Category: Software

AP HC adjourns hearing in DAS extension case till 29 April

NEW DELHI: The Andhra Pradesh high court today adjourned the hearing of petitions seeking extension of digitisation deadline in Hyderabad and Vishakhapatnam to 29 April. The interim order restraining MSOs from disconnecting analog signals continues in both the cities.

The court also asked the authorities not to take any coercive steps against Multi System Operators (MSOs) for not implementing digital addressability system (DAS) in Greater Hyderabad city limits.

The division bench headed by interim Chief Justice N.V. Ramana was hearing public interest litigation and five petitions including one filed by an MSO ICE TV through its CEO S V Krishna Mohan and another by the Greater Hyderabad Cable TV Operators Association.

The petitioner Chalasani Narendra filed the PIL saying the Union of India was ‘scuttling the constitutional rights of the citizens by blocking out the TV Channels in the guise of implementation of Digital Addressability System (DAS) without making any efforts for easy availability of Set Top Boxes (STBs) in the market‘.

He also alleged that the government is also trying to favour the big corporate establishments in the cable and DTH industry in the guise of DAS implementation.

Hathway Cable and Datacom also got itself impleaded in the petition saying that there is no need to extend the time for the implementation of DAS in Hyderabad.

The court was informed that the nodal officer who is Joint Collector in Hyderabad had written a note to the Information and Broadcasting ministry that only 30 to 40 per cent STBs had been seeded in the state and had sought an extension of three months.

The note said: ‘As per the information submitted by the MSOs and cable operators approximately 3.4 million consumers are existing, out of which only 30 per cent to 40 per cent STBs are supplied leaving majority of them still waiting for supply of STBs.‘

According to figures published by the Ministry on 3 April, Hyderabad has 881,512 TV households of which 546,892 STBs had to be installed. Vishakhapatnam has 542,692 TV households, and 466,466 STBs had still to be installed.

April 18, 2013
Digitisation to propel pay-TV revenue to $17 billion by 2017 , MPA report

MUMBAI: Propelled by the government’s digitisation drive, pay TV revenues in India are projected to reach $17 billion by 2020 as opposed to the $7.8 billion in 2012, according to a new report by Singapore-based pay-TV research firm Media Partners Asia (MPA).

According to India Pay-TV & Broadband Markets, pay TV revenues are expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.4 per cent from 2012-17 and 10.2 per cent between 2012 and 2020.

MPA forecasts indicate that total digital pay-TV homes will grow from 47 million in 2012 to 110 million by 2017 and 130 million by 2020.

The digital penetration of total pay-TV homes in the country is expected to double to almost 70 per cent by 2020 from 35 per cent in 2012. The digital pay-TV penetration of TV homes in India will grow from 28 per cent in 2012 to 54 per cent by 2017, and reach 60 per cent by 2020.

On the other hand, the total pay-TV homes are expected to grow from 128 million 2012 to 167 million by 2017, and 183 million by 2020. Pay-TV penetration of TV homes will grow from 80 per cent to 85 per cent between 2012 and 2020, adjusted for multiple connections in a household.

This implies that the pay-TV industry will remain in a prolonged investment mode, with significant capital intensity. With two more phase of digitisation to go, both DTH and cable operators already have high levels of debt. The majority of additional funding will have to come through equity, via IPOs and M&A, the MPA report states.

“A successful start for the roll-out of digital addressable systems (DAS) has revived interest in pay-TV among strategic and financial investors,” says MPA executive director Vivek Couto.

“The real benefits will become clearer in 2H 2013 and beyond, as multi-system operators (MSOs) drive addressability and work with last mile local cable operators (LCOs) to ramp up tiering, billing and collections. Regulators are committed to curbing delays in the next phases of DAS, while the DTH industry is keen to revive growth by capitalising on digital transition.”

Cable impact: Over the medium term, the majority of cable investments will be directed towards digital infrastructure, helping to build operator scale and improved addressability. In the long run, investments will be more focused towards acquiring primary subscriber points and the expansion of high-ARPU products such as broadband and HDTV.

According to MPA, the total proportion of cable households with DAS climb from 15 per cent in 2012 to 50 per cent by 2020.

DTH growth: In the DTH space, concerns focus on the growth of active subs (i.e. paying customers, net of churn and subscriber suspension), which has moderated in recent times. MPA says that the growth in active subs will rebound however, as more markets undergo analog switch-off. MPA forecasts indicate that active DTH subs will grow from 32 million in 2012 to 64 million by 2017, and 77 million by 2020.

Broadcasters: Subscription fees for pay-TV channels crossed US$1 billion in 2012, driven by the growing strength of aggregators. This growth has yet to factor in digitalisation, which will result in a bigger share of subscription revenue for broadcasters. Operating margins will remain under pressure in the short-to-medium term, due to heavy investments in content for existing channels and gestation losses on new channel launches.

MPA expects total pay-TV channel revenues, including advertising and subscription to grow from $3.6 billion in 2012 to $6.6 billion by 2017 and to $8.6 billion by 2020. The pay-TV ad market is expected to grow at a 10 per cent CAGR over 2012-20, while broadcaster subscription revenues are expected to grow at 15 per cent over the same period.

April 18, 2013
ComScore beefs up senior management team in APAC

MUMBAI: Kedar Gavane and Samantha Oh have been promoted as Senior Directors in ComScore, the marketing research company, as part of key appointments to strengthen the Asia Pacific team.

Gavane was earlier designated as director at ComScore while Oh was heading the account management team in Asia.

Kerry J Brown has joined as VP- Sales for Southeast Asia while Cai Fang has been appointed as VP- Sales for China and Kate Palmer as Account Director for Australia.

Both Brown and Fand bring more than two decades of digital media experience to their new roles at ComScore.

Along with these additions, two experienced comScore executives, Victor Cheng and Yosuke Maekawa, have been promoted to head Greater China and Japan respectively. In addition, Harry Guo came on board in 2012 as Director of ComScore Marketing Solutions for China.

Joe Nguyen, ComScore senior vice president, APAC said, “Asia Pacific is an important, fast-growing region for ComScore and we are very excited to infuse our APAC team with some excellent new talent that will be able to build on our existing momentum. We look forward to continuing to bring our clients high-quality digital products and exceptional client support that deliver value for their businesses.

April 18, 2013
Amazon expands Appstore availability to 200 countries

MUMBAI: Amazon.com continued the global expansion of its Appstore by announcing that developers can now submit their apps for distribution in nearly 200 countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, India, South Africa, South Korea, and even Papua New Guinea and Vatican City.

These apps will be made available in the coming months when the Amazon Appstore for Android launches internationally for consumers. Registered developers who want international distribution will have their apps automatically made available for download, unless they designate otherwise. This international expansion is the latest in a series of Amazon Appstore for Android launches, which have included the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Japan.

“Amazon‘s platform is a complete end-to-end solution for developers wanting to build, market and monetize their apps and games on Kindle Fire and Android devices,” said Amazon Vice President of Apps and Games Mike George.

“Allowing developers to target distribution of their apps and games in even more international countries is yet another important milestone as we strive to serve consumers and developers globally. Many of our existing developers have localized their apps and games for international consumers, and we look forward to working with new developers that have been waiting to bring their apps to more Amazon customers across the globe.”

Amazon.com claims that developers throughout the world are experiencing strong monetisation and user engagement through Kindle Fire and the Amazon Appstore.

The success is being driven by Amazon‘s large customer base and industry-leading e-commerce features like 1-Click purchasing, Amazon‘s APIs for In-App Purchasing (IAP) and A/B Testing, and GameCircle, Amazon‘s gaming experience for Kindle Fire. A recent study of more than 500 games that utilize in-app purchasing on Amazon found that GameCircle-enabled mobile games earned 83 percent more average revenue per user (ARPU) than non-GameCircle games.

April 17, 2013
88 per cent digitisation achieved in Phase II, says Varma

NEW DELHI: The level of digitisation has reached around 88 per cent in the 38 cities covered in fourteen states and one union territory for Phase II of Digital Addressable System (DAS), a top Information & Broadcasting ministry official tells Indiantelevision.com.

This includes seeding of set top boxes (STBs) done by direct-to-home (DTH) operators.

I&B ministry secretary Uday Kumar Varma reveals that fifteen to sixteen cities have achieved total digitisation.

However, he cautions that the government was still in the process of collating all the figures and would bring a detailed report after its review. The Secretary said he is personally in constant touch with the Nodal Officers and MSOs to ensure that the cities in remaining states also speed up the process of digitisation.

He clarified that while announcing the switch-off of analogue on 31 March, the Government said it would watch the situation for around two weeks and was now reviewing the reports coming being receiving on the achievement so far.

The Ministry had announced last week that analogue signals had been completely switched-off in the five states of Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Haryana, and the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

Stay continues to be in force in the cities of Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Hyderabad, and Visakhapatnam. The metropolis of Chennai which was part of Phase I also has a stay order in force.

The Karnataka and Gujarat High Courts had yesterday quashed petitions seeking extension of DAS thereby paving way for the analogue signals to be switched-off.

April 17, 2013
BroadcastAsia2013 promises unique exposure for ICT and Broadcast Industries

NEW DELHI: CommunicAsia, EnterpriseIT and BroadcastAsia – Asia‘s largest and most established information and communications technology (ICT) and media communications events – will return from 18 – 21 June this year at the Marina Bay Sands Singapore to showcase the latest technologies and trends for the entire communications, broadcast and media ecosystem.

With a special emphasis on content, the 2013 edition of the shows will bring together experts and exhibitors from around the world to showcase and share the latest technology developments and insights, touching on the blend of technologies across the entire value chain of the ICT, broadcasting, pro-audio, film and TV industries.

Being the premier launch pad in the region, CommunicAsia2013, EnterpriseIT2013 and BroadcastAsia2013 consistently attract the world‘s leading companies to showcase the latest game-changing technologies and products that will shape the future communications. Some of the Indian companies participating in CommunicAsia2013 and BroadcastAsia2013 include Ariose Software (P) Ltd, Matrix cosmic Pvt Ltd, Further Broadcast Automation Systems, Canara Lighting Industries Pvt Ltd, Diversified Communications India Pvt Ltd, Essel Shyam Communication Limited, Indiasign Pvt Ltd and Rudraksha Technology Private Limited.

Leading Indian experts including Mr. Mandar Thakur, COO from Times Music, Mr. Vijay Anand, Distinguished Technologist and Global CTO – Machine to Machine of Logica, Mr. Vishal Malhotra, Business Head – New Media from Zee Entertainment and Mr. Jai Maroo, Director, Owner of Shemaroo Entertainment will be seen exchanging their experiences at the conferences.

“Visitors will be pleased to know that we have raised the bar this year and put together an unprecedented list of market players and industry think-tanks from around the world to share the latest insights and developments in their respective industries,” says Mr. Victor Wong, Project Director of Communication Events, Singapore Exhibition Services. “With the three shows being held in one location, complete with an exclusive business networking platform that has proved to be successful in forging business partnerships, we anticipate visitors will find this upcoming edition very compelling indeed.”

Last year‘s event attracted close to 2,000 exhibitors and over 50,000 professional attendees from around the globe.

COMMUNICASIA2013 and ENTERPRISEIT2013: Optimising Business Opportunities, Enabling Businesses CommunicAsia2013 and EnterpriseIT2013 will feature a complete range of key technologies, such as cloud computing, enterprise mobility, mobile broadband and applications, developments in LTE/4G as well as Over-the-Top (OTT) and more. EnterpriseIT2013 will also highlight the latest technology solutions for enterprises from different vertical industries such as Banking and Finance, Education, Government, Healthcare, Hospitality, and Logistics and Transportation.

Six specialised techzones – ‘Fibre for NextGen Services‘, ‘APPSmart‘, ‘NextGen Connected Services‘, Smart Enterprise‘, ‘NextGen Connected Services‘ and ‘eGov‘ will showcase leading-edge innovations and services that will bring value to businesses. New and returning exhibitors this year include Barco, Dehao Electronics, FiberHome, Irdeto, KIT Digital, Oracle, Samsung SDI, Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable, and many others.

SatComm2013, a part of CommunicAsia2013, will serve as a strategic platform for the satellite communications industry in Asia. It will provide the latest updates and pressing issues, and gather the largest assembly of global and regional satellite companies, including ABS, APT Satellite, AsiaSat, China Satellite Communications, Eutelsat, iDirect, Inmarsat, Intelsat, MEASAT, Novelsat, SES, Singapore Technologies Electronics (ST Electronics), SkyPerfect JSAT and THAICOM.

BROADCASTASIA2013: Integrating Technologies, Experiencing Content

BroadcastAsia2013, Asia‘s authoritative integrated tradeshow for the professional audio, film and TV industries will feature groundbreaking technologies and products such as Future TV (OTT / Cloud Broadcasting), Multi-Screen Streaming, DVB-T2, Satellite/Terrestrial/Cable Broadcasting, Production and Post-Production Software and many more. The highly anticipated Cinematography/Film/Production Zone will once again return this year to provide visitors with comprehensive updates on featured technologies such as Animation and Video Effects, Motion and Film Production, Camera, Lenses and Tripods and beyond.

New and returning top-notch companies include Axon, Dalet, Envivio, Evertz, GoPro, GrassValley, Harmonic, Harris, Hitachi, Miranda, Orad, PCCW, Quantel, Sennheiser, Snell, Wasp3D and more.

To complete the entire broadcasting and film value chain, ProfessionalAudioTechnology2013 will see professional audio companies showcasing the latest audio products and services for the broadcasting and film ecosystem.

Refreshed Conference Format to Feature Joint Visionary Address and C-level Panel For the first time, delegates from both the CommunicAsia2013 Summit and BroadcastAsia2013 International Conference will be participating in a two-part visionary address on 19 June 2013. The first is the Governmental Visionary Address by the Minister for Technology, State Government of Victoria, Australia, The Hon. Gordon Rich-Phillips. This is followed by the Industry Visionary Address by Mr. Karim Temsamani, Head of Asia Pacific, Google

A joint panel discussion has also been conceptualised. The ‘Thought-Leaders Panel‘ of C-level executives will bring together telco companies like global satellite operator MEASAT, as well as broadcast companies like multi-media and content creator, Media Prima Berhad, to identify opportunities for collaboration between the telecom and broadcast industries.

CommunicAsia2013 Summit: The Next Wave: The Future is the Empowered Customer

The refreshed CommunicAsia2013 Summit will have eight key tracks – each track kicks off with a panel discussion – and two interactive workshops. Consumers have rapidly become the game-changers in the industry, with their accelerated demand for mobile data and services. The four-day programme will highlight the importance of understanding the customer so that businesses can be prepared to deliver a superior experience. More than 110 speakers will share their views and discuss critical issues affecting the ICT industry.

Some of the key confirmed speakers include Thomas Clayton, CEO & President of Bubble Motion, Marc Overton, Vice President of Wholesale and Machine-to-Machine from EE, Sandra De Zoysa, Group Chief Customer Officer of Dialog Telecom PLC, Nigel Bruin, Director, NBN Competence Center, Business Consulting of Huawei Singapore, Michael Thatcher, CTO – Asia , International Organizations from Microsoft Public Sector, John Garrett, President of Carrier Services from Pacnet, Wu Choy Peng, Group CIO of SingTel, David Chalmers, Executive Director (Asia Pacific) of Tata Communications, Martijn Blanken, Executive Director of Telstra Global, Liu Yali, Executive Director of International Network Planning from Verizon and many others.

BroadcastAsia2013 International Conference: Enhancing User Experience, Monetising Content

The BroadcastAsia2013 International Conference progresses to the next level with four new tracks, four specialised sessions and for the first time, a half day workshop. This will focus on the shift in consumer demand for high quality content on-the-go, on multiple platforms and the emerging business opportunities for OTT in Asia. More than 100 speakers from 31 countries/regions will lead the numerous discussions over four days.

Some of the key confirmed speakers include, Peter Hutton, Managing Director of ESPN Star Sports, Dato Amrin Awaluddin, Group Managing Director, Media Prima Berhad, Graham Kill, CEO of Irdeto, Kurt Hoppe, Director of Smart TV Innovation of LG Electronics, Benjamin Grubbs, APAC Head of Partner Marketing of YouTube and Jay Fulcher, CEO of Ooyala.

The Creative Content Production Conference, back for its fourth successful year, is themed “Producing and Distributing Successful Content in Asia.” The conference will address the challenge of producing appealing and high-quality content for global audiences. Numerous industry stalwarts – AETN All Asia Network, Fox International Channels, Lucasfilm Singapore, Sony Pictures Television and Viacom International Media Networks, to name a few – will provide their insights on the future of the industry at the two-day conference. A series of new topics and speakers including a ‘Producers Dialogue‘ have been developed to serve as additional forums for participants to address and anticipate the upcoming trends and demands of the industry.

April 17, 2013
NAAG teams up with Facebook for online safety campaign

MUMBAI: The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) of US and online social network Facebook are launching a new consumer education programme designed to provide teens and their parents with tools and tips to manage their privacy and visibility both on Facebook and more broadly on the internet.

The announcement was made by NAAG president and Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler during his Presidential Initiative Summit on “Privacy in the Digital Age”.

Attorney General Gansler said, “Teenagers and adults should know there are tools to help protect their online privacy when they go on Facebook and other digital platforms. We hope this campaign will encourage consumers to closely manage their privacy and these tools and tips will help provide a safer online experience. Of course, attorneys general will continue to actively protect consumers‘ online privacy as well.”

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg said, “At Facebook, we work hard to make sure people understand how to control their information and stay safe online. We‘re always looking for new partners in that endeavor – that‘s why we‘re thrilled to collaborate with the National Association of Attorneys General. We‘re grateful for Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler‘s leadership on this issue, and we look forward to working with him and attorneys general around the country. Together, we hope to ensure that young people make safe, smart, and responsible choices online.”

State-specific public service announcements (PSA) with 19 attorneys general and Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg are being distributed. “What you Can Do to Control Your Information” introduces an Internet safety video answering top questions about privacy, bullying prevention and overall Internet safety. The PSA, video and a privacy tip sheet will be shared with consumers on Facebook, and on participating attorneys general Facebook pages and office websites.

“State laws need to be updated to reflect our modern era in which the very nature of privacy and personal information is changing. Attorneys general have before us an extraordinary opportunity to reorient our enforcement and advocacy efforts toward the unique privacy challenges posed by the digital economy.” added Attorney General Gansler.

April 17, 2013
What’s-on-India’s TSM expands reach to 2200 head-ends

MUMBAI: TV guidance company What‘s-on-India today said it has expanded the reach of its TV channel distribution and connectivity monitoring system Television Street Maps (TSM) to 2,200 cable-head ends and control rooms across 1700 towns up from 700 head-ends and 250 towns that it used to cover.

Some of the new markets added by TSM in the expansion plan include small (less-than-one-lakh) population towns in Hindi-Speaking-Markets (HSM LC1).

These markets are being analysed anew by the industry as they become critical for subscription revenues with digitalisation. The HSM LC1 markets now play a more crucial role in TV Channel‘s ad revenues and TSM has already launched data for these markets.

The company plans to make TSM a census of cable headends and control-rooms through aggressive expansion. The target is to reach coverage of 3,000+ head-ends by the end of 2013.

TSM business head Joydip Kapadia said, “We‘ve seen tremendous support from broadcasters for our initiatives. They understand that in the fast evolving digital landscape, distribution, reach and quality play key roles. The consumer is spoilt for choice and the onus is on the broadcasters to ensure that their channel is readily available to viewers in the best possible quality. Last year, TSM promised the industry a huge expansion and we have delivered it.”

TSM delivers day-to-day TV channel monitoring by head-ends and towns to the TV industry. It also monitors cable and DTH Channel Packs, pack prices and EPG quality.

Over the last two years, it has sharpened the delivery of its Weekly Reports, alerts and other extended offerings such as neighbourhood analysis, sensitivity analysis, short term daily placement monitoring, EPG scan, EPG quality monitoring, leading & following gap analysis.

Launched more than a year ago, TSM already counts the likes of TheOneAlliance, Star India, BBC, Multi Screen Media (MSM), Disney-UTV, and Viacom18.

April 17, 2013
DAS extension pleas quashed in Karnataka and Gujarat

NEW DELHI/BENGALURU: The information & broadcasting ministry can heave a sigh of relief as the the high courts in Karnataka and Gujarat today dismissed petitions filed by cable operators seeking extension of digitisation.

The court orders mean that the government can go about systematically switching-off analogue signals in the cities that are covered in the Phase II of the rollout of cable TV digitisation in the two states.

The Karnataka high court today dismissed a petition filed by Karnataka State Cable TV Operators Association (KSCOA) seeking extension of deadline for implementing digital addressable system (DAS). The KSCOA petition was trashed as the HC found no merits in the case.

Similarly, the Gujarat high court also dismissed two petitions seeking postponement of digitisation in the four cities in the state. The court also vacated the stay ordered on 28 March in the cities of Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat, and Vadodara.

The decision by the high courts paves the way for switch-off analogue signals in the cities that are covered in Phase II of DAS.

Expressing satisfaction, Information & Broadcasting ministry secretary Uday Kumar Varma told Indiantelevision.com that the judgements vindicated the government‘s stand that the advent of new technology could not be stopped. He also said that there was no truth in reports about the shortage of set top boxes (STBs).

KSCOA president Patrick Raju said that he and his legal team would look at a copy of the court order before commenting about further action that his association would take in the matter.

Among the contentions of the cable operators association in Karnataka was that a large number of cable homes in Bengaluru and Mysore would go dark if DAS is implemented since there isn’t enough supply of STBs.

The KSCOA and MCOA (Mysore Cable TV Operators Association) had filed separate petitions, which were later clubbed together, seeking relief in the digitisation deadline due to shortage of STBs and lack of clarity on box ownership and many other issues.

The Cable Operators Association of Gujarat (COAG) in its petition had contended that there was a shortage of STBs and no clarity on acquisition of these boxes. COAG president Pramod Pandya said STBs ordered from China had failed to arrive because of internal problems in that country and therefore the local cable operators could not be penalised for this.

Also read:

Gujarat HC dismisses petitions seeking DAS extension

Karnataka HC dismisses KSCOA petition, paves way for analogue cable switch-off

April 16, 2013
IBF moves Supreme Court over DAS Phase II hold-ups

NEW DELHI: Concerned with the increase in the number of petitions that have been filed in the past two weeks leading to a stay on the spread of cable TV digitisation (Digital Addressable System – DAS) in several states, the Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) has knocked on the doors of the country‘s apex court seeking a stay on the stay orders issued by different high courts in the country.

The IBF petition seeks to ensure that digitisation is implemented as scheduled and without any hindrance. The supreme court has posted the matter for hearing on 23 April.

The special leave petition filed by the IBF did come up before the SC, however the apex court refused to intervene after it was informed that the Karnataka high court judgment on the case was due.

The bench comprising chief justice Altamas Kabir therefore felt that the court would wait for the Karnataka High Court judgment before taking up the matter.

In the meanwhile, the Karnataka and Gujarat high courts have dismissed the petition petitions filed by Karnataka State Cable TV Operators Association (KSCOA) and Cable Operators Association of Gujarat (COAG) respectively paving the way for DAS Phase II to commence.

However, petitions challenging digitisation are still pending in the Andhra Pradesh High Court and Madhya Pradesh High Court. These affect the cities of Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Bhopal. Indore, and Jabalpur.

According to IBF president Man Jit Singh, the broadcasters association wants a full and final closure on this issue by the Supreme Court so that digitisation can progress smoothly across its various phases as has been drawn up by the government in conjunction with industry.

Also read:

DAS extension pleas quashed in Karnataka and Gujarat

Gujarat HC dismisses petitions seeking DAS extension

Karnataka HC dismisses KSCOA petition, paves way for analogue cable switch-off

April 16, 2013