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Tag: Airtel DTH

  • DTH ops latch onto the FIFA juggernaut

    DTH ops latch onto the FIFA juggernaut

    MUMBAI: The world is in the grip of football fever and India isn’t far behind, though it is traditionally a cricket-crazy country where an Indian Premiere League would score any day higher than a FIFA in terms of fan frenzy.

     

    As aficionados prepare to settle down in front of the idiot box, popcorn and coke in tow, DTH operators are doing all they can to woo customers with special services and what not during the World Cup.

     

    A strategy adopted by almost all DTH operators is to offer Sony Six free for the entire duration of FIFA to all new subscribers taking a connection between June and the FIFA finale. While Tata Sky, Sun Direct and Airtel DTH are offering the channel free-of-charge to all their new subscribers, Dish TV is offering it only to its new subscribers and also to Zing subscribers. “FIFA viewing pockets are West Bengal, Odisha, Kerala and urban cities. So when compared to cricket, it isn’t as big an event in India,” says Dish TV CEO RC Venkateish.

     

    Additionally, Tata Sky and Videocon d2h have timed the launch of two of their services to coincide with the beginning of FIFA. Tata Sky has launched its TV Everywhere application for desktops and laptops, which was hitherto only available on Android and iOS smartphones. Furthermore, Sony Six is the new addition to the list of channels available on the app that would be available to subscribers at the same cost of Rs 60 per month. Tata Sky COO Vikram Mehra says, “The service launch has been timed just before the football World Cup to ensure that the home laptop doubles as the second TV at home, thus allowing youngsters to watch late night football matches on their laptops and headphones without disturbing their entire family.”

     

    Whereas, Videocon d2h has recently launched its earphone service through which, viewers can connect to radio frequency remotes and watch TV. “We have been working on this proposition for our consumers for quite some time. As per extensive research done by us, the typical Indian male consumer likes to watch content late night. Mostly consumption is of sports and movies. Given that in a typical Indian household, television is in the bedroom, volume becomes an issue. With a huge following for the World Cup in India and its late night timing, it coincided well with our plans,” says Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera. Special product offerings will be provided for headphone remote-enabled set top boxes.

     

    Even Sun Direct’s existing customers, who take a recharge of six months or more, can watch Sony Six free during the FIFA period. Those who don’t have Sony Six in their packs can avail the FIFA add-on for a special price of Rs 39 for the duration of the World Cup or buy Sony Six at Rs 30 per month. A mix of above the line (ATL), below the line (BTL), digital and PR activities have been planned close to the beginning of the World Cup. ATL is through radio, TV and focus on Kerala; BTL is through posters, leaflets and wobblers; while other activities are through SMS, OBD and blogs. The operator has already received nearly 40,000 requests for Sony Six.

     

    Dish TV and its second brand Zing are banking not just on Sony Six but also on Sony Aath which will be providing commentary in Bangla. Says Dish TV VP marketing Anjali Malhotra, ”Zing caters to a larger language customer base. Sony Aath is already available in all base packs of Zing as well on Dish TV in the north. With Sony Six available to consumers free of any extra fee during FIFA, it will help people buy Zing and watch it.”

     

    The operator has also rolled out an intense marketing campaign across West Bengal involving print, outdoor and radio mediums.

  • Airtel DTH services y-o-y growth 23%, EBIDTA up 226%, ARPU up 10% in Q4-2014

    Airtel DTH services y-o-y growth 23%, EBIDTA up 226%, ARPU up 10% in Q4-2014

    BENGALURU: Indian and international mobile services giant Bharati Airtel Limited’s DTH (Airtel DTH) services business total revenue has grown 23 per cent to Rs 541.5 crore in Q4-2014 as compared to the Rs 441.9 crore in the year ago quarter (Q4-2013).  During FY-2014, total revenue at Rs 2077.1 crore was 27 per cent more than the Rs 1629.4 crore in FY-2013.

     

    Airtel DTH has reported higher EBIDTA at Rs 96.3 crore in Q4-2014, 226 per cent more than the Rs 29.6 crore in Q4-2013. During the current financial year, EBIDTA was even higher (by 638 per cent) at Rs 333.8 crore as compared to the Rs 45.2 crore in FY-2013.

     

    Airtel DTH’s operating margin (EBIT) loss reduced by 38 per cent to Rs (-111.1) crore in Q4-2014 from Rs (-178.4) crore in Q4-2013. Over the year EBIT reduced by 41 per cent to Rs (-482.1) crore in FY-2014 from Rs (-810.5) crore in FY-2013.

     

    Capex at Rs 177.9 crore went up 34 per cent in Q4-2014 from Rs 132.6 crore y-o-y. However the company’s capex in FY-2014 was (-18) per cent lower at Rs 617 crore as compared to the Rs 754.8 crore in FY-2013.

     

    The company’s DTH business’s cumulative investments in Q4-2014 and FY-2014 went up 15 per cent to Rs 4646.8 crore from Rs 4036.6 crore in Q4-2013 and FY-2013.

     

    Airtel DTH q-o-q customer base went up 2 per cent in Q4-2014 to 90.12 lakhs from 88.07 lakhs, with net additions of 2.05 lakhs new subscribers during Q4-2014. This is (-13) per cent lower than the 235000 net additions the company had declared during Q4-2013. Y-o-y the customer base was 11 per cent more than the 81 lakhs subscribers in Q4-2014, but net new subscriptions during Q4-2014 was less by (-1) per cent than the 207000 net new subscriptions in Q4-2013.

     

    Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) in Q4-2014 has gone down (-2) per cent to Rs 203 in Q4-2014 as compared to the Rs 207 in the immediate trailing quarter, but was 10 per cent more than the Rs 184 in the year ago quarter (Q4-2013).

     

    Airtel DTH’s monthly churn was also higher at 0.9 per cent in Q4-2014 as compared to the 0.8 per cent in Q3-2014, but was lower than the 1.1 per cent in Q4-2013.

     

    It became the first DTH player in the country to showcase a feature film on the same day of its theatrical release with the showcase of Telugu movie ‘Minukumanna Minugurulu’ on its Pay Per View (PPV) platform.

     

    In line with company’s initiatives to associate with events, shows and initiatives that resonate well with the preferences of today’s India, Bharati Airtel co-sponsored the popular TV show ‘Satyamev Jayate’ again this year. The brand integration with the show included innovations like in-show calls on Airtel 3G and use of Airtel money for donations along with access to exclusive show content to customers.

     

    In an effort to provide a world-class experience to the customers, the company launched Airtel ‘Pocket TV’ – a mobile app which will enable customers to watch their favourite TV programs on the move while also being the first player to release a feature film on digital TV platform.

  • DTH operators to challenge I&B Ministry’s notice on arrears

    DTH operators to challenge I&B Ministry’s notice on arrears

    NEW DELHI: Operators of private direct-to-home (DTH) platforms, who recently received a notice from the government with regard to licence fee dues amounting to Rs 2,066 crore, plan to challenge the notice on the ground that the matter is subjudice and is pending in the Supreme Court.

     

    However, the DTH Operators Association of India is yet to decide whether the challenge will be in the form of a reply to the Ministry or an application in Court.

     

    According to the notice sent earlier this week, the six private operators have been asked to pay the amount within fifteen days.

     

    However, most of the operators contacted by indiantelevision.com said they had cleared the dues of licence fee.

     

    The operators say the licence fee as demanded under the rules is on gross revenue (GR) whereas they have been asked to pay the fee on the basis of actual gross revenue (AGR). The operators have said the fee should be only on subscription revenue and not on allied earnings such as dividend and interest income.

     

    When the operators insisted that they had been paying the licence fee on the GR, the government went to the Supreme Court on the issue and the matter has been pending for the past four years and is now expected to come up early next month.

     

    However, Information and Broadcasting Ministry secretary Bimal Julka told indiantelevision.com that the Ministry was justified in sending the notices since the apex court had not levied a stay order in the matter. Asked about possible action after 15 days, he said this would be done according to the provisions of the licensing rules.

     

    Tata Sky MD & CEO Harit Nagpal said that the demand of Rs 2,066 crore is the differential between the GR and the AGR.

     

    He also said that I&B Ministry had itself asked the Finance Ministry to reduce the fee from 10 per cent to six per cent but the latter had not taken a decision on this so far.

     

    According to the notices sent to the operators, Dish TV has to pay Rs 625 crore while Tata Sky has been told to pay Rs 620 crore. Airtel Digital TV has to pay Rs 298 crore, while Sun Direct has to clear Rs 230 crore. The Videocon-owned d2h has to pay Rs 157 crore while Reliance Digital TV has to pay Rs 136 crore.

     

    While DTH companies provide for 10 per cent licence fee on overall revenue in their profit and loss account, they pay less (only on subscription revenue net of content cost) at about five per cent of overall revenue. The rest is booked as a provision in the balance sheet, along with applicable interest.

     

    As of 31 March 2013, Dish TV’s closing provision pertaining to regulatory dues (including interest) stood at Rs 653.66 crore.

     

    Some of the DTH operators were hopeful that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India would bring down the licence fee from 10 per cent to six per cent, as proposed by the I&B Ministry to the Finance Ministry. TRAI itself had recommended last year that the actual gross revenue should be brought down to eight per cent.

     

    Meanwhile, the Parliament was told in April last year that the six private DTH operators paid Rs 307.8 crore as licence fee to the government for the year 2011-12, compared to Rs 177.8 crore in 2010-11 and Rs 126.2 crore in 2009-10.

     

    The revenue in 2008-09 was Rs 89.3 crore from four operators, since both Airtel Digital TV (Bharti Telemedia) as well as Videocon d2h (Bharat Business Channel) had not commenced services.

     

    The other DTH players are Dish TV, Tata Sky, Sun Direct TV, and Reliance Big TV.    

     

    Under the agreement with the government, the platforms pay a non-refundable entry fee of Rs 10 crore and an annual fee equivalent to 10 per cent of its gross revenue every financial year. Thus, the platforms have paid Rs 60 crore as one-time entry fee.

     

    According to figures furnished in the reply to the Parliament, Tata Sky paid licence fee of Rs 79.3 crore in 2011-12 as against Airtel Digital’s Rs 61.87 crore and Dish TV’s Rs 30 crore. Sun Direct paid Rs 36 crore, Reliance Big TV paid Rs 9.5 crore, and Videocon d2h paid Rs 5 crore.

     

    DTH services are governed by the DTH guidelines and terms and conditions issued by the I&B Ministry on 15 March 2001 and amended from time to time.    

     

    The seven DTH players in the country including Doordarshan’s free-to-air Freedish cover around 3.5 crore TV homes. Freedish currently has 59 slots including 22 of its own and which it hopes to increase to 97 by the end of this year and ultimately to 250 slots over the next two years.

  • Q3: Digitisation pushes up MSOs’ subscription revenue

    Q3: Digitisation pushes up MSOs’ subscription revenue

    MUMBAI: Transparency in subscriber numbers with the digitisation of cable TV services in 42 cities is translating into higher subscription revenues for multi-system operators.

     

    The benefit of digitisation is still to fully reflect in revenues of MSOs as billing to cable TV subscribers is still to be completed in the 38 cities that were digitised in Phase II.

     

    Digitisation has had an added impact on the MSOs financials. Their carriage or placement revenue earned from broadcasters is decreasing.

    MSOs expect carriage revenue to rise as new channels get launched.

     

    Carriage Revenue

    Hathway Cable & Datacom’s income from placement of channels fell 14 per cent to Rs 73.6 crore in the third quarter ended 31 December, 2014. The share of placement revenue in Hathway Cable’s total revenues fell to 31 per cent in the third quarter from 41 per cent a year ago.

     

    Den Networks too saw softening of its placement revenues to Rs 117.8 crore, down nearly 2 per cent from Rs 119.90 crore a quarter earlier. Den Network’s placement revenues a year ago are not available.

     

    Subscription Revenues

    Digitisation gains led Den Networks revenues to rise to Rs 105 crore in the third quarter, up 6 per cent from Rs 99.11 crore a quarter earlier.

     

    The quarter-on-quarter increase in subscription revenues for Hathway Cable was sharper. Its subscription revenues rose to 74 per cent to Rs 119.1 crore in the third quarter from Rs 68.5 crore a quarter earlier.

     

    Hathway Cable’s subscription revenues rose as it completed billing for a substantial percentage of its cable TV customers in the cities covered under the Phase II of digitisation. As a result, its average revenue per month per subscriber too has increased substantially, an analyst said.

     

    Hathway Cable says with its focus on collections, the company has witnessed continued traction in the pace of subscription collections into January 2014.

     

    SITI Cable Network saw its total revenues in the third quarter rise 42 per cent to Rs 177.3 crore from Rs 124.7 crore a year ago.

    SITI Cable CEO V D Wadhwa says, “We gained further momentum in the third quarter of fiscal 2014.”

     

    Direct-To-Home TV

    Dish TV’s revenues rose 3% quarter on quarter to Rs 6,128 mn in the third quarter but its EBITDA fell 1.6% quarter on quarter to Rs 135.50 crore. The company’s operating profit was down as its content cost rose and selling, general and administrative expenses increased as it tapped benefits flowing from digitisation.

    Dish TV added net 2,20,000 households in the third quarter taking its subscriber base to 11.2 million.

    Analysts expect Dish TV to reap higher benefits of digitisation in Phase III and IV starting 1 October, 2014.

     

    In the case of Bharti Airtel’s DTH business, the multiplier impact of increased customer additions and higher realisations during the quarter, pushed up revenues by 25.8 per cent to Rs 538.4 crore from Rs 428 crore a quarter earlier.

     

    Leveraging economies of scale, EBITDA for the quarter increased to Rs 97 crore from Rs 14.7 crore a year earlier. Consequently, Airtel Digital TV’s EBIDTA margin improved significantly to 18.0 per cent in the third quarter from 3.4 per cent a year earlier.

     

    During the current quarter, the company incurred a capital expenditure of Rs 110.90 crore in DTH services. The cash burn during the quarter at Rs 13.9 million was significantly lower Rs 120.40 crore a year ago.

     

    Airtel DTH added 2,35,000 net subscribers in the third quarter to take its total subscriber base to 88,07,000. Its average revenue per user in the third quarter was Rs 207. 

  • Airtel DTH Q3-2014 yoy EBITDA up fivefolds; revenue up 26%; improved Arpu

    Airtel DTH Q3-2014 yoy EBITDA up fivefolds; revenue up 26%; improved Arpu

    BENGALURU: The DTH segment of India’s largest mobile services provider Airtel DTH reported earnings before interest taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of Rs 97 crore for Q3-2014, 560 per cent more than the Rs 14.7 crore during Q3-2013 and 50.4 per cent more than the Rs 64.5 crore during the immediate trailing quarter.

     

    Airtel’s DTH segment reported a 25.8 per cent growth in revenue during Q3-2014 at Rs 538.4 crore as compared to the Rs 428 crore during Q3-2013 and 6.15 per cent more than the Rs 507.2 crore during Q2-2014.

     

    Overall, Arpu (Average revenue per user) improved by 11.29 per cent to Rs 207 during Q3-2014 as compared to the Rs 186 during Q3-2013 and was 4.55 per cent more than the Rs 198 during the immediate preceding quarter.

     

    The segment reported a 11.57 per cent y-o-y growth in total number of subscribers during Q3-2014 to 88.07 lakhs (100 lakhs = I crore = 1,00,00,000) with a net addition of 2.35 lakh new subscribers and a monthly churn of 0.8 per cent. During the corresponding period of last fiscal, the DTH segment had reported a subscriber base of 78.94 lakh with a net addition of 4.39 lakh and a monthly churn of 1.3 per cent. Corresponding figures for Q2-2014 were q-o-q growth of 2.74 per cent as compared to the 85.72 lakh customers in Q2-2013, with net addition of 1.2 lakh and a monthly churn of 1 per cent.

     

    Airtel DTH segment’s EBIT figures, though negative, also improved. The segment reported a Q3-2014 EBIT of Rs (-108.1) crore, which was 46.9 per cent better than the Q3-2013 EBIT of Rs (-182.8) crore and 26.7 per cent better than the Q2-2014 EBIT of Rs (-147.3) crore.

     

    Though the DTH segment contributed just 3.73 per cent to Bharti Airtel’s India revenues of Rs 14,443 crore during Q3-2014, the company invested 6.37 per cent of its capex spends of Rs 1742 crore in India.

     

    The company invested Rs 110.9 crore in capex for the DTH segment during Q3-2014, this figure was 17.91 per cent lower than the Rs 135.1 crore during Q3-2013, but 6.43 per cent more than the Rs 104.2 crore invested on capex in Q2-2014.

     

    Consequently, the company’s Operating free cash flow (EBITDA-Capex), though negative, improved more than eight fold (8.66 ties) to Rs (-13.9) crore in Q3-2014 as compared to the Rs (-120.4 crore) in Q3-2013 and by almost three times (2.85 times) the Rs (-39.7) crore during Q2-2014.

     

    Click here for full report

  • Airtel DTH and ESPN Star Sports smoke peace pipee

    MUMBAI: It was a spat, which was in the works for almost six months. But now it has been resolved – amicably, at least if one goes by a press release issued by ESPN Star Sports (ESS).
     
    Though details are not available on what the terms are ESS has signed a multi-year agreement with Airtel Digital TV to enable distribution of its channels Star Cricket, Star Sports, Star Sports 2, ESPN, Star Cricket HD and ESPN HD on the latter‘s DTH platform.

    In late 2012, Airtel had yanked ESPN and Star Cricket HD channels from its platform citing prohibitive pricing of the two channels. Then on 22 March, the sports network deactivated the channels on its DTH and IPTV platforms due to Bharti Telemedia and Bharti Airtel‘s “non-signing of agreements and breach of statutory obligations.”

  • Videocon d2h’s Arpu in 2012-13 first half at Rs 135

    Videocon d2h’s Arpu in 2012-13 first half at Rs 135

    MUMBAI: The average revenue per user (Arpu) per month of Videocon d2h, the direct-to-home (DTH) television service of Bharat Business Channel, was Rs 135 in the six months ended 31 October 2012, up from Rs 113 in the fiscal year beginning 1 April 2011.

    Videocon d2h‘s gross subscriber base as on 31 October was 6.62 million, up 21 per cent from 5.48 million as on 31 March 2012.

    The company‘s subscriber acquisition cost in the first half of 2012-13 was the lowest at Rs 2,021 per subscriber as it procures set-top boxes (STBs) locally from a group company.

    Videocon d2h will buy from group firm Trend Electronics Ltd (TEL) 1.6 million standard definition STBs at Rs 1,400 per piece, 0.4 million high definition STBs at Rs 1,700 per piece and two million outdoor units and accessories at Rs 627 per unit.

    Bharat Business Channel has filed a draft prospectus for an initial public offering (IPO) to raise Rs 7 billion.

    Videocon d2h has the highest subscriber addition rate with a 25 per cent share in the total additions by DTH players in the first half of 2012-13. In the whole of 2011-12 too Videocon d2h had the highest share of 24.4 per cent in new subscriber additions.

    The company‘s monthly churn rate too was lower at 0.89 per cent in the first half of 2012-13 from 1.16 per cent in the whole of 2011-12.

    Airtel DTH and Dish TV, the competitors of Videocon d2h, had monthly Arpu of Rs 171 and Rs 154, respectively, while the monthly churn rate of Airtel was 1.9 per cent and Dish TV 0.8 per cent in the first half of 2012-13.

  • Airtel DTH to premiere Kamal Haasan’s Vishwaroopam

    Airtel DTH to premiere Kamal Haasan’s Vishwaroopam

    MUMBAI: DTH service provider Airtel digital TV has announced the premier of Kamal Haasan‘s forthcoming thriller titled ‘Vishwaroopam‘ in Tamil and Telugu and ‘Vishwaroop‘ in Hindi on its Pay Per View (PPV) platform.

    The initiative, the "first of its kind" in India, will enable customers of Airtel DTH to view the movie 12 hours before its theatrical release.
    While the movie will release in theatres on 11 January, it will be premiered on Airtel DTH‘s Pay Per View (PPV) at 9:30pm on 10 January in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi.

    The Tamil movie can be booked for a charge of Rs 1,200 per view and the Telugu & Hindi versions for Rs 500 per view. Pre-bookings of the Tamil version will be available until January 8, 2013 for a charge of Rs 1,000 per view
    Bharti Airtel CEO – DTH/Media Shashi Arora said "We are proud to launch yet another industry first on Airtel DTH providing customers in the country an innovative opportunity to enjoy the movie before its theatrical release. I am certain that Kamal Haasan fans will make the maximum out of this initiative and enjoy the movie in the convenience of their homes along with family and friends. With our 7.5 million customers, I am absolutely certain that this will create an all new avenue for movie releases in India."

  • Comedy Central goes BTL for Hot in Cleveland sitcom

    MUMBAI: Viacom18’s comedy channel Comedy Central has rolled out a marketing campaign to promote its latest sitcom offering Hot in Cleveland. Instead of only sticking to the usual TV, print and OOH route, this time around the channel has opted for a more interactive and inclusive BTL route.

    The show is aired at 10 pm on weekdays and follows the lives of three middle-aged best friends from Los Angeles, who have to make an emergency landing at Cleveland on their flight to Paris.

    As part of the campaign, Comedy Central has tied up with Rubys to create some special ‘Hot in Cleveland’ drinks like Mango Margarita, Appletini, Watermelon Fizz and Ruby Coolers keeping in mind the tastes of a woman. Another tie up has been forged with coffee house chain Café Coffee Day where the ‘Hot in Cleveland Cappuccino’ has been introduced and will be available for the months of July and August.

    The channel has also collaborated with premium salon Juice where customers above the age of 40 may avail of the special ‘Hot in Cleveland’ package.

    Additionally, Comedy Central has partnered with Airtel DTH to play promos on the default channel for 10 days, Inox, which will have promo stills during the interval and Book My Show, In.com and Crossword, will actively promote the show over the next month through contests and other innovative branding.

  • Zee TV rolls out marketing campaign for paranormal show Fear Files

    MUMBAI: Zee TV has launched a 360 degree marketing campaign to promote its new paranormal show Fear Files that will premiere on 30 June.

    The channel is promoting the show through print ads, ambient branding, DTH, viral marketing, cinema hall promotion, digital and social media. Also, differentiated augmented reality has been designed to maximise engagement while following an integrated marketing approach.

    As a part of the BTL activity, Zee TV will capture the audiences across malls and create an experience with augmented reality that uses computer graphics and sensors. There will be huge LED screens placed in these areas and people who come near the marked zone will experience something that is intended to surprise them and create a huge sense of intrigue.

    The online promotions will be centred on giving viewers a paranormal experience rather than just telling a scary tale. Internet users will be captured across various sites with captivating messages. The channel has planned a social network activity that will allow users to share their own experiences by writing in stories and upload videos. Paranormal expert Mehra Shrikhande will share daily tips and feedback to online users.

    The DTH promotional plan has ads and promos that will be played on Dish TV, Airtel DTH and Tata Sky.

    Cinema hall promotions have begun with the launch of movie ‘The Amazing Spiderman’ to tap kids and male audiences. Apart from the promos running inside the movie screen, the washrooms will carry ambient branding. The channel claims that print medium will also see “innovative and attention grabbing” advertising.

    The Facebook page of the show will also let viewers share their views and thoughts on various aspects. Micro-blogging sites like Twitter will keep the community of Fear Files viewers up-to-date on all on the shows.

    Zeel marketing head- national channels Akash Chawla said, “The biggest challenge that the marketing team had to surmount was to evoke the emotion of ‘thrill’ from its target audience. The show has intrigue and mystery as its core and these are the two factors taken forward in its marketing campaign also. Hence, keeping in mind the primary target audience of the show, promotions are centred around online and new media along with traditional media mix. The communication across every medium will aim to tease people with the fear of the unknown and give
    them a thrilling experience.”

    The 26 episode series is based on paranormal experiences in one’s life and will air every Saturday and Sunday at 10.30 pm.