ITV

Tag: Airtel Digital TV

  • Amid uncertainty over NTO 2.0, DPOs start complying with new NCF

    Amid uncertainty over NTO 2.0, DPOs start complying with new NCF

    MUMBAI: The amended new tariff order (NTO 2.0) comes into effect from today (1 March) amid ongoing legal battles. Although most of the broadcasters have not published their updated Reference Interconnect Offers (RIOs), many of the distribution platform operators (DPOs) have started complying with the regulations bringing change in network capacity fee (NCF).

    Along with other amendments, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had brought changes in number of channels permitted in Network Capacity Fee (NCF) and applicable NCF for multi TV homes. The authority also reduced the maximum NCF charge to Rs 130 (excluding taxes) for 200 channels. It also added that NCF for more than two hundred SD channels, should not exceed Rs 160.

    “The network capacity fee, per month, for each additional TV connection, beyond the first TV connection in a multi TV home shall, in no case, exceed forty percent of the declared network capacity fee,” it added.

    Tata Sky has also declared its updated NCF. The DTH operator will now charge Rs 153.40 per month for the first 200 SD channels, inclusive of all taxes and Rs 188.80 per month for more than 200 SD channels, inclusive of all taxes. For each secondary connection, it has fixed a NCF of Rs 61.36 per month for the first 200 SD channels, inclusive of all taxes, Rs 75.52 per month for more than 200 SD channels, inclusive of all taxes.

    Airtel Digital TV will charge now the same amount as Tata Sky is charging. However, it is charging Rs 52 ( without taxes) for the primary connection and Additional NCF of Rs 30 (taxes extra) for more than 200 channels.

    “The network capacity fee, per month, payable by a subscriber (each set top box) for 200 SD channels is Rs 130. The NCF, per month, payable by a subscriber (each set top box) for more than 200 SD channels is Rs 160. For determination of channel count 1 HD channel is equivalent to 2 SD channels as per regulations,” Siti Networks stated.

    “The television channels notified by the central government shall be mandatorily available to all the subscribers and shall be in addition to the number of channels available in the network capacity fee. Network capacity fee, per month for each additional TV connection, beyond the first TV connection in a multi TV home shall be forty per cent of the network capacity fee of the Parent STB. The STB with maximum number of channels would be treated as Parent STB,” it added.

    Moreover, IndusInd Media & Communications Ltd (IMCL) has mentioned in its website that pricing of some of its packages will be revised downwards with effect from 1 March. It has also mentioned about the new NCF.

  • Airtel Digital TV revenue stands at Rs 792.2 crore in the third quarter

    Airtel Digital TV revenue stands at Rs 792.2 crore in the third quarter

    MUMBAI: Telco giant Bharti Airtel’s direct-to-home (DTH) arm Airtel  Digital TV’s  total revenue increased to Rs 792.2 crore in the third quarter from Rs 789.3 crore in the previous quarter. The DTH operator’s EBITDA stood at Rs 544.1 crore for the quarter compared to Rs 560.7 crore in the trailing quarter.

    “This quarter, we witnessed strong 4G customer additions of 2.1 crore. Digital TV revenue witnessed a growth of 15.6 per cent on an underlying basis (decline of 23.3 per cent on reported basis due to reporting changes in DTH pursuant to the new tariff order). Airtel business revenue witnessed a growth of 6.6 per cent on YoY basis,” the company said.

    The DTH operator added 101,000 subscribers during the quarter compared to 181,000 in Q2. The average revenue per user (ARPU) remained flat at Rs 162 while the monthly churn increased to 1.8 per cenr  from 1.6 per cent. During the current quarter, the company incurred a capital expenditure of Rs 350.9 crore.

    Airtel Digital TV currently offers a total of 648 channels including 86 HD channels, 7 international channels and 4 interactive services.  As on Dec 31, 2019, the operation was available in 639 districts.

    Overall, the telecom major reported a consolidated loss of Rs 1,035 crore for December quarter compared with a profit of Rs 86 crore in the same period last year.

  • Airtel plans special box for full converged entertainment & broadband

    Airtel plans special box for full converged entertainment & broadband

    MUMBAI: Sunil Mittal-led Bharti Airtel is significantly upping its direct-to-home (DTH) and broadband business. The leading telecom player is looking at bringing a box which will offer a full converged entertainment as well as the capacity to deliver broadband. Although the timeline has been not revealed yet, the box is expected to be launched very soon.

    “One of the things we are looking at is to bring in a box, which will offer a full converged entertainment as well as the capacity to deliver broadband. This will happen soon and we are very excited that once we do that, it is a full converged play that we can potentially deliver across multiple spaces. There have been some concerns about cord cutting in the urban areas and metros. We have not seen any evidence of that yet,” Bharti Airtel India and South Asia managing director and chief executive officer Gopal Vittal said in an earnings call. 

    Airtel Digital TV saw net addition of 634K customers in the quarter. At the end of the first quarter, the DTH arm of Bharti Airtel had 16 million customers with a year-on-year growth of 9.4 per cent. The change in cable and broadcasting sector with the rollout of new tariff order has helped Airtel to grow with a lot of new subscribers coming in from the cable side.

    The company’s investments in FTTH pass deployment are now reaping benefits with an expansion in the base and an increase in ARPU as well after ten consecutive quarters of decline. The company is optimistic on the overall market opportunity and focusing on expansion of its fibre presence.

  • Airtel Digital TV’s ARPU fell to Rs 157 in Q1 20

    Airtel Digital TV’s ARPU fell to Rs 157 in Q1 20

    MUMBAI: Airtel Digital TV’s average revenue per user (ARPU) fell to Rs 157 per month in the first quarter (Q1) of FY 20 from Rs 233 in the last quarter of FY 19. The ARPU for DTH services of Bharti Airtel also saw a 31.6 per cent decline on a year-on-year basis.

    Revenue from Digital TV services stood at Rs 7,389 million while it was Rs 9,924 million in Q1 FY 19. EBITDA for this segment continued to improve and was Rs 5,263 million as compared to Rs 4,010 million in Q1 of FY 19.

    Airtel Digital TV saw net addition of 634K customers in the quarter. At the end of the first quarter, the DTH arm of Bharti Airtel had 16 million customers with a year-on-year 9.4 per cent growth.

    “Subsequent to the new tariff order (NTO), the service providers are responsible only for re-transmission and are not in a position to control content and pricing. Accordingly, the gross revenue is only to the extent of net value retained i.e. customer payments received net of broadcaster’s fee (erstwhile content charges) w.e.f quarter ended 30 June 2019,” the company noted.

  • Dish TV reduces STB rate, offers 1-month free subscription

    Dish TV reduces STB rate, offers 1-month free subscription

    MUMBAI: DTH player Dish TV is looking at various ways to stay strong in the market. The latest move is to reduce the price of its set top boxes. Dish TV has slashed the rate of its most premium STB. Now, Dish TV NXT STB will be available for Rs 1590, which is Rs 50 less than the previous cost.

    Usually, the price would only cover the cost of the STB but now the DTH operator is also offering a free one-month subscription, lifetime warranty and coupons worth Rs 2000, according to reports. This means that subscribers won’t have to pay a penny for HD channels for one month.

    The NXT STB has a smart and easy user interface with intuitive functionalities. It also has multi-lingual support as well as games.

    Other DTH players have also taken similar steps recently. Airtel Digital TV slashed rates by Rs 200 while Tata Sky is offering both SD and HD STBs for Rs 400 less.

    These decisions by DTH players sound like strategies to counter the threat that is being posed by the giant in Jio. The upcoming Jio Home TV is said to rely on its own GigaFiber network to show TV channels. Rumours abound that Jio’s service will cost just Rs 600 where people can watch free channels and get 100 GB worth of data as well as free voice calls. The Jio Triple Play is what it is being called.

  • 10.4 lakh DTH subscribers added in Oct-Dec 18 quarter in India

    10.4 lakh DTH subscribers added in Oct-Dec 18 quarter in India

    BENGALURU: In calendar year 2018 (1 January 2018 to 31 December 2018), India’s private direct to home (DTH) service providers added 29.3 lakh net subscribers of which 10.4 lakh additions were made in the last quarter of the calendar year (Oct-Dec 2018, Q3 2019, period under review).

    According to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) quarterly Indicator Reports, DTH has attained net pay active subscriber base of around  704.9 lakh (70.49 million, 7.049 crore)  with five pay DTH service providers as on 31 December, 2018. This is in addition to the subscribers of the free DTH services of Doordarshan. Quarterly growth in the DTH sector in terms of the net active subscriber base and market share of DTH operators in terms of the percentage of net active subscribers during the quarter is depicted in the following charts.

    Two major DTH players – Airtel Direct TV (Airtel DTH) and the merged Dish TV Videocon d2h entity (Dish TV) have about 55 percent of the market share of private DTH subscribers in the country. During CY 2018, these two players added 17.06 lakh (1.706 million, 0.1706 crore) subscribers, or 58.2 percent of the net subscribers that were added by all the five private DTH players in the country. Airtel DTH added 10.63 lakh (1.063 million, 0.1063 crore) net subscribers, while Dish TV added 6.43 lakh (0.643 million, 0.0643 crore) during the period under review.

    As per the latest TRAI quarterly Indicator Reports, the highest number of DTH subscribers in 2018 by private players were added in the Apr-Jun quarter with 18.4 lakh (1.84 million, 0.184 crore) subscriber additions. In the first quarter of CY 2018, the private DTH players lost 30,000 subscribers. Please refer to the figure below for the private DTH subscriber trends during CY-2018.

    Dish TV is by far the largest DTH player in the country and probably the second largest globally. As on 31 December 2018, Dish TV claimed a net active subscriber base of 236 lakh (23.6 million, 2.36 crore) while Airtel DTH claimed a net active subscriber base of 150 lakh (15 million, 1.5 crore).

    The government’s DD Free Dish DTH service claims to reach out to nearly 300 lakh (30 million) as per reports and the FICCI-EY 2019 report, it has the capability to breach the 50 million mark if broadcasters keep supplying it with pay-TV content. It must however be noted that an exact number for registered or active subscribers is not available since this is a free DTH service.

  • Arguments in DTH operators’ petition against TRAI tariff order to resume on 4 April

    Arguments in DTH operators’ petition against TRAI tariff order to resume on 4 April

    MUMBAI: The Delhi High Court on Thursday adjourned the petition of Tata Sky Discovery India Communication, Airtel Digital TV and Sun Direct challenging Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and its new tariff regime to 4 April. According to sources close to the development, the next date of hearing was granted after the matter was partly argued by Discovery counsel Gopal Jain. The next hearing will commenced with arguements from the broadcaster's counsel.

    It must be noted that the extended deadline for consumer migration under the new regime will expire on 31 March.

    While the TRAI has repeatedly said most consumers have moved to the new regulatory framework, with a reduction in cable bills, several reports have claimed otherwise.

    Earlier, the regulatory body in February extended the deadline to pick new channels under new regime till 31 March as well as gave a directive of Best Fit Plans. The subscribers that don’t opt for new channels would be moved to ‘Best Fit Plans’, which would be developed as per usage pattern, language and channel popularity, the sector regulator said in its statement.

    Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Rajendra Menon on 13 February questioned TRAI for altering the implementation process of its new tariff regime without informing the court. The chairperson of the sector regulator had also been directed to file an affidavit within a week explaining these changes.

    On 4 February, after senior lawyer Kapil Sibal, representing Tata Sky, concluded his arguments including legal submissions, Jain laid the foundation for his arguments.

    While the regulatory body has continuously declined that cable bills would go up under the new regime, several reports, as well as surveys, have indicated the hike in the monthly bill. Due to the change in pricing, many experts predicted that consumers would shift to OTT platforms eventually. To decrease the churn rate, some of the DTH players have removed network capacity fee for long duration packs.

    TRAI chairman RS Sharma claimed on Wednesday that almost all TV customers have been migrated to the new tariff regime. “Most of them have subscribed to the new regime or some of them have been put to a ‘best fit’ package. As the deadline of 31st March approaches, everybody will come onto the new platform,” he said as quoted by news agency IANS.

    In 2017, Bharti Telemedia, Tata Sky and Discovery Communication India had filed petitions against TRAI, challenging its tariff order and the interconnect regulations.

    Unlike the position adopted by Star India wherein it questioned the regulatory powers of TRAI, the matter in the Delhi HC questions the regulator’s power to wipe out deals that operators enter into to fix commissions and rates for customers.

  • Tata Sky, Airtel Digital TV offer free Star Sports channels for IPL

    Tata Sky, Airtel Digital TV offer free Star Sports channels for IPL

    MUMBAI: In order to cash in on the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) fanfare, two DTH operators, Tata Sky and Airtel Digital TV, have decided to provide free access to all matches of 2019.

    In a message, it was revealed that from 23 March to 19 May Star Sports 1 Hindi, Star Sports 1 Tamil, Star Sports 1 Telugu, Star Sports 1 Kannada and Star Sports 1 Bangla will be available without any extra charge to Tata Sky users.

    Airtel Digital TV is also giving its users, both old and new, free access to the above channels and also Star Sports 1, Star Sports 1 HD and Star Sports 1 Hindi HD. New subscribers, however, as per reports, will only get access to Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1 Hindi till 19 May.

    It is quite likely that with two big DTH operators having named such lucrative packs, Dish TV will follow suit.

    Airtel Digital TV, Tata Sky and Dish TV have already created special packs for IPL wherein Star Sports channels are embedded into other genre packs such as Hindi, Marathi and kids.

  • IPL 2019: Tata Sky, Airtel Digital TV, Dish TV woo consumers with sports packs

    IPL 2019: Tata Sky, Airtel Digital TV, Dish TV woo consumers with sports packs

    MUMBAI: Just as the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) has launched, DTH operators have come up with special packs that includes Star Sports channels along with a range of channels from other genres.

    Tata Sky, Airtel Digital TV and Dish TV have launched a variety of sports packs.

    As per reports, Tata Sky has launched a Family Sports HD pack consisting of of 96 channels that costs Rs 646 per month which includes all sports channels from Star and Sony. The company is also providing SD pack for Rs 456 per month. Customers also have the choice to select other packs like Family Kids Sports and premium English Sports packs.

    Not only this, some of the regional plans, such as Marathi and Hindi basic packs, are also being offered by the DTH operator which includes Star Sports channels for Rs 338 per month.

    Likewise, Airtel Digital TV is also offering a plan, My Sports HD pack which apart from sports channels, provides SD channels across a variety of genres like news, movies, kids, and infotainment for Rs 493 per month.

    Moreover, Dish TV is offering a Maxi Sports Pack which offers sports, kids and Hindi entertainment channels at Rs 326 per month.

    Hotstar's VIP plan allows one to watch live cricket, premier league and formula 1 races. The online streaming platform is offering access to most of its premium content for the entire year for Rs 365.

     

  • Airtel Digital TV, Dish TV merger talks on

    Airtel Digital TV, Dish TV merger talks on

    MUMBAI: Sunil Bharti Mittal-led Bharti Airtel is not only scaling up its business in the broadband segment but is also trying to cement its presence in the DTH sector. Mittal has started talks with Dish TV to merge Airtel Digital TV with the leading DTH player.

    According to a report by Economic Times, the talks are now at an exploratory stage. The report also added quoting a source that the idea is to consolidate operations for facing the Jio onslaught. If the talk reaches a positive conclusion, the combined entity will be the world’s largest TV distribution company with over 38 million subscribers along with 61 per cent DTH market share in India.

    The consolidation in DTH space started with mega merger of Dish TV and Videocon d2h. Earlier, Airtel was in talks with another leading DTH player Tata Sky also but the parties could not reach any agreement.

    According to TRAI data, Dish TV combined with Videocon d2h leads with a 37 per cent market share as of September 2018 followed by Tata Sky’s 27 per cent and Airtel Digital TV stood with 24 per cent.

    In the third quarter, Dish TV had 23.6 million subscribers and it reported operating revenue of Rs 1,517.4 crore while Airtel Digital TV had 15 million subscribers with revenue of Rs 1,033 crore.  However, Airtel Digital TV’s ARPU was higher at Rs 231 compared to Dish TV’s ARPU of Rs 200.