Category: Software

That‘s one of key inferences made in the Lodestar Universal research study ‘Mobility Research: Understanding the connected generation‘ for portable devices in India.

The study quotes statistics pegging the Indian mobile market at approximately 200 million users, which is higher than the viewer base of a conventional mass medium like a TV channel – about 140 million.

The study sampled 10,000 respondents worldwide in the age-group of 16-54 of mobile and internet users. The research was conducted across 21 global markets, via Intuition, Universal McCann‘s online research tool.

While India still has some catching up to do in terms of growth in services consumed through mobile-phones, the younger segment of the population is driving growth.

“Moreover, mobile can today be an alternative to out-of-home (OOH) media. People carry the mobile phone with them wherever they go, and especially in India, which has one of the highest travel-times in the world. That‘s about one in three people spending an average of 90 minutes traveling, everyday,” said Dias.

Interestingly, the study pointed out that the media convergence is not being driven by affluent markets. “Contrary to popular opinion, users in US and Japan are not yearning for convergence. It is in fact being driven by financial necessity. Convergence, therefore is already happening in India,” the study says.

Another feature of the study is the transition of the mobile phone from a mere voice device to a data device.

While currently entertainment based content is most preferred on these devices, in the coming days there will be increase in the demand for info-based content like travel directions, product info and M-commerce. Users are more open to relevant customized content. E.g Advertisements on public transport that send info to mobile phones.

The study further points out that emerging markets including India are most open to advertising on portable devices. However, users are more open to branded content, rather than invasive formats. i.e. About 65 per cent of users think of adverts coming in the middle of video-clips and shows as interruptive.

Moreover, according to the study, portable devices make the ‘Connected generation‘ feel empowered and allows the devices to become an extension of them. As an example, the study states that over 50 per cent of its sample size voted for competitions on TV.

Under the agreement, SPTI‘s upcoming theatrical features will be made available to Hana TV subscribers on the same day the movie is released locally on home video and DVD.

This is the first time the day-and-date VOD model has been introduced in South Korea, a major television market. It is also the second such deal in the world, following SPTI‘s announced agreement with SingTel‘s for their mioTV service in Singapore this past August, stated an official statement.

“We are extremely pleased to partner with Hanaro Telecom to bring ‘day and date‘ VOD and EST services to South Korean consumers. SPTI continues to initiate new business models in order to create more value for our partners while giving consumers more choices in terms of accessing content when they want and how they want it,” said SPTI SVP distribution Asia Ross Pollack.

The first on-demand title being released simultaneously on home video/DVD and HanaTV is Spider-Man 3. Upcoming movies include the CGI animation movie Surf‘s Up and the Bruce Willis and Halle Berry thriller Perfect Stranger.

In addition to the day-and-date on demand deal, SPTI has also licensed electronic sell-through (EST) rights for current and library features to Hanaro Telecom allowing HanaTV subscribers to download movies to own onto their set top boxes, PCs and various plug and play devices.

“The high broadband penetration and widespread practice of digital downloading in South Korea makes it an ideal market to roll out an electronic sell-through service for our movies and we are very optimistic about the growth of the EST business there,” said SPTI executive director Soojin Chung.

“Our ‘day and date‘ VOD and EST deal involving blockbuster titles from a premier Hollywood studio such as Sony Pictures Television International are landmark deals for us and for the entire content industry here. Our partnership with SPTI is a testament to the success of our business model and our technological strength. We see this as the beginning of more groundbreaking deals with content providers from around the world,” said Hanaromedia head of content division Stephen Kim.

Under the agreement, SPTI‘s upcoming theatrical features will be made available to Hana TV subscribers on the same day the movie is released locally on home video and DVD.

This is the first time the day-and-date VOD model has been introduced in South Korea, a major television market. It is also the second such deal in the world, following SPTI‘s announced agreement with SingTel‘s for their mioTV service in Singapore this past August, stated an official statement.

“We are extremely pleased to partner with Hanaro Telecom to bring ‘day and date‘ VOD and EST services to South Korean consumers. SPTI continues to initiate new business models in order to create more value for our partners while giving consumers more choices in terms of accessing content when they want and how they want it,” said SPTI SVP distribution Asia Ross Pollack.

The first on-demand title being released simultaneously on home video/DVD and HanaTV is Spider-Man 3. Upcoming movies include the CGI animation movie Surf‘s Up and the Bruce Willis and Halle Berry thriller Perfect Stranger.

In addition to the day-and-date on demand deal, SPTI has also licensed electronic sell-through (EST) rights for current and library features to Hanaro Telecom allowing HanaTV subscribers to download movies to own onto their set top boxes, PCs and various plug and play devices.

“The high broadband penetration and widespread practice of digital downloading in South Korea makes it an ideal market to roll out an electronic sell-through service for our movies and we are very optimistic about the growth of the EST business there,” said SPTI executive director Soojin Chung.

“Our ‘day and date‘ VOD and EST deal involving blockbuster titles from a premier Hollywood studio such as Sony Pictures Television International are landmark deals for us and for the entire content industry here. Our partnership with SPTI is a testament to the success of our business model and our technological strength. We see this as the beginning of more groundbreaking deals with content providers from around the world,” said Hanaromedia head of content division Stephen Kim.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India‘s order – Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services (Second) Tariff (Eighth Amendment) Order, 2007 – has the stated aim of more uniform protection of consumer interests in a much more transparent manner.

The order will come into effect from 1 December in all areas with non-addressable system, excepting the areas under mandatory Cas, the Trai statement issued here today said.

The Trai order says also that broadcasters will be allowed to offer channels in bouquet forms, but to ensure that there is no unhealthy pricing, it has said that the overall price of a bouquet will not exceed 1.5 times the sum total of the channels run in that bouquet.

Trai has fixed the tariffs as per the status of cities, which is given in a list available in the order, categorising them as A, A-1, B, B-1 and Others.

While the tariffs fixed vary from a minimum of Rs 77 for all categories for FTA channels, the highest tariff fixed is Rs 260 for A and A-1 cities where the offer is a minimum of 30 FTA channels plus more than 45 pay channels.

MSOs and LCOs offering up to 20 pay channels and a minimum of 30 FTA will be paid not more than Rs 160 in top cities, Rs 140 in B and B-1 cities and not more than Rs 120 in Other areas.

If these MSOs / LCOs offer go up to more than 20 and up to 30 pay channels along with 30 FTAs, they would be able to charge a maximum of Rs 200 in A and A-1 cities, Rs 170 in B and B-1 cities and not more than Rs 160 in Other areas.

The highest rate MSOs can charge would be Rs 260 for offering more than 45 pay and 30 FTAs in A and A-1 cities, Rs 220 in the next rung and Rs 200 in the Other areas.

Yet for consumers choosing from a wide range of bundled telecommunications packages (in which a single company provides two or more of broadband, fixed-line voice, television, and mobile phone services), price and convenience are still far more important than any content available.

This was one of the main findings of “Bundle Jungle Europe: Navigating the Multi-Play Market”, a survey of more than 12,000 consumers across eight Western European countries, released today by Ernst & Young. While fewer than 5 per cent of respondents cited premium content as a reason for taking up a bundle, up to 57 per cent of respondents by country cited cost.

“Content is currently low down on the list of reasons for consumers to take up or switch between ‘multi-play‘ telecommunications packages,” explains Vincent de La Bachelerie, head of Ernst & Young‘s Global Telecommunications Practice. “But content does create stickiness. If consumers have the content they want, it tends to act as the glue that keeps them with their current provider.”

As competition among companies offering bundled services continues to intensify, prices are dropping across the continent. As broadband and fixed-line voice services become commoditized and cheaper, content may become increasingly important. “The companies that succeed will be those that can segment their markets finely – tailoring services and content to the exact needs of their customers,” adds De La Bachelerie.

Other key findings include:

• When it comes to bundled telecommunications services, mobile telephony does not currently fit in well for many consumers. This is because while broadband, fixed-line telephony, and television services are likely to be bought for the household, mobile telephony is a very personal service that must be tailored for each member of a household.
  
• However, brand strength is an important reason consumers cite for choosing bundled telecommunications services, with between 4 per cent and 21 per cent of respondents by country citing providers‘ brands as a reason to take up a bundle. And mobile operators have strong brands. Leveraging the strength of an existing brand or creating a new one is therefore an increasingly important strategy for companies offering converged services.
  
• Regulators have helped to create bundled services by allowing Local Loop Unbundling and Mobile Virtual Network Operators, which allow greater access to fixed-line and mobile telephone customers. Yet regulation across Europe largely predates converged services and must be brought up to date, especially in the fields of market competition and content rights.
  
• There is a great deal of similarity across customer segments. For example, teenagers in cities across Europe have more in common with each other than they do with their older neighbors.
  
• Consumers who have TV as part of a bundled package show more loyalty to the provider than those who don‘t. Similarly, satisfaction levels among customers with broadband as a core part of the package correlate with the speed of the service: the higher the bandwidth, the more likely they are to be satisfied customers.

The customer base covers mobile as well as broadband and telephone customers.

Commenting on this landmark, Bharti Airtel joint MD Akhil Gupta said, “We are delighted to have achieved this major landmark, which puts Bharti Airtel amongst the top telecom companies in the world. It underlines the strength of our unique business model and our vision to provide affordable services like lifetime prepaid to customers across the length and breadth of the country.”

“This milestone highlights the emergence of India as one of the top telecom markets in the world and we are proud to have been at the forefront of this growth. Going forward, we believe this growth momentum will remain intact and we are gearing towards the 100 million customers mark,” added Gupta.

To establish presence in all census towns and over 500,000 villages across India by 2010, the telecom major has plans to invest in network expansion. The company‘s focus will be on further strengthening the Airtel brand through better customer service, which is backed by wide national distribution.

In the Enterprise business, Bharti Airtel will invest substantially in the long distance business to achieve the scale of a global carrier within next 2-3 years.

In Broadband and Telephone SBU, Bharti Airtel will initiate large-scale deployments of broadband network infrastructure in 94 towns, with a focus on the home and SME segments. It is readying to offer triple play to its customers with the launch of its IPTV service. The company is also looking at commencing national DTH operations by the end of the current fiscal, stated an official release.

Bharti Airtel president and CEO Manoj Kohli added, “We are committed to create a world-class organization and benchmark it with the best in the world. As the market gets ready for the next wave of growth, we are committed to expanding our telecom networks wider and deeper across the country and partner India‘s growth story.”

The new pact builds on the success of TMNT, Imagi‘s first theatrical motion picture, also distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures and The Weinstein Company. TMNT opened in March at the top of the US box office.

Warner Bros. Pictures president, production Jeff Robinov says, “Imagi is breaking new ground with big action pictures done entirely in CG animation. It‘s an exciting new genre, with the potential of attracting big mass market audiences.”

Harvey Weinstein says, “TMNT had the kind of beautifully choreographed action sequences you‘d expect from Hong Kong animators. The next two films will confirm Imagi‘s reputation as the world‘s leading action hero animation studio.”

Gatchaman scheduled for release in early 2009, originated in Japan in the early 1970s as the television series Science Ninja Team Gatchaman. Aired in the US as Battle of the Planets and G-Force, it soon became a syndicated TV series.

The film is set in a future world grappling with environmental and technological issues. The story focusses on five reluctant heroes whose genetic code makes them Earth‘s only hope
of defeating extra-terrestrial invaders.

Also slated for release later in 2009, AstroBoy was created by the “god of manga,” Japan‘s Osamu Tezuka, in the early 1950s. The animated television series first aired in 1963 in Japan and found acclaim and success around the world. In the US, it became a syndicated children‘s show. The iconic character‘s fame grew in the 1980s and 2003 with two new AstroBoy TV series attracting new generations of fans.

The film tells the story of a powerful robot boy created by a scientist in the image of the son he has lost. The hero journeys to find acceptance in the human world, and ultimately discovers true friendship as he uses his incredible powers to help others and save Metro City from destruction.

MUMBAI: Digital entertainment services company RealNetworks acquired Game Trust, Inc, a casual game infrastructure company based in New York.

Real plans to add Game Trust‘s community and commerce capabilities to the technology platform currently offered to Real‘s games syndication partners.

The transaction is expected to close early in the fourth quarter.

“Our partners want to add social networking to their sites to further engage their game players,” said Real‘s Games Division SVP Harold Zeitz .

“This acquisition will create enhanced consumer experiences for our partners‘ offerings and for Real‘s casual games players,” added Zeitz.

According to an official statement released, Real powers more than 200 casual games channels owned by popular media outlets and portal companies worldwide.

“We are very excited to join Real and push the casual games industry forward,” said Game Trust CEO Adeo Ressi. “This agreement unites the industry‘s top content, top distribution, and top technology platform. The players will ultimately benefit.”

“We‘re looking forward to implementing Game Trust‘s technology with Real to enhance our extremely popular games section and strengthen the sense of community on LifetimeTV.com.,” said Games at Lifetime VP Kris Soumas.

Game Trust‘s Game Frame platform is a software platform for community, affinity, and commerce models in online casual games.

Game Trust syndicates the platform to leading media companies around the world. Real will continue to support and strengthen these partnerships.

The site can be viewed at www.youtubevibes.com.

The move is part of NT Media‘s strategy of acquiring and launching media properties which generate revenue through on-line advertising.

At the current time, all of YouTubeVibes revenues come from advertising, however, the Company is also examining other potential revenue streams, stated an official release.

“We are very pleased to have completed this acquisition and we continue to pursue other possibilities as well. This fits in with our strategy of becoming an integrated digital media company focusing on Video, Music, and Social Networking,” said NT Media CEO Ali Moussavi.

The company recently announced its foray into Targeted Social Networks with the launch of www.Singledads.ning.com.

With this deal Neo Sports will be able to touch 100 per cent of Network 18‘s cable universe in the region, states an official release.

Neo Sports Broadcast president affiliate sales Arun Poddar said, “We are happy to sign on with Den as our partners.”

Neo Sports Broadcast Pvt Ltd recently tied up with the Hinduja Group MSO InCable Network for distributing Neo Sports and Neo Sports Plus across Mumbai, New Delhi and other cities.

The two channels are also available in south India in Bangalore city, Karnataka and Kerala on DTH under TataSky and in states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, UP, Punjab and Haryana.