Category: Software

NEW DELHI: The Government has permitted Dish TV India to increase foreign equity to the extent of Rs 9.8 billion. The leading direct-to-home company had sought permission to raise funds to produce telecommunication equipment and provide management and marketing of ‘agrani‘ services in the area of Mobile Satellite Communications.

Indiantelevision was first to report that the company is looking to raise $200 million from overseas investors.

Meanwhile, NDTV Lifestyle Ltd has been permitted to increase in foreign equity up to 100 per cent. The company is engaged in the media industry for up-linking, producing, distributing and broadcasting non-news and non- current affairs TV channels. This will not involve any additional FDI. 
 
The decisions are based on the recommendations of the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) in its meeting held on 15 November, 2011.

The scheme of merger relating to Cyquator Media Services, a company engaged in the business of providing back-end information technology services and sale of advertisement space in various modes of media, has been deferred.

The proposal of Omnimedia to amend the Clause 2 of the FC approval to undertake the business of publishing/ printing of scientific and technical magazines/ specialty journals/ periodicals in the name and style of “Energetica-India” and circulation of its digital version has also been deferred.

The Finance Ministry has also deferred the proposal by Springer Editorial Services to increase foreign equity up to 100 per cent to carry on the business of publishing services, content, development, content management, content outsourcing, providing a comprehensive service including data conversion, editorial services, pre-press, press, pre-media services, digital communication services, data based management, digitization services, data based engineering. 
 
Another proposal deferred was by Reed Elsevier India to undertake the additional activity relating to the business of publishing and co-publishing (in and outside India), including digital publishing, printing, reprinting, adaptation, article reprinting, repackaging, translation, distribution of scientific, technical, medical, specialty and research journals/magazines/periodicals in any media including print media.

The Ministry rejected the proposal by Indusind Media and Communication (IMCL) for conversion of CNCRPS. The company is engaged in the business of cable network distribution.

Also Read:

Dish TV plans to raise $200 mn

MUMBAI: TiVo, which creates advanced television services, including digital video recorders (DVRs) for consumers, television service providers, and consumer electronics manufacturers in the US, has reported financial results for the third quarter ended 31 October, 2011.

Total net subscription additions were approximately 117,000, accelerating significantly compared to net subscription losses of 33,000 in the prior quarter. This was the first increase in total subscriptions in four years.

Service and technology revenues were up 25 per cent year-over-year, exceeding guidance, while adjusted Ebitda and Net Loss both exceed guidance. There was progress on MSO deployments; ONO and Grande now live; Charter launching shortly; Virgin Media, RCN and Suddenlink deployment rates are accelerating. 
 
DirecTV intends to launch Tivo in select markets next month. Comcast Tivo offering is now in field trial. 1.95 billion interactive ad impressions delivered to date showcases demand for Tivo‘s ability to help advertisers more effectively reach viewers.

Tivo president, CEO Tom Rogers said, “This was a great quarter and represented a significant step in our growth strategy. Our efforts to get TiVo in more homes globally continues to accelerate as we drove approximately 117,000 net subscription additions and returned to total positive net subscription growth for the first time in four years. We also exceeded our quarterly guidance on service and technology revenues, Adjusted EBITDA and net income. In the UK, Virgin Media has now deployed its TiVo offering to more than 220,000 subscribers as of the end of October, and RCN recently expanded its TiVo product offering through the deployment of a whole-home solution. Both ONO and Grande deployments are now live, and we expect Charter Communications to begin initial deployments shortly. Additionally, DirecTV intends to launch its TiVo offering in select markets in December with a nationwide rollout to follow early next year. All of this is a testament to our leadership in advanced television and our ability to drive meaningful solutions to market.”
 
For the third quarter, service and technology revenues were $51.8 million, growing 25 per cent year-over-year. This compared to the guidance of $49 million to $51 million, $41.3 million for the same quarter last year and $49.6 million in the prior quarter. Tivo reported a net loss of ($24.5) million, compared to guidance of a net loss of ($27) million to ($29) million and a net loss of ($20.6) million in the same quarter last year. Net loss per share this quarter on a basic share basis was ($0.21). Additionally, Adjusted EBITDA was a loss of ($13.9) million, compared to Adjusted EBITDA guidance of a loss of ($17) million to ($19) million, and to an Adjusted EBITDA loss of ($12.2) million in the same quarter last year. TiVo ended the quarter with 2.04M total subscriptions, up 117,000.

Rogers continued, “Our mass deployment efforts are proving successful and gaining momentum with Pay-TV operators worldwide. These operators recognize the need to retain their position as the key providers of a video experience for consumers. They are increasingly turning to TiVo because of TiVo‘s proven advanced television solution that enables them to extract more value out of the television experience by joining traditional linear TV channels with broadband delivered content while vastly upgrading the user interface.

For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012, Tivo anticipates service and technology revenues in the range of $48 million to $50 million. Tivo anticipates net loss to be in the range of ($31) million to ($33) million, and an Adjusted EBITDA loss to be in the range of ($21) million to ($23) million. Included in the fourth guidance is higher expected litigation expense relating to AT&T/Microsoft cases where significant activity is scheduled in December and January and the expected impact of flooding in Thailand on our hard drive costs which we believe will be less than $1 million in the fourth quarter. Further, we anticipate litigation expense to be lower in both the first quarter and the full-year fiscal 2013.

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has stayed the imposition of Rs 1.1 million fine levied by the Union Home Ministry on the Internet portal Yahoo for not imparting information about nearly a dozen yahoo IDs and IP addresses who are suspected to be Islamic Terrorists and Maoists.

On a petition by the portal challenging the government‘s decision, the Court also issued a notice to the Central Government.

In its petition, Yahoo has raised the question on the right to privacy of a company that stores such sensitive data and the extent to which authorities can coerce it to part with the information considered necessary to either track terror perpetrators or thwart future attacks.

The government cannot under the cloak of national security implications bypass legal procedures, the petitioner has argued, claiming the section and clauses invoked by the Government to demand information from Yahoo does not empower the government to do so.

The petition cited many instances of notices sent to the web portal by the government during this year, where it cited an email ID and sought exhaustive details of the user and the IP address used over the past three months.

The firm said repeated notices were received and when it expressed its inability to furnish the information, arguing it was bound by a confidentiality clause, the government levied the fine of Rs 1.1 million for alleged non-compliance with provisions of the Information Technology Act. The intention is to coerce the petitioner into agreeing to toe the line of the government, the petitioner says.
 
Yahoo said that after receiving the notices demanding information on mail IDs they informed the authorities that the request was not made under proper channels, and it should have come from another authority dealing with cyber security, but the government did not agree.

The company is duty bound to ensure complete confidentiality, and refuse to divulge information, the petitioner said.

Pursuant to the blast outside the High Court early this year, many emails were received by the Ministry claiming responsibility for the blast and it had asked Yahoo to furnish details of these email IDs.

MUMBAI: Digital marketing is about several things. It is about data, connected systems bringing things together. It looks at how technology is helping take the eco system through a self destruction process. New processes come in as a result. Digital marketing is about engaging audiences rather than shouting at them. Digital marketing is about intelligent communication.

These points were made at a panel discussion at the Mobile Digital Marketing Summit held during World Brand Congress 2011. The topic was ‘Social, Mobile and Video – The Future of Digital Marketing?‘ The speakers were Vdopia VP India Debadutta Upadhyaya, Dentsu India chief experience officer Krishna Prasad and Interactive Avenues co-founder and COO Shantanu Sirohi. The session moderator was IBM India/South Asia CMO Virginia Sharma. Sirohi noted that one can add efficiency in marketing campaigns by using technology. He gave the example of American Express which sent out mailers to platinum card holders. The campaign worked on a Linkedin API. Thousands of referrals happened as a result.
 
Upadhyaya noted that marketers are sitting at a cusp where consumers often don‘t got to a showroom for something like a car. They visit social networks and read reviews of what people are saying. “A brand has to be their catching their attention.”

Prasad noted that CMOs earlier made decisions based on small sample size data. Analysis took place in a controlled environment. Now in digital the number of respondents have gone through the roof. There are insights on a social media page. There was debate about which route is better – mobile, video or social. With mobile one can do search, ad delivery and video delivery. At the same time people will gravitate towards video. Youtube will complement television viewing.

IBM, Sharma noted, did a study among CMOs globally. Indian CMOs said that social is the highest area of marketing but it is also the one where they are the least prepared. Prasad noted that CMOs want the fan count in pages to grow. At the same time engagement cannot be measured. He noted that a senior person has to look after the social media function in an organisation. It needs maturity and understanding of a brand. It cannot simply be left to a 25 year old. That is because it is a form of communication like a press release. If a press release does not go out before many people agree on it then how can a kid manage social media for an organisation?
 
Upadhyaya noted that CMOs have to be users of social media. This will have a bigger impact on marketing initiatives. Sirohi gave an example of Mahindra where Anand Mahindra tweets and responds to tweets. This keeps CMOs on their toes. They have to be in the social space. The youngest guy can then add things later.

The issue of performance metrics in digital was also discussed. [Prasad noted that from a publishers perspective a lot of inventory is unsold. A network has to differentiate itself. As an agency there has to be the incentive to do something. Sirohi noted that performance metrics will evolve. The digital ad market is worth around Rs 15 billion out of which Google has Rs 10 billion. This is because of performance.

MUMBAI: An anticipated surge in the household penetration of next-generation Internet-connected devices indicates solid consumer interest in new content to experience on these devices, according to a new study ‘Connected Devices and Services: Reinventing Content‘ presented by global consulting firm Bain and Company at the Forum d‘Avignon.

However, the study finds that while consumers are inclined to increase their adoption of online content for video consumption, video games, live entertainment and cultural activities, media companies and cultural institutions face stiff competition for incremental consumer spending unless new business models and ‘ambitious content‘ are created.

Bain finds that the biggest shift in the connected content experience will come in video. Half of respondents in the US and UK intend to rely more on search engines to find content, while one-third plan to use their network of friends to choose their favourite ‘must see TV‘. The latter figure jumps to 45 per cent for consumers in India and China, although lack of infrastructure will limit the ability of many to view video on connected devices, particularly in India.
 
Fictional programming also lends itself particularly well to such a transition according to the survey, and our increasing connectedness with the Internet could also accelerate the development of short formats born on the web. Both amateur and professional webisodes have attracted sizeable, albeit still limited, audiences online. Thirty to 45 percent of those surveyed in Western markets expressed interest in such formats on connected devices, though nearly two-thirds are not willing to pay. In contrast, approximately three-quarters of those surveyed in India and China expressed interest in webisodes.

Bain‘s survey of 3,000 consumers in India, France, the UK, the US and China suggests that a high degree of consumer enthusiasm may have limited incremental profit potential for businesses unless new innovative ways for experiencing content are developed.

Bain‘s Media and Entertainment Practice in Europe head and lead author of the study Patrick Behar said, “The permanent media revolution continues. But media and entertainment companies must pursue aggressive content development and diversification strategies to unlock new consumer spending.”

Video games are fertile ground for creating innovative content experiences. Forty percent of those surveyed in Western markets use a connected console or terminal and more than 60 percent of the occasional players surveyed said that they were likely to increase their game playing. Yet a generation gap will remain amongst gamers while 60 per cent of those under age 35 see themselves playing more on connected devices, fewer than 25 percent of those older than 55 agree.

Other cultural and entertainment activities, such as live entertainment and visual arts, currently have limited online options. While approximately two-thirds of Western consumers expressed strong interest in connected cultural experiences, fewer than one-third envision spending more time on such activities. Many live performances attract only small, niche audiences, which restricts the availability of options that can be produced profitably. Along similar lines, three-quarters of those planning to visit museums more frequently due to connected content are already regular visitors, whereas fewer than 18 per cent of non-visitors intend to allocate more time to cultural institutions due to connected experiences. That said, roughly four times as many people said that they were willing to pay for a smart phone/tablet application as an improved museum audioguide than those paying for a museum audioguide today.

“Significant change lies ahead for the media and entertainment industry as content platforms, new entrants, and incumbents battle for profits and market share,” concluded Behar.

MUMBAI: The South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Championship will be streamed live on UStream, which offers live and interactive video streaming.

This deal by World Sport Group, Saff‘s exclusive marketing and media partner, marks the first time that the Saff Championship will be available online.

Full coverage of all 15 matches from the SAFF Championship on Ustream kicks-off with the opening match between Bangladesh and Pakistan on 2 December 2011. Live streaming will be available to viewers worldwide except in India, where the matches will be broadcast on a delayed basis, 24 hours after each game is played.
 
UStream VP of sports Wayne Sieve said, “Ustream is pleased to partner with World Sport Group to distribute the live games of the 2011 SAFF Championship. As the leader in live streaming video with an audience reach of 50 million unique monthly viewers, Ustream is providing the SAFF Championship with greater distribution of its matches so fans around the world can watch the live games and interact with one another.”

WSG senior VP, content James Clarke said, “We are excited about our partnership with UStream and their interactive video streaming platform which is accessible globally. With the popularity and viewership for the SAFF Championship growing particularly on the sub-continent, we want to extend the broadcast of this event beyond television to a wider global audience through mobile and broadband channels. Ustream will help us to achieve this.”
 
The Saff Championship is a biennial competition that is contested by SAFF‘s eight member nations Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Defending champions India will host this year‘s event which will be held in New Delhi, India from 2 – 11 December.

MUMBAI: In what can be termed as a relief for the direct-to-home (DTH) industry, the Madras High Court has put a stay on the Tamil Nadu state government‘s decision of imposing a 30 per cent entertainment tax on the DTH services in the State.

The Tamil Nadu Government had passed a Bill in September, this year, to levy 30 per cent entertainment tax effective 27 September. However, the leading DTH operator Dish TV had filed a petition in the High Court contesting the decision.

Dish TV had said that the government‘s decision is discriminatory and in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution of India, as the cable network is exempt from such a levy. 
 
Dish TV said in a statement that the High Court announced the petition challenging the validity of the levy on DTH services was taken up for hearing by Justice Chitra Venkatraman.

The order restrained the Department of Entertainment Tax from initiating any further proceedings – new or by way of the show-cause notice dated 14 November – and from recovering taxes. It directed Dish TV to furnish tax returns and deposit a security amount that equals half of the tax liability for a month in cash.

Dish TV MD Jawahar Goel said, “We welcome the stay. Entertainment tax is a burden on the common man for whom TV viewing is the cheapest form of entertainment and information.”
 
The Jayalalitha government‘s decision to impose 30 per cent entertainment tax on DTH service providers would have helped Arasu Cable Corporation‘s activities as the DTH consumers may have to end up paying more.

The four southern states constitute 22 per cent of India‘s 38 million DTH population. Tamil Nadu is a very low ARPU (average revenue per user) market and with opportunities opening up for DTH after the launch of state-owned Arasu Cable, the steep entertainment tax could act as a deterrent.

Also Read:
Tamil Nadu adds to DTH woes

Tamil Nadu to tax DTH, IPL

BANGALORE: As part of Lenovo’s bid to become the no. 1 personal technology company globally, Lenovo India recently launched the third part of its ‘Lenovo for those who Do campaign’.

“The new brand positioning campaign delivers the following message in three parts or phases. The first part is built upon the concept that Lenovo is the company that creates ‘Technology For Those Who Do’; the second part of the campaign conveyed the message that at its core, Lenovo is a company of “DO-ers”; a global company powered by innovators and inventors who are obsessed with making perfect tools. At Lenovo, we do what we say – and we own what we do; the third phase of the campaign builds on Lenovo’s global momentum and move closer towards achieving its mission,” revealed Lenovo India Director, Consumer Business Segment Rajesh Thadani to www.indiantelevision.com, on the sidelines of the press conference in Bangalore yesterday to launch Lenovo‘s new luxury laptop -the IdeaPad U300s Ultrabook.
 
“The supporting key messages for our campaign are – for, today’s youth, technology is a tool that ignites human accomplishment, technology not a badge. Powered by our ‘do‘ culture and global mindset, Lenovo is a ‘do’ company that makes tools for the ‘do’ generation –the youth, who are the ‘do-ers; we redefine innovation with the perfect ‘do’ machines,” revealed Thadani further.

” For television, we have the campaign in English, Hindi, Oriya, Malayalam, Tamil and are looking at other regional languages like Bengali among others,” Thadani further informed.
 
The IdeaPad U300s Ultrabook that Lenovo India launched in Bangalore is designed for fashion-conscious consumers who want a product that is cool, powerful and productive; the ultimate fusion for those who take technology and design seriously.

O&M is handling the creative work, while Mindshare the media buying for the ‘Lenovo for those who Do’ campaign.

MUMBAI: While most Indian companies (82 per cent) have registered a presence on at least one of the four social media channels that were surveyed, the activity is largely focused around consumer communication for their products and services.

Linkedin seems to be the most preferred channel on social media with 72 per cent of the companies surveyed having a dedicated page on Linkedin.

As part of its foray in the digital media business, Ketchum Sampark has done a study of 200 Indian corporates and nearly 150 brands in the Indian marketplace to track their digital footprint as well as user engagements. The study covers corporates from across 20 different industries including aviation, BFSI, consulting, Diversified Large Indian Corporates, Healthcare and Pharmaceutical, oil and energy, Software Services and FMCG. The brands covered in the survey are from across 14 categories including apparel, automobile, media and entertainment, personal care and retail.
 
Though Facebook is the largest social media platform in India with over 38 million followers, it lags behind LinkedIn with only 55 per cent of Indian corporates registering a presence on it. Using video and multimedia to create engagement with consumers, investors, potential employees and other audiences is still not an avenue explored by Indian corporates with barely 6 per cent being very active on YouTube.

More than 50 per cent of corporates despite opening up a channel or registering a page on social media are Inactive. Some Inactive corporates also tend to use the presence on a channel opportunistically during launches and other significant company initiatives.

The agency feels that with the explosion in social media users this will change in 2012. Out of the 150 brands surveyed, 23 per cent did not have any presence on social media platforms while 30 per cent had a presence on only one channel. Only 22 per cent of brands were present on all three social media platforms.

Unlike corporates, Facebook is the clear favourite for brands with 75 per cent of these brands registering a presence on it. YouTube and Twitter followed with 42 per cent and 28 per cent respectively. Also 79 per cent of brands with a presence on Twitter were Very Active / Active on the platform as compared to 69 per cent on YouTube and 63 per cent on Facebook.

MUMBAI: Within months of the launch and expansion of 3G services, mobile operator Idea Cellular has now announced the launch of an affordable range of 3G smartphones starting at Rs 5,850 onwards, to drive penetration of data services in the country.

The new Idea smartphones have been affordably priced to ensure rapid uptake by both – 2G users wishing to upgrade to 3G, and existing 3G users – especially in the semi-urban parts of the country which are traditional strongholds of Idea.

As a special introductory offer, Idea is offering data services worth Rs 3,500 with Rs 259 pack, along with the new 3G smartphones. Hence, for the smartphone which is priced at Rs 5,850, Idea 3G user gets it for a value of just Rs 2,609. 
 
Likewise, the handset priced at Rs 7,992 has a value of just Rs 4,751 for Idea 3G users, thus making them the best buys in their respective segments.

The Idea 3G Smartphones are based on 2.2 Android Operating System (OS) and also have a 3.2 MP Camera, Touchscreen (3.5″ & 2.8″ screen size), GPS Navigator software, FM radio and MP3 Player, WiFi, Bluetooth, Social Media Apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Orkut, browser Opera mini, and pre-loaded Google and Youtube, besides a range of other high-end smartphone features and Idea TV. The handset devices can operate as mobile phone, mini computer, and also acts as a Wi-Fi router.

Idea Cellular MD Himanshu Kapania said, “Idea has always innovated to support the telecom services penetration in the country. In line with this commitment, Idea has introduced affordable, yet fully loaded 3G smartphones which will now fuel the aspirations of the evolving mobile user in India. The new smartphones will further drive our existing 3G services in areas of industrial and commercial activity, centers of learning, and high potential rural hinterlands.”

Idea Cellular CMO Sashi Shankar said, “Worldwide, smartphones are witnessing rapid uptake due to their multitasking capabilities and vast range of applications. While data uptake has witnessed steady growth ever since 3G services were launched in India, the progress and proliferation will be spurred with the availability of affordable 3G devices. Idea 3G smartphones will not only offer the best apps and technology experience to our users, at the most affordable price points, but are also loaded with huge data benefits and free offers exclusively for Idea users.”

The Rs 259 pack offers free subscription to Idea TV for 3 months, 1 GB of data download per month for 3 months, 3G Double Dhamaka benefits for 6 months, and talktime of Rs 25. This special introductory offer is available for both prepaid and postpaid users.

The new Idea 3G smartphones will be available at all major mobile retail stores and Idea outlets across all major cities. Launched earlier in the year, Idea‘s 3G services are now available in 10 Idea circles, and 10 other circles through roaming arrangements with leading national operators, covering 1,600 towns. Idea has been witnessing growing demand for its ‘Gold Standard‘ 3G services which can be best experienced on smartphones.