Category: Software

Zee Café using social media to push ”Numb3rs’

MUMBAI: English GEC Zee Café has been using digital media to create buzz around their new show ‘Numb3rs‘. It has focussed on social media.

The show which airs from Monday-Friday at 9 pm is about mathematician Charlie Eppes who helps his brother and FBI Don Eppes (played by Rob Morrow) solve various criminal cases.

On the broadcaster‘s Facebook page their users could answer questions around mathematics. These posts involved coming on to Zee Café‘s Facebook page and solving numerical problems. The number of users went up to above 3000 with all of them interacting over one single post leading up to the telecast of the show.

Meanwhile on twitter #Numb3rsOnZCafe got traction through a contest to promote the launch of the show. The users could retweet the contest and unlock further mathematical problems – which happens to be the basic idea behind the show.

January 23, 2013
Sky unveils new subscription service Sky Go Extra

MUMBAI: UK pay TV service provider Sky has launched a brand new subscription service, Sky Go Extra, which lets customers download films from Sky Movies and content from channels such as Sky 1 and Sky Atlantic to watch when and where they want, without the need for a WiFi or 3G/4G connection. The service also lets Sky Go Extra customers register for Sky Go on up to four, rather than two, internet-connected devices.

Available to all Sky TV customers for just ?5 per month, the new service delivers even more flexibility to Sky customers by letting them download movies and TV shows depending on their Sky TV subscription to their smartphone, tablet, laptop or MacBook via WiFi to watch offline later. So whether in a car, on a flight or on the train or Tube, Sky customers will be able to enjoy a wide range of content anywhere, not just where they can find a reliable WiFi or high-speed mobile connection.

The launch of the new service builds on the success of Sky Go, which offers Sky customers access to live and on demand programmes and films from up to 43 channels on a wide range of internet-connected devices including laptops, smartphones, tablets and games consoles. Sky Go now attracts more than 3 million unique users each quarter.

In addition to being able to download content, Sky Go Extra customers are also able to register for Sky Go on up to four, rather than two, internet-connected devices, giving Sky households even more flexibility over when and where they enjoy the service.

Sky Go Extra is the first mobile TV subscription service in the UK and Ireland to offer Hollywood movies to download and watch offline. With a choice of hundreds of titles exclusive to Sky Movies available to download at any one time, Sky Go Extra customers who subscribe to the Sky Movies pack will be able to download blockbuster releases around six months after they have ended their run in cinemas. Once downloaded, customers can store the films on their portable devices for up to 30 days.

Films such as ‘Avengers Assemble‘, ‘Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows‘ and ‘Pirates In An Adventure with Scientists‘ will all be available for download through the service, alongside the entire James Bond film catalogue, containing all twenty-two official Bond films. All titles are available exclusively to Sky Movies subscribers and will not be available on any other online movies subscription service for at least a year after they first appear on Sky Movies.

Sky Go Extra customers will also be able to download the latest shows from channels including Sky Atlantic, Sky 1, Sky Living and Sky Arts, as well as partner channels such as Nickelodeon and Disney. This includes shows from the US ‘Girls‘ and ‘The Following‘ (Sky Atlantic), as well as Sky‘s shows such as ‘Stella‘, ‘An Idiot Abroad‘ and ‘Trollied‘ (Sky 1). Customers with a 64 GB iPad will be able to store in excess of 400 half-hour shows and more than 80 movies.

Sky MD of sales, marketing Stephen van Rooyen said, "Building on the ever-growing popularity of Sky Go, Sky Go Extra lets Sky customers download great movies and TV shows to take with them to watch offline whenever and wherever suits them, as well as access to Sky Go on up to four internet-connected devices. Together with our comprehensive On Demand service and our range of award-winning apps, we continue to deliver helpful and innovative ways for Sky customers to enjoy even more flexibility over when, where and how they enjoy Sky."

Last year millions of Sky customers used Sky Go to watch movies on demand, with ‘Bad Teacher‘, ‘Transformers: Dark of the Moon‘ and ‘Captain America: The First Avenger‘ the three most popular movies on Sky Go last year. Entertainment series on demand have also proven popular on Sky Go, with more than 2.5 million views of the second series of ‘An Idiot Abroad‘ and 1.1 million views of the latest season of ‘Game of Thrones‘.

Sky Go Extra is the latest in a series of recent developments from Sky that help customers take full control of their TV viewing. This includes Sky‘s TV On Demand service through the Sky+HD box, which now delivers hundreds of hours of catch-up TV from the BBC, ITV, Channel 5 and Sky channels alongside on demand access to shows from a number of other leading channels including UKTV, MTV and Discovery. Sky also offers its customers a wide range of award-winning apps at no extra cost, including the popular Sky+ app, which can even be used as a remote control for the Sky+HD box.

January 23, 2013
Nokia unveils first look of its app reality TV show initiative

MUMBAI: Nokia India has unveiled the first look of its app reality TV show, ‘Nokia Lumia Your Wish Is My App’, an initiative that was launched in association with NDTV that gave consumers the opportunity to submit mobile app ideas that have the potential to be developed into successful apps for the Windows Phone Store.

Since the announcement in December, the initiative has received 35,000 + app ideas from consumers and enthusiasts across India, the company revealed.

As part of this campaign, the top 42 shortlisted consumers with the most exciting apps suggestions would be called in to participate in the world’s first app reality show and stand a chance to win Rs 1 million. The full tech-auctioned 9 episode reality show will be aired on NDTV starting 9 February and will see consumers present their ideas in front of the esteemed panel of judges.

Nokia also unveiled the fifth judge of the show — Bollywood actress and youth icon, Kalki Koechlin, who joins Rajiv Makhni, NDTV Managing Editor & Tech Guru, Vishal Gondal, Managing Director-Digital, DisneyUTV, Raj Chinai, Venture Capitalist & Co-Founder, Harvard Business School Alumni Angels, and Vikas Khanna, New York based Michelin Starred Celebrity Chef.

Nokia India Director – Developer Experience Gerard Rego said, "We have received several app ideas that aim to enable a wide range of experiences. We noticed that the ideas were around topics that mattered most to people in their daily lives — women security, productivity, grooming, food, health & well being. One could literally feel the pulse of the nation by going through these ideas.”

In addition to the grand prize of Rs 1 million, the runner up will be presented with Rs 500,000 and Rs 200,000 each and three lucky winners will stand a chance to win the new amazing Nokia Lumia 920. The winners will be judged on the basis of parameters such as the originality of the idea, relevance of the app, potential for the revenue and the practicality of the app.

January 23, 2013
Dish TV slips into net loss, adds 0.83 mn subs in Q3

MUMBAI: Dish TV, India‘s largest direct-to-home (DTH) operator, has again slipped into quarterly net loss and performed below market expectations despite showing remarkable growth in subscriber numbers.

The company posted a net loss of Rs 448.8 million in the fiscal-third quarter, compared to a net profit of Rs 550.90 million in the trailing quarter, as content and other costs surged.

Dish TV‘s operating profit for the three-month period ended 31 December declined 11.5 per cent to Rs 1.38 billion compared to Rs 1.5 billion in the previous quarter. Ebidta margin for the quarter stood at 24.7 per cent.

"The content cost rose partly due to Media Pro which distributes the Star, Zee and Turner group of channels. The selling and distribution expenses also went up," said a media analyst.

Dish TV‘s expenses jumped to Rs 5.9 billion from Rs 5.3 billion as programming/content and other costs rose to Rs 1.63 billion from Rs 1.42 billion in the preceding quarter. Cost of goods and services grew 11.2 per cent to Rs 2.8 billion from Rs 2.5 billion in the preceding quarter, amounting to 51 per cent of gross revenue. Advertising and promotional expenditure rose 6.8 per cent to Rs 237 million from Rs 222 million. Selling and distribution expenses rose 26.6 per cent to Rs 661 million from Rs 522 million.
Operating revenue for the quarter stood at Rs 5.58 billion, recording a growth of 4.5 cent as compared to Rs 5.3 billion in the preceding quarter. Total income for the quarter increased to Rs 5.7 billion from Rs 5.4 billion in the previous quarter.

Subscription revenues for the quarter were Rs 4.9 billion, up from Rs 4.72 billion .

The company’s other income jumped 118.7 per cent to Rs 175 million from Rs 80 million in the previous quarter.

Subscriber additions

Dish TV added 829,000 new subscribers during the third quarter achieving a total of 14.7 million gross and 10.5 million net subscribers at the end of the period. In the previous quarter, the company had added 477,000 subscribers.

"Dish is looking at adding 2.5 million subscribers this fiscal. It continues to have a strong subscriber growth and has added 1.8 million new customers so far in this fiscal," the analyst said.

Subscriber acquisition cost falls

Subscriber Acquisition Cost (SAC) during the quarter declined to Rs 2,201 compared to Rs 2,273 in the preceding quarter. "While the subscriber growth was much higher than the previous quarter, the marketing expense did not go up as much. This led to a fall in SAC," the analyst added.

Dish TV MD Jawahar Goel said, “While the distribution industry remained on tenterhooks preparing for digitization, the third quarter saw the much debated compulsory switch off of analog television signals take place in key metro markets. Although lack of execution in Chennai and Kolkata was a dampener, festival demand coupled with mandatory conversion in Delhi and Mumbai brought the DTH industry back to the 1 million plus monthly run-rate. DTH garnered around 35 per cent share of incremental additions post the sunset date.”

“In line with our expectation, we witnessed significant subscriber uptake around the sunset date of 31st October. Dish TV achieved the largest share of 28 per cent amongst DTH platforms in the digitization territories. ‘Dish+’, India’s first standard definition recorder, played its part in differentiating and attracting consumer interest in a crowded market,” he added.

ARPU improves

The company‘s Average Revenue Per User (Arpu) grew marginally by a rupee to Rs 160 due to a price hike in the third quarter, up from Rs 159 in the previous quarter.

Goel said, “A larger base did create pressure on the average revenue per user which, primarily supported by price hike in the second quarter, increased marginally to Rs 160. In the third quarter, apart from the usual additional spends typically experienced due to the festive season, additionally this year the company’s investments to capitalize on the digitization opportunity are also reflected in higher costs during the quarter. A seasonally higher marketing expense was as per budget. Content cost for the year is expected to be within the guided range of 12 per cent increase over the previous fiscal.”

Dish TV recently launched India’s first Standard Definition Recorder, ‘Dish+’, with unlimited recording facility. ‘Dish+’ comes equipped with a USB slot and is positioned at a competitive price compared to non recorder ready boxes. ‘Dish+’ was initially launched in the 42 cities covered under Phase I and Phase II of digitization and is now available across India as a value for money differentiator over other boxes in the market.

In a first within the television distribution industry, Dish TV has launched recharge option through Interbank Mobile Payment Service (IMPS) through which the subscriber can recharge his Dish TV account securely and conveniently through an instant, interbank electronic fund transfer service that can be initiated only through mobile phones.

Considering the deep penetration of cell phones in the country, money transfer through them is likely to emerge as a popular mode of transacting for daily services in the days ahead, the company said.

Shares of Dish TV fell 4.96 per cent to close Tuesday at 73.7 on the BSE.

January 22, 2013
MSM launches multi-platform VoD service Sony Liv

MUMBAI: Multi Screen Media (MSM) has taken the plunge into the digital space with the launch of its multi-platform Video-on-Demand service, Sony Liv.

Targeting the youth, Sony Liv will serve as the online destination for content from the Sony stable – Sony, Sab and Max. The Sony Liv application is available globally for free online on Sonyliv.com, for download on major app stores – iTunes and Google Play (Android).

Apart from enabling viewers to view current shows, Sony Liv will also gives them a chance to go back in time and watch past episodes of shows from Sony’s programming archives on Liv Classics. Liv will also showcase a large archive going back 17 years of movies and special events like Stardust and Filmfare Awards.

MSM CEO Man Jit Sigh said, “Liv is aimed at providing entertainment on the go for young India on the move. With the launch of this user friendly and highly interactive application, Liv is slated to change the way this nation consumes entertainment. It is a great platform for brands to enhance their Engagement & Interactivity with today’s young consumers.”
MSM‘s VoD service has three main features – Mood Wheel, My Q and Liv Guru.

With Mood wheel, viewers can search for videos based on mood/genre and time preferences. The My Q feature enables the registered users to create their own playlists of their favourite videos, and enables them to watch it across devices, with a single log on experience.

The Liv Guru feature is Sony’s Loyalty Program for loyal fans and rewards engagement. This feature builds on a loyalty points system on audience interactions on Liv. These points will eventually enable the viewers to win goodies, gift hampers and show set-visits.

“Innovation is the bedrock of business at Sony and our latest offering, Sony Liv reiterates our commitment to engage and interact with our audience in a whole new way. Through Liv, we want to strengthen our viewership in the digital space and provide the best entertainment preferences to our audience,” said MSM COO NP Singh.

January 22, 2013
American Swan raises Rs 400 mn from Four Cross Media

MUMBAI: American Swan Lifestyle Company, a fashion and apparel-led lifestyle company, has got an investment of Rs 400 million for its Indian business, from global digital media conglomerate Four Cross Media.

American Swan has opened its doors to the e-tailing market with its online shopping site – AmericanSwan.com.

The brand’s new shopping portal will offer customers a range of products spanning categories such as Men’s and Women’s apparel, footwear, accessories, beauty, home and living products.

The American Swan Lifestyle Company (TASLC) director and CEO Anurag Rajpal said, “As consumers in India look for global designs and standards with affordable pricing and the convenience of a click, American Swan expects to garner a significant share of the apparel and lifestyle market.”

"The American Swan brand has been conceived and developed to be aspirational, accessible and affordable. We aim for a differentiation through our brand proposition and positioning to offer affordable luxury to an aspiration-led audience that seeks international quality and fashion. Our product detailing, packaging and fulfillment is at par with the international standards,” Rajpal added.

The Fashion and Lifestyle segment in India, estimated at 17 per cent of the total retail market, is worth over $60 billion reported in a PwC research. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15 per cent to 20 per cent, this is estimated to grow to over $90 billion in 2015.

According to the company, the Indian urban consumer is actively seeking and purchasing branded merchandise in categories like Apparels, Cosmetics, Shoes, Watches and Jewellery. Similar growth is visible in e-tailing and American Swan will be pioneering an active mix of the brick-n-click formats by opening itself to both online and retail distribution networks.

Four Cross Media co-founder and managing director Asia Puneet Johar said, “With American Swan we are focused towards building an aspirational lifestyle brand. Our focus is to build compelling consumer engagement using digital media as that is a space we understand and are confident about.”

January 22, 2013
Tencent‘s messaging app WeChat launches on Blackberry

MUMBAI: Tencent, a leading internet company, has announced the availability of its mobile messaging app WeChat on the BlackBerry platform.

With its launch on BlackBerry platform, millions of BlackBerry users will now be able to also use WeChat. BlackBerry loyalists in India can download the application for free from the BlackBerry App World.

WeChat for BlackBerry comes with the app’s core features like ‘push-to-talk’, Instant Messaging, Voice Messaging, Group Chat and Photo Sharing, and new features to be introduced along the way.
WeChat, which claims to have crossed 300 million registered users globally, is a free mobile voice and text messaging application which was launched in India in July last year across iPhone, Android, Symbian, and Windows platforms. It will now also be available for BlackBerry users.

Dennis Hau, Head of Product Center, International Business Group, Tencent said: "With our new record growth of 300+ million user accounts globally, we are continuing with our mission to be accessible on more platforms. Now, we are delighted to announce the official launch of WeChat’s BlackBerry app.”

Research In Motion (RIM) Director Alliances and Business Development Annie Mathews said, "BlackBerry smartphones are extremely popular and renowned for instant messaging and social networking capabilities. We are pleased to have WeChat available on BlackBerry App World, offering another great way for our customers to stay connected with their friends and family while on the move.”

January 22, 2013
Samsung launches Galaxy Grand smartphone

MUMBAI: In order to push its smartphone business, Samsung Electronics today announced the launch of the Samsung Galaxy Grand, a smartphone that aims to redefine Smartphone experience for consumers. One of the company’s aims this year is to have smartphones contribute 40 per cent of Samsung Mobile’s business.

Samsung Galaxy Grand is powered by Android 4.1.2 (Jelly Bean) operating system and runs on a 1.2 GHz Dual Core processor.

The company said that even though the product has a five inch screen with WVGA TFT display powered with mDNIe technology, the device is slim and is comfortable to hold. The display provides an expansive viewing experience rendering messaging, multimedia and Web content in colour and clarity. The device also sports the Multi Window feature that allows seamless multitasking and running of multiple applications simultaneously without having to switch screens.

A multimedia campaign to support the product will launch in a few weeks time. The theme will revolve around the product looking to redefine Smartphone experience for consumers. The product is a Dual Sim smartphone. The Smart Dual SIM feature provides total communication flexibility, allowing users to manage two phone numbers from a single phone.

Speaking at the launch Samsung Mobile, VP Asim Warsi stated, "Bigger screen phones are gaining acceptance. Our aim is to drive smartphone acceptance in the country. In three years we have sold over 10 million smartphone devices. We have a 40 per cent share in the mobile handset category and a 45 per cent share in the smartphone category in the country.

“This year our aim is to consolidate our leadership. The Galaxy Grand is revolutionary not only in terms of the great Smartphone experience that it provides but also in terms of its value proposition. I feel the Galaxy Grand will further fuel the growth of the Smartphone market in India and will especially delight consumers looking for a great Smart Dual SIM phone. The Galaxy Grand best meets the growing consumer preference for a large screen device that gives them a great multimedia experience and superior performance."

The product is priced at Rs. 21,500. As a special introductory offer, the device comes with a Flip Cover in the box and users can download music and movies through ‘My Services‘ worth Rs 8000 free along with 50GB Dropbox space. Vodafone users also get 2GB data download free per month for two months.

“We aim to make the smartphone more mass. But success in this space is not just about price. It is also things like the after sales service network, quality of experience. Samsung also offers Smartphone Cafes. The aim is to give consumers the best possible experience. Another key to success is to have products that are locally relevant through content services, apps,” said Warsi.

The Galaxy Grand comes with various intuitive features that enable the consumers to seamlessly engage with the device. The Smart Stay uses the front camera to prevent the device from going into standby mode while it detects a user in front of the device. Direct Call feature enables users to automatically dial a call by raising the device up to the ear. Smart Alert shows missed events such as missed calls and new messages just by picking up the phone. Popup Play enables the users to watch video in a pop-up window anywhere on the screen while running other tasks. The S Voice feature helps the user to control the phone using their voice. The device also features a unique Face & Voice Unlock that enables the users to lock and unlock their device with face or voice recognition, providing greater security and convenience.

The Galaxy Grand comes pre-loaded with ChatOn, which is Samsung‘s cross-platform communication service that enables the users to socialise with friends and to do more than just instant messaging. ChatOn allows users to freely share multimedia content, do group chatting with friends and create personalized animated messages. The device also comes pre-loaded with a host of other applications including ‘Games Hub‘ and ‘My Services‘ that includes a bouquet of services like myMovies, myMusic , myMobileTV , myStation , myReader and myEducation which allows them to enjoy and personalize their device. While myMovies gives users access to thousands of Indian movies, trailers and film songs, myMusic allows them to download and listen to English and Bollywood numbers from a song collection that totals more than 250,000.

myReader allows Galaxy Grand users to access Indian newspapers, magazines, over 30,000 books and for the first time, even audio books. MyMobileTV allows consumers to watch 100+ Live TV channels on the device while myStation gives them an opportunity to watch Live Concerts and performances on their device. The All Share Play enables easy sharing and playing of contents across Samsung digital devices, anywhere anytime.

The device sports an 8MP camera (with flash) and a 2MP front camera which supports zero shutter-lag and ultra-quick camera start-up. It includes a backside illumination sensor to ensure clear shots even in dark conditions, as well as Full HD video recording. The GALAXY Grand comes with a 2,100mAh battery and an internal memory of 8GB (user memory of 4GB and expandable up to 64GB). The device is available in Elegant White and Metallic Blue color options.

With the launch of this device, Samsung now offers a range of six Dual Sim Smartphones and 14 Smartphone models priced in the range between Rs 6990 and Rs 39900.

Badminton champion Saina Nehwal was present at the launch. She noted that the big screen allows her to watch her matches as well as movies.

January 22, 2013
BroadcastAsia to return with bigger offerings in Singapore

MUMBAI: Asian exhibition and knowledge platform for the broadcasting, film and digital multimedia industry, BroadcastAsia2013, will once again showcase innovations, technologies, and present ideas and insights from leading industry professionals come 18-21 June.

Located together with CommunicAsia2013 and EnterpriseIT2013 at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore, the event will unveil the latest technology displays and new technology zones.

No broadcasting or film ecosystem is complete without the sonorous support of audio that gives any production a dramatic, resonant lift. Incorporated with BroadcastAsia2013, ProfessionalAudioTechnology2013, an international showcase for professional audio equipment, services and technology, will draw industry professionals hailing from radio broadcasting, audio production / post-production, and live event and entertainment production.

The BroadcastAsia International Conference and Creative Content Production Conference will bring together industry experts and thought leaders in the broadcasting industries to highlight business strategies for future broadcasting and content production.

January 22, 2013
Players Network, Ascent Solutions team up for broadband solutions

MUMBAI; Players Network, a new media and entertainment company, has entered into an agreement with Las Vegas based software engineering firm Ascent Solutions to develop the company‘s next generation proprietary broadband-based content distribution and social media platform.

The advanced enterprise web platform is designed for large scale global distribution and monetisation of the company‘s licensed and original content on its multiple Branded Lifestyle Video Channels for viewing by simultaneous users on all digital devices.

The platform is based on a business model that incorporates forecasted online consumer trends and usability. This new generation software design allows for content to be monetised through a variety of methods including subscription, merchandising, micro-transactions, services and targeted advertising. As a part of this development agreement, the company‘s software will also be managed by Ascent Solutions and hosted at Switch Communication, a data center located in Las Vegas.

PNTV CEO Mark Bradley said, “Ascent Solutions has a team of top tier programmers and software engineers who can deliver the cutting edge innovations we‘ve designed to deliver and monetize media in manner desirable to today‘s consumers, and to the businesses and brands who want to connect with them. This innovative upgrade of our proprietary platform software will establish the worldwide standard for how large and small media companies can begin to monetize content over broadband and any interconnected, digital device. Working with Ben Gayheart and his team gives PNTV the competitive edge we need to make 2013 a breakthrough year in terms of our revenue and profitability.”

Ascent Solutions CEO Ben Gayheart said, I‘m very impressed with Player Network‘s timely approach to content monetization and am betting on their success. This is truly a visionary company that has not only challenged us with a great project, but is at the forefront of creating and distributing Media in a way consumers have wanted for a long time.”

January 22, 2013