Category: Software

NEW DELHI: A week ago, MSOs in the Cas mandated areas had been reluctant to cut off the pay channels of those subscribers who had rented STBs but were not filling in their forms, but now with the extension of Cas across the four metros around the corner, they have started taking strict measures.

Most of them have started disconnecting pay channels of such subscribers, and at least one of them says it is producing miracles.

“We are getting the filled up forms of subscribers who have been sitting on them for months within 24 hours of hacking off the pay channels and forcing them to watch only FTAs,” SN Sharma, president, North India, Hathway revealed to indiantelevision.com.

WWIL and Incable have also taken steps to see that subscribers fill in the forms, which is essential for ensuring QoS, and these are duly inputted in the databank that Trai would ask for, for its midyear assessment.

“We have told the customers that if they do not fill in the forms by 15 April, their pay channels will be disconnected,” Arvind Mohan, EVP, WWIL, told indiantelevision.com.

Approximately 60 per cent of WWIL subscribers have filled in their choices, Mohan said, adding that more are coming in now after the notices. In the case of Hathway, it is 70 per cent and for Incable it is 75 per cent, (national average) with slight variations between the cities).

Not just that, a senior official in another MSO, requesting anonymity, said: “We are not just cutting the pay channels of such subscribers, in fact, we are also taking away the boxes that LCOs had taken in bulk but have not seeded so far. We have to ensure that no unfair practices or damage to these boxes are allowed.”

Apparently, MSOs, once accused by broadcasters of indulging in underdeclaration, feel that this has to be done away with. “We have to have a system of paying the broadcasters under this new addressable system,” said a source in an MSO.

In practical terms, till now, all those subscribers who had taken STBs were being shown all channels, pay as well as FTAs. These included those who had not indicated their choices. That would mean that MSOs would have to pay all the broadcasters for all the STBs that have gone out in the Cas areas.

In return, they would be able to claim on actual channel basis for those 50 to 60 per cent who have indicated their choices, which would be a huge financial burden.

“We had said initially that in the interest of our industry and making Cas a success, we would take some amount of hit, but this is the limit. We cannot go on paying lumpsum for those who are paying on channel basis and those who are enjoying a service without fulfilling their responsibility by filling their forms,” explained the MSO official.

But were the subscribers made aware of this?

Sharma said: “We have been sending dmails regularly (the mail that comes on the TV screen) and have disconnected only after that.”

Asked whether Hathway is also taking away boxes lying unseeded from LCOs, Sharma said: “We do not have many such boxes. We do not allow that to happen in the first place. Yes, there are always a handful of extra boxes with LCOs, just in case a sudden call comes for seeding, but we strictly monitor use of boxes.”

Company sources in Incable told indiantelevision.com: “People only take STBs if they want to see pay channels. If some people have taken STBs only for the digital experience, then they can see only FTA channels through the STB (if he has not given choice for any pay channel). We switch off (encrypt, with access denied) only pay channels not STB boxes.”

On the issue of taking unseeded boxes away from LCOs, Incable said: “All LCOs keep a minimum stock of STBs. As and when STBs are deployed, they give us the completed forms and details. The process is ongoing, so where is the question of return?”

Incable has details (customer choice) of around 75 per cent of the boxes (STBs) given to LCOs. The remaining STBs can be assumed as stocks lying with the LCOs, till we get the full details. As and when STBs are deployed, we get the form details.”

Incidentally, industry sources say that this is an important preparatory action for the extension of Cas, that seems clearly on the horizon now.

There are pressure groups which do not want Cas to be extended, sources reveal, and they would lobby the government to take the position that in the addressable universe, however small, if SMS does not work and QoS is not ensured, the industry would be nowhere.

Broadcasters have been saying they would be happy if SMS works, and as Trai officials told indiantelvision.com last week, unless an individual subscriber becomes “a number” from just a name that the local cable chappy knows by rote, unless data from a name is inputted into a computerised system, QoS cannot be ensured.

Neither can the revenue sharing, at whatever agreed ratio, be able to find a meaningful basis without actual data on how many STBs are opting which channels. This is the pressure of the broadcasters on the Trai and government at the moment, which is why the emphasis on “if SMS works”.

The wiser MSOs and the MSO Alliance are trying to persuade counterparts and this is a major part of the preparation for the first meeting between Trai and MSOs on the issue of Cas extension across the areas of the four metros to be held on 5 April.

MUMBAI: Indian free video sharing site Aapkavideo.com AapKaVideo has announced that it now offers its Lite offering catering to the mobile savvy genre.

AapKaVideo Lite is a concept where AapKaVideo users can shoot videos and upload them directly onto AapKaVideo website.

AapKaVideo project manager Kokila says, “We felt that the youngsters were essentially sharing only photos via many mobile features and wanted to bridge a gap wherein they can easily upload their videos directly onto the AapKaVideo website for free . Users can also freely browse for videos from www.aapkavideo.com and view those videos on their video compatible mobiles – www.aapkavideo.com/m/”.

AapKaVideo is looking to simplify this approach of uploading/sharing and browsing/viewing videos with such ease that the concept is expected to gain traction very quickly.

Aapkavideo says that it is witnessing increased interest from advertisers. It says that it is open to partnering with potential companies/Television channels wherein they can upload serials (both old and new) onto the platform. Then viewers from across the world would benefit from a near real time access to their favorite programmes so they never lose a continuing episode again!”

The site is planning to also come out with a contest shortly that would allow the mobile savvy genre to post their videos shot on their mobiles and uploaded to AapKaVideo using AapKaVideo Lite. The winners of the best videos can take home Apple iPods.

AapKaVideo is also interested in a revenue sharing tie-up with film producers and television channels in hosting copyrighted content.

MUMBAI: This is a piece of news that should be interesting for US media owners crying themselves hoarse over Youtube‘s copyright infringing material.

A study conducted by online video viewership metrics service Vidmeter shows that unauthorised copyright videos make up a relatively small portion of YouTube’s most popular videos and an even smaller portion of views to YouTube’s most popular videos.

The report analyses the number and viewership of videos uploaded and subsequently removed from YouTube.com at the request of major English-language copyright holders in the previous three months. The purpose of this report is to provide a fact-based representation of the popularity of unauthorised copyrighted videos on YouTube as well as the relative popularity of each copyright owner’s videos.

Videos removed at the request of copyright owners accounted for only nine per cent of total YouTube videos. Removed videos accounted for only six per cent of the total YouTube video views. This finding is the opposite of consensus, which assumes that Big Media videos account for a small percentage of total videos, but a large percentage of views.

Viacom had demanded YouTube to take down 100,000 copyrighted clips, and later claimed 160,000 clips seen 1.5 billion times had been pirated when it sued Google for more than $1 billion dollars. According to Vidmeter, just 72 of Viacom’s taken down clips had made it to the most-viewed videos list — 1.07 per cent of the top videos accounting for 2.37 per cent of views. The most-affected copyright holder was Time Warner, with 93 clips.

Of the removed videos, Viacom‘s accounted for the largest share of views (two per cent of total YouTube views), and the second-largest share of videos (one per cent). Time Warner topped the latter category, also with one per cent.
Most of the videos removed (for Viacom and other Big Media companies) were music videos.

This contradicts assumptions that they are Daily Show, Colbert, etc. Disney‘s most-viewed removed video, with 430,000 views, was “USC Cheerleader extreme wedgie.”

While the study did find a fair number of blatantly pirated full-length clips from television shows and movies, the bulk of views to removed videos consisted of music videos and short clips from comedy sketches and unique sporting events.

The report notes that the reason blatantly pirated full-length clips are not relatively popular may be that such videos are more diligently removed and thus do not have enough time to accumulate a critical amount of views. If this were the case, it may be argued that there is a demand for such content on YouTube, but it would still remain true that, in its current state, such content counts for only a very small fraction of YouTube’s popular video views.

MUMBAI: UK media firm Virgin Media has launched a digital TV service to UK consumers living in non-cabled areas.

It has thus expanded availability of its quadplay of broadband, phone, mobile and TV services beyond its cable franchise network.

The service uses the digital terrestrial television platform (DTT) and a new set-top box to offer consumers:

* over 40 free-to-air TV channels and over 25 digital radio stations

* an easy to use eight-day, Virgin branded, on-screen TV guide

* high quality reception plus access to interactive content via the red button

* customer service support online and over the phone

* plug ‘n’ play installation

* low power consumption using just 1/15th of the energy of a standard 60W lightbulb

The box will be free to any Virgin Media non-cable customer taking the up to 8Mb* broadband and Talk Anytime phone bundle at ?19.99 a month. For non-cable customers taking a broadband service on it’s own, a one-off charge of ?40 will apply.

Virgin Media MD non cable Philip Snalune said, “Launching a basic TV service into non-cable areas enables us to expand availability of our quadplay of broadband, phone, mobile and TV. This is just the first step and our aim is to offer more advanced TV services across the UK throughout 2008.

“The digital switchover is just around the corner and we can now offer consumers across the UK a simple and low-cost way of making the digital leap, even if they can’t get cable services.”

Virgin Media non-cable customers can also purchase up to five additional set-top boxes to ensure they continue to receive great entertainment, wherever they are in the house.

MUMBAI: US motion picture group Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) has signed a five-year, $3.8 million contract with IBM to support its global financial system.

The agreement expands on a $4.3 million contract between the two companies that was based on a competitive evaluation.

IBM Global Business Services will provide application management services for SPE’s SAP global financial applications, leveraging IBM’s India-based global delivery capabilities. The agreement, which includes application, system development and security support responsibilities, will allow SPE’s own IT staff to focus on other high-priority new project and improvement initiatives.

SPE CFO David Hendler says, “Here at Sony Pictures, we have put a real priority on fiscal discipline and the integration and growth of our business on a worldwide scale. So our financial system must perform at optimum levels to give us a global view of financial and product information across our filmed entertainment business.

“IBM offers us a low-cost and high-quality support model for the global SAP skills that we require. We’ve brought in global reinforcements to augment our SPE staff, have substantially reduced our support costs, and redeployed our IT and finance staff on high-value activities.”

Originally implemented by IBM in collaboration with SPE, the new, single financial system replaced several systems that were installed in the territories in which SPE operates. The system provides more than 2,300 users real-time access to SPE financial information globally. IBM will provide operations and support services, both on site at SPE’s Culver City headquarters and remotely from the IBM support centers in India.

IBM further notes that SPE has been an entertainment industry leader in modernising its enterprise financial systems, and the agreement to outsource global SAP financial applications support services to IBM continues that tradition of leadership. The firm says that its Global Business Services’ seamless, efficient and cost-effective approach to infrastructure support enables SPE to focus its resources on core business priorities.

IBM’s application management services help clients align business objectives with IT investment and optimize applications to help companies drive revenue, focus on core competencies and lower costs.

MUMBAI: LG Electronics (LG) and Google have announced a global collaboration to pre-install Google‘s services on millions of LG mobile phones.

Mobile users around the world will now be able to easily search for information, find locations, update blogs and manage email while on the move.

LG Mobile Communications VP product planning team Paul Bae says, “Building on our efforts to set new standards for wireless handsets, we are excited to partner with Google to offer extra value to consumers with enhanced mobile Internet experiences.

“LG‘s mobile devices, combined with Google, will provide consumers with easy access to their favorite Internet services even without a PC and make it easy for them to stay connected while in motion.”

Select LG handsets, pre-installed with Google products and services will be shipped globally including North America, Europe and Asia starting in the second quarter of 2007. These handsets will create a more dynamic user experience, including one click access to Google search through an icon in the application menu.

More features of LG-Google handsets include:

– Google Maps for mobile. This is an application that enables users to view maps and satellite imagery, find local businesses, and get driving directions

– Gmail for mobile. This is a Java-based application that brings more speed, convenience and functionality to the mobile Gmail experience

– Blogger Mobile is an application to upload/download images and text to blog from mobile devices (www.blogger.com), keeps avid bloggers upwardly mobile.

Google director product management Deep Nishar says, “We are pleased to work with LG to make it easier than ever for mobile internet users to have powerful applications and personalised information at their fingertips.”

“Users around the world now have more options for accessing information while on-the-go through search and Gmail. With applications like Blogger, users are now free to express themselves from wherever they are in the world.”

Through this new partnership, LG and Google will jointly market LG-Google handsets, then further extending their collaboration to develop digitalized home in the future. LG plans to launch mobile handsets pre-installed with Google and products and service for the next few years with at least ten new handsets in 2007.

MUMBAI: To celebrate the launch of the edition of the business based reality show, The Apprentice in the UK FremantleMedia Enterprises’ (FME) licensing team has unveiled the show’s new official broadband website, www.bbc.co.uk/apprentice.

This will be home to a raft of new media activity.

The Apprentice website, which has been created and managed by FME, will feature breaking news, exclusive video interviews, episode previews and the chance to view exclusive behind-the-scenes content and extended footage which the producers could not fit into the one hour show. Fans will also be able to read a weekly column from one of last year’s most memorable candidates, Jo Cameron, who will be commenting on the tasks, new candidates and her recollections of the Boardroom.

For the very first time in the UK, FME has ventured into the realm of vodcasting, a move which signifies the first of many brand extensions into this arena. A weekly video podcast will be available to download from the official website as well as via iTunes and other vodcast readers, so fans can get their fix of The Apprentice on the move. The vodcast will offer a recap from each show, a selection of behind-the-scenes footage and exclusive sneak previews for the following week’s episode.

Site users will be able to play The Apprentice ‘Appraisal Game’ and demonstrate their knowledge of the show by watching clips and answering questions. Fans can also sign up to receive a weekly newsletter showcasing website highlights including exclusive news, features, video recaps from the show, competitions and games.

To complete this cross-platform proposition, FME has also taken The Apprentice on to mobile. Each week, mobile users will have access to preview clips of the upcoming show, as well as exclusive behind-the-scenes clips and the iconic ‘Your Fired’ moment. Content will be available on selected mobile networks in the UK and Eire for both 2.5G and 3G phones.

MUMBAI: The European Commission (EC) has sent a Statement of Objections to Apple and the major music labels whose products are sold in Apple‘s online iTunes store in Europe.

The EC asserts that agreements between Apple and the music labels violate the EC Treaty‘s rules prohibiting restrictive business practices.

Th EC has accused them of restricting music sales in Europe.

The EC alleges that agreements between Apple and the record companies are guilty of breaking European Union rules that prohibit restrictive business practices.

The EC statement says, “The European Commission can confirm that it has sent a Statement of Objections to major record companies and Apple in relation to agreements between each record company and Apple that restrict music sales.

“Consumers can only buy music from the iTunes‘ online store in their country of residence. Consumers are thus restricted in their choice of where to buy music, and consequently what music is available, and at what price.”

Apple spokesman Steve Dowling has been quoted in reports saying that the company wanted to operate a single store for all of Europe, but music labels and publishers said that there were limits to the rights they could grant to Apple.

MUMBAI:MMSN India announced online voting on its portal for the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) Awards 2007. The eighth annual IIFA Awards Weekend will be held in Yorkshire, England from 7 to 10 June and will recognize the best of Indian cinema for the past year. Fans who vote will also have the chance to attend the IIFA Awards at Yorkshire.

The nominees for each category are shortlisted by an industry panel of film experts. The voting is managed and monitored by Price Waterhouse Coopers. Fans from India and across the globe can vote online for their favorite movies and performers of the year on www.in.msn.com.

Speaking on the announcement, MSN India executive producer Krishna Prasad said, “The IIFA Awards is the only event that allows viewers from across the world to decide the best performances in Indian Cinema and we are excited to bring this to fans around the globe. We are proud to extend our support to IIFA in promoting India Cinema globally.”

Last year the fans voted Black for best picture and Amitabh Bachchan and Rani Mukherjee received the honors for Best Actor and Actress. This year again it will be a star studded event with many performances movies like Lage Raho Munnabhai, Rang De Basanti, Omkara, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, Vivah, Krrish and Dhoom 2 competing for the best picture category. Voting is now open to fans to choose their favorite movies and stars. The last date for voting is 25 May 2007.

MSN attracts millions of users worldwide per month. With localized versions available globally in 42 markets and 21 languages, MSN is delivering programmed content experiences to consumers and online advertising opportunities to businesses worldwide.

MUMBAI: The online gaming industry in India is worth Rs 210 million, according to a report published by IMRB International on behalf of the Internet and Mobile Association of India, (IAMAI). The key drivers of this segment in India, as also in developed markets include youth in the age group 17 – 25 years.

Revenues in this segmentcome from organized cyber cafés, subscription revenues & advertising.

Although the online gaming market in small in comparison to developed gaming markets as Korea, China, Japan and the US, currently most of the revenues in this segment come from organized cyber cafés (Rs 121.7 million) and from subscription based revenues (Rs 66 million) and the contribution of advertising (Rs 22.4 million) which is expected to go up over the next 2-3 years, in line with developed gaming markets such as US where it accounts for close to 40 per cent.

20 per cent of this revenue i.e Rs 40 million accrues directly to International playersnot based in India.

Almost 20 per cent of this revenue (Rs 40 million) currently accrues directly to International players not based in India. It is expected that over the next 2-3 years this proportion would go down as more Indian gaming portals come up and establish their presence by providing localized content.

The study reveals that at this point in time, most Indian gaming portals are evaluating various alternative strategies for long term monetization. Currently most are on a free model and are looking at advertising revenues to sustain the first phase of growth. There are plans to introduce monthly subscriptions or subscriptions to higher levels as users become more comfortable. Most portals acknowledge that advance advertising options such as in-game placements will take some time to enter the lexicon of mainstream advertisers, most of who are just beginning to experiment with online advertising.

He added, “online gaming is one of the major drivers of internet adoption and use, and it is necessary that this segment is given all the necessary encouragement that it deserves.”

According to Ray, there are three broad issues that could act as impediments to the progress of this segment:

a) the negative perception of gaming, especially online gaming among parents
b) the poor enabling infrastructure, including connectivity and hardware constraints
c) recognition of the importance of this segment in increasing the penetration of internet by the government. It would be a great advantage to the gaming community in India, for example, if online gaming was to be declared “e-Sports” and all the advantages that accrue to sports currently are extended to online gaming as well.