Category: Software

NEW DELHI: At a time when the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has expressed concern over the low penetration of broadband into the interiors of the country, the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) has extended its landline broadband network to rural areas with affordable tariff plans to bridge the rural–urban digital divide.
 
The rural plans are available on usage based charging as well as in unlimited usage category and are considerably cheaper than the plans offered to urban areas due to subsidy component from USOF fund.

Trai had in a consultation paper recently noted that it is a matter of concern that broadband penetration in India is low in spite of the fact that 104 telecom service providers are providing broadband services. The broadband penetration is just 0.74 per cent when compared with teledensity of 52.74 per cent. It said a need is being felt to identify impediments and create an environment to encourage broadband growth. The net broadband addition per month is just 0.1 to 0.2 million in contrast to approximately 18 million mobile connections per month, Trai said. 
 
According to the BSNL plan, rural Broadband tariff plans start from a low monthly fixed charge of Rs 99. Under BBG Rural USOF 99 plan and BBG Rural USOF 150 Plan, the customer gets download speed of up to 2 Mbps and is allowed 400 MB and 1 GB free usage per month respectively. Customer has to pay telephone connection charges separately under both these plans.
BSNL also has Combo Plans with combined fixed monthly charges for both landline and Broadband together. Under the Combo category, BSNL offers four plans exclusively for rural areas. Under BBG Rural Combo 250 plan, the customer gets download speed of up to 2Mbps, is provided with free 1 GB Broadband usage and 100 calls (MCU) free of cost per month. Under BBG Rural Combo 550 and Under BBG Rural Combo 999 plans, the customer gets download speed of up to 2Mbps, is provided with 6 GB and 12 GB Broadband usage and also 250 and 450 calls (MCU) respectively free of cost per month at no extra cost.

BSNL also offers an unlimited BB Home Rural Combo UL 500 Plan, in which customer gets 512 kbps download speed up to 4 GB download and 256 kbps beyond that. The customer also gets 150 calls (MCU) free of cost at no extra cost under this unlimited plan.

Under all these plans no charges for registration, modem, security deposit and installation is taken from the customer in rural areas.

MUMBAI: An Ernst & Young report has revealed that 73 per cent of CFOs from the world‘s largest media and entertainment companies are buoyant about revenue opportunities presented by online and mobile platforms.

This year, total home video and music end-user spending, including digital and physical products, is estimated to be $28.5 billion compared to $36.4 billion in 2006.

By 2012, the report discloses that the average per-unit price of video and music content will decrease by almost 25 per cent from the 2009 prices. This follows a 12 per cent price fall in video and 55 per cent in music from 2006 to 2009.
 
For its report ‘Poised For Digital Growth: Preserving Profitability In Today‘s Digital World‘, the world‘s leading professional services organisation surveyed CFOs from 75 leading media firms.

The survey found out that there was a consensus among CFOs that the industry must decide if and how much they can bundle media content and then settle on appropriate pricing.

Says Ernst & Young global media and entertainment leader John Nendick, “The phenomenal proliferation of digital entertainment among consumers continues to challenge media and entertainment companies. Revenues are dropping due to the unbundling of media and the reduction of per-unit pricing, challenging CFOs to identify innovative ways to reach their financial objectives.”  
 
“However, as the demand for digitally delivered entertainment continues to increase significantly, CFOs feel optimistic about revenue potential,” Nendick adds.

Of those surveyed, 56 per cent indicated that process improvement would be the greatest opportunity for savings during the couple of years.

The report also notes that CFOs are continuing to cut costs in a bid to improve profitability, including outsourcing more activities.

MUMBAI: The price war on the HD front has begun. Soon after Tata Sky announced its aggressive entry pricing, market leader Dish TV has dropped the cost of its Tru HD box from Rs 5,990, when launched, to Rs 2,990.

Dish TV’s package includes the price of the set-top box (STB), LNB, Dish antenna and remote. The company is also offering two months subscription of Platinum/South Platinum Pack and two months subscription of HD Pack. Customers will have to pay an extra amount of Rs 200 for installation.
  
Direct-to-home (DTH) operators sense they can expand their up-end customers through their HD service offerings. Tata Sky had set the ball rolling with the launch of its High Definition (HD) service at a price of Rs 2,599.

Sun Direct is offering the HD set-top-box bundled with subscription package at Rs 9990, while Big TV‘s service comes at Rs 7,490 (HD with DVR technology).

On the content front, Dish TV’s HD pack includes Zee TV HD, Zee Cinema HD, Discovery HD and National Geographic HD. ESPN Star Sports has also extended its HD feed for the football World Cup and Wimbledon to Dish TV, Tata Sky and Airtel Digital TV.  
 
Indiantelevision.com had earlier predicted that DTH operators would start a cut-throat price war on the HD front.

The competition in the DTH sector is going to be fierce this year as the market is set for rapid expansion. DTH operators expect to add 11 million subscribers in FY’11 due to a spate of sporting events, the peak for any year.

MUMBAI: Cable TV operators are queuing up to tap the market as they work out their digitisation plans.

Joining the wave is Sea TV Network, a leading multi-system operator (MSO) in Agra, with plans to raise Rs 502 million through a public float.
 
 
“We will be raising Rs 502 million through an initial public offering (IPO). The exact amount we will dilute will depend on the pricing of the issue,” says Sea TV Network founder-promoter Neeraj Jain.

Sea TV Network, facing competition from the direct-to-home (DTH) operators and Ashmore-backed Digicable Network (India), intends to invest Rs 275 million in setting up a complete digital head-end.

The MSO proposes to pump in Rs 52.8 million for setting up network for IPTV solution and Rs 65.6 million for laying underground optical fibre capable of digital transmission throughout Agra city and adjoining areas.
 
 
An amount of Rs 155.5 million will be required for setting up 20 branch-offices in Agra and adjoining areas with required infrastructure for receiving digital signals and re-transmitting the same through co-axial cables to individual subscribers.

The total funding requirement, including meeting the expenses of the IPO issue, is Rs 596.5 million. Besides the proposed initial public offering, Sea TV Network will also raise term loans and fund from internal accruals.

The fund requirement has been appraised by Allahabad Bank.

Among those planning to list is Citigroup Venture Capital-controlled cable broadband service provider You Broadband and Cable. The company plans to raise Rs 3.58 billion through an IPO, joining a troop of cable companies such as Den Networks and Hathway Cable and Datacom that have tapped the capital market in recent times.
 

MUMBAI: AOL has sold Bebo to a private investment group for less than 2 per cent of the price that the online media major had paid to acquire the social networking site in 2008.

AOL got rid of almost all of Bebo‘s assets to a Criterion Capital Partners affiliate for “scrap” value, after having bought it in March 2008 for $850 million from a pair of British entrepreneurs.
 
It called the deal a “game-changing acquisition”. However, sites like Facebook and MySpace eventually overshadowed Bebo’s popularity to slow down its growth.

“Bebo’s young, highly active user base, revenue history, presence in countries throughout the world and solid technical infrastructure make it an attractive media platform both as a stand-alone entity and in the context of our broader investment objectives,” Criterion Capital managing partner Adam Levin said in a press release. 
 
Bebo failed to take off in the US, lagging behind sites like Facebook.
AOL was hived off from Time Warner in December and is now working on a turnaround strategy to compete against rivals like Yahoo.

MUMBAI: Social video game company Yoostar Entertainment Group has announced a new licensing agreement with CBS Consumer Products for the rights to a selection of CBS‘s TV titles for use in the upcoming launch of Yoostar2.

This is a social video game that will launch on the new Kinect for Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation Move system. The agreement includes CSI, Survivor, America‘s Next Top Model and an additional 20 properties.
 
Yoostar2 allows players to perform ‘karaoke-style‘ in hundreds of famous movie scenes, share the videos they create with friends and family online and participate in a vibrant online community of performers.

Yoostar2 was unveiled this week to the gaming industry and media at the E3 Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles.

CBS becomes the sixth major entertainment studio to provide content to Yoostar, joining Paramount, Universal, MGM, Lions Gate and Warner Bros.

Yoostar Entertainment Group president and CEO Gregory Fischbach says, “CBS owns some of the most iconic television content of all time. Imagine being able to insert yourself into a Survivor tribal council or into a scene with the team on CSI. The combination of CBS content, Yoostar‘s green screen technology, and the capabilities of console computing is incredibly powerful.” 
 
Yoostar has secured movie content for use in its social video game platform, including hundreds of iconic movie scenes and top Hollywood talent.

The Yoostar library includes Forrest Gump, The Mummy, The Godfather and Blade Runner.
 

MUMBAI: ABC’s reality show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, which chronicles the lives of deserving families as their homes undergo a seven-day transformation, will be honored with Natpe’s third annual Innovator Award at the LATV Fest on 13 July.

The series is produced by Endemol. Endemol USA senior VP of Development Caroline Baumgard, ABC Entertainment Group’s senior VP programming Rob Smith and senior VP of alternative series, Specials and Late-Night Vicki Dummer will accept the award at a cocktail reception that evening.
 
Natpe created the Innovator Award to recognise outstanding achievement in unscripted programming. Recipients of the award demonstrate extraordinary passion and leadership, leveraging their platform in new, innovative and productive ways.

Natpe president and CEO Rick Feldman says, “The efforts made by Extreme Makeover: Home Edition exemplify the ability to empower viewers through television as they showcase the positive changes made in the lives of hundreds of families across the country. Natpe is proud to honor the show for its contributions and influence with this year’s Innovator Award.”

Each episode of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is self-contained and features a project that would ordinarily take at least four months to achieve, involving a team of designers, contractors and several hundred volunteer workers who have seven days to totally rebuild and decorate an entire house, including every room, the exterior and landscaping.

MUMBAI: Videocon D2H will carry Oriya entertainment channel Tarang on its direct-to-home (DTH) platform.

Besides Tarang, the DTH also offers other Oriya channels such as ETV Oriya, DD Oriya, Naxatra News and OTV.
 
Says Bharat Business Channel Ltd. (BBCL) CEO Anil Khera, “We take a big pride in being the first and the only DTH player to launch Tarang on our D2H platform. We at Videocon D2H believe in constantly innovating and providing viewers exactly what they require.”
 
Tarang has a lineup of daily soaps, comedy shows, mythological series and other regional entertainment content.

MUMBAI: With the television technology event BroadcastAsia currently on, Singapore is gearing up to exploit the opportunities in a rapidly-transforming media landscape with initiatives that seed the development and delivery of next-generation consumer applications, services and experiences.

The Media Development Authority (MDA) has announced that these include the start of 3D TV trial across multiple platforms and the award of funding to innovative industry projects that are expected to change the way media and entertainment are consumed in future.
 
 
In addition, plans are underway to develop a prototype of the future Mediapolis@one-north. Known as Mediapolis Phase, the 16,000 square metre interim space, expected to be ready for occupancy by first quarter of 2011, will cater primarily to the incubation of start-ups as well as test-bedding and prototyping of new, innovative concepts in the various media sectors including interactive digital media, film and broadcast.

Launch of 3D TV trial : Stereoscopic 3D is set to migrate from the cinemas to homes with the start of a one-year 3D TV trial by the Media Development Authority of Singapore. The trial kicks off on terrestrial TV, cable TV and Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) in partnership with MediaCorp, Starhub and SingTel and involves the 3D recording of the National Day Parade. In addition to the broadcasters, other technology partners participating in the trial include Panasonic, Ross Video, Evertz, XpanD and Multimedia Maestro.

The trial enables the partners to test their transmission signals on different platforms, and address technical challenges in the delivery of 3D content to homes, whilst allowing service providers to explore viable business opportunities as they harness 3D technology to provide consumers with wider choices and better quality.

Apart from leading the trial with the partners, MDA will also launch a S$5 million fund to facilitate the trial and drive the development of content, talent and media services in the area of 3D. Depending on the progress of the trial, the broadcasters may choose to extend the trial to include consumers.

MDA CEO Dr Christopher Chia says, “The success of 3D movies and advances in digital technology has sparked strong interest in 3D developments worldwide. Our strategy has been to boost the development of stereoscopic 3D content, applications and services and build an industry of 3D production experts to meet future demand. Today, Singapore is one of the first territories in the world with one-stop, end-to-end production and post-production capabilities in theatrical stereoscopic 3D.

“With the 3D TV trial laying the groundwork to bring 3D experience to homes, Singapore is once again harnessing the latest digital technology to develop and deploy cutting-edge media services.”
 
 
Ramping up innovation in Interactive Digital Media: Industry players will be awarded S$10.5 million for some 23 projects that are expected to propel the local interactive digital media (IDM) sector to the next level and change how we consume content in the near future.

Selected from 156 proposals through the Future of Media Calls for Proposals last year, these projects are expected to commit close to $50 million of total investment in Singapore and create 200 new jobs over the next 2 years.

The Future of Media initiative envisions to catalyse growth in the IDM sector by clustering our industry to create leading positions in targeted areas to leverage on each other to create a collective vision and strength to shape the media landscape.

Through this initiative, MDA has also marshalled five groups of partner networks bringing together more than 160 companies including large media companies and start-ups to collaborate on the projects and explore strategies on how best to expand their footprints into high growth regions in Asia such as China.

Interestingly, the Future of Media initiative has spurred digital media companies to move beyond the media sector and develop projects to embed IDM into other sectors of the economy such as healthcare and education. For example, ST Electronics will be creating virtual 3D environments for stroke patient rehabilitation and cognitive study of dementia patients while the Singapore Centre for Chinese Language is working with publishing partners such as Pearson and Wholetree to roll out interactive media applications to facilitate Chinese language learning. Such positive outcome will further enhance and consolidate Singapore’s position as the preferred place for research and development in IDM.

Singapore strengthens ties with international partners:
Building on the strong bilateral relationship Singapore has with Korea, MDA will be signing a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation for a Safer Broadcasting and Communications Environment with the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) on 15 June.

As Korea’s media arbitration commission, the KCSC plays a key role in determining public value and fairness of broadcast and Internet content in Korea. The MoU will serve as an important platform for both sides for greater exchange of information on matters of mutual interest and to develop cooperative mechanisms and best practices relating to media content regulation especially in this increasingly converging world where lines between broadcasting and communications are increasingly blurred.