Category: Software

MUMBAI: Fox Movies Premium (FMP), Star Chinese Movies (SCM) and Hong Kong platform now TV have joined forces to bring to viewers a better premium movie channel experience through the introduction of a new and exclusive Play service.

now TV customers will be able to access the Fox Movies Play and SCM Play platform through the now Player website (nowplayer.now.com) and a “now ID” to catch up with their favourite content on FMP and SCM anytime, anywhere.

Bringing FMP & SCM Wherever They Go Online: With the Fox Movies Play and SCM Play services, now TV subscribers who subscribe to FMP and SCM, will have free online access to watch FMP and SCM premium content a day after its screening on the channel. Now, no matter where viewers are – whether at home or on-the-go – they will be able to watch their favourite programmes, including Hollywood and Chinese blockbusters and concerts, on the online now Player.

Fox International Channels VP territory head Hong Kong Rajesh Sheshadri said, “FMP and SCM‘s viewer-centric approach strives to keep viewers ahead of the entertainment curve by offering leading content and first-and-exclusive rights along with features and services that enhance the premium TV experience. We are pleased to partner with now TV for the introduction of Fox Movies Play and SCM Play service, so that viewers can watch their favorite programmes anytime, anywhere.”

PCCW senior VP of TV, media Mamie Leung said, “Being the largest pay-TV operator in Hong Kong, now TV is committed to bringing the best viewing experience to our customers. Through now Player, viewers already can enjoy a variety of now TV‘s self-produced channels, including news, entertainment and sports content on multi-screens. The addition of exclusive Fox Movies Play and SCM Play further enhances the exciting content lineup of now Player.”

Enhancing the Home Watching Experience with HD & SVOD:
In addition to the new Play service, FMP, SCM and now TV has further enhanced the viewing experience by providing High Definition channels and Subscription Video-on-Demand (SVOD) services via now Select. This means that viewers can be assured of the best visual quality of FMP and SCM programmes at home.

Providing Access to Hollywood Like No One Else:
As Hong Kong is one of the top destinations in Asia for all things Hollywood, now TV viewers of FMP will continue to get access to their beloved blockbusters as well as the hottest series, live UFC fights and special events, concerts and award-winning documentaries.

Giving viewers Chinese content: SCM will continue to offer viewers Chinese blockbuster movies, live events, concerts and award-winning documentaries they have come to expect from the channel.

MUMBAI: Colors has launched a Bigg Boss application on Android and IOS platforms enabling viewers 24×7 Live access into the Bigg Boss House.

The initiative comes within two weeks from the launch of the offline activity – Bigg Boss Tours that gave viewers a paid tour of the Bigg Boss House.

With the Bigg Boss app, Colors aims to reach out to the tech savvy, entertainment seeking viewers.

The application, developed by InTime Media, offers features that include Live updates, Quiz and polls, unseen videos from the BiggBoss house and option to post on Facebook and Twitter.

The application also provides viewers a chance to vote for their favourite contestant.

Colors digital head Vivek Shrivastava said, “We have launched this app to satiate the voyeuristic needs of the viewer and increase interactivity, giving audiences access to every movement in the house while away at a click of a button.”

“After the success of the Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa app, we are looking at upping the interaction level with the audiences with newer features with the Bigg Boss App that will keep them hooked to the show,”Shrivastava added.

This application will also be launched internationally. However it will be a paid application.

MUMBAI: GTPL-owned Kolkata Cable and Broadband Pariseva Ltd (KCBPL) has given its cable TV consumers in Kolkata 45 days time to decide on the television channel packages they would want to subscribe to after the switchover to digital cable TV.

KCBPL, in which Gujarat Telelink Private Ltd (GTPL) owns 51 per cent stake, will announce its channel packages and their prices shortly. The MSO is giving subscribers a 45-day preview of 400 plus digital channels and services at the same price that they are paying now for analogue cable TV.

The channels offered by the MSO include 20 HD and radio channels through its Cisco set-top boxes (STBs). GTPL KCBPL is also planning to offer 10 exclusive international channels across genres like adventure, action, and lifestyle.

GTPL KCBPL board member Sumit Bose said the idea behind the preview offer is to allow customers to make up their mind what kind of packages they want to choose.

“We believe in offering value to our customers and hence we have introduced an exclusive preview offer facilitating our customers to select their choice of channels and services from a wide array of offerings,” Bose said.

After the 45-day preview period, GTPL KCBPL subscribers will have to choose from the channel packages that the MSO will announce.

The MSO says the offer is a way of facilitating digitisation in Kolkata which has gone through a lot of uncertainty on digitisation implementation. The MSO is also targeting lower income groups with Cisco Zapper STB targeted at low ARPU customers to be launched in the later part of this month.

He also said that there is a lot of churn happening in the Eastern metropolis due to the lack of preparedness of other MSOs.

“We are well stocked with Cisco STBs. We have almost finished seeding boxes on our network and are thus in a position to attract local cable operators (LCOs) from competing MSOs who are short of STBs to join our network,” Bose said.

Bose said GTPL KCBPL has upgraded its head-end to provide 400 channels which in two-three weeks time will get upgraded to 450 channels and subsequently to 500 channels as recommended by Trai.

MUMBAI: Sameer Manchanda-promoted Den Networks will be investing Rs 3.5 billion in the first phase of digitisation as it estimates to seed 2.3 million digital set-top boxes (STBs) in the three metros of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.

The multi-system operator (MSO) has already placed over 1.5 million STBs. “Our investment would be Rs 3.50 billion in the first phase. We are looking at 2-2.3 million STBs in these three metros,” said Den Networks chief operating officer MG Azhar.

The debt component is around Rs 1.70 billion, Azhar added.

Den has also lined up Cisco funding. “There is no upfront funding and the payment will be over five years,” said Azhar.

In Delhi, Den has seeded over 1 million STBs and in Mumbai 300,000. “In Kolkata, we have put 150,000 STBs and our early estimate was that we would require 300,000 boxes. Now we feel that there is enough market in the city and we would need 0.5 million boxes,” said Azhar.

MUMBAI: Mobile internet service company One97 has appointed Miling Pathak as the global head for new business.

Pathak joins in from Comviva Technologies where his last role was VP – Asia Market Unit.

One97 managing director Vijay Shekhar Sharma said, “With his (Milind Pathak) deep understanding of the direct to consumer business and mobile, media convergence, I believe Milind will be able to create a great demand for our offerings in the global markets.”
 
Pathak had joined Comviva in November 2009 as VP – Airtel MU and Mobile Content Solutions. He was VP- SAARC Market Unit and Mobile Content Solutions in July 2010 and then to VP – Asia Market Unit in June 2012.

Prior to joining Comviva, Pathak had also worked with Mitsui, TIL and Buongiorno Hong Kong Ltd.

NEW DELHI: India is rapidly swinging into digitisation mode. The government on Tuesday started the countdown for second phase of digitisation in 38 cities in 15 states, saying the deadline of 31 March 2013 was sacrosanct.

Information & Broadcasting Secretary Uday Kumar Varma held a high-level meeting to review the preparedness for Phase II encouraged by the successful implementation in Mumbai and Delhi. Digitisation in Kolkata is most likely to happen after Diwali and in Chennai, the fourth metro covered in the first phase, it will be decided by the Madras High Court on Friday.

The ministry has asked MSOs in the 38 cities to make a thorough assessment of the number of STBs required, taking into consideration credible data from the ground level. The MSOs have also been asked to provide information on their plans for procurement of STBs to ensure that the deadline of 31 March is met.

 
The ministry has also started working on a communication campaign to target the specific needs of 38 cities covered in Phase II. At the review meeting, officials emphasised the need for meticulous planning in the Phase II cities by incorporating lessons learnt from Phase I cities.

The ministry has planned a one-day workshop this month to prepare an integrated plan of action for a smooth and flawless transition to digital cable TV in Phase II cities. It had earlier written to the chief secretaries of the Phase II States to nominate Nodal Officers at the state level as well as in each of the cities targeted in Phase II so that close liaison and coordination could be made to sort out local issues.

There are plans to put in place additional manpower through Broadcast Engineering Consultants India Ltd (BECIL) to make extensive field visits in the targeted 38 cities in Phase II.

The ministry reiterated that the phase II digitisation deadline of 31 March 2013 was sacrosanct and the preparation should be done in right earnest to meet the notified deadline.

The Ministry had issued a notification on 11 November 2011 notifying Phase-wise digitisation of analogue cable television networks in India.

Government claims further increase in STB seeding

The government also claimed that till 5 November 2.24 million digital set top boxes (STBs) have been installed in Mumbai, 2.51 million in Delhi, and 1.77 million in Kolkata. A total of 2.9 million subscribers have DTH connections in the four metro cities.

With the presence of TV signals on analogue cable TV networks in certain pockets of Delhi and Mumbai, the ministry has deployed teams to make extensive field visits to the head-ends to check for violations.

A Ministry official who did not want to be named said the teams had instructions to file police complaints against MSOs or LCOs still transmitting analogue signals.

Consumers complain

While teams of the Ministry have also visited several homes to interact with people and to take a direct feedback about the running of analogue signals, many areas – particularly in the lower strata in east, west and south Delhi – are still receiving analogue signals as people have not bought STBs because of either shortage or the boxes being of poor quality. Some consumers also said they were being asked to pay almost double the rate set by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) for the boxes.

A Task Force member who did not want to be named said that the tariff was still unclear.

MUMBAI: CBS Corporation and Hulu have entered into a non-exclusive, multi-year licensing agreement to stream programs from CBS‘s rich television library on the Hulu Plus subscription service.

Terms of the deal including the period of the agreement were not disclosed.

The CBS content will begin to appear on Hulu Plus in January 2013, and over the following months, Hulu Plus subscribers will have access to more than 2,600 episodes from library series such as Medium, Numbers and CSI: Miami, as well as classics such as Star Trek, I Love Lucy and The Twilight Zone.

Clips from Entertainment Tonight will also be available the day of broadcast on Hulu and Hulu Plus. A selection of CBS library shows will also rotate through the free Hulu.com service, and additional titles will be announced.

“We‘re excited to deliver CBS library programming to Hulu Plus subscribers,” said CBS Corporation Senior Vice President of Corporate Licensing Scott Koondel.

“This marks another agreement that meets the growing demand for our content on new platforms while establishing other incremental ways to get paid for our library.”

“CBS has a long history of producing truly great TV. Hulu Plus subscribers are entertainment lovers who spend their time watching shows they love, versus shows they might only just like. Those two facts make for a fantastic combination, because this collection of CBS titles are shows that people revere and that really matter to fans of great TV like our subscribers,” said Hulu SVP of Content Andy Forssell.

CBS and Hulu also have previously announced licensing agreements for CBS-produced programming that airs on The CW and for CBS content on Hulu‘s subscription service in Japan.

NEW DELHI: Harman, the global provider of audio and infotainment solutions, and Reliance Digital have formed a new strategic product development collaboration to create customised audio solutions for Reliance’s line of Reconnect-branded electronics.

The first product of the Harman-Reliance Digital collaboration to hit the market will be the new 107cm (42-inch) Reconnect Full HD LED television featuring four razor-thin, Harman Kardon speakers embedded in the TV’s bezel. The new LED Televisions are available for sale in select Reliance Digital stores across India.

These Harman Kardon speakers feature patented technology that produce audio quality that is louder and more clear than other speakers of the same size while still retaining the ultra-slim design of Reconnect LED Televisions. Harman’s engineers optimised the acoustic range of the speakers, then custom designed the enclosures for each display and tuned the system for maximum frequency response and output without distortion.
 
“We are thrilled and pleased to be working with Reliance Digital to help bring a new degree of audio performance to their excellent product line,” said Harman chairman, president and CEO Dinesh C. Paliwal. “Our Harman Kardon brand promises to accurately reproduce crystal clear sound that is faithful to the original source, with equal attention to beautiful design. I look forward to delivering on that promise for Reconnect, and to many new products to come.”

Reliance Digital CEO Brian Bade said, “The ‘Reconnect‘ product range has been introduced across all our stores in India with this as the key objective in mind. We believe in building long-term relationships with our customers and partners, and our collaboration with Harman and its Harman Kardon brand is an excellent example of our commitment to bringing the best quality to our customers. We are launching this state of the art, Full HD LED Televisions on the auspicious occasion of Diwali.”

MUMBAI: Seagate Technology, which manufactures and provides storage devices and solutions for the cloud and home, has become a member of the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (Dece) an open, cross-industry consortium of movie studios and technology companies that developed and operate UltraViolet.

Dece members include Hollywood studios such as Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warner Brothers, Fox Studios and Paramount Pictures as well as consumer electronics companies such as LG, Samsung, and Sony Electronics.

Seagate VP marketing Scott Horn said, “Digital distribution beyond DVDs and Blu-ray Discs is not only the way of the future, it is the present and we know that storage is key to this ongoing transition. Seagate sees UltraViolet as a leader in bringing content to consumers in this new digital age and we are excited to be helping them make their vision a reality.”
UltraViolet is a way to collect and enjoy movies and TV shows in the cloud. Once home entertainment content has been added to an UltraViolet account, users then have the option to stream it over the Internet or download it for offline viewing.

With UltraViolet, consumers have greater flexibility and can watch or store purchased content on their terms whether it is on a mobile device, computer, television, game console, or storage device.

UltraViolet GM Mark Teitell said, “With UltraViolet, consumers enjoy the flexibility and security of cloud-based entertainment rights combined with the choice-expanding benefits of a widely honored industry standard. As a Dece member, Seagate‘s expertise and perspective on cloud solutions and storage devices will help the organization continue to evolve these benefits.”

MUMBAI: ABI Research expects over-the-top (OTT) revenue to quadruple to $32 billion by 2017, up from the expected $8.2 billion in 2012.

Subscription services, like Netflix, have led the OTT markets in the past couple of years, which has helped push the market towards healthy growth. By 2014, however, ABI Research expects OTT rentals to surpass subscription revenues.

Practice director Sam Rosen commented, “Connected CE and mobile devices continue to push consumer behaviour towards newer forms of media distribution like OTT and multiscreen services. Pay TV services will continue to thrive, by implementing multiscreen services and supporting OTT content. In the end we expect an amalgamation of services that complement each other for many consumers.”

In time, advertising, like OTT rentals, is expected to pick up momentum as ad dollars increasingly shift to the OTT market. Connected CE and mobile/portable devices in particular present additional consumer touchpoints and enable more creative ways to connect or interact with consumers.

Senior analyst Michael Inouye said, “While many consumers today claim to use mobile and portable devices while watching TV, most of us are in actuality poor at multitasking. In many cases this means consumers are more acutely aware about the content on their portable device than the TV. While second screen advertising is not necessarily OTT content it does speak to the importance of targeting these connected devices that extend the reach of content beyond the TV.”