ITV

Blog

  • IN CableNet says it is no bully

    IN CableNet says it is no bully

    The Hinduja-run cable TV service IN CableNet today denied allegations about the pressure tactics used by them in the Sion-Matunga-King Circle area in Mumbai that made 32 of its operators shift loyalties to the rival SitiCable. Mr Hingorani, CEO of IndusInd Media and Communications said “The allegation is baseless and malicious. We don’t use any force or pressure tactics and would never do so.”

    Company officials said that IN CableNet had set up a state-of-the-art control room in King’s Circle in Mumbai and six small time cable ops who were unable to match the level of service decided to part ways.The company claimed that the allegations of browbeating and bullying and were made by a couple of ops who had defrauded the company of Rs 5 million and that police cases had been filed against them.

    The cable war will spread in the country and such incidents will be frequent. Every MSO claims to be non-political and non-goon based. If that was the scenario why do the skirmishes keep popping up every now and then?

  • Tandberg unveils next generation digital media solutions for IPTV market

    Tandberg unveils next generation digital media solutions for IPTV market

    MUMBAI: Visual communications major Tandberg Television has announced that it will showcase its end-to-end compression, on-demand and interactive solutions for IPTV at TelecomNEXT 2006.

    With this initiative, Tandberg seeks to drive the next generation of technologies that are making IPTV a reality for network operators. The combination of Tandberg Television’s compression technology with on-demand packaging, encoding and interactivity, is leading the industry into the next generation of IPTV, a company statement asserts.

    Also, Tandberg Television will showcase its advanced encoding platforms that manage bandwidth, deliver broadcast quality video over IP networks, and ensure quality of service. Tandberg Television claims to be the only company that can offer complete compression technology for SMPTE VC-1 and MPEG-4 AVC in broadcast quality for both standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD) formats.

    In addition, Tandberg Television will demonstrate how IPTV networks may be made more reliable and improve a service operator’s quality of service, with FEC (Forward Error Correction) that virtually guarantees the reliable reception of the data stream over an IP network and an auto redundancy control system solution that includes RIP (Routing Information Protocol), which reroutes programming to an alternative network path so service delivery disruptions are minimized.

    Tandberg Television will also be showcasing its solutions for multiple resolution and picture-in-picture (PiP), enabling technology for advanced video mosaics and next evolution video programming guides. By leveraging its middleware partnerships, Tandberg Television will show how real-time video plus PiP creates a complete user experience.

    Tandberg Television will also be showing for the first time its Xport technology designed for an IPTV network. Xport is a content creation and packaging tool for MPEG-4 AVC video-on-demand.

    For added scalability and open architecture, Tandberg Television will be showcasing its open back office on-demand system OpenStream Digital Services Platform. It brings scalability and open architecture to IPTV and is widely deployed worldwide. By choosing an open architecture, IPTV operators are able to set up new interactive features easily and quickly, and are not locked into proprietary hardware. OpenStream technology is extremely scalable and component-based, so the technology can gradually grow with the operator as it expands its footprint.

    Also being demonstrated is Tandberg Television’s asset management system, MediaPoint AMS, which manages the flow of content for on-demand systems.

  • Three big MSOs work towards common pricing

    Three big MSOs work towards common pricing

    MUMBAI: The three big multi-system operators (MSOs) – Siticable, Hathway Cable & Datacom and Incablenet – are working on a common pricing on their digital cable TV service to make their offerings consumer friendly.

    On the digital set-top boxes (STBs), they are planning to offer a rental scheme of Re 1 a day at a refundable security deposit of Rs 999 once conditional access system (CAS) comes into place. Even without buying STBs, consumers can, thus, shift to digital cable by paying a nominal monthly rent.

    “The understanding among the three MSOs is to offer a common pricing to our subscribers so that there is no confusion in the market. We will be offering a rental plan of Re 1 a day. We also plan to extend this to our service packages as well,” says IndusInd Media & Communications Ltd (IMCL) director Ravi Mansukhani.

    Admits Hathway Cable & Datacom CEO K Jayaraman, “We have decided to work together. Unless we cooperate, the roll out of CAS won’t be smooth as there are forces working against it.”

    The three MSOs will focus on servicing their respective customers rather than be engaged in competition amongst themselves. Though Hathway and Siticable operators are in fight over certain territories in Delhi, these issues are expected to be sorted out.

    The MSOs will also try to unite their distributors and last mile operators (LMOs), but margins across the value chain will be decided only after broadcasters work out commercial agreements with them. They have already written to broadcasters and are awaiting their responses.

    The MSOs are making concerted efforts to clear out certain common perceptions on CAS like it not being consumer friendly. “The Bill was not enacted for the MSOs but for the consumers. The boxes will be available on rental schemes and the monthly subscription fees will fall as consumers can select the channels they want to pay for. Under the current system, the prices are artificially controlled and the consumer is subsidised,” Siticable CEO Jagjit Kohli said, while addressing a press conference today in Mumbai.

    Commenting on the competition from direct-to-home (DTH), Kohli said cable had the advantage of packaging channels according to local demand. “DTH has the constraint of transponder space while cable can offer more channels,” he said.

    Meanwhile, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has called for a meeting at Delhi on Monday with the MSOs and the distributors to discuss on issues over CAS.

  • UK leads in digital television viewing: Ofcom

    UK leads in digital television viewing: Ofcom

    MUMBAI: Latest data from UK regulator Ofcom shows that the UK has the highest digital penetration of any country in the world. As of 31 December 2005 digital television was viewed by just under 70 per cent of all UK television households, up from 65.9 per cent in the previous quarter. Ofcom is now predicting 100 per cent digital TV penetration by 2012 (across all platforms – satellite, cable and terrestrial).

    The Communications Market: Digital TV Progress Report for the fourth quarter of 2005 is published by Ofcom. It examines data provided by the main digital television platform providers for the October-December 2005 period.

    Preliminary sales figures of Freeview (Digital Terrestrial Television or DTT) set top boxes suggest that by the end of February 2006, digital penetration had exceeded 70% of UK homes. Take up varies across the UK and has not passed the 50% mark in any other European country.

    Digital satellite is now the UK’s most popular television platform. For the first time, there are now more digital satellite subscribers in the UK than there are homes watching analogue terrestrial-only TV, as a result of continued growth in BSkyB’s subscriber base and large numbers of households switching from analogue terrestrial television to digital terrestrial services.

    In the year 2005, more than 2.7 million additional households began viewing digital television for the first time – more than in any previous year. By 31 December 2005, the total number of households viewing digital television services on at least one TV set in the home stood at 17.5 million. The report also reveals that almost one in four UK adults live in homes where all TV sets are now used for digital television viewing and viewing of analogue television services has ceased entirely.

    Quarterly DTT sales DTT sales DTT sales
    Q3, 2005 Q4, 2005
    Freeview set top boxes 826,300 1,527,600
    IDTV’s 196,000 402,200
    Total sales 1,022,300 1,929,800
    Source: Q4 sales figures, Gfk
    Cumulative total DTT boxes DTT total DTT total
    Q3, 2005 Q4, 2005
    Freeview set top boxes 7,214,700 8,742,300
    IDTV’s 1,411,100 1,813,300
    ITV Digital set top boxes 289,000 250,000
    Total digital terrestrial units in market 8,914,800 10,805,600
    Source: Ofcom, Gfk
    Other highlights from the Ofcom data:

    ” By the end of 2005, just under one in four homes had fully converted all their analogue TV sets to digital (either by adding a set top box or by upgrading to an integrated digital TV set (IDTV) – up from 16% in March 2005. Sales of IDTVs doubled between Q3 and Q4 2005, from around 200,000 to 400,000, to reach a total installed base of 1.8 million (see tables below). That means that almost 60% of all UK TV sets (36 million) still receive analogue transmissions.

    ” There are currently an estimated 34 million VCRs in use in the UK. Those that viewers use for recording one programme while watching another amount currently to around 25% of VCRs (7.5 million recorders) and will need to be replaced by personal video recorders (PVRs) if viewers wish to retain this functionality following switchover. By the end of 2005, around 1.4 million PVRs had been sold (mostly Sky+ boxes) and 2.3 million DVD recorders. Most of the latter do not have integrated digital tuners, however, and cannot replicate the full functionality of analogue VCRs.

    ” Ofcom’s new forecasts suggest that digital take-up will continue to grow steadily over the next few years, as switchover starts to take place on a region-by-region basis. It expects digital penetration to grow by around 1.7 million homes in 2006, and on average by around one million homes per year thereafter, until 2012. That means that 85% of homes will have taken up digital TV by the time the first region (Border) switches over in the second half of 2008. By the end of 2010, Ofcom estimates that 95% of households will have taken up digital TV. Penetration will reach 100% by the end of 2012, by the time analogue television is due to be switched off.

  • BBC, Reuters to host global media conference

    BBC, Reuters to host global media conference

    MUMBAI: The power of trust in the media and citizen journalism are among the topics to be discussed by top media names at a two-day forum in London next month, to be hosted by the BBC and Reuters.

    The 2006 We Media Global Forum will bring together personalities from media, business and technology to discuss and collaborate on how the media can foster trust and influence global issues in a world made smaller by the Internet. The Forum takes place on May 3 and 4, presented by The Media Center, a US-based non-profit think tank committed to building a better-informed society in a connected world.

    The speakers include actor Richard Dreyfuss, Google partnerships dierctor Joanna Fields, Reuters CEO Tom Glocer, Meetup.com founder and CEO Scott Heiferman, Al Jazeera DG Wadah Khanfar, Global Voices co-founder Rebecca MacKinnon, Guardian Newspapers CEO Carolyn McCall, BBC global news director Richard Sambrook, Reuters Global Managing Editor David Schlesinger.

    The event will have a live broadcast of the BBC’s World Service programmes, World Have Your Say, and an interactive experience with the Digital Assassins, a group of disruptors and innovators in digital media. Day 2, at Reuters global headquarters in CanaryWharf, includes a series of satellite-linked “town hall” meetings around the world, and an in-depth look by venture capitalists and business leaders at the changing economics of media and value of social capital.

    The Global Forum will offer glimpses of the future in short “Future Forward” segments – first looks at emerging technologies and media from leading developers, entrepreneurs and companies. BBC DG Mark Thompson said, “Trust has always been central to BBC values. We all know the pressures that news organizations face in this fast changing multi-media world. I am delighted to welcome participants to the We Media Global Forum and I hope that it will provide a valuable opportunity for all of us to share our insights.”

    Glocer said, “The balance of power between content creators, suppliers and consumers is changing, with an end to the notion of a passive audience. The ramifications of this new phenomenon are most acutely felt in the area of trust. As consumers, this democratization of media will have profound effects on where we source news and entertainment, and whom we trust. For a company like Reuters, this is a great time to be taking a 150 year-old news brand in exciting new directions.”

  • Simon Kenny is Warner Bros. Digital Distribution president

    Simon Kenny is Warner Bros. Digital Distribution president

    MUMBAI: US media conglomerate Warner has announced that Simon Kenny has been named president of the newly formed Warner Bros. Digital Distribution.

    He will manage the worldwide electronic distribution streams of the Studio’s product over existing, new and emerging digital platforms, including pay-per-view, electronic sell-through, video-on-demand, subscription-video-on-demand, wireless and more. He will also oversee the studio’s worldwide digital strategy, partnerships in digital services and emerging new clients and business activities in the digital space.

    As announced at its formation in October 2005, the Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group is comprised of Warner Bros. Digital Distribution (which incorporates Warner Bros. Online and Wireless), Warner Home Video, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (including Warner Bros. Games), Warner Bros. Technical Operations and Warner Bros. Anti-Piracy Operations.

    Kenny currently serves as Warner Bros. International Television Distribution executive VP, Europe. He will assume his new role full-time following the L.A. screenings at the end of May.

    Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group president Kevin Tsujihara says, “Our priority is the consumer, and our focus is on ensuring that our product is available to them on as many platforms with as much flexibility, functionality and portability as they desire. As digital distribution is no longer just a theory, but a reality, we are charged with managing and leading the retail and consumer transition from a purely packaged distribution scheme to one that supports both packaged and digital distribution, and both standard and high defination formats, while not cannibalising any one segment of the business, but rather maximizing the opportunities afforded by all.

    “Simon’s experience in existing, emerging and next-generation distribution scenarios makes him the perfect choice to head up our digital distribution initiative, and we’re pleased to have him as an integral member of our team.”

    Kenny says, “I am excited about leading the group that will strategise on and implement the methods of digital distribution for all the new and emerging platforms and to be working with Kevin to create new revenue opportunities on behalf of Warner Bros., a true leader in entertainment”.

  • Maharashtra government doubles cable TV tax rate

    Maharashtra government doubles cable TV tax rate

    The government in the western Indian state of Maharashtra has doubled the entertainment taxes that cable TV operators have to fork out to its coffers. Taxes were levied at the rate of Rs 5,10, and 15 per subscriber, depending on the subscriber’s location. These have been doubled. The purpose to enhance the state’s revenues. The government made these announcements in the state budget for 2000-2001 announced yesterday.

    Maharashtra is amongst the leading cable TV viewing states in India. And there is alarm that other state governments may also make similar moves in their budgets.

    Fears have also risen that the imposition will actually lead to a rise in subscriber fees because cable TV operators will not be interested in forking out the higher duty from their pockets. Currently, cable TV subscriber rates in Maharashtra range between Rs 75 and Rs 125 a month. These are expected to go up by about 25 per cent at least with the average cable TV fees rising to Rs 125, unlike Rs 100 that is the average currently.

    Says Siticable western region head D.K. Pandey: “We do not have to pay entertainment tax, it’s the cable TV operator who has to do so. We are not really impacted by the hike.”

    The other MSO in Maharashtra InCableNet is expected to voice a protest against the government’s impost later today. It has been lobbying with the government on this issue. But will the higher entertainment tax result in substantially higher revenues to the exchequer?

    Marginally, probably. Normally, cable TV operators tend to under-declare their subscriber base to the tune of 70 per cent to subscription channels and to government as they want to stem the outflow of money from their end. Since there are no audits or subscriber declaration compulsions to a cable TV authority, they fudge their numbers to reduce their burden. That will likely continue here too. If the tax authorities insist on tax payments based on last year’s entertainment tax disclosures, the cable operator can easily turn around and say that he has lost subscribers to rival or smaller operators or they have not renewed their subscription.

  • MyNetworkTV, Young Broadcasting enter affiliation agreement for Kron

    MyNetworkTV, Young Broadcasting enter affiliation agreement for Kron

    MUMBAI: MyNetworkTV, the new primetime general entertainment television network, and Young Broadcasting Inc., (YBI) have entered into an affiliation agreement for Kron.

    The announcement was jointly made today by Fox Television Stations CEO Jack Abernethy and YBI chairman Vincent Young.

    Kron, a leading independent television station, joins a rapidly growing list of stations joining the MyNetworkTV affiliate base. Its affiliation with MyNetworkTV marks Krons return to network television. MyNetworkTV is cleared in 52 markets throughout the United States, representing 51 per cent of the country. The network will launch on 5 September 2006.

    Abernethy said, “Kron, one of the great independent stations in the country, is a powerful brand and an icon in the San Francisco market which it has served for the past 50 years. The Bay Areas leading source of local news and entertainment, Krons affiliation with MyNetworkTV is a significant agreement for us and we are excited to be partnered with Young Broadcasting.”

    “Kron is coming home to the network television business. We are delighted that Fox and its new network recognize the enormous value inherent in an affiliation with Kron in San Francisco. For Young Broadcasting, this represents an opportunity to grow our business with the last group to successfully launch a new national network. The partnership will link two dynamic brand names in San Francisco to provide strong entertainment programming and expanded advertising opportunities,” said Young.

  • ‘Get a life’ with Discovery Travel and Living

    ‘Get a life’ with Discovery Travel and Living

    MUMBAI: Lifestyle is no longer the uncharted frontier on television. Discovery Travel and Living launched in October 2004, amidst speculation that a 24 hour lifestyle channel will never take off with Indian audiences, the ratings have consistently proved otherwise. The competition may gripe all they want, but the channel shows no signs of faltering.

    Today, with innumerable choices of lifestyle destinations, brands, gadgets, speciality cuisine restaurants available on television at a click of the remote, the viewer’s profile has changed to being upwardly mobile. These changes have resulted in increasing the viewer’s desire for international lifestyle content. And, it is here that Discovery Travel and Living has scored.
    Discovery Travel and Living has managed to keep ahead of its competition with its wide array of shows. It has managed to gain traction with audiences in all age groups. This season’s Theme Week series on primetime has only added to the growing popularity of the channel.

    When a television channel puts a home-decorating show in prime time, it’s clear that lifestyle programming has earned a seat at the table. The channel’s programming has given viewers an alternative to soaps and movies. The fact that lifestyle-oriented programmes on travel, food, makeovers and fashion has gained viewership is visible with news channels and regional language channels airing lifestyle oriented blocks.

    With a view to showcase a variety of shows on various cultures, traditions, cuisines, people and personas, nature, fun and frolic, Discovery Travel and Living have come up with a mix of shows with good content.

    Globe Trekker host Justine Shapiro during Trinidad’s annual Carnival on the show’s Great Festivals episode

    The hit TV documentary series American Chopper has fans asking for more. All about the goings-on behind the scenes at Orange County Choppers, a custom motorcycle fabrication company located in Rock Tavern, New York, American Chopper also shows the interplay between the Teutels, Paul Sr. and Jr., as they create motorcycles as works of art. So also, shows featuring international celebrity chefs like Keith Floyd, Kylie Kwong and Madhur Jaffrey have done well season after season.

    Another show that appeals to all age groups is Biker Build off, where two builders are competing. They are given a set time to come up with a brand new design for a chopper, build it and ride it to the contest destination, which is normally a motor show. The people present at the motor show judge the winning bike. There are a couple of India-centric shows also, like Floyds India, Cooking with Madhur Jaffery and the recently aired Incredible India series.

    An aggressive rollout of the channel is an important element of this year’s strategy to lure more viewers. The channel started this year with a focus of promoting appointment viewing in the prime time band. It has also commissioned two series of Indian programming. As reported earlier in Indiantelevision.com, Discovery Networks India vice president- Lifestyle Networks Aditya Tripathi said, “We hope to air our first commission in the second or third quarter of 2006.”

    “We have signed advertisers such as L’Oreal, Motorola, Diet Pepsi, Nokia, Nestle Kit Kat and Wrigley’s for various theme weeks. More deals are being negotiated. New initiatives are being promoted through print advertising and on-air promotions,” said Tripathi.

    Beach Week host Samantha Brown

    The lifestyle-centric channel is not planning to sit back on its performance. Discovery Travel and Living’s programming mix of original shows and series, off-network acquisitions and library exploitation continues to pay royal dividends to parent company Discovery. Looking ahead, the channel will air recently acquired BBC’s lifestyle titles like Friends for Dinner and Jeremy Clarkson Meets The Neighbours.

    It is tougher to get recognized on general entertainment channels, but viewers find premium programming wherever it is. It is celebratory time at Discovery Travel and Living, with the channel hosting a special party today (17 March) at the Park Hyatt at Goa. Tagged ‘ Get a Life’, it offers an exclusive experience for everyone who matter in the television industry, media, marketing, distribution and the team of employees who work with the channel. Promising to be an event that would be talked of in the days to come, it has been planned keeping the overall theme of the brand. And why not, lifestyle is only getting bigger on television.

  • Dan Marks is keynote speaker at Banff World Television Festival

    Dan Marks is keynote speaker at Banff World Television Festival

    MUMBAI: In keeping with its tradition of delivering television’s greatest power players as keynote speakers, The Banff World Television Festival announced that its first speaker will be Dan Marks, CEO, Television Services, British Telecommunications (BT).

    Dan Marks joined BT from Universal Studios where he was president of Universal Studios Networks UK. He is responsible for developing BT’s next-generation television service, for launching it and for managing its marketing, programming, legal, commercial, operational and development activities. Television Services is the group within BT’s consumer business responsible for BT’s new consumer television offering launching in 2006. Dan brings a wealth of television knowledge to his keynote address with his experience in broadcast, on-demand services and production.

    Previously, Marks was senior vice-president, business development for Universal Studios’ worldwide TV channels business. Marks also held positions at Video Networks Limited and TV3 Russia and worked over 10 years in Los Angeles as a documentary film producer and director. Dan’s background in strategic development, content partnerships and development of new TV opportunities based on new technologies will be instrumental in enabling the launch of BT’s world-leading next-generation TV launch later this year.

    Banff World Television Festival, director of content Jennifer Harkness commented, “I am especially thrilled to announce Dan Marks as one of our 2006 keynote speakers. He has had a distinguished television career and delegates will greatly appreciate his particular knowledge of the industry. The 27th Banff World Television Festival is committed to bringing television industry leaders from around the world for our attendees to learn from and network with – and it does so year after year.”