ITV

Tag: Bharti Airtel

  • Dish TV waives off 30-day lock-in period for pay channels, channel bouquets

    Dish TV waives off 30-day lock-in period for pay channels, channel bouquets

    MUMBIA: India’s biggest direct-to-home operator Dish TV has waived off the 30-day lock-in period for pay channels and select channel bouquets it had levied earlier.

    This lock-in period, which was earlier introduced by the DTH operator, prevented consumers from unsubscribing to a channel they had opted for until the duration of the lock-in period.

    Consumers can now drop and opt for channels without these restrictions.

    According to some subscribers, however, there is no change made to the seven-day lock-in period for sports channels.

    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).

    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 5 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.

    Earlier in the week a report by CNBC-TV18 claimed that Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (Singtel) and Bharti Airtel are jointly looking to buy a stake in Dish TV in a bid to compete with Reliance Jio.

    The duo is looking to acquire the promoter’s 60 per cent stake in Dish TV for around Rs 6150 crore. As part of Bharti Airtel’s plan to raise $4.6 billion, Singtel is likely to buy stock in it worth $525 million through shares and bonds.

    GIC, the parent company of Singtel via Temasek Holdings, also owns about 20 per cent in Tata Sky and could hint at a future possibility of further consolidation in the DTH sector.

  • Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio eye stake in ZEEL: Report

    Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio eye stake in ZEEL: Report

    MUMBAI:  After it came to light that Sony Corporation had withdrawn its bid for a stake in Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL), Indian telecom giants Bharti Airtel and Reliance Jio are likely to bid for the same, according to a report by press agency IANS.

    While Bharti Airtel has moved ahead and is likely to initiate a formal proposal, Reliance Jio is still considering the move.

    In a statement, a Bharti Airtel spokesperson said, "Airtel is not in the race to acquire Zee.” A representative for Zee said the company doesn’t comment on speculation though it is in “steady dialogue” with potential partners.

    Discussion between Japan’s Sony Corporation buying 20 to 25 per cent stake in the Subhash Chandra-led Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) had been scrapped due to valuation differences.

    The development has cleared the way for a consortium of US telecom conglomerate Comcast along with its partner investment firm Atairos to take over the talks.

    Chandra has been looking to sell a stake in the company in order to repay promoter debt worth Rs 13,000 crore.

  • Bharti Airtel, Singtel eye stake in Dish TV: report

    Bharti Airtel, Singtel eye stake in Dish TV: report

    MUMBAI: Consolidation in the DTH sector is not yet over. As per a report by CNBC-TV18, Singapore Telecommunications Ltd (Singtel) and Bharti Airtel are jointly looking to buy a stake in Dish TV in a bid to compete with Reliance Jio.

    The duo is looking to acquire the promoter’s 60 per cent stake in Dish TV for around Rs 6150 crore. As part of Bharti Airtel’s plan to raise $4.6 billion, Singtel is likely to buy stock in it worth $525 million through shares and bonds.

    A Dish TV spokesperson said that the company “does not comment on market speculations.”

    GIC, the parent company of Singtel via Temasek Holdings, also owns about 20 per cent in Tata Sky and could hint at a future possibility of further consolidation in the DTH sector.

    Among private players, TRAI data for 2018 shows that Dish TV (along with Videocon d2h) together owns 37 per cent market share followed by Tata Sky with 27 per cent share and Airtel Digital TV with 23 per cent share, Sun Direct with 11 per cent and Reliance with 2 per cent. DD Free Dish, on the other hand, claims to have approximately 30 million subscribers as a public platform.

  • Bharti Airtel to cut direct stake in Infratel by 32%

    Bharti Airtel to cut direct stake in Infratel by 32%

    MUMBAI: Bharti Airtel, the telecom service provider has recently said in an exchange filing that it will lower its stake in Bharti Infratel by selling around 32 per cent stake to Nettle Infrastructure Investments by 18 March.

    Airtel will own 18.3 per cent stake in Infratel after the transfer, down from its current stake of 50.33 per cent.

    The company said, “The Board of Directors of Bharti Airtel Limited, in order to explore a potential monetization of stake in Bharti Infratel Limited (‘Infratel’) in the future, approved sale transfer of up to 32 per cent of Infratel to its wholly-owned subsidiary-Nettle Infrastructure Investments Limited (‘Nettle’)-in its meeting held on December 20, 2018.”

    The shares of Bharti Airtel surged 6 per cent on the BSE on Tuesday and closed at Rs 350.80 a piece, up 5.12 per cent from the previous day’s closing figure.

    Nettle Infrastructure has a 3.2 per cent stake in Infratel. After the transaction, its stake would rise to 35.2 per cent, it said. The price of shares for the deal would be at or around the market price prevailing on the date of acquisition. According to the reports, sector analysts said this transfer of shares would eventually lead to sale of the stake to a third party and help Bharti Airtel raise much-needed funds. Airtel, and the other player, Vodafone Idea, are facing pressure on their financials since the entry of Reliance Jio in late 2016. 

    Bharti Infratel shares fell as much as 3.4 per cent to Rs 309.

  • Airtel collaborates with Zoom to launch unified communications solution for businesses

    Airtel collaborates with Zoom to launch unified communications solution for businesses

    MUMBAI: Telecommunications service provider, Bharti Airtel (Airtel), has teamed up with Zoom Video Communications, a modern enterprise video-first unified communications service, to launch India’s first high quality unified communications service offering, an integrated and secure platform for high definition (HD) audio, video, and web conferencing.

    Businesses can now leverage the next generation unified cloud service for an innovative one-stop-shop conferencing solution to foster effective collaboration amongst its employees and teams globally.

    Airtel and Zoom’s conference calling solution comes with unique features like, instant one click access, video conferencing, audio conferencing, content sharing, recording, virtual backgrounds, company branding, multi-layer security, and meeting participation of up to 1000 people on video from locations across the globe. The platform will also enable live video streaming of video webinars for up to 50,000 viewers.

    Airtel will enable enterprise customers to leverage exclusive benefits on Zoom, including built-in audio conferencing for free. With this, customers can access local dial-in numbers for over 55 countries enabling all its call participants to join the conference easily over audio for unlimited minutes.

    Airtel enterprise customers opting for this solution will get 24X7 customer care support. Airtel will also offer easy payment options – monthly billing on a pay as you go basis and special monthly packs. These convenient billing options also enable businesses to avoid making payments using credit cards for the service.

    Airtel has created unique plans to meet the unified conferencing needs of all businesses. The plans range from approximately Rs 10,000 for a year to Rs 24,000 per year offering unlimited conferencing on video, audio and web along with other benefits.

    Airtel business director and CEO Ajay Chitkara said, “At Airtel, our mission is to offer best-in-class enterprise connectivity solutions to businesses and enable them to become more agile. We are delighted to work with Zoom to offer a secure and seamless solution to serve the growing demand for high quality unified conferencing in India. The solution is designed to truly simplify the user experience and will bring immense value to customers. With Airtel’s reliable global connectivity and Zoom’s globally proven expertise in communications, customers can look forward to quality service experience.”

    Zoom founder and CEO Eric S Yuan added, “Our collaboration with Airtel brings together Zoom’s world-class unified communications platform with Airtel’s extensive network to provide our joint customers a seamless solution that meets all of their collaboration needs. This collaboration also extends Zoom’s reach into the Indian market to further grow our global footprint.”

  • SPNI ropes in Rohan Jain as marketing head for English channels

    SPNI ropes in Rohan Jain as marketing head for English channels

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Network India (SPNI) has hired Rohan Jain as head of marketing – English channels, a source close to the development informed Indiantelevision.com. Prior to joining the broadcaster, Jain was the head of marketing at Vodafone-Idea.

    Jain will report into EVP and business head of English channels Tushar Shah.

    The responsibilities of Jain’s current role were earlier helmed by Neville Bastawalla. The latter is now in charge of marketing for SPNI’s sports cluster.

    Jain’s experience spans over 14 years as a marketing professional with expertise in product management, brand management, customer segmentation, and lifecycle management.

    Before the merger of Vodafone Idea, he worked with Idea cellular for almost eight long years. He has also had stints at other telecom majors like Bharti Airtel and Aircel.

  • Jio continues wireless broadband domination, adds 8.8 mn subs in Nov

    Jio continues wireless broadband domination, adds 8.8 mn subs in Nov

    BENGALURU: Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani’s largest start-up in the world in the form of Reliance JioInfocomm Limited (Jio) continued to lead broadband internet subscriber growth for the month of November 2018 (month ended 30 November 2018, Nov-18, period or month under review). Jio registered a net growth of 0.88 crore (8.8 million, 88 lakh) subscribers or 3.35 percent during the month of Nov-18. Since 31 December 2017 (Dec-17) or 1 January 2018, Jio’s subscriber base grew 11.146 crore (111.46 million 1114.6 lakh) until 30 November 2018. At present, Jio’s subscriber base comprises of only mobile device users – phones and dongles.

    The Vodafone and Idea merger has made the new entity Vodafone-Idea the second largest wireless or mobile broad services provider in the country after Jio.

    Overall, 1.578 crore (15.78 million, 1578 lakh) net broadband subscribers were added in Nov-18 – India’s broadband subscriber base grew by 3.18 percent in Nov 18.  Subscriber growth was only by mobile device users (phones and dongles) or mobile wireless users. Both wired broadband subscribers and fixed wireless, subscribers bases declined in November 2018

    Mobile device users subscriber base grew the 1.71 crore (17.10 million, 171 lakh) or 3.39 percent during the month under review. India had a mobile device users subscriber base of 49.43 crore (494.30 million or 4,943.0 lakh) at the end of Nov-18 as compared to 47.72 crore (477.2 million, 4,772 lakh) at the end of Oct-18.

    Please refer to the figure below

    As per Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) data for Nov-18, the top five service providers constituted 98.56 percent market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of Nov-18 as compared to 98.42 percent market share at the end of Oct-18. These service providers were Jio 27.155 crore (271.55 million, 2,627.5 lakh), Vodafone Idea 10.544 crore (105.44 million, 1,054.4 lakh), Bharti Airtel 10.474 crore (104.74 million, 1,047.4 lakh), BSNL 2.045 crore (20.45 million, 204.5 lakh) and Tata Tele Group 0.232 crore (2.32 million, 23.2 lakh). Tata Tele Group has lost broadband internet subscribers in Nov-18 as compared to Oct-18

    As on 30 November 2018, the top five wireless broadband service providers were 27.155 crore (271.55 million, 2,627.5 lakh), Vodafone Idea 10.543 crore (105.43 million, 1,0543 lakh), Bharti Airtel 10.249 crore (102.49 million, 1024.9 lakh), BSNL 1.129 crore (11.29 million, 112.9 lakh) and Tata Teleservices 0.184 crore (1.84 million, 18.4 lakh).Tata Tele Group has lost broadband internet subscribers in Nov-18 as compared to Oct-18.

    As on 30 November, 2018, the top five wired broadband service providers were BSNL 0.917 crore (9.17 million, 91.7 lakh), Bharti Airtel 0.226 crore (2.26 million, 22.6 lakh), Atria Convergence Technologies (ACT) 0.138 crore (1.38 million, 13.8 lakh), MTNL 0.078 crore (0.78 million, 7.8 lakh) and Hathway Cable & Datacom (Hathway) 0.077 crore (0.77 million, 7.7 lakh).The public sector MTNL continued to lose subscribers in Nov-18. 

    Notes: According to Trai, Broadband internet means services with speeds equal to or higher than 512 kpbs.

    Trai provides data in millions and to the second decimal place, hence the granularity of the data in this report is 10,000.
     

  • Synamedia makes CES debut, offering pay-TV providers frictionless cloud migration strategies, new revenue opportunities

    Synamedia makes CES debut, offering pay-TV providers frictionless cloud migration strategies, new revenue opportunities

    LONDON : Synamedia, the largest independent video software provider, will bring its newest solutions to CES® 2019, illustrating how pay-TV providers can migrate to the cloud at their own pace, and seamlessly.  The company also unveiled new security software that combats the rapid rise in account sharing between friends and families, turning it instead into a new revenue-generating opportunity for operators.

    Synamedia is bringing to market effective solutions built to support customers wherever they are on their journey to deliver a blended broadcast and OTT multi-screen experience. Now an independent business, the company is committed to providing the world’s most complete, secure and advanced end-to-end open video delivery solutions.  Synamedia was formerly Cisco’s (NASDAQ: CSCO) Service Provider Video Software Solutions business. Its enviable portfolio of over 200 pay-TV and media customers includes Astro, Bharti Airtel, China DTH, Foxtel, Oi and Tata Sky.

    At the core of the Synamedia offerings is Foundation (formerly known as Evo), the pay-TV industry’s most widely deployed platform across cable, satellite and IPTV. Additionally, Infinite allows blended broadcast-OTT services to be delivered from a cloud-based infrastructure. With a clearly defined migration roadmap, pay-TV customers using the Foundation hybrid broadcast platform can now deploy Infinite to embark on a smooth and measured transition to the cloud.

    At CES 2019, Synamedia will showcase its leading technologies and latest offerings, including:

    •        Credentials Sharing Insight is a new offering within the video security portfolio. It uses AI, machine learning and behavioral analytics to identify, monitor and analyze credentials sharing activity across consumer accounts. It allows operators to turn casual sharing into incremental revenue, as well as detect and apply enforcement procedures on fraudulent, for-profit credentials sharing accounts.

    •        Video Processing features Synamedia’s patented low-latency ABR and Smart Rate Control that optimize IP video processing to match traditional broadcast quality, reliability and cost – currently major challenges for IP video streaming. Synamedia’s ABR solution uses patented technology to optimize the perceived quality of live streams. It includes machine learning techniques to further adapt the encoding quality target to match content characteristics.   

    •        Foundation which manages and monetizes in-home experiences on a broad range of broadcast and hybrid-IP set top boxes (STBs) and media gateways including Android TV. Deployed by 40+ pay-TV operators, it offers a smooth migration path to Infinite and the cloud.  A prime example of the power of Foundation is a first-of-a-kind integration of the Netflix application on the OSN Network. This integration enables:

    o   Consumers to gain convenient access to OTT content via a single application;
    o   The OTT provider obtains access to the pay-TV service provider market and the existing billing/payment relationship between the customer and pay-TV provider;
    o   The pay-TV operator continues to bring value to consumers via a familiar application, and can generate additional revenues when new subscribers sign up for OTT via their platform.

    •    Infinite is a fully integrated cloud service platform for pay-TV operators to process, secure, distribute and monetize premium video experiences on all devices including those available via Foundation.  Infinite enables operators to take advantage of the cloud economy and re-capture subscriber share of wallet by offering products, such as Cloud DVR, that leverage new business models and OTT partnerships. It is designed to help operators attract new customers, reconnect cord cutters, and increase the life-time value of a subscriber base.  At CES, Synamedia will showcase a joint demo with Amazon Web Services (NASDAQ: AMZN), using Alexa technology integrated into Infinite in order to provide consumers with voice activated recommendations and content information.

    “More and more of the consumer’s share of the video wallet expands beyond traditional pay-TV, pointing operators to the enormous OTT opportunity. To protect and grow new revenue streams and boost their brand value, operators need to broaden and deepen existing subscriber engagement, and entice new audiences. To do so, the sometimes difficult first steps for many are to add integrated OTT services and avail offerings across all consumer devices, which can seem overwhelming. Our roadmap takes a step-by-step approach that makes it easy to extend operators’ existing offerings and avoid any disruption to subscribers,” said Yves Padrines, CEO of Synamedia.

    Synamedia will be in Chambertin 1 on the ground floor of the Wynn hotel.

    Synamedia’s voice recommendation technology will also be shown in the Amazon booth, Venetian Ballrooms C-D.  

  • Jio continues to lead broadband internet growth in Oct-18

    Jio continues to lead broadband internet growth in Oct-18

    BENGALURU: Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani’s largest start-up in the world in the form of Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (Jio) continued to lead broadband internet subscriber growth for the month of October 2018 (month ended 31 October 2018, Oct-18, period or month under review). Jio registered a net growth of 1.302 crore (13.02 million, 130.20 lakh) subscribers or 5.4 per cent during the month of October 2018. Since 31 December 2017 (Dec-17) or 1 January 2018, Jio’s subscriber base grew 9.216 crore (92.16 million 921.6 lakh) until 31 October 2018. At present, Jio’s subscriber base comprises only mobile device users – phones and dongles.

    The Vodafone and Idea merger has made the new entity Vodafone-Idea the second largest wireless or mobile broad services provider in the country after Jio. Bharti Airtel is the second largest broadband internet services provider in India if one were to consider its wireless and wired internet subscriber base.

    Overall, 1.442 crore (14.42 million, 144.2 lakh) net broadband subscribers were added in October 2018 – India’s broadband subscriber base grew by 2.99 percent in Oct-18.  

    The largest growth was by mobile device users (phones and dongles) or mobile wireless users, followed by wired broadband subscribers which registered a small growth of 0.011 crore (0.11 million, 1.1 lakh) or 0.60 per cent in Oct-18. Fixed wireless subscribers base declined by 0.0003 crore (0.003 million, 0.03 lakh) or declined by 0.43 per cent in October 2018

    Mobile device users subscriber base grew the 1.431 crore (14.31 million, 143.1 lakh) or 3.09 per cent during the month under review. India had a mobile device users subscriber base of 47.72 crore (477.20 million or 4,772.0 lakh) at the end of Oct-18 as compared to 46.289 crore (462.89 million, 4,628.9 lakh) at the end of Sep-18.

    As per Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) data for Oct-18, the top five service providers constituted 98.42 per cent market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of Oct-18. These service providers were Jio 26.275 crore (262.75 million, 2,627.5 lakh), Bharti Airtel 10.139 crore (101.39 million, 1,013.9 lakh), Vodafone Idea 10.133 crore (101.33 million, 1,013.3 lakh), BSNL 2.03 crore (20.30 million, 203 lakh) and Tata Tele. Group 0.251 crore (2.51 million, 25.1 lakh).

    As on 31 October, 2018, the top five Wireless Broadband Service providers were Jio 26.275 crore (262.75 million, 2,627.5 lakh), Vodafone Idea 10.132 crore (101.32 million, 1,013.3 lakh), Bharti Airtel 9.914 crore (99.14 million, 991.4 lakh), BSNL 1.115 crore (11.15 million, 111.5 lakh) and Tata Teleservices 0.199 crore (1.99 million, 19.9 lakh).

    As on 31 October, 2018, the top five wired broadband service providers were BSNL 0.915 crore (9.15 million, 91.5 lakh), Bharti Airtel 0.225 crore (2.25 million, 22.5 lakh), Atria Convergence Technologies (ACT) 0.137 crore (1.37 million), 13.7 lakh, MTNL 0.079 crore (0.79 million, 7.9 lakh) and Hathway Cable & Datacom (Hathway) 0.075 crore (0.75 million, 7.5 lakh).

    The public sector MTNL continued to lose subscribers in Oct-18. As per TRAI data, MTNL’s subscriber base declined by 10,000 during the period nunder review. Among the top 5 wired broadband internet services providers, while Airtel and ACT added 10,000 subscribers each, besides MTNL, the other two players – BSNL and Hathway had no change in the number of subscribers in Oct-18 as compared to Sep-18. However, it is heartening to note that other smaller players, which could include MSOs and LCOs added 0.01 crore (0.1 million, 1 lakh) subscribers in the month.

    Notes: According to Trai, Broadband internet means services with speeds equal to or higher than 512 kpbs.

    Trai provides data in millions and to the second decimal place, hence the granularity of the data in this report is 10,000.

  • Star India moves Basant Dhawan from sports to entertainment biz

    Star India moves Basant Dhawan from sports to entertainment biz

    MUMBAI: Star Sports senior VP, brand solutions and sponsorships Basant Dhawan has been shifted to entertainment business by the group. He will be working as national agency head, which will contribute to the growth of the entertainment ad sales business.

    His earlier role included product and revenue strategy and sales functions. He was responsible for creating pricing and revenue assets, product packages along with sales for all new sports leagues that Star has been associated with, including Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), football leagues and Premier Badminton League (PBL). 

    Prior to Star India, Dhawan was the general manager-media in Vodafone India services. He has worked with auto, telecom, media and entertainment industries in his career.

    With over 25 years of experience, Dhawan is a result oriented marketing and business professional. His expertise lies in direct sales, distribution, product management, brand marketing media planning and buying to name a few.

    He started his career with Escotel as manager marketing and then moved to Airtel’s Landline business, Touchtel as corporate sales manager after 4 years. He has also worked with Reliance communication, Reliance Infocomm, Bharti Aitel and Aircel.

    In 2018, Star India launched two channels expanding its sports cluster named Star Sports 3 and Star Sports 1 Telugu. Star Sports 1 Kannada is also being tested and will launch before New Year.

    Under the new tariff order, Star Sports 1 Kannada (30 December) and Star Sports 1 Telugu (7 December) have been priced at Rs 19 for TV consumers.