Category: Software

MUMBAI: Dish TV has posted a net loss of Rs 762.18 million for the quarter ended 31 December 2009, as against a net loss of Rs 1.18 billion in the year-ago period.

The third-quarter loss, however, has widened from the previous three months in which the leading DTH service provider had posted a loss of Rs 561.34 million.

Amassing 0.55 million subscribers during the quarter to take its total base to 6.4 million, Dish TV has reported a 43.91 per cent jump in gross sales and operating revenues to Rs 2.77 billion, compared to Rs 1.93 billion a year ago. The income in the trailing quarter was Rs 2.57 billion.
 
Average subscriber acquisition cost (SAC) stood at Rs 2,477, while ARPU (average revenue per user) dropped to Rs 135.

Dish TV‘s expenditure during the quarter was Rs 3.44 billion, up from Rs 2.89 billion in the year ago period, while it was Rs 3.07 billion in the trailing quarter.

Dish TV chairman Subhash Chandra said, “Our third quarter results are consistent with our objective of growing our business by offering superior television experience to our subscribers. We continued to add subscribers across the country with growth in all key parameters. During the quarter, Dish TV successfully raised $100 million through issue of GDRs, which would be utilised towards expanding its subscriber base.”

Dish TV MD Jawahar Goel added, “Continued robust demand for our service fuelled a 44 per cent growth in revenues over the corresponding period last year. Dish TV has 35 per cent market share in the Indian DTH market. We are investing for the future and executing operational efficiencies with the goal of driving long term, profitable growth.” 
 
During the quarter, Dish TV revamped its marketing communication. It unveiled its new brand positioning revolving around the emotional connect with the customer. Focusing on its new tagline ‘Ghar aayi zindagi‘ (Bring home life), the company designed a 360 degree brand campaign with its brand ambassador Shah Rukh Khan. As part of this new brand positioning, Dish TV also changed its logo depicting a more progressive, approachable, ambitious and contemporary brand identity aiming to connect strongly with its existing and new subscribers.

Also, the DTH company added ‘Cinema Active’ for the movie lovers in association with multiplex chain Fun Cinemas. The service helps Dish TV subscribers get an access to complete movie listing along with the show timings at all Fun Cinema screens across the nation and to book movie tickets.

During the quarter, Dish TV also entered into a tie up with Axis Bank for collection of DTH subscription recharge.

The company is planning to launch conditional access modules (CAM) that will allow consumers of other DTH operators to move to Dish TV.

MUMBAI: Central European Media Enterprises (CME) has decided to sell off its interest in the Studio 1+1 and Kino channels in the Ukraine to Igor Kolomoisky‘s Harley Trading Limited for $300 million.
 
With this, Harley Trading will take 100 per cent ownership of CME‘s operations in the Ukraine for $300 million in cash plus an estimated $19 million to fund cash expenses of the Studio 1+1 group between signing and closing of the transaction.

The purchaser will make a payment of $30 million to CME on 1 February and the balance of the purchase price will be paid at the closing that is expected to happen in the middle of April.
 
Said CME president and CEO Adrian Sarbu, “The sale of our Ukrainian operations is the best strategic option for CME in the current environment. It will allow us to concentrate on our existing operations in the European Union and EU accession countries. The sale will provide us with greater operational and strategic flexibility, increase our liquidity and sharpen our focus on developing our broadcasting, internet and content business.” 

MUMBAI: BSkyB has lost its latest appeal over the forced sale of most of its stake in ITV and could now have to cut its holding to below 7.5 per cent.

The satellite broadcaster currently owns 17.9 per cent of ITV but was ordered by the Competition Commission to reduce it on the grounds that its sizeable presence on its rival‘s share register could operate against the public interest. 
 
BSkyB bought the stake for ?940 million for a 17.9 per cent interest in ITV in 2006 to block an attempt to take over ITV by Virgin Media.

The Commission‘s decision was later upheld by John Denham, the Business Secretary and also by the Competition Appeal Tribunal, in September 2008.

Responding to the ruling on its latest appeal, the company said, “We will review the judgment and order carefully and consider our next steps in due course.” 
 
Possibilities are that Sky could file a new appeal with the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, the platform is said to have received interest from possible buyers of the ITV stake.

BANGALORE: Virgin Mobile, the Tata Teleservices (TTSL) youth-focused mobile brand, has launched its GSM services for the South India region.

Additionally, the company has also roped in Bollywood actors Ranbir Kapoor and Genelia D’Souza to endorse the ‘Virgin‘ brand. TTSL has a brand franchisee arrangement with Richard Branson’s Virgin Group.

Explains Virgin Mobile India (Virgin) CEO M A Madhusudan, “Initially, our instructions were to build Virgin as a ‘brand of choice’ and not to focus on numbers. We have been quite successful in that. Ranbir and Genelia have been appointed brand ambassadors to inch closer to the youth and to take the brand to the next level.”

MUMBAI: Euroconsult, an international research and analyst firm specialised in the satellite and broadcasting sectors, has announced that growth in the satellite pay-TV market remained strong in 2009 despite the global economic downturn.

According to the fourth edition of “Satellite TV Platforms, World Survey and Prospects to 2019, Growth through the Crisis”, the number of TV Platforms in service increased to 113 in 2009 (38 per cent in three years). Pay TV platforms combined currently reach 131 million subscribers and have earned a revenue of $70 billion in 2009. 
 
Emerging digital markets have experienced tremendous growth in the past few years. According to Euroconsult, the
number of platforms in emerging digital markets reached 88 in 2009, up from only 30 in 2000. Subscribers in these
markets grew from 11.9 million to nearly 60 million from 2003 to 2009. In India alone, there were 19 million
subscribers spread over six platforms in 2009, despite a slow start in 2003/2004.

The adjustment of subscription fees to compete more effectively with analog cable TV is partially responsible for stimulating subscriptions. Similarly, subscriptions in Central and Eastern Europe, at only 2 million in 2005 rose to 15.9 million in 2009, according to the Euroconsult report.

Euroconsult CEO Pacôme Revillon says, “Subscriber growth in the satellite pay-TV market has been robust, increasing 15 per cent worldwide. Growth in emerging digital markets has been particularly strong with subscribers reaching the 60 million mark in 2009, a nearly five-fold increase over the previous few years. Looking forward, the market is expected to remain bright with Euroconsult forecasting roughly 235 million subscribers worldwide by 2019.”

Nearly all markets, with the exception of Europe, saw revenue growth in local currency last year. However, more
aggressive pricing strategies, both due to the crisis and to more intense competition, weighed down the average
revenue per subscriber (ARPU), resulting in revenues growing more modestly than subscribers. While the
aggressive pricing strategy currently practiced by many platforms drives subscriptions more than revenues in the
short term, fee increases — which are very likely over time — should help securing long term revenue growth.

This commonly-used strategy enabled platforms like Russia’s Tricolor TV to sign close to three million subscribers in only
three years of operation with a basic package at around one dollar per month. Meanwhile, its rival NTV+ is still
striving to reach the one million subscriber mark after more than a decade. 
 
Some markets saw their first dedicated satellite pay-TV platforms in 2008 and 2009 – including the Maghreb region
(North Africa), Venezuela and Bolivia. Other markets saw the introduction of several platforms simultaneously, such
as in the Ukraine with three new platforms in only two years.

Satellite TV Platforms in the most developed TV markets performed well overall, despite the economic crisis and
growing competition from other delivery networks including IPTV and DTT. In the US, the availability of new services including HDTV enabled DirecTV and Dish Network to capture more than one million new subscribers combined, despite overall belt-tightening among consumers.

The economic downturn had a stronger impact in Western Europe with subscription growth at slightly over four per cent, but stagnation in revenues in local currency – the only market in which this occurred. Restructuring of certain platforms and stronger competition from terrestrial platforms also affected the market. In Germany (Sky Deutschland) and Spain (Digital+), satellite TV platforms actually saw revenues decline.

By contrast, Sky Digital in the UK remains a strong leader in the region, with subscribers increasing by three per cent last year to 9.5 million, and revenue growth of eight per cent for the fiscal year ending June 30 2009. Still, growth may resume in Western Europe, boosted by the introduction of new platforms in several markets such as France and Portugal and by the introduction of lower priced packages to drive overall market penetration.

Platforms maintain investments in new services: In recent years Satellite pay-TV platforms have accelerated the roll out of value-added services such as HDTV and Digital Video Recorders (DVRs) with the more mature digital TV markets leading the way and emerging digital TV markets recently jumping on the bandwagon. These services require significant initial investment but have become mandatory for platforms to differentiate themselves from competitors. Moreover, value-added services offer other advantages including lower churn rates and higher ARPU.

DVRs and HDTV are currently the most dynamic services. At year-end 2009, 46 satellite pay-TV platforms had
already rolled out HD services, up from 21 at the end of 2007. The two US platforms, DirecTV and Dish Network,
have the largest HD offers, with each broadcasting more than 150 HD channels in the first half of 2009. That same
year, DVR services were also offered by more than 50 platforms across the world, up from 29 in 2007. MyTV Ukraine and Telesat in Belgium are two of the most recently launched DVR services.

One of the next value-added services to be offered by platforms is 3DTV. Sky Digital (UK) is expected to become the first platform to offer a 3DTV channel in 2010. Others should follow the path in coming years. For pioneers such as
Sky Digital, value-added services build their brand image.

Consolidation and vertical integration still likely:
Euroconsult expects the outlook for satellite pay-TV to remain positive and continuous growth is expected into the
next decade, with an estimated 240 million subscribers worldwide by 2019. This growth will mainly come from
emerging digital markets, in particular India, Russia, and Brazil, as satellite pay-TV platforms multiply in those markets
and affordable offerings increase uptake.

Emerging digital markets should represent close to 70 per cent of total subscriptions worldwide by 2019 compared to 45 per cent in 2009. However, the growing number of national markets served by multiple platforms (ex. seven platforms in Russia) and difficulties anticipated to reach profitability due to the slowing pace of subscriptions, will likely lead to consolidation in the next three to four years in certain markets. Vertical integration could also continue in both emerging and developed markets, driven by telecom operators’ investments in the content distribution business.
 

MUMBAI: What’s On India, the recently launched consumer TV guidance channel, is now available on Essel Group’s direct-to-home (DTH) company Dish TV.
What’s on India is on channel no 1000 of the DTH platform. 
 
The channel aids TV viewers by informing and recommending a wide variety of program choices across multiple TV channels round-the clock. It also helps viewers to discover the choicest content hidden in the huge clutter of TV channels.

Says Dish TV COO Salil Kapoor, “Consumer TV Guidance has become a necessity with the number of channels and programs available today. We are delighted to have What’s On India available for Dish TV subscribers. We believe this initiative offers a unique method of TV guidance and convenience in program selection to our viewers and is a value addition for a lot of them who have been waiting for such unique content to be made available to them.”

Internationally, viewers use the TV guide channel to plan their forward appointments with their TV sets. Apart from the information on the now/ next programmes, they watch promos of upcoming/ new programs, behind-the-scenes, interviews and peek into the twists and turns of ongoing shows.  
 
Adds What’s On India founder and CEO Atul Phadnis, “When we started out, our vision was to guide TV viewers in their personalised search for TV content. In this journey, we have experienced an overwhelming demand for a TV guidance Channel. We are pleased to be available on the Dish TV platform.”

Meanwhile in a separate development, the company has appointed former My FM sales head Nilesh Bhanushali as national revenue head.

Bhanushali brings over 15 years of experience in advertising sales to the company. Prior to My FM, he had worked with Sahara’s movie channel Filmy, Dainik Bhaskar and the Indian Express group.

MUMBAI: In an unprecedented move, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has voted to prevent cable operators from blocking rival platforms access to their regional sports networks. In a 4:1 vote, FCC commissioners concluded that withholding regional sports programming violates the Cable Act and is anti-competitive.

Platforms like Verizon and AT&T, as well as satellite services like DirecTV and Dish have taken issue with cable giants like Comcast and Cablevision, maintaining that they have withheld their own local sports networks from rival services in a bid to gain a competitive advantage. 
 
While federal law does require platforms to offer access to their own channels to other services at reasonable rates, there is a so-called ‘terrestrial loophole;‘ some platforms have taken the view that local feeds carried over cable lines and not over satellite can be exempt from FCC law.

Said Cablevision on the FCC ruling, “While we find the legal basis for the decision unfounded, we are pleased that the FCC recognized the value of Cablevision‘s local programming strategy and investments. Verizon and AT&T will not receive an FCC bailout that will allow them to capture News 12, MSG Varsity and other programming that we have developed for our customers.”  
 
Verizon hailed the decision. Said Verizon‘s senior VP of federal regulatory affair Kathleen Grillo, “This is a big-time victory for television sports fans. The FCC‘s decision to make must-see regional sports programming, including high-definition feeds, presumptively available to competitors, puts viewers in the driver‘s seat. This ruling means that consumers will no longer have to stick with their incumbent cable provider in order to watch local teams in high definition.”

DirecTV also welcomed the FCC decision noting, “The FCC‘s order today eliminating the terrestrial loophole is a big win for consumers and fair competition in the marketplace.”
 

NEW DELHI: The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has prepared a proposal for Rs 8 billion to All India Radio and Rs 6 billion to Doordarshan for completing digitisation which will be shortly placed before the Cabinet, according to a senior government official.

The Government is confident of meeting its deadline of complete digitisation of the electronic media by 2017, the I&B official adds.

The United States had set a deadline of 2009 but had not been able to complete digitisation while China has also set a deadline of 2017.

Doordarshan and AIR, which were beaming terrestrially to reach all over the country, had stepped up the process of digitisation. 
 
Earlier, Doordarshan had set aside an amount of Rs 12.09 billion out of a total approved outlay of Rs 13.69 billion just for digitisation in the 11th Five Year Plan (2007-2012).

The official says the work will involve digitisation of existing studios, establishment of digital transmitters, replacement and augmentation of old studio, transmitter and satellite broadcast equipment and setting up of High Definition TV (HDTV) facilities.

Digitisation will free up spectrum currently used for analogue transmission, allowing more channels to come in. There is a possibility that extra spectrum could be used by Doordarshan in a partnership model for revenue generation.

Two HDTV studios will be established by Doordarshan in Delhi and Mumbai, and field production and post production facilities in four metros. The HDTV uplink will be set up at Delhi, and HDTV terrestrial transmitters will be installed in four metros. Doordarshan expects to broadcast the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi on HDTV. 
 
Out of 66 studio centres, 23 have either already been digitised, or are being digitized. 39 studio centers, which are partially digitised or analogue, are planned to be fully digitised in the 11th Plan (by 2012). The remaining four analogue studios are proposed to be digitised in the 12th Plan.

The government plans to take up 40 locations where analogue High Power Transmitters are operational for setting up of Digital terrestrial transmitters (DTT) in the country. Fourteen obsolete High Power TV transmitters (UPTs) and 60 Lower Power TV transmitters (LPTs) will be replaced.

Satellite Earth Stations will be modernized using Digital Satelliter News Gathering (DSNG) in the 11th Plan.

MUMBAI: Social network SMS GupShup has closed funding for a $12 million round, led by Globespan Capital Partners and additional financing from existing investors, Charles River Ventures and Helion Venture Partners.
 
This funding will allow SMS GupShup to expand into new territories, and to roll out new features such as Mobile CRM solutions for small businesses and corporate brands.  
 
SMS GupShup co-founder and CEO Beerud Sheth says, “Our user base and revenues have grown substantially over the last year and we are also seeing strong interest from carriers worldwide. We expect to use the proceeds from this funding round to accelerate our growth and expand our operations globally, to make our products useful to each of the the 4 billion mobile subscribers worldwide.”

To date, SMS GupShup has raised $37 million in funding and is now aggressively hiring. In only the past two months the service has increased its team headcount from 100 to 130 and is looking to fill another 20 positions in marketing, engineering and advertising sales.

Globespan Capital MD Venky Ganesan says, “SMS GupShup is bringing social messaging to the mobile masses. It is on track to be the next big global, social, mobile play.”

As part of this funding round, Ganesan will join the SMS GupShup Board of Directors, which currently comprises Devdutt Yellurkar (Charles River Ventures), Ashish Gupta (Helion Venture Partners), Jeff Hussey (Founder of F5 Networks), Rakesh Mathur (co-founder and chairman of the board) and Beerud Sheth (co-founder and CEO).

“Since we last invested, SMS GupShup has shown huge growth in number of users and revenues. We’re excited to re-invest again to help the business realize its global potential as the social messaging solution for the masses,” says Devdutt Yellurkar of Charles River Ventures.

MUMBAI: The IPL will come to a laptop near you! In a move that could revolutiionise the future of sports broadcasting, the Indian Premier league (IPL) has signed a deal with the world‘s most valuable media company Google.

All matches of the IPL will be streamed live on Youtube. The deal is for two years and will be ad supported. There is a revenue sharing arrangement and the deal was done with World Sport Group (WSDG) which holds the media rights to the IPL. The site is www.youtube.com/ipl. 
 
This is the first time that Google is live streaming a sports event and a cricket tournament spanning 60 matches over 45 days on YouTube. This partnership also marks a first-of-its-kind innovation in live streaming of any global cricketing event providing boundary-less access to the billions of fans across the world, except in the US where re-broadcast options will be available.

Now fans from Mumbai to Melbourne will be able to enjoy all the 60 matches of DLF IPL 2010 and join the action with cricket fans from all over the world on-demand and share their experiences on YouTube. They will also enjoy special content, which includes match highlights, player interviews, wickets of the match, top sixes of the match, award ceremony, pitch reports, and much more, at any time convenient to them. Those who watch IPL matches live on YouTube will also get a a YouTube View that will provide viewers with an alternative view of the match not available on television or any other media.

Google India MD Shailesh Rao says, “We are thrilled to have the IPL as our global partner and bring to the YouTube community around the world and here in India an interactive, unique experience building greater awareness around the world for the sport. During the IPL season, the biggest and most talked-about cricket tournament in the world, YouTube will offer innovative and engaging advertising opportunities to companies which help them build stronger online brand associations and engage the audience.”

Besides live streaming there will also be on demand where viewers can catch up on matches at their convenience. Clips and Highlights is another piece.  
 
IPL chairman and commissioner Lalit Modi says that this announcement is pathnbreaking. “We have fans fromm all over the world. However broadcasting only reaches some of them. Now we reach anybody with a broadband connection no matter where they are. This will tarnsofrm how sports broadcasting is viewed. We will have many feeeds including a fun feedf. This will offer different aspects of the game like behind the scenes. Communities can be built. Users can create their own commentaries. Their questions can be answered in real time. Archives of the first two seasons are also available”.

Modi, however, adds that one cannot download content due to copyright issues. He says that this deal strikes a blow against piracy. Now there is no need to go to a pirated stream.

Rao says that Youtube is looking for 10 commercial partners for the venture. The expectation is that companies that have advertised on Max will also come on board here as this is a new opportunity. When asked whether Youtube would affect viewing on Max, Rao says that platforms complement each other.

In addition to live streaming of matches on YouTube, Google will also host a special IPL branded Orkut Community which will host live chats with Man of the Match, team owners, contests and match polls to engage fans and audiences while the tournament is on. Users will also be able to enjoy short clips of highlights and other special video content on the YouTube mobile – www.youtube.com/mobile.

The advertising options on YouTube will be available only for a limited number of sponsors over the course of the season. Companies will have the opportunity to sponsor live streamed matches, match re-broadcasts, and ongoing viewership of clips and highlights. Advertisers will be able to advertise on the YouTube homepage, the live stream page and video ads during the match itself amongst several other innovative formats.