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Tag: cable TV

  • Ten Golf changes course

    Ten Golf changes course

    MUMBAI: It is teeing once again and it surely is good news for golf lovers and players. 24 hour Zeel group golf channel Ten Golf, will now be available in India on both DTH and cable TV as part of  high end packages. It is close to announcing deals with three DTH players and some MSOs. The channel which is available at an a la carte subscription fee of Rs 200 per month for subscribers will now see a significant shift in pricing on both DTH and cable TV.

    The first among the three DTH operators is Airtel Digital TV which now has Ten Golf as part of its Ultra pack. “We are now a part of a package for which the DTH platform charges anywhere between Rs 400- Rs 500 a month,” says Ten Sports CEO Rajesh Sethi. Close to half a million viewers on Airtel Digital have signed on to the service, he says.

    There’s a shift in pricing strategy on the anvil he reveals. “On 1 September we have made a filing with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) for price revision. We are looking at a reduction in rates to both promote golf and make it available to larger viewership base,” says Sethi. “I am looking at reaching out to 1.4 million subscribers once we get on the high end offerings like magnum, platinum packs etc on the other two DTH platforms. This should happen by October,” informs Sethi.

    Ten Golf was initially targeted at avid golf players, and hopes to address  aspirational golfers with its expansion in distribution and price lowering. “Aspirational golf players are mostly corporate executives and they are huge in number. Also Ten Golf today is seen as a lifestyle channel. People not only watch the channel for the sport, but also for the beautiful landscape it offers. All this called for a bigger reach and lower subscription fee,” he adds.

    Sethi is also hopeful to get advertisers to use the channel as an advertising platform.   “The positioning will help us with more advertisers. The channel has its own unique niche value and there are partners and corporates who want to advertise.”

    Ten Golf will in the next six to eight weeks be also clubbed together in high end packages offered by major MSOs like DEN, Hathway and Siticable, reveal industry sources.  “The subscription fee for the channel on the package provided by the MSOs will be much lower as compared to the DTH players. All this will take traction in next six to eight weeks,” informs Sethi.

    Shall we say fore?

  • Manthan’s Rs 120 crore SMS deal with IBM

    KOLKATA: As part of its ambitious plan to install nearly 3,000,000 set top boxes in the eastern region by end-2014, Kolkata-headquartered cable TV multi-system operator (MSO) Manthan Broadband Services has inked a long-term contract with IBM India for the maintenance of its subscriber management system (SMS).

     

    Sources close to the deal peg its value at approximately Rs 120 crore where IBM has been developing the software for Manthan’s SMS for the past one and a half years.

     

    Indiantelevision.com has learnt that apart from IBM, firms like Magna Quest and Ericsson were also part of the race to win the coveted 10-year contract with Manthan.

     

    When contacted, Manthan director Sudip Ghosh confirmed the news and said: “The system will enable subscribers to exercise their choice of services and budget their bills accordingly. It will also help us manage their accounting and billing of services rendered more effectively in the long term.”

     

    The investment would ensure the best infrastructure including network, encryption, ERP, SMS and call centre, Ghosh said.

     

    An IBM official too concurred: “We are offering a lot of solutions to the company. Yes, we have signed the deal.”

     

    deally, the Digital Addressable Cable TV System (DAS) requires all MSOs to establish a SMS where details of subscribers, including their choice of services like channels and bouquets are maintained. In reality however, many MSOs were not implementing this feature effectively. Also, local cable operators (LCOs) were not providing completed subscriber application forms to their linked MSOs. Reason why the Telecom and Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) directed all registered MSOs and their associated LCOs to ensure SMS was made fully operational. “This would bring in addressability and consequently, complete transparency in the whole system,” opined several cable and entertainment analysts.

     

    Manthan, created back in 2002 through a merger of the operations of nine cable TV operators, today caters to 30 lakh households in the east. The MSO has penetration in areas like Kolkata, Howrah, Hooghly, Baraipur and Chandannagar among others.

  • Kolkata’s cable TV customers feel CAF heat as blackouts spread

    Kolkata’s cable TV customers feel CAF heat as blackouts spread

    KOLKATA: Kolkata is seeing some frenetic activity on the cable TV front. The city’s multisystem operators (MSO) have started switching off signals in several pockets in Kolkata where cable operators have failed to comply with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) norms and not provided them with the KYC or CAF forms of their subscribers. But MSOs have also been prompt in bringing the disconnected customers back online once the CAFs are submitted and fed into their systems.

    Apparently, the consensus amongst the cable TV fratenity is that cable TV subscribers are understanding the gravity of the situation with their cable TV connections being cut. And they have been a hurry to submit their CAFs now. “About 30,000 boxes had been deactivated and then reactivated after we received filled out forms from them,” said Manthan director Sudeep Ghosh.

     “We are in touch with the MSOs and we have been told that nearly two lakh set top boxes have been deactivated across the city and about 1.3 lakh boxes have been downgraded to DD channels only,” says a TRAI official.”And this is working as all the MSOs are saying that they are being flooded with CAFs as compared to earlier when there was lethargy.”

    The phase-wise deactivation of set top boxes had proved to be effective in sending out the intended message to consumers, he said.

    Consumers are confused and are complaining that there had been no intimation to them about the forms.

    A DTH service provider said that its call centres are receiving extra call loads with cable TV subscribers enquiring about the options available to them. “Our callers have expressed that it is better to settle with the seamless connection instead of haggling with the cable operator, who is ill-informed and not up to date with what is expected to be done,” says the DTH executive.

    We will have to simply keep our eyes glued to see if those callers will migrate to DTH. Going by past track records in other cities in phase I and phase II, it probably does not seem likely. Though many have expressed that a paradigm shift is needed.

  • I&B officials: Digitisation drive will accelerate further

    I&B officials: Digitisation drive will accelerate further

    NEW DELHI: For all those who think that there’s going to be a slowdown in cable TV digitisation. It is time to think again. All thanks to the focus of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry on the preparations for the upcoming elections next year.

    In fact, the teams at I&B and TRAI, which have been spearheading the drive along with TRAI representatives, has been informed by  new secretary Bimal Jhulka and TRAI chairman Rahul Khullar, to keep the foot on the accelerator pedal and if possible rev the digitisation drive even more.

    Last week, I&B sources told Indiantelevision.com that MSOs and other television ecosystem players are being told to start planning for phase III and phase IV of digitisation from now itself. Phase III and phase IV have been compressed into a single deadline which will end in December 2014.

    “The learnings from phase I and phase II are being put into place,” says an I&B source. “We will be setting up deadlines for import of set top boxes and for rollout of the boxes. There will also be a clear game plan about which channels will be switched off to force the pace of digitisation and CAF forms in the smaller towns and rural areas. We want the transition from analogue to digital to be smoother in the next phase.”

  • Kolkata’s cable TV customers feel CAF heat as blackouts spread

    KOLKATA: Kolkata is seeing some frenetic activity on the cable TV front. The city‘s multisystem operators (MSO) have started switching off signals in several pockets in Kolkata where cable operators have failed to comply with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) norms and not provided them with the KYC or CAF forms of their subscribers. But MSOs have also been prompt in bringing the disconnected customers back online once the CAFs are submitted and fed into their systems.

    Apparently, the consensus amongst the cable TV fratenity is that cable TV subscribers are understanding the gravity of the situation with their cable TV connections being cut. And they have been a hurry to submit their CAFs now. “About 30,000 boxes had been deactivated and then reactivated after we received filled out forms from them,” said Manthan director Sudeep Ghosh.

     “We are in touch with the MSOs and we have been told that nearly two lakh set top boxes have been deactivated across the city and about 1.3 lakh boxes have been downgraded to DD channels only,” says a TRAI official.”And this is working as all the MSOs are saying that they are being flooded with CAFs as compared to earlier when there was lethargy.”

    The phase-wise deactivation of set top boxes had proved to be effective in sending out the intended message to consumers, he said.

    Consumers are confused and are complaining that there had been no intimation to them about the forms.

    A DTH service provider said that its call centres are receiving extra call loads with cable TV subscribers enquiring about the options available to them. “Our callers have expressed that it is better to settle with the seamless connection instead of haggling with the cable operator, who is ill-informed and not up to date with what is expected to be done,” says the DTH executive.

    We will have to simply keep our eyes glued to see if those callers will migrate to DTH. Going by past track records in other cities in phase I and phase II, it probably does not seem likely. Though many have expressed that a paradigm shift is needed.
     
  • Kolkata MSOs racing against time to meet DAS deadline

    Kolkata MSOs racing against time to meet DAS deadline

    KOLKATA: Multi System Operators (MSOs) and local cable operators (LCOs) in Kolkata are busy collecting the consumer application forms (CAF) and feeding in details for the complete implementation of the Digital Addressable System (DAS).

    “There’s a huge increase in workload, and everything has to be collected quicker and reported quicker,” says a Kolkata headquartered MSO. While a LOC says: “It’s very tiring to go home and get called back in again, and go home and get called back in again for clarifications and further clarifications.”

    With the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) confirming last week that it will strictly adhere to the 23 August deadline for implementation of subscriber management system (SMS) rollout in Kolkata, the MSOs and cable operators are collecting the know your client (KYC) form details and subscribers’ choice of channels swiftly and are racing against time to feed the data into their systems day and night.

    So far 30-35 per cent of the subscriber management system (SMS) data of cable consumers in Kolkata is completed as per the TRAI data.

    SitiCable which controls a substantial share of cable TV users in Kolkata said the call centers would update the details overnight. “We will work overnight and plan to achieve as much of the work before the deadline,” said SitiCable (Kolkata) director Suresh Sethia.

    SitiCable has set up around 11.5 lakh digital addressable systems (DAS) here.

    While for Manthan Broadband Services there are no holidays and Sundays. “We have 6.5 lakh to seven lakh subscribers. The CAF rate was around 25 per cent for us last week,” said Manthan Broadband Services director Sudip Ghosh.

    “The operators connected with Manthan are working 10 times faster than before,” added Ghosh.
    While Manthan Broadband Services director Gurmeet Singh, said: “With the regulation, we have to collect 100 per cent details. We have no other choice than asking the operators to work and achieve the target.”

    DEN Networks CEO SN Sharma said the CAF collection rate for it’s close to three lakh STBs in Kolkata is nearly 40 per cent-45 per cent.

    “Before the deadline, we aim to achieve 85 per cent -90 per cent work,” said Sharma with assurance.

    “The operators are so lethargic that the customers have not yet got the forms and we are getting calls from frantic TV viewers now,” said a MSO. “We have asked them to download the form from the website and fill it up, scan and mail it to us if possible so that their TV screens do not go blank,” he added.

    With just five days in hand to meet the switch-off date, other MSOs and LCOs said that they have deployed more personnel on shift and temporary basis.

    “Consumer Application Form (CAF) collection rate is expected to be around 70 per cent-75 per cent altogether in Kolkata by 23 August,” assumes Sethia.

    “Achieving 100 per cent target by 23 August is next to impossible. Kolkata will miss the deadline,” said Association of Cable Operators, Cable Operators Digitalisation Committee convener Swapan Chowdhury. “But the cable TV industry people are toiling hard now,” he expounded.

    On the other hand industry sources on the condition of anonymity said it is not possible to give authentic data in just five days. “Filling up more than 18 lakh CAFs is not a matter of joke. The LCO may tick mark the preference of the users themselves,” he said. “For not providing genuine information, the MSOs may face dreadful consequences,” he hinted.

    If around 5,000 local cable operators and 14 MSOs, which provide service in DAS areas do not abide by the deadline of submitting the CAFs, TRAI may file a case against any MSO, concluded a source.

    With the clock ticking and TRAI not willing to give any leeway, the MSOs and LCOs have their work cut out.

  • IPL Franchise inflates revenues but erodes Sun TV profits for Q1-2014

    IPL Franchise inflates revenues but erodes Sun TV profits for Q1-2014

    BENGALURU: It’s still early days yet considering the fact that the last Indian Premiere League’s (IPL), sixth edition was the first one for the Sunrisers Hyderabad team, but the IPL venture did erode Rs 30.79 crore or about eight per cent of the Rs 384.44 crore EBIDTA reported by the Sun TV Network Limited (Sun TV) broadcasting business in Q1-2014.

     

    As stated above, excluding IPL, EBIDTA for Sun TV for Q1-2014 was Rs 384.44 crore, up 19 per cent as compared to EBIDTA reported for Q1-2013. Including the IPL negative EBIDTA, Q1-2014 EBIDTA was about 10 per cent higher at Rs 353.65 crore as compared to Rs 322.97 crore in Q1-2013.

     

    Let us take a look at the numbers reported by Sun TV Network Limited

     

    Sun TV’s PBIDT (Profit before interest, depreciation and tax) for Q1-2014 grew by about nine per cent to Rs 367.04 crore from Rs 336.20 crore in Q1-2013. The network says that it’s PAT (excluding IPL) at Rs 184.78 crore grew about 12 per cent.

     

    Sun TV reported revenues for Q1-2014 of Rs 601.85, including Rs 98.54 crore from IPL, a growth of 41 per cent over the Rs 425.25 crore for Q1-2013. Its broadcasting business grew 18 per cent in Q1-2014 to Rs 503.31 crore as compared to Q1-2013, and by 5.4 per cent as compared to the Rs 477.67 crore during Q4-2013.

     

    At the time of writing of this report, Sun TV has not filed the exact numbers of the break-up from the various revenue streams that contribute to its broadcasting business; it has indicated the growth percentages of the major revenue streams through a release.

     

    The network says that its advertisement revenue for Q1-2014 was up by approximately 15 per cent to Rs 279.73 crore.

     

    Sun TV says that its subscription revenues continue to maintain an uptrend with its cable TV business growing by approximately 38 per cent and its DTH subscription revenue growing by about 20 per cent in Q1-2014.

     

    Sun TV paid Rs 85.05 crore towards IPL franchise fees, subtracting these fees from its total expenses of Rs 365.59 crore for Q1-2014, the channel’s expenses at Rs 280.54 crore jumped up 43.1 per cent as compared to Rs 196.05 per cent for Q1-2013 and were higher by 24.3 per cent as compared to the Rs 225.89 crore for Q4-2013.

     

    The network’s ‘Other Expenses’ for Q1-2014 more than trebled (up 261 per cent) to Rs 73.94 crore as compared to the Rs 20.50 crore for Q1-2013 and more than doubled (up 129.8 per cent) as compared to Q4-2014’s Rs32.18 crore.

     

    At its meeting held on 2 August 2013, the board of directors of the company have declared an interim dividend of Rs 2.25 per share (45 per cent).

  • TRAI gets tough on deadline for CAFs

    TRAI gets tough on deadline for CAFs

    MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) means business and how. The regulator had called for a meeting on 19 July with the leading Multi System Operators (MSOs) that provide cable TV services in Mumbai, Kolkata and 38 cities, covered under phase-II of Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems (DAS) implementation, to review the progress.

    TRAI has set the following deadlines for collection of the consumer application forms (CAFs) from the subscribers, complete in all respects, including choice of channels/services and entry of complete details in the subscriber management system (SMS), by the MSOs in these cities:-

    Sl. No.
    Cities
    Deadline
    1 Municipal Council of Greater Mumbai area 2 August 2013
    2 Kolkata Metropolitan area 23 August 2013
    3 38 Cities covered under phase-II of DAS implementation* 20 September 2013

     

    *Hyderabad, Visakhapatanam, Patna, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara, Faridabad, Srinagar, Ranchi, Bengaluru, Mysore, Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur, Auragabad, Kalyan-Dombivili, Nagpur, Nashik, Navi-Mumbai, Pimri-Chinchwad, Pune, Sholapur, Thane, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Coimbatore, Agra, Allahabad, Ghaziabad, Kanpur, Luknow, Meerut, Varanasi, Chandigarh, Howrah.

    TRAI has already collected 97 per cent of CAF forms from Delhi and 80 per cent from Mumbai.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, TRAI principal advisor Parameswaran N said, “The deadline to submit the customer application forms in Kolkata is 23 August and there will be no extension. TRAI will take an action against LCOs and MSOs who will not submit the CAFs on time.”

    TRAI has requested cable TV subscribers of the above mentioned areas to cooperate and submit the CAFs, complete in all respects to the respective cable operators/MSOs at the earliest, to enjoy the full benefits of digitisation. In event of failure to do so, MSOs will have no option but to switch off the signal to those consumers who have not submitted the forms, otherwise such MSOs would be in breach of the law.

    Incable MD Ravi Mansukhani said, “80 per cent forms have been submitted and by the end of this month it should be 100 per cent in Mumbai.”

    A leading Cable operator‘s spokesperson said, “CAF forms cannot be filled in a month or two. It is a long process which will take time; LCOs have to understand that this process will increase their ARPU‘s (Average revenue per user) and at the same time the subscribers too are not educated about this issue and they would only be aware of the gravity of the situation once their connections will be downgraded.”

  • TRAI warns MSOs and LCOs in Kolkata to get their act together

    TRAI warns MSOs and LCOs in Kolkata to get their act together

    MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) held a meeting with the leading Multi System Operators (MSOs) in Kolkata to review the progress of implementation of Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems (DAS).

    The regulator has brought up the fact that though sufficient time has elapsed since 1 November 2012 the Subscriber Management System (SMS) of DAS has not been effectively operationalised by the MSOs, providing cable TV service in Kolkata. The SMS is to have complete details of the subscribers including their choice of channels. Unless this is done the full benefit of digitisation cannot be extended to all the stakeholders including the subscribers. This will also help the subscribers to budget their bills.

    In an effort to educate and sensitise the subscribers, TRAI has been issuing public notices from time to time. The broadcasters and the cable TV service providers have also been running scrolls in the TV channels and TV advertisement for the last few months requesting the subscribers to submit the duly filled-in Consumer Application Forms (CAFs). Through these public notices, scrolls and TV advertisements the subscribers were also alerted about deactivation of cable TV services, in case of non-submission of the forms.

    The reason for this was that, in terms of Digital Addressable Cable TV Systems Regulations 2012, MSOs can transmit digital signals and activate the Set Top Box (STB) only after receiving the CAF from the consumer with his/her preference and entering all the details in its SMS. If there is no form, the MSOs are obliged under law not to transmit the signal and deactivate the cable TV services.

    TRAI expressed its serious concern to the fact that only 20 per cent of the subscriber‘s details and their choices are available in the subscriber management system in Kolkata. Whereas this figure is more than 80 per cent in other metro cities and that the inaction on the part of MSOs and LCOs in implementation of DAS will not be tolerated.

    Accordingly the MSOs have been directed to take immediate steps to ensure that the subscribers details and their choice of channels/bouquets/services are entered into the SMS. The regulatory body would be keeping a close watch on the progress in this regard and would take all possible actions, including penal action as per the TRAI Act to ensure compliance of its regulatory framework.

    Cable TV subscribers have been requested to cooperate and submit the CAFs complete in all respect, to the respective LCO/MSO at the earliest, to enjoy the full benefit of digitisation. In event of failure to do so MSOs will have no option but to switch off the signal to those consumers who have not submitted their CAFs otherwise such MSOs would be in breach of the law.

  • CODA postpones agitation on Maharashtra cable TV entertainment tax

    CODA postpones agitation on Maharashtra cable TV entertainment tax

    MUMBAI: The state of Maharashtra was to see a blackout of all news channels- Hindi, English and Marathi- from 15 July by all TV cable operators as a sign of protest in case the entertainment tax levied on them was not reduced. But that has not happened.

    Reason: The Cable Operators and Distributors Association (CODA), which was demanding that it be shaved to Rs 15 per set top box or per subscriber from the Rs 45 charged currently, decided to be patient and hold on.

    Says CODA president Anil Parab: “We sought an appointment from state revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat and he could only give it to us for next week. So we decided to defer our decision on the blackout till we meet him and gauge his response towards our demand.”

    Parab also stated that the assembly is on till 3 August so they have enough time to go ahead with their black out, in case they don‘t get Thorat‘s support.

    The cable TV operator fraternity in Maharashtra say it is unnecessarily being burdened with high taxes even though digitisation has led to greater transparency and tax payouts by them. Delhi‘s entertainment tax is at Rs 20 while in other cities it is at zero to five per cent.