Category: Software

MUMBAI: Leading direct-to-home (DTH) operator Dish TV has associated with Ten Sports to offer Uefa Champions League and Uefa Europa League matches exclusively on its Football on Demand service.

Both Dish TV and Ten Sports are part of Zeel, India‘s leading broadcasting company.

The DTH operator said it will offer 46 select matches in 24 days exclusively on Pay per View (PPV) for the First time in India and only on Football on Demand on Dish TV.

Dish TV subscribers can order the matches through Phone/SMS, or by logging onto Dish TV website. The FOD channel can be availed of at a price of Rs 100 (including taxes).

Dish TV COO Salil Kapoor said, “Dish TV has established itself as the most popular DTH with Maximum number of Sports channels; it is our constant effort to provide our customers the best of Sporting action and this time by launching “Football on Demand” for the first time in India exclusively on Pay per View for our subscribers.”

MUMBAI: The BBC has merged commercially-funded bbc.com/news and BBC World News services into a newly created company BBC Global News Ltd.

BBC has appointed Jim Egan as the Chief Operating Officer of the newly created company.

Multimedia journalists will work on broadcast and digital output alongside each other in the newsroom, broadcasting in 27 different languages.

Its state-of-the-art new studios for BBC World News go live this autumn; HD transmission has rolled out to Asia-Pacific; and the BBC‘s news website continues the roll out of ‘responsive design‘ which optimizes the BBC site for smartphones and feature phones.

BBC Global News will also oversee the weather and sport areas of bbc.com. Jim will run this business alongside Richard Porter, Controller of English for BBC Global News who takes editorial responsibility.

Jim Egan said the aim of the changes was to unlock new multimedia opportunities by bringing the BBC‘s expertise in digital, social media and TV together in one place and running the operation as a single entity focusing on audiences, not platforms.

Egan, who will report to the BBC‘s Director of Global News, Peter Horrocks, also made a number of other announcements strengthening the digital focus of the BBC‘s international news services:

BBC World News will broadcast live from new state of the art studios in Broadcasting House from the autumn. The studios will include enhanced technology including virtual reality capability, significantly improving the look and feel of BBC World News.

GOA: Multi-system operators (MSOs) should concentrate on basic packaging and consumers will be ready to pay only if they get good packages, according to Hathway Cable & Datacom MD & CEO K Jayaraman.

The stakeholders were working only for short-to-medium term gains because of the approaching deadline whereas digitisation should be looked at with a longer vision in mind, cautioned Jayaraman.

There were some things that needed to be sorted out like the share of the local cable operator (LCO), the security of the LCO, consumer pricing, and ascertaining whether many consumers will opt for a la carte or just take bouquets — either the basic service tier or the mix bouquet.

Jayaraman said MSOs can bundle the pricing for broadband and cable along with value-added services, giving them an edge over DTH service providers.

Speakers at Indian Digital Operators Summit (IDOS) 2012 have sought the creation of a congenial ecosystem for successful implementation of digitisation.

Ankur Jain, Managing Director of JAINHITS, the head-end-in-the-sky venture of Noida Software Technology Park Limited (NSTPL), said what worked for the consumer was the end result of what he was getting, the cost of operations, and simplicity or complexities involved. Referring to LCOs, he said they would survive as they would either become small MSOs or customer service centres.

NDS Senior Director – Asia Pacific Business Development Ajmair Heer said MSOs and LCOs will have to create value-added services to compete with DTH, but the first hurdle was changing the mindset of the consumer.

SES Senior Vice President (Commercial, Asia Pacific and Middle East) Deeepak Mathur said additional capacity will help give customised content. But key infrastructure such as satellite capacity would be needed. He said SES was working to create a set top box (STB) that could help bring content on both tablets and television sets.

In a separate session on the life of a cable operator in the wake of DAS, ACT President P Kailasam and an MSO owner Shashikant, both from Bangalore, said they were already preparing for the second phase. Both are LCOs turned MSOs and therefore, they said they understood the needs of the consumer as well as the LCOs. It was clear that the LCO cannot be eliminated in the value chain.

They also claimed that they had acquired 35 to 40 per cent of the digital STBs needed by them.

Asked about the higher rates in view of the taxes, they said these taxes will have to be passed on to the consumer but the consumer will pay if more services are provided. Both agreed that cable would continue to have an edge over DTH.

GOA: Global media companies are upping their investments in India in the wake of digitisation and the opening up of the pay-TV market.

Sony is aggressively investing in its Indian television broadcasting company, Multi Screen Media (MSM), as it seeks to launch niche channels and expand into the regional-language markets.

“Digitisation has given Sony a huge confidence to invest more in India. It first bought out the Indian shareholders in Multi Screen Media (MSM). It has also agreed to buy stake in regional broadcaster Maa TV,” said MSM CEO Man Jit Singh, while speaking at the India Digital Operators Summit (IDOS) 2012 jointly organised by Indiantelevision.com Group and Media Partners Asia.

Sony had bought out the stake of Indian shareholders for $271 million taking its stake to 94 per cent. The company had also marked its foray into the Southern market by acquiring 30 per cent stake in Maa Television Network. In 2009, it had acquired Channel 8, a Bengali movie channel, and later renamed it as Sony Aath.

“Digitisation is very important for attracting foreign investment into the media sector. We are seeing that in Sony. Good luck 1 November (analogue cable shuts off from that date in the four metros),” said Singh.

The whole value chain will gain from digitisation. For broadcasters, the over-dependence on advertising revenue will reduce and the business models will change. Subscription revenue will climb from 20 per cent to a 50 per cent ratio, providing broadcasters a stable source of income.

Broadcasters will also be able to launch a whole bunch of niche channels as carriage bandwidth capacity opens up.
Multi-system operators (MSOs) will get to own the customers. Though coming at a higher price, this will guarantee future revenues. They can also tap the broadband market, Singh added.

DTH will get a level-playing field and the competition between them and the cable players will be on service quality and innovation. Multiple revenue streams will evolve in future for all the stakeholders in the broadcast sector.

“What multiplexes did to the movie business, digitisation will do to the broadcast sector with much greater force. We will see broadband and a whole variety of content. Consumers will consume more content,” Singh said.

Den Networks CEO S N Sharma agreed that digitisation coupled with the hike in FDI (foreign direct investment) cap in carriage-distribution services would attract foreign investors. “The basic fundamental of the cable TV industry is being set right. Strategic and financial investors will be interested now,” he said.

Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera, however, does not believe that there will be a quick inflow of foreign capital. “It is not like the foreign investors will come with their bags full and invest here immediately. They will first study the market and look at the performance of the first phase of digitisation. Then they will decide on which companies they are going to invest,” he explained.

Private equity firms will possibly step in first. “Strategic investors will do a lot of due diligence. I also don‘t think there is that whole organisational preparedness among Indian carriage-distribution companies,” said Raman Kalra, media & entertainment head at IBM for India and South Asia.

GOA: Multi-system operators (MSOs) and broadcasters do not want the digitisation deadline in the four metros to be deferred, industry leaders said at the Indian Digital Operators Summit (IDOS) 2012 in Goa.

“Going by the investments we are making, the way we are progressing with content deals with broadcasters and the pace at which we are seeding the set-top boxes (STBs), there is no reason to believe that anybody wants deferment of digitisation,” said Den Networks CEO S N Sharma.

Agreed Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera. “The government‘s bold decision on FDI gives us the confidence that the digitisation deadline will not be changed,” he said.

Consumers can see merit in digitisation and the viewing experience is making a difference. “We are offering 22 HD channels. There will be 3 million HD flat panel TV sets sold in this country,” Khera averred.

According to Sharma, it is in nobody‘s interest to delay digitisation. The MSOs are serious and are installing STBs rapidly. Joint consumer awareness campaigns have been launched. “They will gain as the business model transforms completely from B2B to B2C. There is also scope for local cable channels, which will be a key differentiator between cable TV and DTH service providers,” he elaborated.

Ortel Communications Ltd. co-founder and MD Jagi Mangat Panda cautioned the industry not to get too carried away by transparency (currently local cable operators under-report their subscriber numbers). Broadcasters and MSOs will have to work together to offer choice to consumers. “As bandwidth opens, broadcasters will have to meet this huge consumer demand (for varied content). Like in the US, this can be done by broadcasters joining hands with MSOs,” she said.
 
Panda also warned that MSOs would not be able to compete with DTH on pure digital play. The only way to win is by building fat pipes and offering broadband. “We shouldn‘t get stuck with transparency. If we don‘t do broadband, DTH will beat us hollow,” she said.

Raman Kalra, head of media & entertainment at IBM for India and South Asia, stressed on the need for having a forward-looking perspective. “The fat pipe of cable has been effectively exploited by players like Netflix and Hulu. Reliance Industries is also going to launch 4G and we know how they can bring down prices. I see a little amount of preparedness lacking among the cable TV companies in India at this moment,” he cautioned.

GOA: The first day of the two-day Indian Digital Operators Summit (IDOS) 2012 concluded with stakeholders from different parts of the value chain wanting introduction of the digital addressable system (DAS) without any further delay and expressing confidence that consumers will accept better customised services possible in a digital environment.

The speakers were participating in a round-table held essentially to sum-up the proceedings of day one of IDOS organized by indiantelevision.com and Media Partners Asia in Goa.

DEN Networks CEO SN Sharma said more localised content and value-added services will drive the consumer to accept the new technology.

Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera said both DAS and DTH could co-exist as there was enough space in a country as large as India for both of them. He said ARPUs (average revenue per user) will increase with an increase in content and variety.

Hathway MD and CEO K Jayaraman said it was a now or never situation or the country would be left behind in the digital race. He and Indiacast Media Distribution Group CEO Anuj Gandhi agreed ARPUs would increase with time, as there were enough customers for all kinds of networks in the country.

While Videocon d2h Deputy CEO Rohit Jain said DAS was a question of creating a road-map withy conviction, IBM Head of Media and Entertainment in India and South Asia Raman Kalra said there was a need for a change in the mindset, delivery enhancement, customer retention and increasing monetising options if DAS had to succeed. He said customer-centricity was a must. JAINHITS MD Ankur Jain agreed.
 
Exponentia Capital Principal Neeraj Bhatia said new TV channels would spring up and therefore, shareholders were ready to take up DAS.

Castle Media Director Vynsley Fernandes said infrastructure, content and technology will win the day for DAS, and people will pay if they get all these.

NEW DELHI: Arguments over appeals challenging the Trai Tariff Order concluded before the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Arbitration Tribunal (Tdsat) on Friday.

Trai (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has agreed to provide on Monday some clarifications that have been sought by Tdsat Chairman S B Sinha and Member P K Rastogi. After Trai gives the clarifications ,which order of the tribunal will be awaited on the appeals by multi-system operators (MSOs) and local cable operators (LCOs) against the Tariff Order.

The Tariff Order has also prescribed the revenue sharing ratio between (MSOs) and local cable operators (LCOs), and MSOs and broadcasters.

Counsel for MSOs and LCOs contended in their counter arguments that the Tariff Order and Regulations were aimed at helping the television broadcasters and the direct-to-home (DTH) platforms while TRAI counsel said detailed study had gone into the Tariff Order and the regulations.

Counsels Rajan Bakshi on behalf of United Cable Operators Welfare Association and C S Vaidyanathan on behalf of MSO Digicable Networks said they were not opposed to introduction of digital addressable systems (DAS) but some infirmities had to be corrected. They also alleged that the broadcasters were deliberately not revealing their retail tariff per channel, which was essential before the switch to digital delivery of television channels from 1 November.

Counsel Bakshi claimed that Trai‘s Reference Interconnect Offer document showed that the rates of popular channels had gone up by an average of up to 315 per cent per channel from the rate of Rs 5.45 set initially by TRAI.

Both Bakshi and Vaidyanathan in separate arguments wondered why TRAI had not chosen the formula worked out for the conditional access systems in 2006, which had even been approved by the Supreme Court, and instead opted for amending the Tariff Order of 2010, which was challenged before the apex court and the court had order a status quo.
Vaidyanathan said TRAI could have used any of three other options – the 2004 Order, the 2006 Order, or the 2010 Order which also applied to DTH and was pending in court – but chose the option of 2004 relating to non-addressable systems with some elements of the 2010 order for reasons not explained in the Explanatory Memorandum.

He said there was no rationale for not taking the order for conditional addressable systems, which had even been upheld by the apex court. By not doing this, TRAI has also equated MSOs and DAS with DTH. If it had to take the DTH model, then it should not have set a revenue sharing ratio between MSOs and LCOs and should have let market forces decide. It was also odd that while DAS was regulated, DTH got away scot-free.

He added that while laying down the mandate for building a capacity for 500 channels, TRAI had made no study and it was clear that there was no need for so many channels since most viewers saw 15 to 20 channels. He said that while the capacity building for 250 channels had cost Rs 30 million, MSOs will have to spend around Rs 120 million for building the capacity for 500 channels even if they decide to keep only 200 or so, on their network.

He read out various paragraphs of the 2006 Order to say that the Tariff for CAS could easily have been applied to DAS since most of the criteria were the same.

He said basically all this is being done because Trai does not want to regulate the broadcasters. He read from a page on the TRAI website that one channel on Golf cost around Rs 750.

He argued that one reason why the 2004 order was not applicable here was that there was no concept of ala carte channels at that time, with all channels coming in bouquets.

He also wondered why TRAI wanted to ‘micro-manage‘ the choice of the consumer, who should have been left to make his own choices. The whole scheme was disproportionate to public interest.

He also pointed out that the 2006 Order amended in 2007 had fixed city-wise tariffs, which had not been done here.
Earlier, counsel Gopal Jain for intervener NDTV said the appeals would prove to be an impediment to a system that appeared very good as Trai had taken a forward-looking approach. In any case, TRAI had the power of periodic revision.

He also claimed that the resistance from MSOs and LCOs was only because of the undue advantages inherent in the analogue system, and not the abolition of placement fee or restrictive carriage fee. The earlier system was skewed in favour of the MSOs.

Mr Tejvir Bhatia, counsel for Times Global and India TV, wanted the ‘must carry‘ clause to be enforced.

At one stage, TDSAT member P K Rastogi (sitting with Chairman Justice S B Sinha) observed that the broadcaster was interested in his advertisement revenue and so paid carriage fee, while the aggregator could only earn through subscription.

MUMBAI: UK media watchdog Ofcom has said that UK pay TV service provider BSkyB is a fit and proper company to hold a broadcasting licence.

However Ofcom has criticised James Murdoch for his role in the phone hacking scandal. Ofcom said that he repeatedly fell short of the conduct to be expected of as a CEO, chairman.

In July 2011, in light of the public debate about phone hacking and other allegations, Ofcom confirmed that it had a duty to consider whether Sky was fit and proper to continue to hold its broadcast licences.

Ofcom considers that, on the evidence currently available and having taken into account all the relevant factors, Sky is fit and proper to hold its broadcast licences.

Ofcom‘s duty to be satisfied that a licensee is fit and proper is ongoing. Should further relevant evidence become available in the future, Ofcom would need to consider that evidence in order to fulfil its duty.

Ofcom though said that Murdoch‘s behaviour was difficult to comprehend and ill-judged.

Responding to Ofcom‘s statement News Corp said, “We are pleased that Ofcom recognises BSkyB as a fit and proper holder of a broadcast license and remain proud of both News Corporation‘s and James Murdoch‘s distinguished record in facilitating the transformation of Sky into Britain‘s leading pay television and home communications provider.

“We are also pleased that Ofcom determined that the evidence related to phone hacking, concealment and corruption does not provide any basis to conclude that News Corporation and Rupert Murdoch acted in a way that was inappropriate, and that there is similarly no evidence that James Murdoch deliberately engaged in any wrongdoing.

“We disagree, however, with certain of the report‘s statements about James Murdoch‘s prior actions as an executive and Director, which are not at all substantiated by evidence. As Ofcom itself acknowledged, James deserves credit for his role as Chief Executive, then Chairman and now non-executive Director, in leading Sky to an outstanding record as a broadcaster, including its excellent compliance record. We look forward to Sky‘s continuing to execute on its mission to provide viewers with the best television experience imaginable, and are honored to play a role in the many contributions it makes to Britain, its people, and its economy.

MUMBAI: US software major Microsoft has announced that Nancy Tellem, former CBS Network Television Entertainment Group president, has joined it as entertainment, digital media president.

In her role reporting to Microsoft Studios corporate VP Phil Spencer, Tellem will oversee the launch of a newly created production studio in Los Angeles that will develop interactive and linear content for Xbox and other devices. In addition to running the production studio, she will help spearhead the company‘s efforts to turn Xbox into a destination where consumers can enjoy all their entertainment in one place.

Tellem and her group will collaborate with the creative community to develop unique, compelling storytelling experiences for the Xbox brand. More than just a gaming console, Xbox has evolved into a consumer destination for the world‘s most popular TV, movies, music and sports content. With a roster of more than 65 entertainment apps, including Netflix, Hulu Plus, HBO Go, MLB.TV, ESPN, YouTube and VEVO, global video consumption on Xbox LIVE has increased 140 percent during the past year. In addition, this September, Microsoft will introduce 2-way TV experiences from renowned entertainment partners Sesame Workshop and National Geographic that will further expand the Xbox platform beyond games, offering entertainment options for everyone in the family.

Tellem said, “I am excited to be a part of the continued evolution of Xbox from a gaming console to the hub of every household‘s entertainment experience. The Xbox is already a consumer favorite, and we now have a tremendous opportunity to transform it into the center of all things entertainment – from games, music and fitness to news, sports, live events, television series and movies – so consumers have one destination for all their entertainment needs. I look forward to building a studio team that embraces the challenges of creating true interactive content that the Xbox platform supports and to work with talent to create content that will change the way entertainment content is experienced and delivered.”

Spencer said, “Whether you are voting for your favorite contestant on a TV show or playing a game, entertainment is becoming more personalized and social, driven by the Internet and new tools to interact with content. We are embarking on a new chapter with the creation of a studio dedicated to making original interactive and linear content, and I‘m excited to have Nancy leading this effort.”

Microsoft president of the Interactive Entertainment Business Group Don Mattrick said, “With her impressive background in entertainment innovation, I am thrilled to have Nancy join our team. Under her direction, we look forward to building and extending our creative offerings from the living room to all your devices.”

GOA: Trai Principal Advisor N Parameswaran on Friday said multi-system operators (MSOs) have assured the regulator that they would soon announce the channel packages and their pricing, while reiterating that there would be no further extension of the deadline of 1 November for switching off analogue cable television in the four metros.

Parameswaran also ruled out analogue transmission co-existing with digital transmission in the four metros of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai for a brief period after the deadline of 31 October.

The regulator wanted transparency and settlement through mutual consent at all levels, which was the reason for Trai (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) not fixing any tariff but has only given a revenue sharing formula.

Parameswaran was addressing the opening session of the Indian Digital Operators Summit (IDOS) 2012 at the Lalit Golf and Spa Resort in Goa organised by indiantelevision.com in partnership with Media Partners Asia.

He said all stakeholders including MSOs would benefit from the march of technology as this would lead to more value-added services and even broadband and internet.

Answering questions later, he said that Trai had asked the government to consider rationalisation in the tax regime for direct to home (DTH) platforms. “There is scope to do something on this but it is a complex issue as various parties are involved. We are happy that the government accepted our recommendations on FDI in toto.”

He also said that Trai had been asked to look at the cross-media regulations in a new light after the report of the Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad, made at the behest of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry. Trai had given a report earlier in 2009 on the subject.

Asked if the role of Trai would diminish if DAS worked, he said the role of a regulator was like that of the family doctor. If all worked well in the market, Trai will not interfere.

But it was the prime duty of Trai to protect the consumer and his right to have channels of his liking on an ala carte basis.

He said this was the rationale for the insistence on MSOs to create capacity for 500 channels even if they carried only half of that. At the same time, Trai had brought in the ‘must carry‘ clause to ensure that MSOs carry a channel offered to them by a broadcaster.

He said the role of the cable operator would not diminish with DAS, and said that for the first time, the right of way had been given a legislative sanction in the Cable TV Networks (Regulation) Second Amendment Act 2011.

Earlier welcoming the delegates, indiantelevision.com founder and CEO Anil Wanvari said India had become a jewel in the Asian crown in the pay TV market, adding that it was the home grown market built by cable operators which had developed the ecosystem for television in India.

Vivek Couto, Executive Director of Media Partners Asia, said the recent announcement of relaxation in foreign direct investment should help the media industry in the country. But there was a need to rid the DTH industry of too much taxation, and to reduce the ills of cross-media ownership.

Digitisation was only the means to an end. There would be greater segmentation and the DTH industry will become more aggressive. This may also lead to more niche channels and a new category of advertisers, Couto said.

The high investment in DAS was an opportunity for broadband to grow stronger. But pricing and packaging would be the key factors in DAS, he said, while noting that the DTH industry was likely to grow by 18 per cent over the next decade and thus give greater competition.