ITV

Tag: Altaf Ali Mohammed

  • Star, Zee at odds on DTH set top specifications

    Star, Zee at odds on DTH set top specifications

    NEW DELHI: The issue of standardisation of set-top boxes for KU-band direct-to-home (DTH) television service continues to be a thorny issue contributing to a delay in the start of any such venture in India.
     
     
    The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) — as it happened again in a meeting on Thursday — is finding it difficult to make any sort of recommendation to the Indian government on the STBs owing to a lack of consensus amongst the various stakeholders in the industry.

    “One of the main stumbling blocks has been the clause in the DTH policy guidelines that mandates an open architecture for the STBs,” a senior BIS official, on condition of anonymity, told indiantelevision.com after yesterday’s over two-hour meeting, adding that rival broadcasters have been staunchly sticking to their opposite stand on interoperability, amongst other issues, which is making the Bureau’s task difficult.

    Is interoperability possible, as has been mandated in the guidelines by the Indian government? Experts opine that that technically it is possible, but practically an ‘open’ box is rarely used for DTH anywhere in the world as it does not make huge investments in such projects a viable proposition.

    Yesterday’s meeting was attended by a strong team from Star, including the Hong Kong-based Altaf Ali Mohammed, president digital platforms group, who oversees its DTH project, representatives from ASC Enterprise/Zee and CETMA , among others.

    Since no decision could be arrived at yesterday, another meeting has been called for on 28 April where BIS has said it should be decided how things can be taken forward, including a consensus on interoperability. BIS is also of the viewpoint that it has to work within the limitations of the policy guidelines and things mandated therein.

    “If the DTH players are so upset with the guidelines, then they should petition the government to go in for modifications. BIS cannot recommend such a step and it will work within the framework of the policy,” the BIS official explained.

    The open architecture conundrum, as rightly pointed out by BIS, is the result of lack of consensus on the issue.

    At one end of the spectrum is media baron Rupert Murdoch’s pan-Asian venture Star Group that has applied to the Indian government for a DTH licence through a company called Space TV. Star’s stand from the beginning has been that open architecture is a non-starter and this clause should be changed if the BIS sub-committee, examining this issue at the behest of the information and broadcasting ministry, recommends so to the government.

    At the other end of the DTH spectrum is Murdoch’s one time Indian ally, Subhash Chandra, sometimes also referred to as Asia’s Rupert Murdoch by South-East Asia based newsmagazines.

    While Space TV is yet to get a nod from the government on the DTH licence issue, one of Chandra’s companies, ASC Enterprise, having got the green signal for DTH and the official letter from the I&B ministry recently, is taking a stand that it would do everything as per rules specified in the guidelines. This also includes going in for interoperability where the boxes are concerned.

    This divergent view has thrown a spanner in Star’s scheme of things, which has also been petitioning that another clause in the guidelines relating to revenue sharing with the government should be modified. And rightly so also.

    A typical DTH venture would attract investment between $ 400-500 million. Having invested such a sum, no media organisation would like to throw away the advantage of captive subscribers. Moreover, as Star has pointed out, since such ventures take a long time to break-even, the 10 per cent annual revenue sharing should be modified to profit sharing.

    In India, despite small steps forward, DTH at present continues to be DTN (direct to nowhere).

  • Indian government tells Space TV to clarify its position on DTH

    Indian government tells Space TV to clarify its position on DTH

    The Indian government is a in a no-nonsense mood. It has asked Mumbai-based Space Television, a little known company which is the first company to apply for a KU-band direct-to-home (DTH) television service in India, to clarify its position and “adhere to the existing policy decisions.”

    Confirming the move, a senior government official said, “A letter has been sent to Space TV to clarify its position and its intentions (on starting a DTH service in India).”

    Though Star Group’s Altaf Ali Mohammed, who is said to be in charge of the proposed DTH operations for India, has denied in the recent past any such move, industry sources insisted that Star would be a shareholder in the little known company.

    The government official said that along with its application, Space TV had also put in clauses which the government feels are “pre-conditions” to taking the licence.

    Space Television is said to have mentioned along with its applications that the 10 per cent annual revenue sharing with the government would make the DTH venture commercially unviable. Besides, it has also asked for lowering of duties on the import of set-top boxes needed to access a DTH service and also some easing in the cap on the ownership of the DTH venture as far as foreign holding is concerned.

    The government official, without divulging the full content of the letter sent to Space TV, said that if the Mumbai company’s intentions are “honourable,” then it should first adhere to the existing policy guidelines on DTH and not set preconditions at the time of seeking a licence for operating a DTH service for India.

    Star would have to restrict its shareholding in Space Television to 20 per cent, in accordance with the policy guidelines on DTH. The total foreign investment including foreign direct investment, and investment by Non-Resident Indians, overseas corporate bodies and foreign institutional investors should not exceed 49 per cent. Also, a broadcasting or a cable company cannot hold more than a 20 per cent stake in a DTH venture.

    A DTH platform with about 100 channels will require investments to the tune of $500 million and foreign broadcasters, including Star, rightly so have been saying that a DTH platform with majority Indian shareholding cannot be operated as most Indian companies do not have the financial muscle to muster up the sort of investment which is required for such a venture.

    In November 2000, the Cabinet had given a formal nod to the reception of Ku band television signals direct to Indian homes. Various restrictions were put in as a safeguard against the creation of monopoly and cultural invasion.

    Since then, however, the response to the DTH policy had been lukewarm. Till Space TV came along to apply for a licence.

    The delays on the DTH front has created concern in certain sections of the government. The Planning Commissions Tenth working group on the information and broadcasting ministry had said sometime back: The policy on DTH has not encouraged any player to come so far and promote the growth of digital set-top boxes. This needs to be reviewed. The policies to treat DTH services as the source of revenue are counter-productive. They limit the growth of the market and defeat the very objective of reaching out to consumers.

  • Star applies for DTH licence? Altaf Ali Mohammed says no

    Star applies for DTH licence? Altaf Ali Mohammed says no

    The past few weeks have witnessed some hectic lobbying for easing up of the bug bear clauses as far as DTH regulations are concerned. Star TV Asia chairman James Murdoch, and News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch have made whistlestop visits to India for meetings with information and broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj. Murdoch Jr in fact in a public address at Ficci Frames blasted any move to legislate conditional access, and privately made a pitch for DTH with Swaraj.

    At around the same time there was also the buzz that Zee TV was considering a joint DTH venture with AOL Time Warner, which was denied later by both its Turner India boss Anshuman Mishra and Zee Group chairman Subhash Chandra.

    Now the unconfirmed news emanating from Delhi is that Star India has applied for a DTH licence (or is seeking to do so in the very near future) through a company called Space TV. The fact that Star India is indeed thinking of such an initiative is an indicator that the government may be backtracking on its tough stance on quantum of foreign equity permitted, and cross media restrictions in DTH ventures. Star India was the first mover in DTH in India through ISkyB in 1997 but had its foray scuttled by a skittish government and rivals. The government issued a ban on distribution of Ku-band reception equipment and the regulations were eased up only a year and a half ago when it issued DTH guidelines which placed a cap on foreign equity and cross media equity of 20 per cent. No one applied for a licence, because TV companies and others found the DTH guidelines too draconian.

    When contacted Star India denied that it had made any move in recent times on its part to apply for a DTH licence. Altaf Ali Mohammed, president digital platforms group, who oversees its DTH project and is currently operating out of Dubai, said: “We continue to explore the DTH option but we have made no firm decisions on that score.”

    Market sources insist otherwise. “The reason Star wants to clam up on its decision is because it does not want a repeat of the ISkyB disaster of 1997,” says an industry observer.

    Watch this space to find out more.

  • Star applies for DTH licence? Altaf Ali Mohammed says no

    Star applies for DTH licence? Altaf Ali Mohammed says no

    The past few weeks have witnessed some hectic lobbying for easing up of the bug bear clauses as far as DTH regulations are concerned. Star TV Asia chairman James Murdoch, and News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch have made whistlestop visits to India for meetings with information and broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj. Murdoch Jr in fact in a public address at Ficci Frames blasted any move to legislate conditional access, and privately made a pitch for DTH with Swaraj.

    At around the same time there was also the buzz that Zee TV was considering a joint DTH venture with AOL Time Warner, which was denied later by both its Turner India boss Anshuman Mishra and Zee Group chairman Subhash Chandra. 

    Now the unconfirmed news emanating from Delhi is that Star India has applied for a DTH licence (or is seeking to do so in the very near future) through a company called Space TV. The fact that Star India is indeed thinking of such an initiative is an indicator that the government may be backtracking on its tough stance on quantum of foreign equity permitted, and cross media restrictions in DTH ventures. Star India was the first mover in DTH in India through ISkyB in 1997 but had its foray scuttled by a skittish government and rivals. The government issued a ban on distribution of Ku-band reception equipment and the regulations were eased up only a year and a half ago when it issued DTH guidelines which placed a cap on foreign equity and cross media equity of 20 per cent. No one applied for a licence, because TV companies and others found the DTH guidelines too draconian. 

    When contacted Star India denied that it had made any move in recent times on its part to apply for a DTH licence. Altaf Ali Mohammed, president digital platforms group, who oversees its DTH project and is currently operating out of Dubai, said: “We continue to explore the DTH option but we have made no firm decisions on that score.” 

    Market sources insist otherwise. “The reason Star wants to clam up on its decision is because it does not want a repeat of the ISkyB disaster of 1997,” says an industry observer. 

  • Government looks ready to lift DTH FDI cap; Zee-AOL-Time Warner and News Corp likely to announce DTH ventures

    Government looks ready to lift DTH FDI cap; Zee-AOL-Time Warner and News Corp likely to announce DTH ventures

    The floodgates are finally opening up it would seem. Earlier this week, the Union Cabinet allowed 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in advertising and films. And if reports trickling in from North Block are to be believed, the government is expected to lift a major bugbear of the broadcasting sector in the the next few days: that of the 20 per cent FDI equity cap in Indian DTH ventures. Apparently, sources say, the I&B ministry, in conjunction with the communications and IT ministry and the Prime Minister’s Office, is likely to raise the FDI bar to 49 per cent in DTH ventures. Other anomalies in the DTH policy announced last year like cross media restrictions are to be eased too, sources indicate.

    A huge bash has been planned by AOL Time Warner CEO Gerald Levin and the Zee Network chairman Subhash Chandra in Delhi next week as a celebration of the new freedom, sources reveal. Apparently, the duo is likely to announce a further cementing of their relationship in the form of a DTH venture for India, the sources say. Time Warner and the Zee Network announced a distribution partnership in the form of a Zee-Turner joint venture in December 2001.

    Apparently, News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch is also slated to announce similar plans at the same time, sources point out. He was, at the time of writing, slated to arrive in India on 14 March while Levin is expected to touch down in India on 12 March. Star India officials refused to make any comments when asked about its DTH plans. Star India CEO Peter Mukerjea is reported to be in Shanghai along with Star Asia chairman James Murdoch.

    News Corp’s ISkyB venture has been on the backburner for the past five years, thanks to the Indian government’s fear of loosening the strings on media and intense lobbying from rivals.

    But Star India has been working on reviving it with Star Asia executive Altaf Ali Mohammed working on a feasibility plan for over a year now. Earlier it was examining a proposal to launch its ISkyB project in partnership with the then government owned long distance carrier, VSNL, sources reveal. The plan was later aborted and today VSNL is in the private hands of the Tata group.

    If the reports prove right, Murdoch will be battling the combined might of AOL Time Warner and former partner Subhash Chandra, which may make it appear to be a fight of unequals. But then the septuagenarian, who became a father after many years recently, loves the scent of battle and coming out on top.

  • Nothing decided on DTH plans, says Star’s Altaf Ali Mohammed

    Nothing decided on DTH plans, says Star’s Altaf Ali Mohammed

    Altaf Ali Mohammed, in charge of Star’s DTH and broadband operations in India, today rubbished reports in the press that Star had put together a $ 350 million war chest to vigorously pursue its DTH plans in India this year.

     

    No decisions have been made regarding Star’s DTH venture as there were still a number of issues to be clarified, Mohammed pointed out, while stating that he he had yet to get the full gist of the statement that information and broadcasting minister Sushma Swaraj is reported to have made in parliament on Friday regarding uplinking from India.

     

    Swaraj, in a written statement in Parliament, has been quoted as saying that since the convergence bill was still at the drafting stage, it was not possible to say whether it would have any provision for compulsory uplinking of foreign channels.

     

    As per the DTH notification issued in March on the ground rules for companies wanting to enter DTH in India, any licensee will have to establish an uplink earth station in India within 12 months from the date of issue of license. All content provided by the DTH platform to the subscribers, irrespective of its source, will have to pass through the common encryption and conditional access system, located within the earth station, situated on Indian soil.

     

    Asked for his reaction to strong rumours in the market that Star was the most likely partner in the DTH platform that government internet gateway provider Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL) was planning to launch before the end of the year, Mohammed said he was in charge of the project and he was putting on record that nothing had been decided yet on the matter. “The fact that no one has applied for a DTH licence till now (the government notification was out in March) should indicate something,” Mohammed stated.

     

    There were still a number of issues which needed clarification before there could be any go-ahead on DTH, Mohammed said. An issue which needed further elaboration from the government was the one requiring a record of all that was aired for a period of 90 days after telecast, he said.

     

    One of the clauses in the guidelines state: “The DTH operator will follow the advertising and programming code drawn up by the information and broadcasting ministry. And it should maintain a record of the advertising and programming for 90 days.”

     

    Mohammed also drew issue over the fixing of responsibility for the content of third party channels with the platform provider. He said that the same rules that applied to cable operators should apply here too because it was only the distribution methodology that was different in the two cases.

  • Star having a rethink on its DTH plans

    Star having a rethink on its DTH plans

    Star India, which in January was reported to have in place the blueprint for its DTH operations, appears to be having second thoughts after the government’s recent notification that there would be no changes to the guidelines it issued to broadcasters in November 2000.

     

    Altaf Ali Mohammed, president digital platforms group, who had been brought in from Hong Kong to oversee Star’s DTH project in December last after Star abandoned its DTH plans for Hong Kong, has this to say: “At this point, the risks of going in for DTH are much higher than the possible rewards.”

     

    “Even leaving aside the guidelines themselves, which are anyway extremely stringent, the government has not spelt out clearly some other issues,” Mohammed says. “ As far as computing our costs go, we still don’t have a clear picture on what spectrum usage fees and the uplinking licence fee mentioned in the notification will entail. Add the service tax and new income tax regime in the present budget and it effectively leaves us with little room to manouvre,” Mohammed says.

     

    Queried whether Star has given up on DTH, Mohammed says: “We are putting together a business plan which will go into all aspects of this and the whole process will take at least 30 days. If at the end of this, we feel it is commercially viable for us to get into DTH we will, otherwise no.”

     

    Why a business plan is required at this stage is the question if talk that Mohammed had already readied a report to be presented before the Star’s board in Hong Kong is true. Especially considering that in January, Star officials were quoted as saying that “in the absence of any positive response from the government on the issue of raising the foreign equity ceiling to a minimum of 49 per cent, it was anyway launching the project to take a first mover advantage.