice of device to access with mini-metros at 7 per cent.

India‘s “Generation Y” is adopting new modes of networking using social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, as well as tools like instant messaging (IM) and chat.

TCS surveyed over 12,300 high school students in ages of 12-18 across 12 Indian cities to reveal that smart devices and online access are making GenY “instant connectors.” This is transforming the way tomorrow‘s professionals are conducting their academic and social lives.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) CEO and MD N Chandrasekaran said, “Combination of more bandwidth, availability of smart devices and the surging popularity of social networks is changing the way India‘s high school students conduct their academic and social lives. As significant employers of India‘s talented youth, we need to understand how to leverage these social trends to create engaging careers for tomorrow‘s professionals.”

The survey shows common trends among urban high school students across India but also reveals differences between metros and upcoming Tier II towns, which are emerging as mini-metros.

Three out of four students cited “Research for School” as the main reason to access the internet followed by social reasons like chatting/connecting with friends (68 per cent) and listening to music (50 per cent). Over 84 per cent of the students go online from home compared to just 58 per cent (in 2009).

Use of cyber-cafes as an online access point has dropped dramatically fallen from 46 per cent in 2009 to 20 per cent today.

Social network websites like Facebook is the clear favorite among students to connect with their peers with 88 per cent of respondents from the six metros having a presence on this social platform. One-third of all respondents said that it was their preferred site. Other platforms like Orkut and India-based networks like Apnacircle, iBibo and Hi5 are more popular in mini-metros compared to metros.

Tweeting as a medium of communication is now being used by one in three students in the TCS survey, though only 1 per cent listed it as their preferred site.

Eight out of every ten high school students own mobile phones and more than 40 per cent use mobile phones to access the internet (compared to just 12 per cent in 2009). While PCs continue to dominate internet access for students (68 per cent) at home, one in two said that they used laptops as well.

An emerging trend is the use of tablets with almost 14 per cent using these new devices.

The TCS Survey shows that increasingly India‘s urban Gen Next is turning to text and chat as alternatives to voice. 50 per cent of those surveyed in metros said that they used SMS the most to communicate while 45 per cent used IM and 38 per cent used Facebook or Twitter – all significantly higher than the number of students in metros who said they used email (34 per cent) for the same purpose.

Reflecting poorer connectivity levels, use of email (55 per cent) in mini-metros continues to higher than metros (34 per cent).

The Web 3.0 generation school students are far more conscious than before. They seem to be clear about what they would look for in a future job. IT remains the top career preference amongst youngsters, irrespective of geography, with Engineering and Medicine coming next. Media / Entertainment is emerging as a clear urban favorite.

Early use of career sites like LinkedIn is more popular in business-centric cities like Mumbai and Ahmedabad and significantly lower on a national basis.

This survey captured information access trends, social networking preferences and career interests. The cities where it was conducted were – Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Pune. The primary data was collected from the participants by means of a questionnaire at each of these locations.

MUMBAI: US cable network TBS and online social network Facebook are coming together for a new agreement that extends TBS‘s distribution plan for DumbDumb comedy shorts.

The new branded entertainment content opportunities were announced recently by the network, along with the advertising and digital production company launched by comic actors Jason Bateman and Will Arnett, in partnership with Ben Silverman‘s multimedia studio Electus, an operating business of IAC.

The TBS and Facebook agreement combines branded video content with the scale, targeting and reach of the Facebook platform.

Turner Entertainment and Young Adults ad sales president Donna Speciale said, “As consumer viewing habits have changed, and advertisers look to integrate within sharable and entertaining media, we are very pleased to announce TBS‘s partnership with Facebook for DumbDumb branded content. We are not just talking the talk about innovation; we are actively developing ways for our advertisers to creatively immerse their brands through a multi-screen approach that delivers great video to an engaged and interested audience on Facebook.”

Facebook VP, global marketing solutions Carolyn Everson added, “Through this partnership with TBS for DumbDumb content, Facebook will not only help brands distribute and promote their content across the platform, but through social engagement will drive consumption of that content. Facebook and television work perfectly together, as Facebook has become the location where viewers discuss, experience, and share what they watch and what they love, creating true word of mouth at scale.”

Electus chairman, founder Ben Silverman said, “When we built and launched DumbDumb with Jason and Will, we always wanted to deliver content wherever the consumer was consuming it. The Dummies and I are very excited about this partnership so we can Turner and Facebook all at once.”

Through this deal with Facebook, the comedic videos will extend even further beyond the sponsor‘s engaged social media platforms and the powerful reach of Turner Digital. Marketing will be custom-developed with each sponsor‘s target audience and brand goals in mind.

The initial agreement calls for DumbDumb to produce up to six short-form comedy videos for TBS.com, each featuring a sponsor‘s brand integration and the DumbDumb stable of comedic stars. In addition, participating sponsors have the opportunity to showcase the videos across multiple screens and social platforms, including their Web sites, You Tube channels, Facebook pages, and Twitter feeds, among others. To provide even further reach for the client‘s brand message, TBS will promote tune-in through popular and relevant comedic shows like Conan, Family Guy and The Big Bang Theory, as well as across the Turner Digital network of online and mobile destinations, including Teamcoco.com, AdultSwim.com and NBA.com.

MUMBAI: International research and analysis firm Euroconsult, which specialises in the satellite and broadcasting sectors, has announced that the satellite pay-TV industry reached revenues close to $90 billion in 2011, up from $79 billion in 2010.

Global industry revenues are expected to reach close to $150 billion in 2021, with emerging markets (Latin America, Central Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Africa and Asia) representing a growing share of revenues that will nearly double over the next ten years to reach 44 per cent by 2021.

According to the fifth edition of ‘Satellite TV Platforms, World Survey and Prospects to 2021‘, the number of TV platforms in service increased to almost 140 in 2011, reaching 184 million subscribers. Close to 350 million households should subscribe to satellite pay-TV platforms worldwide by 2021, representing a 6.7 per cent CAGR over the 10-year period.

In the last decade, satellite pay-TV subscriptions grew by at least 10 per cent every year. The positive trend continued in 2011 when worldwide subscriptions increased by around 16 per cent.

Some of the fastest growing markets include India, Brazil, and Russia. Asia has become the leading region in terms of subscriptions thanks to the booming Indian market. In 2021, an expected 77 per cent of worldwide subscribers should be located in emerging regions versus 60 per cent in 2011.

Euroconsult CEO Pacôme Révillon said, “Emerging regions will take on the majority of subscriber growth going forward, as mature markets focus more on profitability. Many platforms were launched in the past five years, which means they must now start delivering results. To accomplish this, platforms are increasing fees and services offered in order to increase revenues and margins. For those relatively mature platforms that cannot reach profitability in the near future, the threat of consolidation is always around the corner.”

Platforms maintain investments in new services to remain attractive: Pay-TV platforms are investing in value-added services such as HD, 3D, and next-generation set-top boxes in order to develop competitive advantages. 90 platforms had in particular HD channels in their line-ups at the end of 2011, up from the 2009 total of 48 platforms distributing HD content. More than 2,800 HD channels were distributed by platforms worldwide in 2011, following the launch of close to 600 HD channels during the course of the year. HDTV and emerging formats (i.e. 3DTV and Ultra HD) should drive channel growth over the coming decade.

Next-generation set-top boxes have already been rolled out in some countries, but they remain limited in the satellite pay-TV industry. Satellite pay-TV platforms are seeking to address several key performance metrics with their next-generation set-top boxes, including subscriber numbers and market share, churn rates, average revenue per user (ARPU) and multi-play penetration.

Euroconsult consultant Dimitri Buchs said, “Next-generation set-top boxes which include OTT delivery provide satellite pay-TV platforms a means through which to deliver ‘true‘ VoD services. As a consequence, these boxes allow them to compete more directly with cable and IPTV service providers on that front. Terrestrial service providers have been able to provide ‘true‘ VoD services for several years now. Apart from the competitive advantage, the roll-out of next-generation set-top boxes is also likely to limit the move from linear pay-TV subscriptions (i.e., satellite pay-TV, IPTV,…) to TV and video services received via OTT.”

In 2011, there were 137 total platforms with 184 million subscribers. Total revenues stood at $90 billion with 19,650 channels that were distributed.

MUMBAI: Sameer Manchanda-promoted Den Networks‘ cable business has posted a whopping 42 per cent jump in its net profit for the three-month period ended 31 March compared to the year-ago period.

The multi-system operator (MSO) with a pan-India footprint has posted a net profit of Rs 40.9 million (before ESOP expenses) compared to Rs 49.9 million in the year-ago period from its cable business. However, after ESOP expenses, the net comes down to Rs 36.5 million.

In the trailing quarter, the net profit was at Rs 65 million.

Total revenue from the cable business during the quarter jumped 18 per cent to Rs 1.89 billion as against Rs 1.6 billion in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. In the three-month period ended 31 December, the revenue was at Rs 1.69 billion.

Den‘s profit from operations before other income, interests and exceptional items (Ebitda) jumped 49 per cent (before one-time expenses) at Rs 392.7 million compared to the earlier year (Rs 263.6 million), while in the trailing quarter Ebitda was at Rs 310.2 million.

Den said that it has fully geared for digitising its subscriber base in the three Phase 1 cities it is present in (Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata). Supplies for the estimated number of set top boxes have been secured to ensure timely seeding of these set top boxes so that consumers in DEN‘s service areas face no disruption in their television connections after the sunset date.

To further ramp up the digitisation effort, Den has built a sales team which is undertaking direct selling activities through DSAs (direct selling agents) along with the LCO to further augment digital growth in consumer homes.

However, for the full fiscal, Den‘s cable business net profit dropped 60.62 per cent. Den said that it maintained its profitability despite higher cost. Net profit stood at Rs 103.2 million, compared to Rs 262.1 million in the year ago period.
The revenue jumped to 6.78 billion, compared to Rs 5.7 billion in the previous fiscal.

On a consolidated basis, Den has posted a net profit of Rs 47.5 million, down from Rs 78.2 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. In the trailing quarter, the net profit was at Rs 35.3 million.

Total revenue was up at Rs 3.25 billion, compared to Rs 2.84 billion in the year -ago period and Rs 2.82 billion in the trailing quarter. Expenses surged to Rs 2.84 billion, from Rs 2.53 billion in the year ago quarter and Rs 2.50 billion in the trailing quarter.

For the full fiscal, Den‘s consolidated net profit stood at Rs 145.7 million, down from Rs 375.3 million in the previous fiscal. Income went up to Rs 11.54 billion (from Rs 10.58 billion), while expenses stood at Rs 10.20 billion, compared to Rs 9.22 billion in the year ago period.

MUMBAI: Online retail major Amazon continues to invest in Prime Instant Video and add to selection of movies and TV episodes available to customers as part of their Prime membership.

It has announced a licensing agreement with Paramount Pictures that brings hundreds of movies to Prime Instant Video in the US over the next three years. Prime Instant Video now offers customers more than 17,000 movies and TV episodes. Additionally, customers who are not Prime members can enjoy a free one month trial of Prime.

Amazon director of digital video content acquisition Brad Beale said, “We are continuing to invest in building a vast selection for Prime Instant Video and are excited to bring Prime customers some of the most renowned and popular films in cinema history under this new agreement with Paramount. This deal will bring Prime Instant Video customers hundreds of new movies to enjoy on their Kindle Fire or any device connected to Amazon Instant Video, including titles such as Star Trek, Breakfast at Tiffany‘s, Top Gun, The Italian Job and The Truman Show, and we will remain committed to adding even more great movies and TV shows to Prime Instant Video in the future.”

Prime customers can enjoy Prime Instant Video on Kindle Fire or any of the hundreds of compatible Amazon Instant Video devices, including PlayStation 3.

Amazon Instant Video is a digital video streaming and download service that offers Amazon customers the ability to rent, purchase or subscribe to a huge catalogue of videos. Customers can choose from more than 120,000 titles to purchase or rent and content ranges from new release movies to classic favourites, major television shows, entire seasons, or even day after air TV.

Amazon Prime is an annual membership program for $79 a year that offers customers unlimited free two-day shipping on items including books, home and garden products, electronics, video games, clothing, etc.