Category: Software

MUMBAI: The promoters are upping their stake marginally in Indusind Media & Communication Ltd (IMCL) to 93 per cent, after converting preference shares into equity.

The government has permitted the Hinduja-owned company, which runs the cable TV business under the Incablenet brand, to convert seven-year cumulative non-convertible redeemable preference shares into equity.

Amas Mauritius, a promoter group company, had earlier invested Rs 740 million in IMCL, a source said. The cost per share works out to Rs 121 as preference shares being issued is 6.1 million.

With the equity being expanded, the other shareholders will get marginally diluted. IndusInd Bank holds 5.8 per cent and Kudelski, a leading digital security and convergent media solutions company for delivery of digital and interactive content, around 2.2 per cent.

The company had applied for FIPB (Foreign Investment Promotion Board) clearance. With the FIPB giving its nod, the decks are cleared for the promoters to increase their stake marginally in IMCL.

The media subsidiary company of listed entity Hinduja Ventures Ltd is gearing up for digitisation and recently acquired controlling stake in two small-sized cable networks in Kolkata. It already has a strong presence in Mumbai and Delhi, the other two metros which fall under the first phase of government-mandated digitisation. In Chennai, the fourth metro to come under digitisation in the first stage, Incablenet does not have a presence.

IMCL, which has a pan India cable TV presence, is toying with the idea of a reverse merger that would enable it to list and raise funds up to Rs 5 billion through qualified institutional placement (QIP). Earlier, the company had plans to raise $100 million ahead of an initial public offering (IPO).

IMCL posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 632 million on a total Income of Rs 4.81 billion for the year ended March 2012.

Also Read:
IndusInd Media mulls listing via reverse merger

IMCL sets foot in Kolkata, acquires two cable networks

IndusInd Media plans to raise $100 mn ahead of IPO

Mumbai: Reliance Home Video and Games, a Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group company, has tied up with a Japanese game developer, Namco Bandai, to distribute and promote movie based games in India.

As per the deal, the two companies will first launch a game based on ‘Madagascar 3 – Europe‘s Most Wanted‘.

It will launch around the release of the movie in India, and will be available on both, PS3 and Xbox 360. It will allow the gamers to travel across Europe and also enable them to play as one of their favourite Madagascar characters in a combination of action, adventure, and circus party.

Reliance Home Video and Games operates in the toys and games licensing and merchandising industry.

Reliance Home Video and Games COO Sweta Agnihotri said, “We are happy to have Namco Bandai on board with us for their movie based games. Namco Bandai is a leading player in the gaming industry, with a diverse portfolio, since a long time. With this alliance we are looking forward to working with them and bring to India the best of games across categories.”

Namco Bandai general manager Kelvin Seah added, “We are happy to be associated with Reliance Home Video and Games in India. The company has a very strong distribution network in India and we hope to continue this association in the future.”

Madagascar 3 – Europe‘s Most Wanted will be available at bookstores like Landmark, Crossword and e-commerce portals like Flipkart, amongst others.

MUMBAI: NDS, the technology solutions provider for digital pay-TV, has been appointed by ADN Networks to provide the enabling technologies to support the launch of its digital cable TV service in central and Western Delhi.

The company will provide an end-to-end technology suite including MediaHighway set-top box software, VideoGuard conditional access, a customised electronic programme guide (EPG) and a host of interactive functionality such as games and TV applications, including regional content, to compliment ADN‘s current channel offering.

NDS will also enable additional revenue streams by providing regional advertising capabilities via the EPG home page and banner ads supported by NDS Dynamic Advanced Advertising technology.

NDS India country head & GM Jayant Changrani said, “With the digitisation of cable TV in India rapidly progressing, cable operators are looking to swiftly migrate their existing platforms to digital. This announcement underlines our commitment to provide operators with the enabling technology to meet the government‘s digitisation mandate and enable a superior subscriber offering.”

Established in 2000, ADN Networks has a subscriber base in central and Western Delhi. ADN Networks director Tejinder Chawla said, “With its raft of innovative, affordable technologies and strong support framework, we are confident that NDS is the right technology provider to enable the launch our digital cable TV services.”

MUMBAI: BBC Worldwide Digital Entertainment and Games has announced that Doctor Who: The Eternity Clock, which is based on the television show, is now available for download on PlayStation Network on PlayStation 3 globally.

Players take on the roles of the Doctor and River Song as they travel across time and space to save the Earth, and time itself. In order to be successful, they must master the complexities of time travel through exceptional time-based gameplay – changes made in one time will impact another, creating multiple possibilities and challenging players to solve puzzles across the centuries.

Equipped with the Doctor’s “sonic screwdriver,” River’s “blaster” and other fantastic gadgets, players journey through four London time periods and a number of other-worldly locations in search of answers. With collaborative multiplayer capabilities, players can take part in the game simultaneously across different time periods, facing some of the most fearsome monsters including Silurians, Cybermen, Daleks and the Silence.

BBC Worldwide Digital Entertainment and Games executive VP Robert Nashak said, “Doctor Who is such a beloved BBC franchise, and we’re fortunate to work collaboratively with the creative minds behind the TV show, bringing fans an authentic experience in the universe that is Doctor Who.”

The stars of the Doctor Who TV series Matt Smith (the Doctor) and Alex Kingston (River Song) provide voiceovers for the game, and motion capture technology creates in-game character movements to add realism to the ultimate Doctor Who gaming experience.

MUMBAI: The Indian set-top box (STB) market has been increasing at a steady pace over the past few years. A strong surge of consumers moved to satellite platforms during 2011. Despite the large cable TV subscriber base in India, satellite TV growth will slow somewhat from the 10 million consumers that added services last year.

Principal analyst Sam Rosen said, “The cable TV digitisation, mandated by the government, will spur set-top box shipment increases in India for the next several years. 19.3 million set-top boxes will be shipped in India during 2012.”

The government‘s cable TV digitisation policy now specifies that cable TV digitisation will occur in four phases by December 2014. Therefore, cable STB deployments will surge from 2012 as larger operators begin their digital STB deployments. The cable digitisation process will progress far slower than the government mandate specifies – otherwise, consumers will be forced to abandon cable in favor of satellite as cable operators struggle to procure the set-top boxes.

Research analyst Khin Sandi Lynn said, “High definition (HD) STB adoption in India currently accounts for only 11 per cent of overall shipments. The increasing adoption of HDTV sets and cable TV digitisation is expected to bring more HD channels and HD services in India”. HD STB adoption in India will accelerate in the coming years.

Nearly 70 per cent of set-top boxes installed in Indian households are imported from foreign manufacturers, especially from China. In 2011, Huawei was the top STB vendor in India with 24 per cent market share, followed by Pace with 12 per cent market share. Chang Hong, Cisco, and Skyworth are also selling set-top boxes in India. Domestic STB production is likely to increase in the years to come with some overseas manufacturing set-top box factories in India, as well as Indian companies focused on building low-cost set-top boxes.

MUMBAI: Hungama Digital has launched application for Star Network‘s recently launched show, ‘Satyamev Jayate‘.

At present, the application is available for iTunes and works on Ipods, Iphone and Ipads.

The application lets users stream songs and watch videos. One can share them with friends and communities and follow the official Satyamev Jayate twitter timeline.

With every episode, the application is also updated with the new song and video released on that episode.

According to the official communiqu?©, within a couple of days of launch, the app is the No. 1 in the “entertainment category” and No. 3 in the “Top 25” of all the apps on the app store for iphone.

Mumbai: Sony Entertainment Television (Set) has launched its high-definition (HD) feed starting today.

The HD feed will be available for analogue and digital distributors. It will be available on direct-to-home (DTH) providers like Dish TV, Tata Sky, Airtel Digital TV and Videocon D2H.

Additionally, it will also be available on cable networks like Hathway cable & Datacom and Seven Star.

Multi Screen Media COO NP Singh said, “I am pleased to announce that our flagship channel Sony is all set to be broadcast in HD. Traditionally, SET Network has always embraced technological excellence and going HD is another step in that direction.”

Set senior EVP and business head Sneha Rajani said, “As a channel that has always been a pioneer in its content offering for the TV audience at large, Sony will continue to keep its viewers in the forefront and be a leader in the marketplace. Going HD is a continuation of that focus and a very proud moment for us all.”

Other Hindi general entertainment channels – Star Plus, Zee TV and Colors – already provide HD feed.

Six, the recently launched sports channel from the Multi Screen bouquet, is already available in HD.

MUMBAI: Al Jazeera‘s sports network beIN Sport has selected Eutelsat Communications to broadcast its two new channels for the French market, beIN Sport 1 and beIN Sport 2.

The two channels will be broadcast through Eutelsat Hot Bird satellite TV neighbourhood at 13° East and Eutelsat 5 West A satellite at 5° West.

beIN Sport 1 is on track for launch on 1 June and will show premium coverage of the Uefa Euro 2012 championship from 8 June. Its sister channel, beIN Sport 2, will follow this summer.

The contract with Eutelsat follows beIN Sport’s acquisition of LFP Ligue (France’s Professional Football League) and Uefa Champions League rights and many other premium sports for the French market.

Favouring two satellite TV positions already well-anchored in French TV homes will enable beIN Sport 1 and 2 to optimise their reach from day one and ensure the highest broadcast quality for live and exclusive viewing of premium sports.

Eutelsat CEO Michel de Rosen said, “The longstanding presence of two of our leading satellite TV neighbourhoods in France’s media landscape will be further consolidated by the arrival of beIN Sport’s first television channels for viewers in France. The launch of these new TV ventures also testifies to the dynamic of the satellite broadcasting market that continues to welcome new players and programming concepts in order to deliver viewers premium content and the finest image quality.”

Mumbai: Indian youth like his entertainment on the move. His least favourite gadget is the TV, with less than one per cent voting for it, reveals TCS GenY survey 2011-12.

GenY‘s favorite gadget with 28 per cent votes is the mobile phone. Gaming consoles are also increasingly becoming popular even in mini-metros with a little over 16 per cent of students owning at least one gaming console as compared to nearly 45 per cent in metros. Music players are also very popular with 60 per cent of the respondents owning them.

Tablet PCs and Tabs, though nascent, have penetrated far more intensively in metros with 15 per cent respondents listing it as their choice of device to access with mini-metros at 7 per cent.

India‘s “Generation Y” is adopting new modes of networking using social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, as well as tools like instant messaging (IM) and chat.

TCS surveyed over 12,300 high school students in ages of 12-18 across 12 Indian cities to reveal that smart devices and online access are making GenY “instant connectors.” This is transforming the way tomorrow‘s professionals are conducting their academic and social lives.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) CEO and MD N Chandrasekaran said, “Combination of more bandwidth, availability of smart devices and the surging popularity of social networks is changing the way India‘s high school students conduct their academic and social lives. As significant employers of India‘s talented youth, we need to understand how to leverage these social trends to create engaging careers for tomorrow‘s professionals.”

The survey shows common trends among urban high school students across India but also reveals differences between metros and upcoming Tier II towns, which are emerging as mini-metros.

Three out of four students cited “Research for School” as the main reason to access the internet followed by social reasons like chatting/connecting with friends (68 per cent) and listening to music (50 per cent). Over 84 per cent of the students go online from home compared to just 58 per cent (in 2009).

Use of cyber-cafes as an online access point has dropped dramatically fallen from 46 per cent in 2009 to 20 per cent today.

Social network websites like Facebook is the clear favorite among students to connect with their peers with 88 per cent of respondents from the six metros having a presence on this social platform. One-third of all respondents said that it was their preferred site. Other platforms like Orkut and India-based networks like Apnacircle, iBibo and Hi5 are more popular in mini-metros compared to metros.

Tweeting as a medium of communication is now being used by one in three students in the TCS survey, though only 1 per cent listed it as their preferred site.

Eight out of every ten high school students own mobile phones and more than 40 per cent use mobile phones to access the internet (compared to just 12 per cent in 2009). While PCs continue to dominate internet access for students (68 per cent) at home, one in two said that they used laptops as well.

An emerging trend is the use of tablets with almost 14 per cent using these new devices.

The TCS Survey shows that increasingly India‘s urban Gen Next is turning to text and chat as alternatives to voice. 50 per cent of those surveyed in metros said that they used SMS the most to communicate while 45 per cent used IM and 38 per cent used Facebook or Twitter – all significantly higher than the number of students in metros who said they used email (34 per cent) for the same purpose.

Reflecting poorer connectivity levels, use of email (55 per cent) in mini-metros continues to higher than metros (34 per cent).

The Web 3.0 generation school students are far more conscious than before. They seem to be clear about what they would look for in a future job. IT remains the top career preference amongst youngsters, irrespective of geography, with Engineering and Medicine coming next. Media / Entertainment is emerging as a clear urban favorite.

Early use of career sites like LinkedIn is more popular in business-centric cities like Mumbai and Ahmedabad and significantly lower on a national basis.

This survey captured information access trends, social networking preferences and career interests. The cities where it was conducted were – Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Chennai, Coimbatore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Pune. The primary data was collected from the participants by means of a questionnaire at each of these locations.

MUMBAI: US cable network TBS and online social network Facebook are coming together for a new agreement that extends TBS‘s distribution plan for DumbDumb comedy shorts.

The new branded entertainment content opportunities were announced recently by the network, along with the advertising and digital production company launched by comic actors Jason Bateman and Will Arnett, in partnership with Ben Silverman‘s multimedia studio Electus, an operating business of IAC.

The TBS and Facebook agreement combines branded video content with the scale, targeting and reach of the Facebook platform.

Turner Entertainment and Young Adults ad sales president Donna Speciale said, “As consumer viewing habits have changed, and advertisers look to integrate within sharable and entertaining media, we are very pleased to announce TBS‘s partnership with Facebook for DumbDumb branded content. We are not just talking the talk about innovation; we are actively developing ways for our advertisers to creatively immerse their brands through a multi-screen approach that delivers great video to an engaged and interested audience on Facebook.”

Facebook VP, global marketing solutions Carolyn Everson added, “Through this partnership with TBS for DumbDumb content, Facebook will not only help brands distribute and promote their content across the platform, but through social engagement will drive consumption of that content. Facebook and television work perfectly together, as Facebook has become the location where viewers discuss, experience, and share what they watch and what they love, creating true word of mouth at scale.”

Electus chairman, founder Ben Silverman said, “When we built and launched DumbDumb with Jason and Will, we always wanted to deliver content wherever the consumer was consuming it. The Dummies and I are very excited about this partnership so we can Turner and Facebook all at once.”

Through this deal with Facebook, the comedic videos will extend even further beyond the sponsor‘s engaged social media platforms and the powerful reach of Turner Digital. Marketing will be custom-developed with each sponsor‘s target audience and brand goals in mind.

The initial agreement calls for DumbDumb to produce up to six short-form comedy videos for TBS.com, each featuring a sponsor‘s brand integration and the DumbDumb stable of comedic stars. In addition, participating sponsors have the opportunity to showcase the videos across multiple screens and social platforms, including their Web sites, You Tube channels, Facebook pages, and Twitter feeds, among others. To provide even further reach for the client‘s brand message, TBS will promote tune-in through popular and relevant comedic shows like Conan, Family Guy and The Big Bang Theory, as well as across the Turner Digital network of online and mobile destinations, including Teamcoco.com, AdultSwim.com and NBA.com.