ITV

Category: Technology

  • ErosNow launches ‘Blazing Bajirao – The Game’

    ErosNow launches ‘Blazing Bajirao – The Game’

    MUMBAI: Eros International’s on-demand entertainment portal ErosNow launched the trailer of ‘Blazing Bajirao The Game’ for their upcoming film Bajirao Mastani. An extension of ErosNow’s digital marketing innovation, the web series, Blazing Bajirao, the game will be available on 10 December, 2015 for download on the Apple App and Google Play stores. The web version will be available exclusively on erosnow.com.

     

    The interactive game invites players to embark on a thrilling adventure as they battle as Peshwa Bajirao, the undefeated warrior of the Maratha empire. As players progress through the game, they must fight through hordes of enemy infantry and archers in search of Mastani roaring ‘Har Har Mahadev’!

    Eros Digital CEO Rishika Lulla Singh said, “ErosNow has been pushing boundaries with unique digital initiatives for the promotion of Bajirao Mastani. After the success of India’s first graphic web series, Blazing Bajirao, the game was a natural progression to take digital promotions to the next level. The game is of stellar quality and gamers can now become Peshwa Bajirao, the great warrior themselves and experience the exhilaration of battle victory using swords, bows and arrows.”

  • Green Gold launches Chhota Bheem Himalayan Adventure Skiing on Android

    Green Gold launches Chhota Bheem Himalayan Adventure Skiing on Android

    MUMBAI: Green Gold has launched Chhota Bheem Himalayan Adventure Skiing Game in association with Mech Mocha. The game will be available on Android and through Google Play store.

    With winter approaching, this game provides a Ski Safari experience to gamers. It’s an endless skiing game where the character will be seen skiing on Snowy mountains with various obstacles and powerups on his way.

    Talking about the game Green Gold Animation CSO Srinivas Chilakalapudi said, “We have always focused on creating characters that resonate with Indian sensibilities and taken them places. Once you create a bond with a certain character, chances are that you will accept it over various platforms. With the recent success of the game ‘Chhota Bheem Race’ we got an added impetus to come with Chhota Bheem Himalayan Adventure Ski Game.”

    Mech Mocha CEO Arpita Kapoor added, “Chhota Bheem is tremendously popular IP and we found an awesome founder in Green Gold. For us, this is a long-term investment; We will be releasing major updates for the game in coming months including racing and multiplayer. Our focus is ‘Making India Play’ and this is our first step towards reaching that vision. The game showcases popular culture references similar to content by TVF and AIB, which is done first time by any game developer in India.”

    The game follows a storyline where Chhota Bheem will be seen roughing it out in the snow capped Himalayan terrain and along with it comes a new look for Bheem. Instead of this usual Saffron Dhoti he will be seen in earthy shades of cool mountain gear , breaches, caps and furry jackets.

  • Rajiv Kapur’s views on India scenario

    Rajiv Kapur’s views on India scenario

    MUMBAI: When it comes to content consumption, India is no different from the rest of the world. The Indian consumers’ appetite for content, for when to watch, for where to watch, and for how to watch, along with customisation is growing. With the internet, content consumers are becoming device agnostic, moving from one media to another and enlarging contact points to access content and information. Media consumption habits are changing. People in such a scenario will not be happy with just the basic offerings. In terms of phones which were primarily made for voice calls, people look for additional facilities like video, whereas for television which is meant for video, people want a wide variety of features.

     

    Keeping the emerging scenario in mind, Broadcom has devised a number of technological innovations.  These offerings can only be utilized  fully if there is supporting broadband infrastructure and connectivity.

     

     

    Broadcom MD Rajiv Kapur believes that Reliance Jio can emerge as disruptor in India. He says, “Reliance Jio, with whatever they are doing is going to be a game changer, and the competition should be worried. Its foresight and deep pockets make the future look extremely interesting.”

     

     

    The cable industry is at a cusp. To start making money from avenues besides just carriage of television, the industry has to make the right technological upgradations. Internet data services must ride on the back of its existing infrastructure. Though all the players might not immediately realize the need for the right kind of upgradation, a few progressive minded ones can be the torch bearers, and their success will draw the rest in. Cable television or video ARPUs’ are not rising in India at the same rate as in the US or other geographies, where true high speed data ARPUs are a fraction, albeit quite a large fraction of Video ARPUs’. In India, it is the other way around- internet ARPUs’ are anything from twice to five plus times of cable television ARPUs’.

     

     

    Kapur says, “In every country there are a set of progressive minded operators and there are a few who reactively catch up. All that is needed is a few operators adapting hybrid technology with a goal of providing enhanced satisfaction to the consumer and in return getting more returns in terms of higher ARPU.”

     

     

    Broadcom now has devices based on DOCSIS 3.1 specifications, which obviously is an upgradation of the DOCSIS 3.0 version. DOCSIS 3.1 specifications hardware offer speeds of 1 gbps (Giga byte per second) as compared to the 100 mbps (Megabytes per second) or less that most DOCSIS 3 specification hardware is capable of. Kapur thinks “there is no real need of DOCSIS 3.1 in India at this stage” and he recommends that new innovators in the broadband space could start with DOCSIS 3.0.

     

     

    He says, “Let’s be realistic about India as a country. 100 mbps to 1 gbps!  There is no reason why India cannot talk about it, but as a country India still does not have the need for 1 gbps. But to begin with Docsis 2 today certainly makes no sense. It is like setting the ceiling lower than your own height.”

     

     

    “Data consumption for video is still the heaviest usage of internet by Indian consumers. For quality 1080 p viewing experience consistent 15 to 20 mbps speed is more than enough. So DOCSIS 3.1 is yet not a necessity in India,” avers Broadcom fellow and vice president Sherman Chen

     

     

    Kapur feels OTT will play a pivotal role in driving the need of broadband in India. Referring to the scenario five years back he says, “Today every hotel, coffee shop has Wi-Fi. Go back just five years and this was a rarity, so the evolution is happening. We are seeing taxi services offering Wi-Fi in their cabs during cab rides. OTT, telemedicine services will drive the need and the pipe will subsequently grow to meet the demand.”

     

     

    Kapur believes that the default HD box should be a hybrid ready and rest can be customer defined. The DAS phase III deadline is knocking at the door, Kapur opines that the boxes placed should be in a position to serve the needs of consumers for at least five years. “If we place 100 million boxes and in a year we land up in a situation where we have to change the boxes that will be sad. So depending on the need we must deploy the best we can. I don’t want to see them replaced even in 5 to 7 years. Quality is my biggest concern as we do not have a situation of testing arrivals” he concludes.

  • Q3-2015: Technicolor revenue up with new releases in DVD & production services

    Q3-2015: Technicolor revenue up with new releases in DVD & production services

    BENGALURU: Technicolor’s Entertainment Services segment led by Production Services and new releases in DVD Services reported a 28.1 per cent (€93 million) YoY revenue growth, which was mainly responsible for the overall four per cent (€34 million) revenue growth (including exited activities) reported by the company for the third quarter of 2015 (Q3-2015, current quarter).

     

    Technicolor’s group revenues including exited activities increased to €877 million in the current quarter as compared to €843 million in Q3-2014. Excluding exited activities, the group’s revenue for Q3-2015 increased 7.5 per cent to €876 million as compared to €815 million in the corresponding year ago quarter.

     

    Technicolor CEO Frederic Rose said, “We are well on our way to achieve our 2015 objectives based on our solid third quarter revenue performance. In addition, while focusing on execution across our businesses, we announced major strategic milestones, with The Mill and Cisco Connected Devices, which will strongly accelerate the delivery of our Drive 2020 objectives.”

     

    The company has four segments-Technology, Entertainment Services, Connected Home, and ‘Other’.

     

    Technology segment revenues grew 4.6 per cent YoY in Q3-2015 to €121 million as compared to €116 million. Within Technology, Licensing revenues stood at €117 million in the quarter, up €5 million YoY at current currency. This increase reflected higher revenues from the MPEG LA pool, due to favourable €/US$ exchange rate fluctuations, as well as a good performance of the Group’s direct licensing programs that benefited from the contribution of new contracts signed in prior quarters says the company.

     

    Entertainment Services segment, which replaced Connected Home as Technicolor’s largest segment in terms of revenue contribution, reported revenue of €423 million in the current quarter as compared to €330 million in Q3-2014. This performance resulted from a sustained level of activity in Visual Effects and Animation activities in Production Services, as well as increased volumes related to a strong slate of Studio new releases in DVD Services says the company.

     

    Production Services recorded double-digit increase in revenues in Q3-2015 compared to Q3-2014 claims Technicolor. Revenues excluding exited activities were up by over 40 per cent year-on-year at constant currency. This performance was driven by double-digit organic growth in revenues, reflecting another record quarter in Visual Effects (VFX) activities under the MPC brand, and by the additions of Mr. X, OuiDo Productions, Mikros Images, and The Mill (acquired on 15 September, 2015). This increased level of activity was supported by feature films, advertising and animation activities, while Postproduction revenues were broadly stable in the quarter, and slightly lower in North America due to fewer theatrical and TV productions.

     

    DVD Services revenues increased in Q3-2015, driven by growth in combined Standard Definition DVD (‘SD-DVD’) and Blu-ray disc volumes of more than two per cent compared Q3-2014. Standard Definition DVD volumes were flat year-on-year, supported by a strong slate of studio new releases in the third quarter of 2015, as well as by the impact of selected new customer additions. 

     

    Blu-ray disc volumes were up 11 per cent, due to the same factors as SD-DVD, and the positive impact of ongoing growth in Blu-ray Xbox One games volumes. Total Games volumes were affected by further decline in SD-DVD games volumes for prior generation Xbox. DVD Services experienced strong improvement in year-on-year and sequential quarterly volume performance in the quarter, which reconfirms ongoing consumer demand for packaged media when compelling content is available.

     

    Connected Homes YoY revenue reduced 10 per cent to €332 million in the current quarter as compared to €369 million in Q3-2014. ‘Other’ segment reported no revenue for Q3-2015 and Q3-2014. The company reported €1 million revenues for Q3-2015 from exited activities as compared to €28 million from the year ago quarter.

     

    This performance reflected lower total product volumes of 7.7 million units (decline of 14.2 per cent) in the quarter, with a weak level of activity in North America, partially offset by an improvement in overall product mix across most regions, with the exception of Brazil.

     

    Technicolor says that the soft revenue trend experienced by the Connected Home segment in Q2-2015 persisted during Q3-2015, almost entirely due to North America, where customer orders continued to be affected by pending industry consolidation, and in Brazil, due to softening macroeconomic conditions. Connected Home recorded however double-digit revenue growth in Europe, Middle-East and Africa and in Asia-Pacific, driven notably by the ramp-up of new higher-end devices during the period.

     

    Regional Highlights

    In North America, revenues decreased significantly in Q3-2015 compared to Q3-2014. Product deliveries in the period were affected by ongoing cautious customer approach towards orders and inventory management related to pending industry consolidation, particularly in the Satellite segment, as well as by the phasing-out in Q1-2015 of a Cable device that was shipped in large volumes in Q3-2014. Overall product mix improved however strongly year-on-year, driven mainly by an increased contribution of higher-end Cable devices in the sales mix.

     

    In Latin America, revenues declined in the current quarter compared to Q3-2014, reflecting a drop in product shipments, after four consecutive quarters of year-on-year growth. Product deliveries in the period were primarily affected by tougher macroeconomic conditions in Brazil, as reflected by the devaluation of the Brazilian real against the US$, which led to high inventory levels.

     

    In Europe, Middle East and Africa, revenues were up double-digit in Q3-2015 compared to Q3-2014, driven by stronger product shipments and significantly improved overall product mix. Connected Home benefited from the ramp-up of a new OTT set top box introduced at a key French customer, a device that the Group has started to ship across additional international markets. The segment’s performance was also supported by higher deliveries of OTT and broadband devices to Telecom customers, as well as by increased volumes of Cable gateways, driven by Western Europe.

     

    In Asia-Pacific, revenues rose significantly Q3-2015 compared to Q3-2014, as a result of a strong double-digit increase in product shipments and a material improvement in overall product mix. Volume growth in the period reflected a rebound in set top box shipments to Indian customers as the digitization program has resumed, as well as higher deliveries of Cable and Telecom broadband devices, notably in China.

  • DAS Phase III drives STB demand in Q3 2015; India accounts for 97% shipments

    DAS Phase III drives STB demand in Q3 2015; India accounts for 97% shipments

    MUMBAI: The set-top-box (STB) market in the SAARC region has registered record growth in third quarter of 2015, as rapid digitisation in the Phase III cities of Digital Addressable Systems (DAS) in India is driving the demand for STBs. 

    With pay-TV industry in all major SAARC countries moving toward digitisation – mandatory or voluntary – STBs of all kind from SD to HDTV and hybrid boxes are witnessing steady and robust growth.

    According to new research report from Dataxis, “The STB Market in SAARC countries (Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka)-Q32015,” STB shipments to SAARC countries have witnessed 73 per cent quarter-on-quarter growth during the Q3 2015. In the quarter under consideration, 7.34 million STBs were shipped in the SAARC region with an estimated value of $176 million. 

    India leads the STB shipments for the period, accounting for about 97 per cent of the total shipments to the SAARC region in the September ended quarter of 2015, according to Dataxis. 

    Skyworth tops the STB shipments to SAARC in the Q3 2015. The company reportedly has plans to locally manufacture STBs for the Indian market. 

    Local manufacturing in India, which accounted for just five per cent of total STBs sold during the first and second phase of seeding, is showing steady growth in the third phase. Dataxis estimates that the sale of made-in-India STBs will witness growth up to 15 per cent in the fourth phase of digitisation.

    “Local STB manufacturing in India has increased almost fourfold in the third quarter of 2015, and this is in line with our expectations. As the deadline for the third phase digitisation nears, there is high demand for STBs from the MSOs and most of the independent and small size operators are coming forward to partner with indigenous brands,” said Dataxis media analyst Sreeja VN.

    The Indian government was also proactive during the period by promoting the make in India campaign in the sector. The decisions by three major DTH players namely Airtel Digital TV, Dish DTH and Videocon D2H to opt for indigenous brands have also boosted the Indian STB industry.

    Another notable trend, according to the Dataxis Research, is the increase in demand for High-Definition (HD) and Ultra HD STBs in the region. Dataxis’s analysis of STB shipment for the Q2 2015 and Q3 2015, depicts steady growth in the volume of HD STBs shipped to India. The rise in the number of HD and UHD STBs has also contributed to a rise in the average selling price of STBs to the country. 

    The key STB vendors for the quarter are Technicolor, Skyworth, Changhong, Huawei and Coship (international vendors), and Mybox, One-eIGHT technologies, Trend Electronics, Ridsys, and Willet Communications (domestic vendors).

  • Technicolor to acquire Cinram’s DVD business for €35 – 40 million

    Technicolor to acquire Cinram’s DVD business for €35 – 40 million

    MUMBAI: Technicolor is planning to acquire Cinram Group’s North American optical disc manufacturing and distribution assets. The move comes in the wake of Technicolor’s advanced negotiations with two large US customers to assume their contracts for the replication and distribution of packaged media products (DVD and Blu-ray discs) in North America.

     

    The value of the acquisition in the range of €35 – 40 million and will be entirely funded out of available cash.

     

    As a result of this acquisition, Technicolor’s expanded operational platform could also serve to support other new customer additions in North America, in a manner consistent with the Group’s strategy of optimising the operating leverage of its packaged media products activities.

     

    The purchase agreement with Cinram Group, Inc. is subject to obtaining certain consents as well as other customary closing conditions.

     

    The transfer of the contracts and assets to Technicolor could occur as early as November 2015.

     

    The customer contracts, if concluded, would add in excess of €190 million in annualised revenues to Technicolor’s Entertainment Services segment. This would have no impact on the Group’s Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow objectives for 2015.

  • Brandwatch raises $33 million to fuel social intelligence growth

    Brandwatch raises $33 million to fuel social intelligence growth

    MUMBAI: Social intelligence company Brandwatch has completed a $33 million Series C financing led by new investor Partech Ventures, with participation from existing investors Highland Capital Partners Europe and Nauta Capital.

     

    Brandwatch’s continued growth demonstrates the strong appetite organizations have for a best of breed social analytics platform as social networks have evolved into a critical source of consumer and business insight. The funding will be used to accelerate development of the company’s core technologies and products to keep setting the standard in an increasingly complex, global social landscape.

     

    Building on its strong US presence, which now accounts for more than half of the company’s revenues, Brandwatch will open more offices following the June 2015 launch in Singapore. The company also plans to invest heavily in strategic partnerships with other best-of-breed products to offer customers integrated social intelligence solutions.

     

    Recently, Brandwatch has added new brands to its 1,200-strong roster of customers – including Samsung, Cisco Systems, and Sony Music – and it is now one of the largest VC-backed SaaS companies in Europe. In 2015 the company launched the most sophisticated automated intelligence alerts on the market, Brandwatch Signals, which notifies users in real time of significant or unexpected changes in their social data.

     

    The company has built a reputation for excellence with its two products – Brandwatch Analytics (which includes Signals) for deep social intelligence functionality and Brandwatch Vizia, a beautiful display platform used by enterprises to inform real-time business decision-making in every department. Brandwatch plans to continue its ambitious innovation with Vizia, including the rollout of an app ecosystem.

     

    Brandwatch recently appointed two new senior executives, naming David Jones as chief technology officer and Amy Collins as head of product. These tech veterans bring with them many years of experience in analytics, information technology, and business intelligence to the company’s leadership team.

     

    “We decided to invest in Brandwatch because of its incredibly strong vision, technology and team. Social data is driving the future of every business function from marketing and sales to customer service. We are very proud to partner with the worldwide leader to tackle this massive opportunity,” said Partech Ventures general partner and Brandwatch new board member Omri Benayoun.

     

    “This is another big milestone for us. It’s a substantial investment from a great firm, Omri and the Partech team are world-class. We are going to continue building an extraordinary company – one that listens to and looks after its customers, cares for its staff and works hard to build innovative, elegant, useful products. I love working here and I love the energy that every Brandwatcher brings into our offices every day. Game on,” added Brandwatch CEO Giles Palmer.

  • LeTV to launch in India in 2016; eyes local content partnerships

    LeTV to launch in India in 2016; eyes local content partnerships

    MUMBAI: Chinese cross-platform internet video service LeTV has set its sight on the Indian market and plans to launch here by early 2016.

     

    Apart from introducing its mobile devices to the Indian market, the company is also looking at replicating its content-device ecosystem in India and offer a new entertainment based experience. The company is keen to provide Indian consumers with local entertainment-based content. To this effect, LeTV is in search for local partners in India, who are active in the content creation business. 

     

    This was announced by LeTV founder Jia Yueting in Beijing at the launch of the company’s new smartphone – Le 1S.

     

    LeTV said it is also mulling setting up production lines and R&D centres in India as a long-term vision. This could be seen as a welcome move by the Narendra Modi led Indian government, which has been pushing the ‘Make In India’ premise to international companies. 

     

    Earlier in April, Letv had launched three smartphones, which will soon see its release in the US. The company is also in talks to start shop in the US this financial year. The company, which has interest in varied businesses, is alsomaking a huge 120-inch 3D 4K TV as well as a smart car in partnership with Aston Martin.

  • Government launches mobile app to enable citizens to file complaints

    Government launches mobile app to enable citizens to file complaints

    NEW DELHI: Citizens can now register their complaints and even keep track of action taken on a new mobile launched by the Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions Ministry.

     

    The app launched by Minister Jitendra Singh is for the Centralized Public Grievances Redress & Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) portal of the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG). 

    A further step has been taken by providing M-access to citizens through mobile phones. A Quick Response (QR) code has been provided on the pg-portal, which can be scanned on to the smart phone after which grievances can be sent from the smart phone directly on to CPGRAMS. 

    Singh said this is another step towards translating Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of “ART of Governance” as spelt out by him, with A for Accountability, R for Responsibility and T for Transparency, forming the bedrock of the Government. He said the goal is that the Administration should be citizen-centric, transparent and responsive. 

     

    Singh hoped the common public will make maximum use of the mobile app since the mobile phone has emerged as the easiest way of communication from anywhere across the country. 

    DARPG and Department of Pensions & Pensioners’ Welfare Secretary Devendra Chaudhary said the mobile app will not only allow lodging of grievances, but the people can also track the status of the redress of their grievance. 

     

    The DARPG is also carrying out analysis of the grievances and a systematic response is being worked out on how best to address the grievances, he added. 

    The Mobile App for the CPGRAMS is another innovative initiative of the DARPG, the nodal agency to formulate policy guidelines for citizen-centric governance in the country, redress of citizens’ grievances, being one of the most important initiatives of the department. The DARPG has been making endeavours to bring excellence in public service delivery and to redress grievances of citizens in a meaningful manner by effectively coordinating with different Ministries and Departments of the Government and trying to eliminate the causes of grievances.

  • India early adapter of new technology but not IPTV: Dataxis

    India early adapter of new technology but not IPTV: Dataxis

    NEW DELHI: India stands out as an early adapter of latest technology despite being a price sensitive market, according to a Dataxis Research report.

     

    While on the one hand, India has the highest DTH subscribers as well as HDTV subscribers, on the other, public sector companies MTNL and BSNL have given up their hopes on IPTV. Airtel, ACT and Reliance are retaining the service only in few circles.

     

    India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are the three countries with active IPTV subscriber base in the SAARC region.

     

    IPTV is still evolving and is not widely accepted as a pay-TV model by SAARC countries. The total active IPTV subscriber base in SAARC (adding these three countries) will be around 270,000+.

     

    Sri Lanka’s IPTV subscriber base contributes to nearly 48 per cent of the overall SAARC IPTV subscribers, followed by Pakistan and India with about 33 per cent and 18 per cent respectively.

     

    Sri Lanka and Pakistan are showing high interest in pushing IPTV. On the other hand, Nepal’s internet service providers are planning to launch commercial IPTV services by the end of 2015.

     

    Meanwhile, the video markets of 12 East Asia Pacific countries tracked by Dataxis are forecast to generate total digital video revenues of $4.31 billion in 2017 – surpassing the physical video market for the first time driven by fast-growing, high-speed broadband penetration.

     

    APAC Video Market 2015 analyses the transformation of the video market across the 12 countries covered over the period 2007-18, including physical and digital video unit sales, rentals, revenues and forecasts, as well as profiling each market and the individual digital video services available.

     

    The four main markets in the region (Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea) together accounted for about 96 per cent of total digital and physical video revenues end-2014, with Australia and Japan alone generating about $5.4 billion in physical video revenues, representing more than 90 per cent of total physical revenues across the region.

     

    However, South East Asia is plagued by piracy and the official physical video market is almost negligible. Unauthorised CDs, VCDs, DVDs and CD ROMs proliferate due to the lack of affordable digital content and low disposable incomes. Indonesia, for example, had 5.75 million Pay-TV subscribers by end-2014, but only two Pay-TV players offered VOD services and Dataxis estimates that just 1.5 per cent of Indonesian TV households will be VOD-enabled by 2018.