Category: Software

MUMBAI: A total of 93 companies will exhibit at the 20th edition of television technology trade event Scat India which takes place from 13-15 October.

Satellite and Cable TV magazine editor, executive publisher Dinyar Contractor said that last year 82 companies exhibited. “The focus of the event will continue to rest on digitisation. It is the cable networks that have gone ahead and made plans for digitisation. What is good is that low cost solutions are coming in which is what the fragmented Indian market needs.”
 
Contractor said some companies are offering a digital headend for 200 channels for Rs 3 million. Earlier this had a price tag of Rs 20-50 million. “This is economical even for medium-sized networks.”

Contractor further noted that Cas solutions are on offer; even a small operator that has 1000 subscribers can afford these solutions that would cost 5000-7000 euros compared to $250,000 two years back.

Sunrise technologies like Epon and Gpon will also be on display. They offer convergent delivery of cable TV, Internet, data and even DTH into the homes.

Pace, Motorola, Cisco, Harmonic, Scientific Atlanta and NDS are some of the companies exhibiting.

Prime Connect headed by Yogesh Radhakrishnan will also be there showing HD channels and a 3D channel.

MUMBAI: Hathway Cable & Datacom will require an investment of Rs 6-7 billion to digitise its existing subscriber base if the government mandates the phasing out of analogue cable, a top official said.

In the first phase involving the four metros, India‘s leading multi-system operator (MSO) will need Rs one billion. Hathway has cable TV operations in Mumbai and Delhi. In Kolkata, Hathway has a presence through its joint venture company, Gujarat Telelinks Pvt Ltd (GTPL), which acquired a 51 per cent stake in Kolkata Cable and Broadband Pariseva.

“Our requirement in the first phase will be about one million set-top boxes. This would mean a funding need of around Rs 1 billion,” said Hathway Cable & Datacom managing director and CEO K Jayaraman.

Overseeing Hathway‘s subscriber universe is eight million. “We have digitised around two million homes. We will need to digitise the remaining six million homes. Our funding requirement will be Rs 6-7 billion as we need to subsidise the set-top box cost,” Jayaraman said.

Hathway will not pursue acquisitions and will prefer to conserve capital for digitisation. “We will not do any more analogue consolidation. It is bad to add analogue weight in the current circumstances. Our focus will be on digitisation,” said Jayaraman.

MUMBAI: The Indian pay TV market, which at present stands at Rs 240 billion, has huge growth potential as it is underpenetrated and the ARPU (average revenue per user) is very low. However, there are challenges like fragmentation in the cable industry, outdated technology and high capex requirements which are hindrance in the growth path.

These were the thoughts expressed by Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) MD and CEO Punit Goenka while delivering the keynote address at the India Digital Pay-TV Summit (IDPS) 2011, organised here by Indiantelevision.com and MPA.

Goenka warned that if the issues are not tackled in time, India could skip cable and evolve to a wireless delivery of TV market, like in the case of telecom sector.

He first started his presentation with the ground realities of today‘s pay TV scenario, saying that the market is under penetrated and the ARPUs are very low compared to the global markets. Also, the cable industry is fragmented and the there is no serious investment in the technology. He also pointed out that there is inequitable distribution of pay TV revenues.

However, on a positive note, Goenka added that these are the opportunities as the pay TV market is growing with robust pace and with increasing digitisation, transparency is now improving. “The pay TV market has evolved uniquely. Though initially all the channels were free to air, they were gradually converted to pay, albeit at a very low price. However, due to non-addressable pay TV model, transparency remained low but now with increasing digitisation, transparency is now improving,” he said.
 
He noted that with digitisation, new business models will emerge. “With dependence on ad revenues going down, newer avenues will open up for content players. You will also see that niche and sports channels, which are currently unprofitable ventures, will start becoming viable businesses,” he said.

Goenka added that while 3G, 4G and wireless broadband will evolve as new platforms for distribution of content, smart devices will drive consumption of content on-the-go.

He asserted that India will emerge as one of the largest pay TV markets in the world by the sheer number of subscribers and the ever-increasing number of personal/smart handheld devices will only add to this.

However, while talking about the challenges, he pointed five main roadblocks. Firstly, the fragmented industry. There are over 60,000 local cable operators, he voiced, saying dealing with 50 MSOs would make life for everyone easier. He opined that the cable TV infrastructure needs upgradation. “The current analogue infrastructure has various issues- it deteriorates the quality of broadcast, it is non-addressable in nature and it is not capable of triple-play. Even the broadband infrastructure is very primitive and always-on high speed internet connection is still a distinct dream. Customer service is of sub-optimal level,” Goenka highlighted.
 
Quoting the FICCI-KPMG report, he said the industry has a capex requirement of Rs 80-100 billion on infrastructure (excluding subsidised customer premise equipments) in order to convert existing infrastructure to an addressable digital system. Moreover, there are regulatory issues of pricing and the customer mindset.

“The Indian consumer is not used to paying for premium content. So the challenge is to convince the consumer that better value is available at higher ARPU,” Goenka said. He added that today‘s consumer is willing to pay for better value.

He ended on the note that the industry needs to adapt to the change in order to create value.

NEW DELHI: Tata Sky today announced the launch of ESPN HD on its platform.

The channel will showcase exciting sports action in High Definition from ESPN Star Sports‘ lineup of international sporting events including soccer, tennis, golf and motor sports among others.

Action starts right away on ESPN HD with the live broadcast of the first ever Formula One Indian Grand Prix on 28 October. The 2011-2012 season of the Barclays Premier League will also be showcased live on ESPN HD.
 
Overseeing ESPN HD will be part of the HD Gold pack and will be made available just in time for India‘s historic Formula One Grand Prix to be held this month. All subscribers who have currently subscribed to the HD Gold Pack will be able to enjoy the channel at no extra cost.

With the introduction of ESPN HD, Tata Sky has now expanded its bouquet of true HD channels to eight.

MUMBAI: India will have 1.2 million HD subscribers on DTH by the end of this fiscal, industry experts said here today.

Pricing is a sticky issue but aggressive marketing will push the demand for HD channels.

Demonstrating the success of Movies Now, Media Network and Distribution Network India CEO and MD Yogesh Radhakrishnan said the idea for an HD channel came in 2007. In 2009 the decision was made that Movies Now had to be taken across digital and analogue on the same feed. The analogue market is large and the channel looks better than competition even in this segment.
 
“So we went the dual way. We approached the DTH operators,” added Radhakrishnan, conceding that it was a humongous effort to transfer all content to HD. “There was a starting cost, but it has paid us twice over. We backed the project. People looked at our product as being superior.”

Demand is key for HD channels to work. “We want to drive the HD market. We are looking at having an English music channel. We would also want a 3D launch,” he said.

Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera said that his company was the last to launch DTH. “We missed the World Cup but launched before the IPL. We wanted all HD channels on our platform. We have reserved bandwidth for future HD channels.”

On the hardware side, Khera said that 14 million colour TV sets would be sold this fiscal our of which six million will be panels. “Close to one million HD panels will be sold. Some consumers will move to DTH, if cable is not offering HD.”

Cost remains a main concern. Khera said there is not much difference between the cost of a standard definition box versus an HD one. He expects costs to come down further.

“MPEG 4 cost will in the near future be the same as MPEG 2. On the consumer electronics side, companies like Sony, LG, Samsung are pushing 3D and HD. But there is a bandwidth scarcity for 3D content,” he stated.

AETN18 president Ajay Chacko noted that for History there is no input cost as content in this genre is mostly made in HD. There is a bandwith cost but he expects that to fall.

Sports and Bollywood content would drive the demand for HD, Khera said.

MUMBAI: In a step that will enhance video delivery for China‘s cable operator Henan Cable, Motorola Mobility has announced that Henan Cable has deployed the Motorola M3 Media Server for both Video On Demand (VOD) and Network Digital Video Recording (nDVR).

The M3 Media Server family, a solid-state platform for the delivery of content across TV, PC and mobile devices, has now been selected by operators in North America, Europe, Latin America and Asia, representing a total of more than 25 million digital subscribers.

Henan Cable‘s new Motorola M3 Media Server deployment provides a VOD content delivery network, enabling Henan Cable to offer its more than 3.6 million subscribers a vast library of on demand content, as well as provide those subscribers on demand access to live television through the nDVR feature inherent within the M3 system.
 
The Motorola M3 Media Server allows Henan Cable to centralise its growing library of movies, TV shows, music videos and other content, and deliver it all based on a sophisticated analysis of show popularity and edge caching of content to servers closer to the subscribers. This approach allows Henan to reduce operational complexity and cost, while delivering advanced services and a wider selection of personalised content to its customers.

Having deployed more than a million video and audio content streams around the globe, Motorola says that it offers advantages in technology, on demand experience and global expertise for customers around the world.

The Motorola M3 Media Server family offers a platform for the delivery of high value media across cable and IPTV set-tops, PCs and mobile devices.

Henan Cable plans to expand their VOD system on the Motorola M3 Media Server later this year.

MUMBAI: US non fiction media company Discovery has announced the appointment of Jean-Briac (JB) Perrette as chief digital officer, effective 17 October.

Perrette most recently served as NBCUniversal president, digital and affiliate distribution and content distribution strategy.

Discovery president and CEO David Zaslav said, “JB is one of the top digital strategists in the media industry today and joins Discovery at an important time in our growth and development. We look forward to JB‘s leadership in taking Discovery to the next level of growth as we continue focusing on creating value, deepening engagement with more viewer sampling of our brands, and monetising our 25-year programming library across an increasing number of digital distribution platforms.”
 
Overseeing a combined team of more than 300 employees in his new position with Discovery, Perrette will lead the company‘s digital strategy, including Discovery‘s U.S. websites (including Discovery.com, TLC.com, and HowStuffWorks.com), Interactive Technology, Digital Operations and Programming group, and will lead digital distribution efforts with non-traditional affiliates (ex: Apple, Netflix, Amazon, etc). He will also be responsible for Discovery Commerce, including Licensing and Home Entertainment as well as Footage and Music Services.

Perrette said, “Discovery is the global leader in non-fiction content, with incredible brands and a world-class leadership team led by David, who I am excited to work with again. I look forward to expanding Discovery‘s presence in the digital space, finding new opportunities to earn value for its robust content and driving viewer engagement on all screens.”

In his most recent post at NBCUniversal, Perrette oversaw North American distribution of television and film content across digital platforms. He coordinated NBCU‘s overall content distribution strategy, and was responsible for NBC‘s broadcast network distribution. He also helped launch new digital channels Sleuth, Chiller and Universal HD and played a leadership role in developing the industry-leading digital venture, Hulu.

MUMBAI: The stage is set for “India Digital Pay-TV Summit (IDPS) 2011”, jointly organised by Indiantelevision.com and Media Partners Asia.

The day-long summit, to be held tomorrow at ITC Maratha in Mumbai, will debate on digitisation and the opening up of the pay-TV market in India.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (Zeel) MD and CEO Punit Goenka will set the tone of the summit with his keynote address. 
 
“With the government announcing the sunset date for digitisation, the pay TV industry is very interestingly poised. DTH has been spreading pretty aggressively, while Cable TV has also been investing cautiously, waiting for further liberalisation and incentives from the government. Once all these things fall in place, revenue leakages from the system will reduce and with the spread of digital set-top-boxes, transparency will come. This will lead to a buoyant industry,” said Indiantelevision.com founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief Anil Wanvari.

The first panel will discuss on ‘Digitization, ground realities & the way forward‘. The panelists in this session are MSO Alliance president Ashok Mansukhani, Star India EVP (Legal Regulatory Affairs) & General Counsel Deepak Jacob, Ortel MD Jagi Panda, Sun Direct MD Mahesh Kumar and Discovery Networks Asia SVP Rahul Johri.

The second session – Consolidation & Levers of Future Growth – will be debated by Hathway Cable & Datacom MD & CEO K Jayraman, Exponenia Capital principal Neeraj Bhatia, IDFC Securities MD Nikhil Vora, Den president SN Sharma, and Manthan Broadband Services director Gurmeet Singh.

The session on ‘DTH Dimensions: Future Value Drivers‘ will be debated by SES VP Deepak Mathur; Sun18 COO and Viacom18 head of International business Gaurav Gandhi; MCCS EVP and head of marketing & distribution Neeraj Sanan; Dish TV CEO RC Venkateish; and Bharti Airtel CEO DTH and Media Services Shashi Arora.

The penal discussion will be followed by Q&A with Trai chairman JS Sarma.

Post lunch, a panel comprising AETN18 president Ajay Chacko, Videocon D2H CEO Anil Khera, and Media Network & Distribution (India Ltd.) MD and CEO Yogesh Radhakrishnan will debate on ‘HD Transformation: Decoding & Delivering‘.

As networks digitise and DTH spreads, what additional services can be provided to customers? Where will the new revenue streams come from? These questions will be answered in the next panel discussion titled ‘VAS, Advertising and new business models‘. The panelists are NDS director, Advertising Solutions, Asia Pacific Darryn Rodricks; Dish TV VP (Advertising Sales) Dilip Jayaram; Amagi Media Labs co-founder KA Srinivasan; Lukup Media director Kallol Borah; Madison Media Group CEO Punitha Arumugam; and IMCL SVP – Marketing & Customer Relations Subhashish Mazumdar.

You Cable & Broadband CEO EVS Chakravarthy, independent consultant Anuj Gandhi and IBM director & partner Communications Sector / Industry Leader – Media & Entertainment Raman Kalra will spearhead the session on “Broadband Dimensions: Disruptors & The Next Generation.”

NDS is the lead partner of the event, while Discovery Channel and SES are the industry partners. MGM Channels and Videocon D2H have joined as associate partners.

MSM Discovery is name badge partner, while Prime Connect, Sun18, History Channel (AETN18), Manthan and Zee Khana Khazana are support partners. CMCG India is the PR partner. Also joining as print media partners are Avishkar, Cable Quest, Media Research Asia, Media Route 26 and Satellite @Internet India.

MUMBAI: Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries (RIL) is in talks with UTV Software Communications (UTV) to acquire content for its telecom operations.

The deal between RIL and UTV is expected to be completed in the coming weeks, the Financial Times said quoting sources close to the development.

Reliance had last year acquired Infotel, the only firm which secured nationwide wireless broadband radio airwaves in the auction. 
 
The daily said that the deal is expected to give Reliance access to games, entertainment and children‘s content for their telecom operations.

The company has major plans of building a data-focused business for mobile, smartphone, tablet and computer users with a wireless broadband network.

MUMBAI: Picking up pace in spreading its wings, YouTube has launched its online film rental service in Britain. Here it will compete with Amazon‘s LoveFilm.

The film rental service has lined up more than 1,000 feature films including The Dark Knight, Reservoir Dogs and Monty Python‘s The Meaning of Life.

The cost of YouTube rentals varies between Â?2.49 and Â?3.49 (roughly from $3.86 and $5.41) a film. This is a little more expensive than that in the US where the comparable charges are $2.99 and $3.99, according to CNET. 
 
In order to get a film from YouTube, users first need to go to the site‘s special â€?Movies’ page. From there, they can pick a film, view reviews, courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes and see who is in the cast. When they decide to purchase a film, they have 30 days to start watching it. Once started, users must finish watching the film within 48 hours, or it will be lost.

For customers in the UK who want to do more than just watch films, YouTube has a solution. The company has said that many of its movie pages come with additional content, including behind-the-scenes videos, cast interviews and parodies. It plans to bring more content to the service over time.

YouTube services are already available in the US and Canada.