Category: Software

MUMBAI: Eros has leveraged its wide reach and the subscriber base of its YouTube presence to launch a new channel, Eros Now Music, for established and emerging artists.

The platform, youtube.com/erosnowmusic, will showcase original music content and leverage from the global reputation of Eros as a leading premium content provider.

Eros Now Music will feature established as well as emerging talent including Shaan, DJ Sheizwood, UK based pop artist Kimeli, Shweta Yogendra, Farhan Saeed, Gajendra, Simmy and Tippy, Rahul / Shah Rule among others. The content on the newly launched channel will include music videos and special behind the scenes footage.

Eros Digital CEO Ricky Ghaisaid, “As a part of our digital transformation, the launch of Eros Now Music is a step forward in providing rich and original music exclusively on the digital platform. The idea is to promote existing talent and discover new voices and build universal appeal for Asian music.”

MUMBAI: Infotainment channel History TV18 is using social media media platforms Facebook and Twitter to push its local property, ‘The Greatest Indian‘. This allows viewers to vote for who they think is the greatest Indian since 1948 after Mahatma Gandhi.

History TV 18 GM marketing Sangeeta Aiyer notes that the plan was to go viral. “There are debates and discussions happening in the social media space. Our show will also stimulate discussions and debates. We launched TGI and TheGreatest Indian on the morning of 4 June before the show started airing in the night. This has helped us get three million votes so far in 10 days. By the time voting for the first phase closes on 25 June we expect to have gotten eight million votes”.

Twitter is important as that is where the influencers are. The fan club for Dr. Ambhedkar, for instance, has participated in a big manner.

“Marketers are nervous about using Twitter. But Twitter can be a powerful tool for marketers, if used wisely. We recently did a quiz on Twitter and we got 50,000 votes as a result. On Facebook we did an innovation on Facebook Timeline. We went back to 1947 and put in achievements of Indians,” Aiyer says.

The second phase will kick off in July. There will be a curtain raiser show where names will be revealed from where viewers can choose. The Greatest Indian winner will be revealed mid August to coincide with Independence Day.

Earlier, the channel kicked off a social media initiative on ‘History Har Din‘. People can upload photos and videos where they feel that they have made history on the site. So far 150 people have uploaded their photos.

MUMBAI: Over 38 million handheld gaming devices from Sony and Nintendo are expected to ship in 2013 –a maximum that is significantly lower than the previous peak of 47 million units in 2008.

Unit shipments following 2013 are expected to decline slightly, but dedicated handheld gaming devices are a sustainable niche, with forecasts relatively flat through 2017. Smartphone and tablet use for gaming continues to expand, making the mobile gaming market an increasingly
important companion to dedicated handheld gaming.

ABI Research senior analyst Michael Inouye said, “Mobile devices will compete with dedicated handheld gaming devices, but select consumer segments like core gamers and those individuals who do not want or have a smartphone or tablet will still provide some demand. The addition of mobile gaming is not necessarily a zero sum situation; in fact, many feel there is plenty of room in the gaming market for both portable and mobile gaming.”

Following an initially strong first quarter 2011 launch, Nintendo’s 3DS experienced a far weaker second quarter, prompting the company to dramatically lower the price of the handheld (from $249 to $170).

The lower price, with additional titles, spurred sales to over 15 million through the 2011 calendar year.

In late 2011, Sony launched the Vita in Japan with a wider launch in February 2012 to decent sales, although the price might prove an issue for Sony as well, despite significantly more robust hardware.

“The mobile and tablet markets have increased consumers’ price sensitivity. First party developers and key game franchises will be vital cogs for the industry in the future, since hardware alone is not going to cut it given the shorter upgrade cycles for mobile devices.Recent announcements at E3 from Nintendo and Microsoft, coupled with past mobile-centric initiatives by Sony, make clear that mobile experiences will be integrated into “dedicated” gaming experiences (both console and portable),” Inouye adds.

MUMBAI: Over one-quarter of TVs shipped during Q1‘12 were equipped with internet connectivity, as reported in the new NPD DisplaySearch Quarterly Smart TV Shipment and Forecast Report, which tracks connected and smart TV shipments by brand, region, display technology and screen size.

Approximately 27 per cent of TV sets shipped worldwide had internet connectivity, led by Japan, where 46 per cent of sets had networking capability, and Western Europe with 36 per cent. In a good example of how internet entertainment is developing rapidly in emerging markets, China followed closely behind Western Europe with 32 per cent of sets that shipped having internet functionality.

In the report, NPD DisplaySearch further analysed TV sets by service type. Basic connected TVs can access structured services from broadcasters such as Hbb.TV in Europe, BBC‘s iPlayer in the UK, Hulu in the US and AcTVila in Japan. Netflix and YouTube also offer such services.

According to NPD DisplaySearch, a smart TV can access a branded portal and service, not just publicly available platforms such as YouTube, or broadcaster services. Within this definition of smart TV, there are sub-categories that differ in the nature of the control of the service offering:

– ‘Set maker controlled‘ sets can have unique services from a portal. No two brands are alike, and the services may be configurable as apps.

– ‘Consumer controlled‘ sets can escape the constraints of a portal and allow the consumer to access the whole internet. These sets typically have a browser inside.

The report indicates that nearly 20 per cent of all TVs shipped worldwide were smart TVs, the highest being in Japan with 36 per cent, with China a close runner-up with 30 per cent. The feature was also strong in Western Europe, over 29 per cent of the first quarter shipments were of smart TVs. All regions were over one-in-ten, with North America at 18 per cent.

NPD DisplaySearch director of TV Electronics Research Paul Gray said, “Connected TV is largely driven by content. Where there are compelling things to watch, the internet becomes a major source of entertainment. We are now seeing a second stage of evolution as internet video relocates from a PC screen onto the TV screen. In particular, Chinese consumers have found plenty to watch on the internet, so internet connectivity follows.”

One of the more surprising findings from the report indicates that no region is being left behind. Developed regions can be expected to have high shipments, and areas with low broadband uptake such as the Middle East and Africa also show a strong interest in internet connectivity.

“It is an interesting trend. There are countries in emerging regions where mobile broadband far outnumbers fixed lines, so consumers are looking to share mobile content on a big screen” added Gray.

By region, the largest shipments were in China with almost three million smart TVs shipped. Western Europe was second, with 2.1 million units shipped, while North America was third with almost 1.4 million units shipped. Strong seasonality linked to the Lunar New Year holiday helped increase shipments in China. Western Europe showed weaker demand as consumers there tend to exhibit more caution toward smart TVs.

By region, the report finds that open internet access is dominant in China, as consumers have a shortage of structured services and want to look elsewhere for content to view. However, 2012 models from all major brands incorporate browsers, and this feature trend is likely to proliferate outside of China.

MUMBAI: The Federal Communications Commission has allowed to let lapse the ‘viewability rule‘ that requires cable operators to carry a local television station on both its digital and analog platforms.

With the sunsetting of this rule, viewers with analogue TV sets will require a set-top box to continue receiving local feeds as operators will no longer have to carry stations on analog platform.

The move would impact 12 million cable subscribers across the country who would lose access to some of their local TV stations.

Justifying its decision, the FCC said many cable operators are providing equipments at little or no cost to subscribers which would allow them to switch over to digital cable without much financial burden.

However, the FCC‘s “viewability requirement‘ is likely to have an adverse impact on smaller stations many of whom cater to small ethnic and religious groups, according to National Association of Broadcasters, the trade association of broadcasters in US.

The FCC had in 2007 set the expiration of transition to high-definition for cable operators at December 2012.

The cable industry has welcomed the move saying operators will take steps to ensure a smooth migration.

“With the majority of all households now enjoying digital services, the cable industry will maximise its bandwidth to provide innovative services that connect consumers to things they care about most. ,” said Michael Powell, CEO of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association. “And while some customers have yet to make the transition to digital, cable providers will continue to work hard to make that conversion as smooth as possible.”

Mumbai: Jump Games, having the IP rights for many Hollywood and Bollywood hits, has entered into the Bhojpuri film market.

The Reliance Entertainment Digital‘s mobile and web games developer and publisher company has ecreated a mobile game for the Bhojpuri film, ‘Dil Le Gayi Odhaniyawali’.

The game has gone online and can be downloaded across all mobile operators. It will be available on all leading operators like Vodafone, BSNL, Idea, Docomo. It has been made for Java, Blackberry and Android technologies

Jump Games business head India Chaitanya Prabhu said, “Backed with the huge expertise and hit deliveries with movie based IP’s for Hollywood films like Real Steal ,Mirror Mirror and Bollywood blockbusters like 3 Idiots, Bodyguard, Singham, this film marks our entry into the burgeoning Bhojpuri market. With a very loyal audience base who are passionate and ardent lovers of their films and actors, Jump Games is very excited to create this offering and is confident of it being received excellently. We look forward to creating more clutter breaking and unique mobile engagement games for brands.”

The mobile game created on the peg of action, has all the “masala” of a Bhojpuri film where the protagonists are in love and the female protagonist’s father opposes the relationship and wants to kill the male protagonist.

The user can take on the avatar of the hero (Khesari) and beat up the bad guys to take home his lover, killing a specific number of men in each level will let you complete the target and push to the next level.

Additional features created by Jump Games include an action packed game with Vivid graphics, simple controls for pick-up and play and innovative hurdles to make the chase more exciting.

For Balaji Cinevision, the production house, this allows for an extension to the film, creating a critical and increasing touch point amongst its consumers.

MUMBAI: The over-the-top television market might still be in its infancy in India but still holds a lot of promise in future, a fact that is borne out by PricewaterhouseCoopers which forecasts 176 million OTT viewers by 2015 generating revenues of $552 million.

Mobile Internet TV is one of the biggest growth areas in India with a third of Indian smartphone users watching TV on their smartphones, according to the PwC research. Content streaming solutions firm Vidiator commissioned PwC for the research.

With television household penetration hitting 65 per cent, there exists tremendous opportunities for live OTT and mobile Internet TV for those households that currently have no existing terrestrial infrastructure, cable or satellite services.

Currently, the Indian market has just one over-the-top (OTT) television distribution platform in the form of Ditto TV launched by Zee New Media, the digital arm of Zee Entertainment, in March this year. There are numerous on-demand online content providers like NyooTV, BigFlix and Eros Now, among others.

The huge opportunity notwithstanding, Vidiator CEO Tae Sung Park warns that despite consumers’ huge appetite for mobile streaming services, Indian mobile operators are being overly cautious towards this potentially lucrative opportunity.

The reluctance of telcos stems from an understandable concern about major investments into hardware and infrastructure and fears about the length of time it will take to recoup the money they think is needed to launch an OTT service, says the report.

On top of this, many operators are busy rolling out 3G and LTE infrastructure and are worried about finding the resources to also deploy a video streaming service. They also question their ability to recoup the incremental costs of offering OTT at good enough quality to paid service in a pre-pay market.

An independent survey of Indian consumers was conducted to find out what people want from mobile video and if they’d ever pay for it. Of those surveyed, 88 per cent said they would consider paying for mobile video now or in the future, with as many 54 per cent saying they had already paid to access content.

However there is a caveat attached: People will only pay for video that is good quality and that is delivered quickly, particularly since the biggest problem faced by consumers while accessing content online is that of buffering and poor quality images. The biggest issue, however, is that 68 per cent of the people surveyed expressed dissatisfaction with the time it takes video to load.

MUMBAI: Reliance Home Video & Games will launch the Madagascar 3 game, titled Madagascar 3 – Europe’s Most Wanted, on PS3 and Xbox in India on 13 June.

This will be the first movie based game title launched by Reliance Home Video and Games with Japanese game developer Namco Bandai.

Last week, Indiantelevision.com had reported that Reliance Home Video and Games has tied up with Namco Bandai, to distribute and promote movie based games in India.

Madagascar 3 – Europe’s Most Wanted is priced at Rs 2,799 for PS3 and Xbox and will be available at all leading bookstores like Landmark, Crossword, etc. and also on e-commerce portals like Flipkart.

Speaking on the latest game title, Reliance Home Video and Games COO Sweta Agnihotri said, “We are excited to bring our first movie based game title in India through our partnership with Namco Bandai. The latest installment of Madagascar is a welcome addition to our fast expanding portfolio of game titles on multiple platforms. The initial feedback on the game has been encouraging and I am sure that kids in India will enjoy the interactivity that the game offers in enhancing their experience of the movie. We are committed to bringing the best entertainment for both home video and games to our consumers and will continue to bring several more such titles to our Indian consumers.”

Madagascar 3 (the game) combines the fun of circus and carnival games with madcap, Madagascar-style adventure. The characters travel across Europe in an adventure that goes beyond the film. Kids get a chance to play as their favourite Madagascar characters in a unique combination of action, adventure, and circus party games that bring the movie franchise to life.

Some of the key features of the game include the official Madagascar 3 video game, drop-in co-op multiplayer for family gaming, play as favourite Madagascar characters across multiple European locations and a unique mix of action gaming and circus-themed party games. The game is split between action gaming following the general storyline and circus-themed party games available via the game menu.

Also Read:
Reliance Home Video, Namco Bandai to release movie based games

MUMBAI: Spark Punjabi, the first regional channel from Big CBS, the joint venture company between Reliance Broadcast Network (RBNL) and CBS Studios International, will be available on Reliance Digital TV starting 15 June.

Spark Punjabi will be available on channel No. 952 on the direct-to-home (DTH) platform.

Spark Punjabi offers CBS content dubbed in Punjabi and is available across Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh (PHCHP) regions. The channel was launched on 14 January this year.

Spark Punjabi claims a market share of approximately 30 per cent and is hoping to grow its reach with 4.5 million Reliance Digital TV subscribers.

RBNL EVP marketing Anand Chakravarthy said, “As we equip and prepare for the impending digitisation, we want to ensure the best reach and viewing experience for Spark Punjabi. We are happy to be available on our group company Reliance Digital TV, which will fortify the position of the channel amongst the people of and from the region. We will through the product continue to offer value to both consumers and marketers alike.”

Reliance Digital TV business head Ashutosh Srivastava added, “By adding Spark Punjabi to our bouquet of channels, we now offer the dedicated international content dubbed in Punjabi along with reality shows in the same language for our subscribers from the Punjabi speaking regions of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh thus, providing superior quality entertainment directly in the comfort of their homes.”

Spark Punjabi is currently being distributed across PHCHP region on digital and analog platforms, and claims an extensive reach of over 6 million cable and satellite households in the region.

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: With barely a month remaining for the first phase of digitisation in the four metros, a big multi-system operator (MSO) has surprised everybody. Hinduja-controlled IndusInd Media and Communications Ltd (IMCL) has moved the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (Tdsat) challenging Trai’s tariff order for digital addressable systems.

IMCL, the the media subsidiary company of Hinduja Ventures Ltd, has approached the sector tribunal with mainly three complaints. The MSO’s first grudge is that the tariff order does not have a common rate for content from broadcasters, leaving space for negotiations that will weigh against smaller cable networks. By keeping the rate open with a ceiling at 42 per cent of analogue cable, it will also favour vertical media companies that have a presence in both distribution and content.

The implication on this is that pure play cable companies and small-sized networks will have a higher price to pay for the content from broadcasters compared to MSOs who have a wider reach and are aligned with broadcasters.

The second grouse is that the provision of a la carte channels to consumers in Basic Service Tier (BST) is operationally cumbersome and can be a logistic nightmare.

The third contention is that creating a 500-channel capacity is not required across India. What we make out from this is that Chennai, for instance, would not need 500 channels as there is no appetite for Hindi content.

The matter was listed before the Tdsat on 11 June. Senior advocate S Ganesh appeared and stated that the government is considering extension of the deadline for digitisation. He requested for a hearing on 25 June. After some deliberation, the Tdsat agreed to list the matter on the same day (25 June).

Incidentally, the deadline for the first phase of digitisation in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai is 30 June.

In a separate but related development, United Cable Operator’s Welfare Association, New Delhi, has moved Tdsat seeking better revenue share from the MSOs and an extension in date for digitisation. Trai has fixed revenue share of 45 per cent for free-to-air channels (FTA) and 35 per cent in case of pay channels. The Tdsat has also kept 25 June as the date for hearing.

Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court will hear on 15 June and the Delhi High Court on 20 June petitions by independent operators and local cable operators challenging the sunset dates set by the Government for switching off analogue cable in the metros.

The Information and Broadcasting minister Ambika Soni will meet the stakeholders to consider all points of view before any final decision and this would be conveyed to them after the Task Force meeting on 15 June.