Tag: Andhra Pradesh

Kabaddi comes home to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on Star Sports 1 Telugu

MUMBAI: Star Sports – India’s leading sports broadcaster, today announced the launch of Star Sport 1 Telugu, a dedicated sports channel for sports lovers in their mother tongue. The channel will offer multiple sporting events in Telugu, starting with the VIVO Pro Kabaddi League. The channel launch is In-line with Star Sports’ commitment to foster a multi-sports culture in the country while bringing fans closer to the sporting ecosystem. Providing live and non-live content, Star Sports 1 Telugu will have onboard, experts, commentators and players building a strong compelling offering for Telugu speaking sports audiences.

Superstar Rana Daggubati, the ambassador for VIVO Pro Kabaddi in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana features in the new TVC, where he compares sports to action packed cinema. He draws parallels on the similarities between sports and cinema, emphasizing on the ability each of them possess to capture audience attention always.

Speaking at the launch of Star Sports 1 Telugu, a Star Sports spokesperson said, “Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are unique markets with a substantial demand for specific language content and have distinct viewing habits, this has helped us at Star Sports understand the pulse of the Telugu sports fan. Star Sports 1 Telugu is a unique product offering catering to core Telugu sports fans in the region and outside. With the launch of Star Sports 1 Telugu, we are exemplifying our endeavor of providing relevant regional sports content to fans across the country. We are committed to constantly strengthen our portfolio across markets, with the growing number of diverse requirements, Star Sports 1 Telugu launch is a key milestone in that journey to curate a compelling offering for fans across regions.”

On the caravan moving to Andhra Pradesh, Anupam Goswami, League Commissioner, VIVO Pro Kabaddi league, said, “The initiative with Star Sports 1 Telugu exemplifies the value created by Star India for sports in the country, with its belief and commitment to take it deep into the lives of fans across India in their own language. VIVO Pro Kabaddi has been a big gainer owing to the role created by the broadcaster; the launch of Star Sports 1 Telugu will deepen great following that the League has in both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.”

Present at the press conference was, Rahul Chaudhari, Telugu Titans – Leading Raider, who said, “Over the past few seasons we have received immense support from fans in the region, they have cheered for Telugu Titans and been there to support us for every match. The affection we receive in the region has been unmatched so far. I thoroughly enjoy watching sports in Hindi, and with this new destination, I am confident Star Sports 1 Telugu will make fans come together to watch their favourite sport in their language, starting with our home games here.”

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have been markets where the consumption of sports has been high, we have seen a flurry of sportspersons emerge from the region, including VVS Laxman, Sania Mirza, PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal amongst others. The region has embraced several teams, VIVO IPL – Sunrisers Hyderabad, PBL – Hyderabad Hunters, VIVO PKL – Telugu Titans, giving them immense support. With a strong affinity for sport in the region, Star Sports 1 Telugu will amplify this by offering fans their favourite sports in their language.

Star Sports 1 Telugu will feature live and non-live content packaged into a line-up with distinguished Telugu hosts and commentators from the sports fraternity including, Venkatpathy Raju, Venkatesh, Kalyan Krishna and Kaushik Nallan Chakravarthy for Cricket and Madhavi Bhandari, Radhika Reddy and Kalyan Kollaram for Kabaddi. Star Sports 1 Telugu will be available on leading DTH and Cable Operators across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana as well as the rest of India. The channel will be LIVE 7th December 2018 onwards.

Fans can catch the VIVO Pro Kabaddi action LIVE, 7:30 pm onwards, on Star Sports 1 Telugu, the Star Sports Network and Hotstar. Fans can also watch the match live at Rajiv Gandhi Indoor Stadium, Vizag, starting 7th December 2018 onwards.

December 5, 2018
Broadcast India 2018 survey: South contributes 40% to total TV viewership

MUMBAI: The number of TV owning individuals in the five south states of India, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Kerala, is 259 million, up 8 per cent from 2016. This insight came out from the Broadcast India (BI) survey released by Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC).

This also means that 31 per cent of total TV owning individuals are present in these five states. The TV owning individuals in the north is 209 million, west is 221 million and east is 146 million.

BARC India CEO Partho Dasgupta said, “The survey has thrown some interesting facts about South India’s TV viewing habits. While total TV penetration in India currently stands at 66 per cent, TV penetration in South India is as high as 95 per cent. This can also be attributed to the fact that electrification in South is around 99.9 per cent and one of the first durables which people buy having electricity is TV.”

BARC India’s BI 2018 Survey was conducted covering 300,000 households, approximately 4300 towns/villages and 68 per cent of the urban market.

With eight out 10 people sampling TV daily and a high time spent of 4 hours 10 minutes, the southern market has been witnessing a year on year growth in average time spent on TV. The region also generates viewership of around 12 billion impressions at a weekly level. The fact that 31 per cent of the TV individuals in South contribute to 40 per cent of total TV viewership, proves that people in the region love TV.

The factors that affect TV viewing range from family size, migration, electrification and affluence among others. BI 2018 survey highlights that growing affluence in South India has played an important role in the family structure and durable ownership.

As per BI 2018 Survey, at an all India level, the average family size for TV homes is 4.25 individuals. In South, this is much lower at 3.8 individuals per household. This shows that families in the South are much more nuclear in nature.

The socio-economic profiles of homes in South India have also improved as compared to 2016. While the affluent (NCCS A) have seen a growth of nine per cent, the upper middle class (NCCS B) TV homes have grown by 15 per cent. TV homes falling under low socio-economic profiles (NCCS D/E) have dropped by seven per cent. Nuclear families, increasing middle class and rising disposable incomes are helping households move across the affluence chain.

The survey also highlights the fact that close to 30 per cent homes in the south have their female members working either full time or part time. The ratio further improves in rural where 35 per cent of homes have its women working.

Entertainment in South is of prime importance across the value chain. While 85 per cent of NCCS D/E homes have a TV, only 66 per cent of these homes have a gas stove. This proves the need for these families to sit together and watch their entertainment.

August 29, 2018
Zee Telugu’s legendary dance reality show Aata Juniors makes a comeback this weekend!

MUMBAI: Aata Juniors, one of Zee Telugu’s iconic dance reality shows is making a comeback to the channel starting this weekend! Zee Telugu pioneered telecasting non-fiction shows at prime-time which has now created a top-of-mind recall among its viewers across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Back with a bang, this season of Aata Juniors will be presented with an exciting format, featuring renowned celebrities, and brimming with the best up-and-coming junior dance talent. Aata Juniors is all set to celebrate Zee Telugu’s commitment to providing the best platform for those who aspire to make their dreams come true in line with the channel’s brand philosophy – “Aarambham Okka Aduguthone”. This 25th August onwards, viewers will witness the talented hand-picked little stars battle it out to win the ultimate title of Zee Telugu’s Aata Junior only on Zee Telugu and Zee Telugu HD, between 9:00 PM to 10:00 PM, every Saturday and Sunday.

The high-on-demand dance show chose 12 of its contestants out of a 1000s’ of children who participated in auditions that were conducted across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, along with videos shared for online auditions from Bengaluru and Chennai.

Hosted by Anchor Ravi, one of the most successful TV hosts from Zee Telugu, the highlight of this season of Aata Juniors is the introduction of the new format that includes 6 choreographers, 6 super-dancers, and the 12 exclusively hand-picked contestants, where each contestant will be paired with a choreographer and super-dancer, to help each of them make the most of this exciting platform! The teams will be judged by the adored Lakshmi Manchu and Nataraj Master, the popular choreographer, dancer, and actor, who has been a part of over 4000 stage shows. His excessive skill and knowledge in dance will be leveraged as a judge, where he will consider the stage presence of a performer, the entertainment quotient and dance technicalities, while a 12-member grand jury panel will mentor the contestants.

This season will provide the contestants the opportunity to present themselves in front of a walk-in celebrity judge every episode, with the gorgeous Tamannah Bhatia in the first two episodes of Aata Juniors. The teams will contest each other across different theme-based rounds each week, before the finalists fight for the ultimate Aata Junior trophy in the Grand Finale.

August 21, 2018
In South India, local language TV news consumption highest in Karnataka

BENGALURU: The four southern languages – Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam once represented the languages of the four southern states or four sisters as they were then known – Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala. With the splitting of Andhra Pradesh into Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, these languages now represent five states. Tamil is also a dominant language in the Union Territory of Puducherry. Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) started publishing viewership data of top fivenews channels in the four southern languages since week one of 2018 (Saturday, 30 December 2017 to Friday, 5 January 2018) until week 25 of 2018 (Saturday, 16 June 2018 to Friday, 22 June 2018). BARC publishes data based on the urban and rural (U+R) NCCS All: 2+ Individuals demographics for the following languages in the following markets respectively:

(1)   Tamil: In the Tamil Nadu and Puducherry market
(2)   Telugu: In the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana market
(3)   Kannada: In the Karnataka market
(4)   Malayalam: In the Kerala market

Limited analysis of limited data over the past 25 weeks has revealed some interesting and useful information, more so for media planners and advertisers targeting news watching audiences in these markets. People from Karnataka consume almost twice as much of Kannada news as people from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry consume Tamil news. Please refer to the figure below for weekly impressions of top fivenews channels for each language for week one to 25 of 2018 based on BARC data.

The author has determined average of the combined weekly impressions of the top five channels of each language over the 25 weeks of 2018 and has divided it by the population of the state based on the census of India 2011 to arrive at the weekly impressions per person. Though not very accurate, (because there are a lot more news channels in each of the four languages that don’t figure in BARC’s top five channels weekly lists, and populations must have grown and the number of households must have changed since 2011) a rough yardstick is better than none.

Average viewership per household has been obtained by dividing the average combined weekly impressions of the top five news channels in each language by the number of households as per the census of India 2011 data for each state. As mentioned above, in the case of Tamilnews, populations of andthe number of households in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry have been added, to calculate the per person or per household consumptionnumbers.

Consumption of news based on average weekly impressions of top fivenews channels of each of the four South Indian languages per person based on the census of India 2011 populations of these markets is:

(1)   Kannada: 3.09 weekly impressions per person.
(2)   Malayalam: 2.30 weekly impressions per person.
(3)   Telugu: 1.86 weekly impressions per person (Andhra Pradesh was one state during the 2011 census and population and household numbers of the united state have been taken from the census of India).
(4)   Tamil: 1.59 weekly impressions per person (Populations and number of households of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry based on the census of India 2011 have been added to arrive at the total Tamil speaking population/households).

Please refer to the figure below:

Each of the South Indian market has been dominated by one news channel whose average weekly viewership exceeded it next closest competitor by more than 20 percent during the first 25 weeks of 2018. So which are the most watched news channels in the four South Indian languages?

Kannada

Six channels have appeared in BARC’s weekly lists of top five Kannada news channels during the first 25 weeks of 2018. Four Kannada news channels have appeared in BARC’s list during all the first 25 weeks of the year. In order of viewership, they are: TV9 Kannada, Public TV, Suvarna News 24×7 and News18 Kannada. To give a perspective about the dominance of TV9 Kannada, its average weekly ratings during the first 25 weeks of 2018 were almost 50 percent more than the Public TV, 2.72 times more than Suvarna News 24×7 and about 3.87 times that of News18 Kannada.

The other two channels that featured in BARC’s weekly lists of top five Kannada news channels are Dighvijay 24×7 News (18 of the first 25 weeks of 2018) and BTV News (7 of the first 25 weeks of 2018)

Malayalam

Seven channels have appeared in BARC’s weekly lists of top five Malayalam news channels during the first 25 weeks of 2018. Three Malayalam news channels have appeared in BARC’s list during all the first 25 weeks of the year. In order of viewership, they are: Asianet News, Manorama News and Mathrubhumi News. To give a perspective about the dominance of Asianet News, its average weekly ratings during the first 25 weeks of 2018 were more than 2.12 times than Manorama News and more than 2.76 times than Mathrubhumi News.

The other four channels that BARC’s weekly lists of top five Malayalam news channels are: News18 Kerala (22 of the first 25 weeks of 2018), Media One TV (20 of the first 25 weeks of 2018), People TV (7 of the first 25 weeks of 2018) and Janam TV (once during the first 25 weeks of 2018).

Telugu

Eight channels have appeared in BARC’s weekly lists of top five Telugu news channels during the first 25 weeks of 2018. Four Telugu news channels have appeared in BARC’s list during all the first 25 weeks of the year. In order of viewership, they are: TV9 Telugu, NTV Telugu, V6 News and TV5 News. To give a perspective about the dominance of TV9 Telugu, its average weekly ratings during the first 25 weeks of 2018 were about 29 percent more than NTV Telugu, about 61 percent more than V6 News and about 73 per cent more than TV5 News.

The other four channels that appeared in BARC’s weekly list of top five Telugu channels during the first 25 weeks of 2018 are: T News (10 of the first 25 weeks of 2018), 10 TV (eight of the first 25 weeks of 2018), ABN Andhra Jyothi (four of the first 25 weeks of 2018), and Sakshi TV (three of the first 25 weeks of 2018).

Tamil

Seven channels have appeared in BARC’s weekly lists of top five Tamil news channels during the first 25 weeks of 2018. Three Tamil news channels have appeared in BARC’s list during all the first 25 weeks of the year. In order of viewership, they are: Polimer News, Thanthi TV and Puthiya Thalaimurai. To give a perspective about the dominance of Polimer News, its average weekly ratings during the first 25 weeks of 2018 were almost 47 percent more than Thanthi TV and, about 53 percent more than Puthiya Thalaimurai.

The other four channels that appeared in BARC’s weekly list of top five Tamil channels during the first 25 weeks of 2018 are: News 7 Tamil (23 of the first 25 weeks of 2018), Sun News (14 of the first 25 weeks of 2018), News18 Tamil Nadu (12 of the first 25 weeks of 2018), and Seithigal TV (once during the first 25 weeks of 2018).

How does the South Indian News market compare with the Hindi News market?

According to the census of India 2011, the population of the country was 121 crore (1.21 billion) and the number of households was about 24.95 crore (249.5 million). The combined populations of the four South Indian markets was about 25.2 crore (252 million) or about 20.9 percent of the total population of India based on the census numbers for 2011. The combined number of households of these four markets in 2011 was about 6.1 crore (61 million) or about 24.5 percent of the total number of Indian households.

The comparison would not be very accurate since BARC data available in the public domain is for different age demographics. In the case of the Hindi speaking market (HSM) it is HSM (U+R): NCCS All: 15+ Individuals as compared to the respective markets for each of the South Indian languages (U+R) NCCS All: 2+ Individuals. However, as mentioned above, a rough measure is better than none.

The average combined weekly impressions of the top five Hindi news channels HSM (U+R): NCCS All: 15+ Individuals were about 83 percent of the combined weekly impressions of all the four South Indian languages (U+R) NCCS All: 2+ Individuals during the period under consideration in this paper. The average combined weekly impressions of the top five Kannada news channels in Karnataka (U+R): NCCS All : 2+ Individuals were about 42 percent of the average combined weekly impressions of the top five Hindi news channels HSM (U+R): NCCS All: 15+ Individuals during the first 25 weeks of 2018.

Based on BARC data, a limited and conditional conclusion saying that South Indians consume more television news in their local languages than the consumer in the Hindi speaking market does not seem very inappropriate.

July 4, 2018
India Today group to host 2nd edition of india today conclave south in hyderabad

MUMBAI: After the mega success of the first edition, the India Today Group will host the 2nd Edition of India Today Conclave South 2018 in Hyderabad, on 18th and 19th January. Chief Ministers, political leaders, movie stars, artists, business tycoons, thought leaders and news makers from the south will converge on India’s most respected conclave for the South to discuss, debate and decipher the roadmap of the six southern states.

The two days of the conclave will include insightful sessions, networking lunches and a gala dinner with politicians, business leaders, movie stars and some of south India’s finest minds. As a forum, it aspires to unite the common voice of these states, and push their causes to promote culture, politics, entertainment and investment growth, in line with the states’ and centre’s socio-economic development agendas.

Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and Telangana have a combined GDP of over $400 billion and when put together, are among the top 30 economies of the world, contributing over 22 per cent of India’s GDP and 28 per cent of India’s employment. They account for 20 per cent of India’s population and contribute almost 30 per cent of India’s tax revenues. By 2020, it is projected that South India will become a $1,200 billion economy. With human development indices of the south growing higher than the rest of India, it is clear that the higher the south rises, the better India will do. Come to India Today Conclave South to see the southern sunrise.

The top speakers during the event, spread over 20 sessions, include the below. (* invited)

Chief Ministers

• K. Chandrasekhar Rao, Chief Minister, Telengana

• N. Chandrababu Naidu, Chief Minister, Andhra Pradesh

• V. Narayanasamy, Chief Minister, Puducherry

• Siddaramaiah, Chief Minister, Karnataka*

Stars, Actors, Artists

• M Mohan Babu, Actor, producer

• Lakshmi Manchu, Actor

• Gauthami, Actor

• Khushbu Sundar, Actor

• Taapsee Pannu, Actor

• Yamini Reddy, Dancer

• Bhavana Reddy, Singer, Dancer

• Praveen Sparsh, Musician

• Prakash Raj, Actor

• S.K. Sasidharan, Film Director

• Vishal, Actor*

• Bina Paul, Film Editor

• Shruti Hariharan, Actor

• Pranitha Subhash, Actor

• Kajal Aggarwal, Actor

• Parvathy Nair, Actor

• Nayanthara, Actor*

• Sumukhi Suresh, Stand-Up Comedienne

• Nikhita Gandhi, Singer

• Shahshaa Tirupati, Singer

• Karthik, Singer

Business Tycoons, Industrialists

• G.V. Prasad, Co-Chairman and CEO, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories

• G.V. Krishna Reddy, Chairman, GVK Group

• George Alexander Muthoot, Managing Director, Muthoot Group*

• Sumithra Gomatam, President, Digital Operations, Cognizant

• A.S. Murthy, CTO, Tech Mahindra

• Smruti Parida, CTO, Nestaway Technologies

• Ananth Narayanan, CEO, Myntra–Jabong*
Political Leaders, Newsmakers, Activists, Thought Leaders, Change makers

• Divya Spandana, Former MP, Head of Congress Social Media Department

• A.S. Kiran Kumar, Chairman, ISRO

• Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister, Human Resource Development*

• Dinesh Gundo Rao, Working President, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee

• Asaduddin Owaisi, President, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen

• B. Vinod Kumar, MP, Telangana Rashtra Samithi

• D. Raja, Rajya Sabha Member, CPI*

• Dr V. Maitreyan, MP, Rajya Sabha, AIADMK

• T.T.V. Dhinakaran, MLA, Tamil Nadu

• Jayanthi Natarajan, Former Union Minister*

• Palanivel Thiyagarajan, MLA and senior DMK Leader *

• Deepa Jayakumar, General Secretary, MGR Amma Deepa Peravai

• P.H. Pandian, Ex-Speaker, Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly and MLA, AIADMK*

• Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MP, Rajya Sabha

• Ramesh Chennithala, Leader of the Opposition, Kerala Legislative Assembly

• J. Nandakumar, National Convenor of Prajna Pravah, All India Executive Committee Member, RSS

• Lavanya Nalli, Vice Chairman, Nalli Group

• Anavila Misra, Fashion Designer

• Gaurang Shah, Fashion Designer

• Shravan Kumar, Fashion Designer

• Daivajna K.N. Somayaji, Astrologer

• N.S. Madhavan, Writer

• Prakash Belawadi, Actor, Activist

• S. Thirunavukkarasar, President, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee

• MM Pallam Raju, Former Union Minister, Human Resource Development

• T.K. Vinod Kumar, ADGP (Intelligence), Kerala Police

• P K Hormis Tharakan , Former Director, R&AW, Former DGP, Kerala Police

• Bindu Sampath

• V.S. Sunil Kumar, Minister for Agriculture, Kerala

• P. Chengal Reddy, Chief Advisor, Consortium of Indian Farmers Associations

• Krishna Byre Gowda, Minister for Agriculture, Karnataka*

• P. Ayyakannu,President, Desiya Thennindia Nadigal Inaiappu Vivasayigal Sangam, Tiruchirapalli*

• Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, Minister for Agriculture, Telangana*

January 8, 2018
Extend DAS deadline to Dec ’17 for fiber expansion, Andhra CM writes to MIB

MUMBAI: Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu recently wrote to the union minister of urban development, information and broadcasting, housing and urban poverty alleviation M Venkaiah Naidu seeking extension of deadline for digitalisation of Cable TV services in the state he governs.

In the letter dated 3 December, 2016, the chief minister stated: Under A.P. Fiber Grid Phase-I Project, a state-wide high speed Optical Fiber Network Infrastructure has been setup across the 13 Districts of the State leveraging the assets of the Electricity Department. A 24-Core ADSS Optical Fiber Cable has been laid for a length of around 23,000 Kms. over the electrical poles with its back-end electronic systems set up as the Points of Presence (PoPs) at 2445 identified locations. mainly electrical sub-stations. A state-wide control and command centre for this entire network has been commissioned at Visakhapatnam as a Network Operations Centre (NOC).

The services from AP Fiber Grid will be delivered by the Andhra Pradesh State FiberNet Limited (APSFL) to the end-users i.e. households. offices / enterprises in partnership with the Multi System Operators (MSOs) and Local Cable Operators (LCOs) etc, the letter stated.

The partners who provide the last mile connectivity through A.P Fiber Grid by hooking to the PoPs / NOC can immensely benefit from this system as they can provide triple play services — PTV, high-speed broadband and Telecom and value added services under a single umbrella, thus enhancing the scope for revenue generation. They will convert themselves as last mile operators, the key link between the AP Fiber Grid and the end-user

(Around) 13,325 LCOs and MSOs have been registered so far with APSFL as business partners to provide last mile services. The works of AP Fiber Grid have been completed and at present the infrastructure is ready for delivering the intended Triple Play Services to the households / offices. Services are being provided successfully on a pilot/test basis to identified households/offices and the commercial Public services are planned to be launched in December 2016, Chandrababu’s letter added.

The digitalisation of Cable TV services is not yet completed in Andhra Pradesh. To accelerate this process. APSFL has initiated procurement of Customer Premises Equipment Boxes (GPON basic box+ IPTV box with WiFi) for enabling expeditious spread of AP fiber triple pay services in A.P. The CPE boxes will be seeded to the households through the APSFL’s last mile business partners i.e., MS0s/LCOs, the letter added.

Further, Chandrababu states, the registered MS0s/LCOs can also procure & seed the CPE boxes on their own.

It is estimated that the households under Analog cable TV services will be digitalised through AP Fiber services in the next 1 year period. The last mile operators (MS0s/LC0s) need some more time beyond 31 December, 2016, to procure and seed Digital CPE boxes under AP Fiber Grid as the technology and the business model being implemented is first-of-its kind and unique in AP.

Keeping in view the potential for Digital empowerment of citizens through AP Fiber, which enables delivery of a host of citizen-centric digital services apart from IPTV, it is essential that sufficient time window is given to spread the services under AP Fiber Grid.

Hence, taking into account the special situation in Andhra Pradesh, it is requested to extend the deadline for digitalisation of cable TV services in A.P up to 31 December, 2017 in Phase-III & Phase-IV in the interest of smooth expansion of AP Fiber services as explained above towards realising the vision of Digital India.

Necessary instructions may please be issued to various broadcasters and implementing agencies in this regard, the chief minister urges the central ministry.

December 19, 2016
Extend DAS deadline to Dec ’17 for fiber expansion, Andhra CM writes to MIB

MUMBAI: Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu recently wrote to the union minister of urban development, information and broadcasting, housing and urban poverty alleviation M Venkaiah Naidu seeking extension of deadline for digitalisation of Cable TV services in the state he governs.

In the letter dated 3 December, 2016, the chief minister stated: Under A.P. Fiber Grid Phase-I Project, a state-wide high speed Optical Fiber Network Infrastructure has been setup across the 13 Districts of the State leveraging the assets of the Electricity Department. A 24-Core ADSS Optical Fiber Cable has been laid for a length of around 23,000 Kms. over the electrical poles with its back-end electronic systems set up as the Points of Presence (PoPs) at 2445 identified locations. mainly electrical sub-stations. A state-wide control and command centre for this entire network has been commissioned at Visakhapatnam as a Network Operations Centre (NOC).

The services from AP Fiber Grid will be delivered by the Andhra Pradesh State FiberNet Limited (APSFL) to the end-users i.e. households. offices / enterprises in partnership with the Multi System Operators (MSOs) and Local Cable Operators (LCOs) etc, the letter stated.

The partners who provide the last mile connectivity through A.P Fiber Grid by hooking to the PoPs / NOC can immensely benefit from this system as they can provide triple play services — PTV, high-speed broadband and Telecom and value added services under a single umbrella, thus enhancing the scope for revenue generation. They will convert themselves as last mile operators, the key link between the AP Fiber Grid and the end-user

(Around) 13,325 LCOs and MSOs have been registered so far with APSFL as business partners to provide last mile services. The works of AP Fiber Grid have been completed and at present the infrastructure is ready for delivering the intended Triple Play Services to the households / offices. Services are being provided successfully on a pilot/test basis to identified households/offices and the commercial Public services are planned to be launched in December 2016, Chandrababu’s letter added.

The digitalisation of Cable TV services is not yet completed in Andhra Pradesh. To accelerate this process. APSFL has initiated procurement of Customer Premises Equipment Boxes (GPON basic box+ IPTV box with WiFi) for enabling expeditious spread of AP fiber triple pay services in A.P. The CPE boxes will be seeded to the households through the APSFL’s last mile business partners i.e., MS0s/LCOs, the letter added.

Further, Chandrababu states, the registered MS0s/LCOs can also procure & seed the CPE boxes on their own.

It is estimated that the households under Analog cable TV services will be digitalised through AP Fiber services in the next 1 year period. The last mile operators (MS0s/LC0s) need some more time beyond 31 December, 2016, to procure and seed Digital CPE boxes under AP Fiber Grid as the technology and the business model being implemented is first-of-its kind and unique in AP.

Keeping in view the potential for Digital empowerment of citizens through AP Fiber, which enables delivery of a host of citizen-centric digital services apart from IPTV, it is essential that sufficient time window is given to spread the services under AP Fiber Grid.

Hence, taking into account the special situation in Andhra Pradesh, it is requested to extend the deadline for digitalisation of cable TV services in A.P up to 31 December, 2017 in Phase-III & Phase-IV in the interest of smooth expansion of AP Fiber services as explained above towards realising the vision of Digital India.

Necessary instructions may please be issued to various broadcasters and implementing agencies in this regard, the chief minister urges the central ministry.

December 19, 2016
DAS III: IBF welcomes Delhi HC order

MUMBAI: The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) has welcomed the order passed by the Delhi High Court on 3 November 2016 dismissing nine DAS-related petitions. The petitions dealt with the time extension for implementing digital addressable system (DAS) in certain areas of Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and Uttar Pradesh under Phase-III, the deadline for which had expired on 31 December 2015.

There is no change in DAS Phase IV deadline, which continues to be 31 December 2016.

With the dismissal of these petitions, the stay granted by various high courts in areas covered by the above-mentioned nine cases stands vacated and will no longer apply.

The Delhi High Court, dismissing these petitions, has also directed the petitioners to switch over to digital addressable systems within three weeks i.e. by 24 November 2016 and inform the subscribers by running a scroll on their networks about the digital switchover deadline

The high courts in various parts of the country had earlier granted stay in certain matters on DAS Phase III deadline. The stay orders had stalled the implementation of DAS Phase III in those areas. This prompted the MIB to move the Supreme Court to get all the cases transferred to the apex court.

The SC made Delhi High Court as the designated court for all cases related to DAS Phase III. The above-mentioned order of the Delhi High Court has removed the impediments in implementation of DAS in Phase – III areas.

The IBF has advised all its member-broadcasters to apprise all its affiliate multi-system operators (MSOs) and local cable operators about the said switchover deadline of 24 November 2016 in these Phase – III areas and make it clear that after the said date the channels can be received only through a digital set-top box. The subscribers in these areas are advised to immediately contact their respective local cable operators (LCOs)/MSOs to ensure the installation of STBs before the expiry of the above-mentioned deadline.

November 8, 2016
DAS III: IBF welcomes Delhi HC order

MUMBAI: The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) has welcomed the order passed by the Delhi High Court on 3 November 2016 dismissing nine DAS-related petitions. The petitions dealt with the time extension for implementing digital addressable system (DAS) in certain areas of Karnataka, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and Uttar Pradesh under Phase-III, the deadline for which had expired on 31 December 2015.

There is no change in DAS Phase IV deadline, which continues to be 31 December 2016.

With the dismissal of these petitions, the stay granted by various high courts in areas covered by the above-mentioned nine cases stands vacated and will no longer apply.

The Delhi High Court, dismissing these petitions, has also directed the petitioners to switch over to digital addressable systems within three weeks i.e. by 24 November 2016 and inform the subscribers by running a scroll on their networks about the digital switchover deadline

The high courts in various parts of the country had earlier granted stay in certain matters on DAS Phase III deadline. The stay orders had stalled the implementation of DAS Phase III in those areas. This prompted the MIB to move the Supreme Court to get all the cases transferred to the apex court.

The SC made Delhi High Court as the designated court for all cases related to DAS Phase III. The above-mentioned order of the Delhi High Court has removed the impediments in implementation of DAS in Phase – III areas.

The IBF has advised all its member-broadcasters to apprise all its affiliate multi-system operators (MSOs) and local cable operators about the said switchover deadline of 24 November 2016 in these Phase – III areas and make it clear that after the said date the channels can be received only through a digital set-top box. The subscribers in these areas are advised to immediately contact their respective local cable operators (LCOs)/MSOs to ensure the installation of STBs before the expiry of the above-mentioned deadline.

November 8, 2016
ISRO to launch eight satellites using PSLV on 26 September

MUMBAI: It will be the second satellite launch this month for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). On 26 September 2016 at exactly 9:12 am the PSLV C35 will blast off from the first launch pad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. It will mark the 37th mission and 15 th flight of the PSLV in ‘XL’ configuration (with the use of solid strap-on motors) which will put eight satellites into orbit.

ISRO will, with the PSLV C35, be undertaking its longest launch and probably most complicated mission ever attempted as it is using the same rocket to launch satellites into two different orbits. The Scatsat-1 satellite, weighing 371 kg for ocean and weather related studies, will be hurled into polar sun synchronous orbit at an altitude of 730 km 17 minutes after liftoff.

Two Indian universities/ academic institute satellites (Pratham-10kg, IIT – Bombay and Pisat-5.25 kg, PES University, Bengaluru and its consortium) and five foreign satellites will be placed into a 670 km polar orbit. The five co-passenger satellites are from Algeria (three of them – Alsat-1B 103kg, Alsat-2B 117kg, Alsat-1N 7kg), Canada (NLS-19, 8kg) and the US (Pathfinder-44kg).

What makes the mission complicated is that once Scatscat-1 is launched, the fourth stage engine of the PSLV-C35 will come to a halt. India’s space agency will then keep a tab on the engine health from the ground and will restart it after about 60 minutes for another 20 seconds which will give it the required thrust to take the rocket into the next orbit and release the payload of seven satellites. ISRO has planned to attempt ‘multiple burn technology’ as it is an effective method in cutting costs during satellite launches.

Earlier this month on 8 September, IISRO had successfully launched its weather satellite INSAT-3DR, a two tonner, using the GSLV-F05, the tenth flight of India’s Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), The launch took place from the second launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre. It was significant because it was the first operational flight of GSLV carrying Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS). The indigenously developed CUS was carried on-board for the fourth time during a GSLV flight in the GSLV-F05 flight.

September 25, 2016