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  • ‘You cannot build a sample on psychographics’ : LV Krishnan – TAM India CEO

    ‘You cannot build a sample on psychographics’ : LV Krishnan – TAM India CEO

    Media research agency Tam is in an expansion mode. Recently, it increased the number of peoplemeters from 4800 to 6917. And as direct-to-home (DTH) and conditional access system (Cas) took root, it also came out with the Elite Panel. The aim: to give broadCasters and media planners an idea of what the cr?me de la cr?me consume.

     

    Indiantelevision.com’s Ashwin Pinto caught up with Tam India CEO LV Krishnan to find out how the agency is gearing up to meet the challenges that new distribution technologies are throwing up.

     

    Excerpts:

    With conditional access system (Cas) and direct-to-home (DTH) taking root, what is Tam’s strategy going to be?

    We expected digitisation to happen sooner or later. We have been getting ready for it since a year. In April 2006 we released our first study under the Blinx series where we had the first DTH penetration data coming out. We also did a multi-city study on what was happening on Cas. We looked at the international availability of technology that could be used to measure these two platforms.

     

    We began work on the digital peoplemeter which we call the TVM5. Today all the six metros are completely aligned to the TVM5 digital peoplemeter. The peoplemeters are technologically hybrid. This was stage one done last year. We expanded the panel two weeks back and introduced the Elite Panel. After that, quite a large number of homes in the Elite Panel have moved onto DTH. In the regular panel a significant amount of homes are converted to Cas.

     

    This is clubbed with the C&S (cable & satellite) data and sent to the industry for usage. While this happens and the market moves from analogue to digital, there is growth in DTH and Cas for both panels. To validate this we are doing a regular penetration study. The data for this month will be out shortly. We will do studies in February and March to find out DTH and Cas penetration in the notified areas. It will be matched with our Elite Panel penetration also to see if it matches with those kinds of homes. Then data will go out to the user.

    Will Cas or DTH prevail and why?

    It is difficult to say which one will succeed. Each has advantages. Finally it is the service ability that counts. The demand is there. Pricing is important.

     

    Then there is the marketing activities done. Feedback is that demand for set top boxes is rising dramatically. But the service ability is the need of the hour. This is preventing more penetration.

    Tam has also increased the number of Peoplemeters and coverage area. Could you talk about this?

    We have been working with the joint industry body (JIB) for the last year and a half to look at the next step. Hence the decision to go to 7000 peoplemeters.

     

    Three things prompted the expansion. Firstly the universe has changed since the last expansion that happened in 2002 – 2003. The number of C&S homes has increased. New towns have been added on different strata of the population. The second reason is the sheer amount of fragmentation that is happening. With the number of channels available, TV viewing has become more fragmented. To look at data from specific segments of the population you need to go deeper. The Hindi speaking markets which is the North and West is where the bulk of the new metering has been done.

     

    In the South, the time spent on viewing is higher in proportion to the number of TV homes present. More samples have been added there. Then we wanted to plan for the future with new platforms coming in. You will see further fragmentation with DTH and Cas arriving. IPTV is also soon to launch. We wanted to be ready for this change.

    How much has Tam invested and what have the challenges been?

    The expansion has taken 10 months of work. We started last February. We moved from 73 towns to 151. We brought in the digital peoplemeters. At the same time we needed to ensure that the homes are counseled to deliver quality research. It has been great working along with the industry. Over Rs 250 million has gone into the expansion.

    Why did it take it so much time to expand?

    We touched 4800 in 2003. In 2004 there was no establishment study. We had to wait for 2005 to see the kind of growth rates that have happened. When we got NRS 2005 there was also census data for 2001 which came out in 2005. That data came to us in the second half of 2005.
    ‘We are examining the possibility of expanding the Elite Panel to other markets like Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata‘

    How do you choose the homes and how is user compliance ensured?

    The homes are chosen on the basis of key control variables divided into primary and secondary variables. The former are socio economic classes, the ability to watch C&S or terrestrial television. Number of home members is another variable. Apart from that, secondary variables include ratio of colour to black and white TV sets. In 2007 we have added a new variable, which is the presence of kids. A metric is used to gauge the compliance of a home to the peoplemeter which is button pushing. So we do surprise checks with these homes. Once we are sure that they are stable we add them to the reporting data.

    Rival ratings service aMap talks about the importance of pyschographic profiling and that 25+ SEC A is not enough if you want to know what for instance an executive consumes. Your views on this?

    You can include additional variables. However a panel needs to be put on strong foundation stones. They have to be stable over a period of time. Then you look at SEC, cable and satellite or terrestrial. Pyschographic variables are ever changing in nature. You cannot build a sample on psychographics. If you list pyschographic variables, which could be 100, you diminish your sample to miniature levels.

     

    You cannot have attitudinal factors being linked to viewing behaviour patterns. Attitudinal factors can be included in one off studies. But to expect a panel to give you solutions for every little thing will not be possible. A panel is supposed to give continuous behaviour changes so that you can do projections for the future based on past behaviour.

     

    In a dynamic market you have a cable operator changing the channel line-up, marketing etc. If you can pick up these changes and tie it to the numbers you can make better sense of the data rather than try to report things based on things that are affected by changing attitudes. It is important to have data that gives a clear picture of the changing marketplace rather than have a variable that is there for the sake of it.

    How has the channel standings been affected by the expansion of the panel?

    In general the expanded panel has come in with Cas implementation. Pay channels have taken a hit in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. But the figures will improve as homes move to Cas or DTH. Distribution is key in the towns. Also when you geographically expand your ratings presence you see a difference in terms of power cuts. This environmental factor also affects channel shares. A strong distribution of channels in smaller towns will mean that share is not affected.

     

    Regional channels share has gone up. So has news. The free to air channels are also faring better. The mainline channels continue to stay strong. Certainly there is more fragmentation. Music and the English entertainment channels are stagnating. This has to do with content along with marketing. Colour TV sets have jumped to 70 per cent in the C&S homes. Remote control penetration has also grown. There is faster surfing and more sampling. The ad rate viewership is slipping vis-?-vis programme viewership. There is a 20 per cent difference. News has eaten into the share of GEC.

    What findings has the Elite Panel thrown up?

    The elite segment spends a limited amount of time on television. It is around an hour and a half each day compared to two hours and 10 minutes for the general panel. For those who own a DVD player it goes down further to around an hour and 10 minutes. The more the leisure opportunities present, the less he/she watches television. They are extremely choosy. What is interesting is that although the main language of 45 per cent of the Elite Panel is English, the time spent on watching Hindi content is more watched. English entertainment needs to touch the heart of the consumer better.

     

    It is clear that the members of the Elite Panel do not approve of the quality of content on the English entertainment channels, which is one reason why they are not spending much time watching television. They are basically surfing through the English channels and then going back to the Hindi shows. The English channels need to understand what the viewer requires. The elite segment represents an opportunity.

    Can you highlight any other findings that emerged from the Elite Panel?

    Firstly we need to segment general entertainment into two parts. One is soaps and the other is reality shows. The former is consumed by the housewife while the latter is consumed by the youth. On a national scale you have one TV set homes mostly. But in the Elite Panel there are multiple TV set homes. So while the overall numbers are the same when you break it down into soaps and reality shows the viewing is split evenly in the Elite Panel. This means that the second TV set is being used to watch reality shows by the younger members. This gives channels an idea of the kind of shows that can be created for the Elite versus what is being done for the rest of the country.

     

    The Elite segment has nuclear families with bigger homes. There are two kinds of homes. One is executive which has lesser kid’s, while some of them are Dink (double income no kid’s) homes. The business family is larger. The day parts both watch are different as also is the content.

     

    Another difference is the behaviour of this audience towards weekends. In a national panel time spent declines. Here it goes up. News is watched a lot. Sports viewing depends on the significance of an event. It needs to be interesting. They will watch an event whether it is cricket or tennis or Formula one if the match is interesting. Schumacher’s last Grand Prix touched a rating of over three in the Elite Panel while in the national panel it was 0.22. Viewing of sports depends more on the quality of the match rather than on the tournament per se. Kids and movies fare better on the Elite Panel.

    What has the media feedback been like for this service?

    It has been good. We are examining the possibility of expanding it to other markets like Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata. It has been two years since we started work on the panel. The challenge was to keep the panel intact. We have 125 homes in Delhi and 125 homes in Mumbai.

     

    Technologically we had to make sure that data could be downloaded which is not easy given that the telecom infrastructure is already overloaded. We did special techniques to recruit homes. We spoke to them in terms of what we are trying to do. We had trained people visiting the homes with laptops.

    Can sports viewing for non-cricket grow?

    There are some learnings from cricket. Firstly you need star appeal. Would you watch cricket without Sachin, Saurav, Dravid and Dhoni?

     

    Secondly media coverage is crucial. The reason why the soccer World Cup last year fared so well was due to the enormous coverage and hype in the media particularly in newspapers. Then there needs to be drama. Cricket has controversy, which creates aura. For instance Saurav coming back sparked debate.

    What is your outlook for radio this year?

    We have expanded our measuring to 32 stations now for AdEx. Earlier it was 13 stations. We are seeing radio ad expenditure growing.
  • Media Development Authority of Singapore unveils two-tier license framework for IPTV

    Media Development Authority of Singapore unveils two-tier license framework for IPTV

     MUMBAI: The Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) has rolled out a new two-tier license framework for Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) that aims to further facilitate the growth of IPTV services in Singapore, to tangible benefits for the industry and consumers.

    “We took into consideration the developments in technology in a rapidly evolving media landscape and local industry feedback when factoring flexibility in this license framework to address the needs of niche IPTV players vis-à-vis mass market IPTV players while ensuring that consumer interests are not compromised,” explained MDA director media policy Ling Pek Ling.

    “This will enable the entry of more industry players looking to provide a wide range of IPTV services to consumers including those who are currently not served or not well served by existing broadcasters. At the same time, consumers can look forward to richer and diversified content.”

    In line with the new license framework, MDA has issued SingNet Pet Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Telecommunications Limited, a Nationwide subscription TV service license to roll out commercial IPTV services.

    According to an official release, the tiered IPTV license framework offers service providers two types of licenses:

    – Nationwide subscription TV License: Players providing services that have wide reach (over 100,000 subscribers) and impact. They will be awarded a Nationwide License, similar to that for a mass market pay TV operator.

    – Niche Subscription TV License: This facilitates the entry of new niche players offering IPTV services which have limited reach (100,000 subscribers or less) and impact. The licensee would be subject to a lighter license framework. For example, niche licensees will not be required to carry the local free-to-air channels.

    Where the subscriber base exceeds 100,000 subscribers, the following secondary criteria will be used to determine if the operator can still qualify as a Niche player to allow those targeting niche market segments like the expatriate community and hotels to grow their business and improve their business case:

    – Location: whether the service is offered chiefly to specific non-residential locations in Singapore.

    – Language: whether there is a high percentage of foreign language content.

  • CAS pricing case: TDSAT sets 12 December for next hearing

    CAS pricing case: TDSAT sets 12 December for next hearing

    MUMBAI:The Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has fixed 12 December as the date for next hearing in the case filed by broadcasters against the Rs 5 tariff for pay channels set by sector regulator Trai (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) in a CAS (conditional access system) regime.

    The Telecom Disputes Settlement & Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has fixed 12 December as the date for next hearing in the case filed by broadcasters against the Rs 5 tariff for pay channels set by sector regulator Trai (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) in a CAS (conditional access system) regime.

    The pay broadcasters have challenged the two Trai notifications dated 24 August (on carriage fee) and 31 August (channel pricing). They are also contesting the revenue sharing model designed for industry stakeholders by Trai. The sector regulator had specified in the notification that the revenue generated from pay channels leaves the broadcaster with 45 per cent, while the MSOs stays on with 30 per cent and the cable operators get 25 per cent.

    Earlier this year, a division bench of the Delhi High Court had passed an order directing the implementation of CAS with effect from 31 December in the south zones of the three metros – Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata.

  • Broadcasters follow Trai diktat, declare channel rates at Rs 5

    Broadcasters follow Trai diktat, declare channel rates at Rs 5

    MUMBAI: Under protest but within the deadline stipulated by the sector regulator, pay broadcasters today fell in line on the price fixed for the areas notified under conditional access system (CAS). As pre the directive issued by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), pay broadcasters have declared the a la carte rates of their channels at Rs 5 (excluding taxes).

    The regulator had set a common price on all pay channels directing that under the conditional access system (CAS) regime they will cost Rs 5/- per channel per subscriber per month (excluding taxes). 

    Star India has declared the prices of its channels as well as the channels the company distributes. The company has specified that the prices are being filed under protest and without prejudice to Star India Private Ltd’s rights and contentions raised in petitions filed by Star and / or any other parties on the issues.

    Last month, Star had filed an appeal in the Delhi High Court challenging the basis of Trai’s announcement on pricing for CAS. The matter will come up for the next hearing on 15 November.

    Set Discovery Pvt Ltd and ESPN Software Pvt Ltd have also respectively acknowledged the ceiling price. The two recently tendered an appeal against the tariff order at the tribunal forum TDSAT, where the final arguments are likely to be heard on 13 November.

    Set Discovery pointed out that the pricing shall be effective from 31 December 2006 and is subject to implementation of CAS in the notified areas pursuant to I&B’s notification dated 31 July 2006.

    Raj TV Network, Sun TV, Udaya TV, Gemini TV limited, Ushodaya Enterprises Limited (Television Division) and B4U Television Network Pvt Ltd have also affirmed to the tariff order set by the regulator. Sun TV, Udaya TV and Gemini TV, however, clarified that the ceiling prices are not effective in Chennai, the CAS market and be accessible as free-to-air channels.

    The British Broadcasting Corporation, which turned its BBC World into a pay channel earlier this year, has also affirmed to the price like the other broadcasters. Zee Turner Ltd has also agreed to the price and declaring the charges of all the channels that the platform distributes.

    The regulator does indicate that in respect of those broadcasters who are yet to confirm their rates, a communication is being sent to them to report compliance in respect of the maximum retail price fixed by them for their pay channels in CAS areas.

    Trai deems that the declaration of tariff for pay channels in CAS areas is an important milestone in the implementation of CAS, which will also protect the interests of consumers.

    The regulator is also pursuing the completion of interconnect agreements among the service providers as envisaged in the Interconnection Regulation order to ensure a smooth roll out of CAS.

  • Faceoff over MPA: BCCI rebuffs ICC’s threat of losing ’11 World Cup

    Faceoff over MPA: BCCI rebuffs ICC’s threat of losing ’11 World Cup

    MUMBAI: The ICC proposes, the BCCI disposes. A day after ICC president Percy Sonn warned the Indian cricket board that it “could not continue as one of the joint hosts of the 2011 World Cup” if it refused to play ball, the BCCI gave it a curt rebuff.

    The Board of Control for Cricket in India vice-president Lalit Modi was quoted by Agence France Presse news service as saying: “We are not forced to play ICC events. Only if conditions suit us, we will play. The MPA (ICC’s Members’ Participation Agreement) in its existing form affects BCCI’s commercial interests, gives ICC the right to change agreements unilaterally and affects the players’ interests. The MPA would affect the BCCI and the players’ interests for a period ranging from six to nine months. We are very unhappy with the way the MPA has been drafted.”
    “I think we made it very clear that we will not be able to sign the document in its current form,” BCCI treasurer N Srinivasan told Hindustan Times.

    India, which hosts the ICC’s Champions Trophy from Saturday, won the right to hold the 2011 World Cup jointly with neighbours Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

    “Six months ago we circulated the MPA for our events from 2007-2015 to our members for comment and over the subsequent months we have had extensive and fruitful negotiations with many of our members that have helped us develop the contents of the agreement to suit our mutual needs. It is thus very disappointing that the BCCI has only recently been able to review the agreement and raise its concerns,” said Mr Sonn.

    “The new MPA is significantly more flexible that the agreements that regulate participation in ICC events through to 2007. In particular, the MPA addresses all areas of concern raised by Indian players ahead of previous ICC events and provides more scope for players and boards to maintain their own interests.
    The ICC has given the BCCI till next Monday (9 October) to notify it of any and all difficulties it has with the MPA.

    About the deadline, BCCI secretary Niranjan Shah told AFP. “We have been given a deadline till Monday to inform the ICC of our objections and we will meet that date. As of now we are not in a position to sign the MPA.”

    That some sort of a compromise will be reached is almost a given considering that without India’s participation the value of the media rights for major ICC events during the eight-year period starting at the end of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 would get devalued by as much as 70 per cent.

    “We have been delighted with the interest shown in the next package of rights by broadcasters and media rights agencies from all over the world,” ICC chief executive Malcolm Speed has said.

    That will most certainly be a hollow statement unless the Indian board agrees to come to the party.

  • ICC starts meetings with broadcasters, agencies

    ICC starts meetings with broadcasters, agencies

    MUMBAI: The International Cricket Council (ICC) today began meetings with broadcasters and agencies in Dubai, marking the latest stage of its sale of media and sponsorship rights for ICC Events from late 2007 to 2015.

    Included in the eight-year period under discussion are 18 ICC tournaments with two ICC Cricket World Cups, in Asia (2011) and Australasia (2015), and a minimum of three ICC Champions Trophy tournaments. Also included are the first two ICC Twenty20 World Championships, in South Africa (2007) and England (2009), the latter taking place in the ICC’s centenary year.

    And there are Cricket World Cup qualifiers, four ICC U/19 Cricket World Cups, and for the first time, the Women’s Cricket World Cup, with two tournaments scheduled for 2009 (Australia) and 2013 (India) in the eight-year time frame.

    Potential commercial partners that meet the ICC’s criteria for bidding have been invited separately to Dubai.

    The ICC’s team of negotiators include former President Ehsan Mani, who played a key role in securing the current agreement with the News Corp owned Global Cricket Corporation (GCC) through News International Limited.

    Further details and updates of the sales process will be announced in due course.]

  • Tech firms up in arms over proposed television rights treaty

    Tech firms up in arms over proposed television rights treaty

    MUMBAI: Dell, HP, AT&T, Sony, podcast firms and net broadcasting firms are among those who have come together to voice their dissent against a proposed treaty by the World Intellectual Propertry Organisation (Wipo).

    This will give television channels a new set of intellectual property rights over content. The firms mentioned above will fight to stop the UN proposal being adopted internationally.
    Media reports state that the plan being opposed is called the Treaty on the Protection of Broadcasts and Broadcasting Organisations. Wipo convenes in Geneva this week to discuss steps to be taken regarding the treaty.

    It would create a new class of IP rights designed to protect broadcasters from having their signals being stolen. The treaty reports indicate is designed to help fight signal piracy across countries. Here a channel shown in one country is re-broadcast in another without permission.

    The technology companies have signed a protest document against the treaty. The firms say that they remain unconvinced that a treaty is necessary at all. “We note with concern that treaty proponents have not clearly identified the particular problems that the treaty would ostensibly solve, and we question whether there are in fact significant problems that are not addressed adequately under existing law. Further, we are concerned that the current treaty approach differs radically from US legal traditions, and, if implemented, would require substantial and unnecessary changes to current US law.”

    The parties say that if the treaty moves forward in any form then the current rights-based approach of the treaty must be abandoned. They argue that creating broad new intellectual property rights in order to protect broadcast signals is misguided and unnecessary, and risks serious unintended negative consequences. They recommend instead a signal protection-oriented approach, ideally focussing narrowly and specifically on protecting signals from intentional misappropriation or theft.

    The protest is being co-ordinated by digital rights activist group the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).

    Podcasters and internet broadcasters claim that the treaty may give broadcasters a lot of rights over internet content.

    The new rights that the treaty seeks to give channels include an exclusive right of retransmission for over-the-air television signals (retransmission involves capturing a broadcast signal and rebroadcasting it without permission of the copyright holder or the original broadcaster) and more than doubling the term of protection for broadcasts to 50 years from the current 20-year term.

    EFF has expressed concern that the proposed treaty will endanger consumers’ existing rights, restrict the public’s access to knowledge, stifle technological innovation, preclude free and open source software, and limit competition in the next generation of broadcast and Internet technologies. It believes that Congressional hearings should be held in the US to address concerns.

    EFF argues that before creating a brand new set of exclusive rights for broadcasters, cablecasters, and netcasters, there should be a demonstrated need for such rights, and a clear understanding of how they will impact the public, educators, existing copyright holders, online communications, and new Internet technologies.

    Also it says that Treaty proponents have not provided a clear statement of the particular problem that justify the need for the new treaty, and why they are not able to be addressed adequately under current treaties and law. EFF notes that while Treaty’s ostensible goal is protection against broadcast signal theft, the treaty goes far beyond that by creating broad new intellectual property rights over the recording or fixation, and subsequent uses of, recorded
    programming content.

    Creating a new layer of rights that apply on top of, and in addition to, copyright law, would allow broadcasters to restrict access to public domain works and use of information that would be lawful under copyright law. This will directly impact all entities that rely on the balanced set of exceptions and limitations in national copyright.

    A Wipo statement regarding the treaty said: “Updating the IP rights of broadcasters currently provided by the 1961 Rome Convention began at WIPO in 1997. A growing signal piracy problem in many parts of the world, including piracy of digitised pre-broadcast signals, has made this need more acute.”

  • Broadcasters to file cases individually against Trai order on channel pricing

    Broadcasters to file cases individually against Trai order on channel pricing

    NEW DELHI: A general consensus has emerged in the broadcasting industry that individual pay TV players would legally challenge the sector regulator’s directive on fixing pay channel prices at Rs 5 in CAS notified areas.

    A pay broadcaster today admitted that at a meeting held today under the aegis of Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) there was “unanimity” that the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai)-mandated prices should be challenged.

    Says Star Group India CEO Peter Mukerjea, “Taking legal recourse is certainly an active option as fixing of prices of non-essential services (like cable TV) is tantamount to encroaching on our fundamental right of doing business.”

    “Since no industry body can move a court or a disputes tribunal challenging the pricing, it has been decided that individual companies will legally challenge Trai’s order,” a member of the IBF today said after the meeting.

    However, it has also been clarified that the onus of challenging the Trai tariff order will lie on individual broadcasters and “every pay broadcaster” need not necessarily legally dispute it.
    “A broadcasting company will have to take its own call on the matter,” another broadcaster-member of the IBF added after today’s meeting, which also discussed draft points on a proposed broadcast legislation being contemplated by the government.

    Broadcasters are also seeking legal opinion on how to approach the whole issue of pricing and whether it would make more sense to approach disputes tribunal TDSAT or high courts in various parts of the country.

    However, with the TDSAT presently being headless and not taking up industry issues, the tribunal might not be top priority for the broadcasters.

    Over the next 15 days, expect a spate of cases in various courts challenging the Trai tariff order on cable TV pricing in CAS areas. Unless, of course, the regulator and the government step in to mitigate another legal imbroglio that threatens to engulf rollout of CAS from 1 January 2007.

  • Broadcasters look set to move court against pay channel price ceiling in CAS

    Broadcasters look set to move court against pay channel price ceiling in CAS

    MUMBAI / NEW DELHI: The broadcasters knew it was coming, but that in no way lessened their outrage over the CAS pricing broadside delivered by the sector regulator today. The next course of action will in all likelihood be to move the courts.

    In a move clearly aimed at “honouring” the pledge given by the government “that television viewers will have to pay less under a CAS regime”, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) today decreed a Rs 5 ceiling on pay channels.

    The broadcast regulator has fixed the price of free-to-air (FTA) channels in the basic tier at RS 77 (exclusive of taxes). The regulator, which oversees the broadcast and telecom sectors, has fixed the costing for pay channels whether new or existing at RS 5 making it mandatory to offer all pay channels on a la carte basis.

    RC Venkateish, ESPN India MD, did not mince his words while stating, “The pricing of pay channels by Trai are totally arbitrary and damaging for all industry stakeholders, including the consumer who might get low grade programming as investments in sports programming, like in entertainment, is high.

    “How can you expect broadcasters to put in money for procuring high-quality programming when the rates realised from the market will go down so much. It will have a dramatic effect on content quality.

    “Broadcasters are bound to seek legal opinion and take legal recourse.”

    That is obviously not how Trai chairman Nripendra Misra sees it. Misra said the prices that Trai had determined were very much in line with market forces. Additionally, Misra was quite categorical that this was “the final order on this subject.”

    In an interview to business channel CNBC TV18, Misra justified the regulator’s diktat by stating: “If you see the features of this policy announcement, the first thing to be appreciated is that there is only a maximum retail price; it does not fix the individual channel price. The second thing is that it does not fix the bouquet price. It also has not fixed the discounts for the bouquets. So everything has been left to the market forces except the maximum retail price ceiling, which has been determined by us.

    “To provide some stability to the revenues of the broadcasters, it has also been provided that the MRPs will apply only where the subscription is for a minimum period of four months.”

    Not surprisingly, the cable service providers are in tune with Misra on the matter. Says K Jayaraman, CEO of the multi-systems operator Hathway Cable and Datacom (in which Star India has a 26 per cent stake), “CAS is the best deal for consumers and the unwanted channels will go. As the fundamental thing in CAS is choice, that gets protected in this pricing structure,”

    That line of argument cut no ice with Arun Poddar, CEO, Zee Turner who said, “The rationale behind the pricing stumps us. If the regulator wants channels to come cheap, then the channels too would be forced to lessen expenditure on programming.

    “I don’t rule out broadcasters taking the regulator to court over the pricing issue.”

    The Indian Broadcasting Foundation, which represents the interests of broadcasters, is meanwhile scheduled to meet on Saturday to thrash out what legal recourse will be taken, as also to evolve a common strategy, senior channel executives tell Indiantelevision.com.

    The mood among cable operators was in stark contrast to that among the broadcasters. Cable Operators Federation of India president Roop Sharma, went so far as to say that Trai should have gone even lower on its pricing. “I think the prices of pay channels should have been even less at RS 3. It would have been better for the consumer then. Like in Pakistan, where each pay channel is priced at Re 1 or RS 2.

    “I feel it’s a win-win situation for everybody, including the broadcasters, who had accused cable operators of under-declaration.”

    “The comparison (with Pakistan) is ridiculous,” an incensed channel executive said. “The whole business model of broadcasting in Pakistan is based on piracy,” he pointed out.

    Commenting on the FTA channels’ pricing, Vikky Chowdhry, president of another cable operator faction NCTA, said, “The price of basic tier of free to air channels should be revisited. Still, at RS 77 (exclusive of taxes), 30 channels are manageable.

    Sameer Manchanda, joint MD, GBN, put the whole scenario in proper perspective when he said, “The prices looks low for sports and entertainment channels as programming investment is higher in these genres. The rationale of the regulator seems incomprehensible. At least some genres of channels could have been separated from the others.”

    Media stocks plunge on Trai’s pricing issue

    The market voted with its feet today on the news of the Trai’s price ceiling ruling with all media stocks sliding southwards. Media stocks showed a steeper fall than the the benchmark Sensex Index, which lost 24.87 points (0.21%), to settle at 11,699.05.

    According to a leading investment banker, “The directive issued by Trai will prove detrimental to broadcasters’ revenue kitty, especially for general and English entertainment channels and sports broadcasters.”

    Media scrips that fell today include Zee Telefilms, Sun TV, NDTV, TV18, TV Today and Sahara One Media and Entertainment.

    Zee Telefilms opened at RS 290 and closed the day at RS 265, down 8.6 per cent. Chennai based broadcaster Sun TV opened at RS 1,224 and ended at RS 1,199.
    NDTV opened at RS 200 and closed at RS 195, while TV18 opened at RS 647.15 and closed the day at RS 599. TV Today opened at RS 77 and closed at RS 76. Sahara One Media and Entertainment opened at RS 346 and closed at RS 339.

  • Trai poised to finish CAS-related work; price fixing of pay & FTA channels next on the agenda

    Trai poised to finish CAS-related work; price fixing of pay & FTA channels next on the agenda

    NEW DELHI: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) is close to fixing prices of pay and free to air (FTA) channels, which will complete part of the formalities for rollout of addressability from 1 January 2007.

    According to sources in the regulatory body, which oversees the broadcast and telecom sectors, over the next few days more directives are likely to come on pricing of channels in a conditional access system (CAS) regime.

    The sources said that most major bouquets and TV channels have submitted a formula for pricing of channels for a regime when pay channels will have to go through a set top box on a mandatory basis.

    “Networks like Star and bouquets like Zee Turner and (Discovery-Sony) One Alliance are there with prices of individual channels,” a Trai source said when asked whether a la carte prices of TV channels have been submitted to the regulator or not.

    CAS is scheduled to be rolled out in the south zones of Kolkata, Delhi and Mumbai from midnight of 31 December 2006, as per a Delhi court-mandated understanding that the government has reached with the broadcast industry.

    Trai sources said that over the weekend the regulator is first likely to fix the price of free to air channels, which will form the basic tier in a CAS regime, and then follow it up with pricing of pay channels.

    Trai had asked various pay TV channels to submit a la carte prices instead of bouquet pricing, which was being pushed vigorously initially by a section of broadcasters.

    The regulator had also clarified that if the pricing of a pay TV channel in a bouquet seems unreasonable or on the higher side compared to other siblings, it will then fix a price, which will be valid for a year.

    What is not clear at the moment is whether Trai will okay individual prices of pay TV channels in a bouquet or go in for genre-wise pricing like bunching all movie channels across the spectrum, for example, and then fixing their individual prices.

    It is also expected that the price of FTA channels in the basic tier is
    likely to be more than what was fixed three years back at Rs. 72 (exclusive of taxes).

    This time round, cable operators have petitioned to Trai that the basic tier should be priced around Rs. 150 keeping in view the general inflation and increase in other sundry costs like usage of electricity poles in various cities. These charges are given to local power companies as cable ops use electricity poles to string their own cable.

    According to the sources in the regulatory body, the whole CAS-related work will have to be finished before month-end.

    Over the past few days Trai has come out with directives on quality of service for cable operators and multi-system operators and revenue share formula amongst various industry stakeholders.