ITV

Tag: cable TV

  • Cas paves way for consolidation

    Cas paves way for consolidation

    MUMBAI: The complexion of the cable TV industry is fast changing. Cas (conditional access system) is paving the way for consolidation as cable operators need to find money to subsidise set-top boxes (STBs), set up a digital system, and build a proper service network.

    The might of the three big multi-system operators (MSOs) is prevailing with the weaker players tumbling down under in the markets opened for Cas barely a month ago. Delhi has already gone that way with Home Cable Network, Spectranet, Satellite Channels, Sanjay Cable Network and Star Broadband Services aligning with Hinduja-owned Incablenet, Hathway Cable & Datacom or Zee Group’s Wire & Wireless India Ltd (WWIL).

    Soon Mumbai’s Cas subscribers will also get shared between these three MSOs. Raja Nadar, an independent cable operator, says his JPR Network will surrender its independent status and partner with an MSO by the end of this month. Though he has seeded 5,000 STBs, he is struggling to fund new arrivals and is losing subscribers to WWIL. “There is no business model left for us. We can’t raise debt and even if we somehow do, we can’t recover revenues large enough from our digital subscribers to work out a repayment schedule,” he says.

    Cas in Delhi and Mumbai is becoming a three-MSO battle. “That’s the record for everybody to see. That’s the reality. There were 14 independent headends in Delhi who had shown interest to operate but not one could launch. In Mumbai, it is the same story,” says the head of a leading MSO on request of anonymity.

    Making the ground tough is the fact that digitalisation is coming cheap in India. Cable operators are offering a subsidy of Rs 1000-1500 per STB while average revenue per user (ARPU) is set to fall with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) capping a la carte pay channels at Rs 5. The revenue share is also regulated with broadcasters taking away 45 per cent while 30 per cent stays with the MSOs and 25 per cent with the local cable operators.

    “Digital cable is a game for those who have deep pockets. Cable operators will not only have to subsidise the boxes but the service as well,” says WWIL managing director Jagjit Singh Kohli.

    If Kolkata has not seen enough of bulldozing, it is because there is not much of demand for STBs. But Sristi has crumbled down with WWIL and Manthan sharing the spoils. Cablecom is tottering but has survived.

    As STBs pick up in Kolkata, Incablenet and Hathway will look at entering the market. This will pave the way for further consolidation as penetration will mean financing more boxes. Manthan has already raised a debt of Rs 100 million from individuals and is looking at another Rs 200 million as way of bank financing.

    The need for pumping in big money will be larger as Cas spreads. In the initial phase, Hathway is arranging for a Rs 1 billion debt while WWIL wants to pump in Rs 7.14 billion over two years with a plan also to acquire last mile of cable operators.

    What can be disturbing is that after the initial euphoria, the demand for boxes seems to be already slowing when we have just crossed 400000 in a Cas market which has over 1.5 million cable and satellite homes. “If this trend is true, it should be a matter of concern for all the stakeholders except the local cable operators,” says Zee Turner CEO Arun Poddar. In the Cas areas, local cable operators are allowed to pocket the entire Rs 77 they collect from subscribers for the free-to-air (FTA) channels.

    With not as many boxes moving, broadcasters are particularly worried as they were forced to drop the rates of their pay channels. The sector regulator has chalked out a policy that makes business sense only on high volumes. “We will need higher volumes to make up for the pricing policy prescribed by Trai. Besides, the boxes are not yet entirely synchronised with the subscriber management system that would register what channels are subscribed by the consumers. The whole project will depend on how fast and effective SMS gets activised,” says Poddar.

    A surge in demand for the boxes is expected before the ICC World Cup starts in March. Besides, marketing campaigns will have to be launched promoting digitalisation. “MSOs will have to start marketing the boxes more aggressively. Broadcasters can also launch joint campaigns with them,” says SET Discovery president Anuj Gandhi.

    Nobody knows how the market will finally emerge. But the trend is clear: smaller MSOs in the Cas areas will find it difficult to subsidise the boxes and will need to take support of the bigger ones.

    “Consolidation can start with Cas and spread out in other areas. In many non Cas places, we are also seeing consolidation because of fear of losing subscribers to direct-to-home operators,” says the head of a MSO.

  • StarHub, Visiware to bring triple play gaming to Asia

    StarHub, Visiware to bring triple play gaming to Asia

    MUMBAI: Singapore based pay-TV operator StarHub and French company Visiware, provider of interactive TV games channels, announced the launch of Playin’TV Triple Play -the first triple-play gaming offer in Asia that will be made available to customers of StarHub from 1 February 2007.

    Games like Sudoku or Carrot Mania on Ice are some of the interactive games that customers can subscribe to through StarHub’s mobile platform and the Internet for free due to Visiware’s Playin’Code technology.

    This means that they will be able to enjoy the games anytime, anywhere, on any of StarHub’s media platforms -TV, mobile and online. They can pick up from where they ended a game, without having to start from scratch. The company is also exploring ways to enhance the Playin’TV service by incorporating contests, real-time leaderboards and multiplayer games that will allow gamers to pit their skills against other players.

    StarHub vice president Cable TV services Patrick Lim said, “StarHub’s advantage as a fully integrated information, communications and entertainment provider is its ability to offer customers access to a converged suite of services across different product lines. We have consistently worked to incorporate new technologies that allow us to present our customers more breadth and depth in content applications, and Playin’TV Triple Play is an example of the fruit of such efforts. Customers can certainly expect more of such innovations from StarHub.”

    “We are delighted that Playin’TV Triple Play is now making its entry into the Asian market. StarHub’s efficient and advanced network provides us with the opportunity to effectively deploy true triple-play content, to allow fans of Playin’TV to enjoy the games even when they’re on-the-go,” said Visiware executive chairman Laurant Weill.

    Playin’TV, a 24-hour interactive games channel, was launched on StarHub Digital Cable in August last year.

  • Hearings continue in Trai rulings validity case

    Hearings continue in Trai rulings validity case

    NEW DELHI: The hearing on the constitutional aspects of the ongoing case on whether Trai can at all fix tariffs for pay channels continued today.

    Set Discovery counsel Afpi Chinay argued that there is no law in the country that allows the operations of broadcasters to be regulated. Chinay said that neither the Telecom Regulatory Authority of Indian act nor the Cable TV act has any provision for regulating the content providers, and the orders fixing tariff were thus automatically against the laws.

    This is a case of violation of freedom or speech and expression under Article 19 1 A of the Constitution, Chinay said. He challenged the proviso to section 21 K of the Trai act which originally said that the government could at a later date include any other service under the head of ‘telecom services’ but that would not include the broadcasters. He said that the amendment of the Act in 2000 gave the Trai the powers to regulate, but this did not apply to them as they were neither licensees nor service providers under the meaning of the Act.

    Chinay also challenged the Rules as amended on July 31, 2006, which gave the government the power to regulate and fix tariff.

    Chinay held that the Cable TV Act does not have this provision, and it says that though the government could control prices of the ‘basic tier’ only, that is, the free-to-air channels, it could not do the same for the pay channels.

    Chinay held that the rules cannot take over the Act under which they exist, hence the fixing of tariff under such rules were not acceptable.

    The hearing is to continue tomorrow. The original case had been filed by Star in 2005 and later, Sony joined issue, filing a separate appeal in 2006. The HC is hearing the range of cases under this new petition (No. 16913 of 2006), which is now being treated as the main petition.

    The contention of the broadcasters is that Trai or Cable TV act does not have regulatory powers whatever, so far as the pay channels are concerned, hence any order issued on this by Trai stands automatically struck down. Earlier, Soli Sorabjee had appeared for Sony and had placed his preliminary argument.

  • DD to telecast cricket with 7-minute time lag

    DD to telecast cricket with 7-minute time lag

    NEW DELHI: Millions of viewers who don’t have access to the Nimbus owned Neo Sports can finally heave a sigh of relief. The Delhi High Court has ruled that terrestrial broadcaster Doordarshan can telecast the ongoing cricket series between India and the West Indies “deferred live” with a seven-minute delay.

    Seven minutes on an average comprises two overs bowled on the trot. All India Radio will, however, be allowed to broadcast its commentary live, with no time lag.

    The consensus emerged after the High Court, in its order issued today, ruled that 50 million viewers (who don’t have cable TV access) cannot be denied the right to watch the game.

    The timing of the ruling is critical since it comes a day ahead of the second One-Day International to be played in Cuttack, Orissa. It may be recalled that millions of viewers missed out on the action Sunday that saw India defeating the West Indies in the first ODI that was played at Nagpur.

    While issuing his orders, Justice SK Kaul made it clear that this was an interim ruling and that the final decision about the Sri Lanka series (that follows immediately after the current four-match Pepsi series gets over) will be taken on 8 February.

    On the petition filed by Nimbus yesterday, the court asked Prasar Bharati to file its replies by 29 January, to which Nimbus will have to file its rejoinder by 1 February.

    Nimbus’ counsel argued that it would stand to lose cmmercially if Doordarshan were allowed a live feed and said DD was being adamant despite concessions offered by Neo Sports.

    Reacting to the news, information & broadcasting minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi welcomed the decision of the court, stating it (the ruling) was only fair considering DD has “96 per cent reach in the country”.

    Nimbus Sports, the rights holders for the BCCI organized cricket events in India that it had acquired for a whopping $ 612 million, had earlier offered to give the feed to Prasar Bharati, but only under certain specific conditions, and these were not acceptable to the pubcaster.

    Nimbus had originally suggested a 15 minute deferred telecast on DD referred ‘as live’. Nimbus also did not agree to DD showing the matches on its DTH platform DD Direct Plus.

    Nimbus had said if at all it shares the feed, the signals would have to be encrypted so that it reached houses only on the terrestrial network and not those that get DD signals through cable TV.

    The talks broke down after Prasar Bharati officials, citing previous government orders and court rulings they claim had gone in their favour, said they should get live feed of the cricket series without any conditions, and that it was also to be shared on DD’s DTH platform.

    Following the breakdown of talks DD officials had gone back to taking the cover of the Uplink-Downlink Guidelines that perforce allow DD to get the telecast feed.

  • No cricket on DD as Nimbus refuses to buckle

    No cricket on DD as Nimbus refuses to buckle

    MUMBAI: In what is a first on Indian Television, a home cricket series kicked off today without the telecast being available on national broadcaster Doordarshan and All India Radio.

    India’s victorious start to the four-match Pepsi series One-Day International series against the West Indies at Nagpur was not available on terrestrial television as well as on cable homes that did not carry the Nimbus owned Neo Sports channel.

    With talks breaking down yesterday between Prasar Bharati and Nimbus Sports on sharing the live feed, the industry was waiting to see whether the government would push through an ordinance to implement the Downlinking/Uplinking Guidelines issued by the information & broadcasting ministry in November 2005.

    The guidelines make it compulsory for sports telecast rights holder channels to share the live feed of important sporting events with Doordarshan and AIR by entering into a commercial agreement. The terms provide for revenue sharing of 75:25 in favour of the rights holders.
    Nimbus Sports, the rights holders for the BCCI organized cricket events in India, had offered to give the feed to the pubcaster, but only under certain specific conditions, and these were not acceptable to the Prasar Bharati.

    Nimbus suggested a 15 minute deferred telecast on Doordarshan’s terrestrial channel referred ‘as live’. Thus, people having cable TV would get live feed on Neo Sports and those watching DD would see it 15 minutes later.

    Nimbus also did not agree to DD showing the matches on its DTH platform DD Direct Plus.

    NIMBUS READY TO GIVE FEED IF PRASAR BHARATI GIVES COMMITMENT TO ENCRYPT TERRESTRIAL SIGNALS

    Nimbus has said if at all it shares the feed, the signals have to be encrypted so that it reaches houses only on the terrestrial network and not those that get DD signals through cable TV.

    Nimbus today offered a way out of the impasse by declaring it was ready to provide the live feed if Prasar Bharati agreed to encrypt its signals in the next two to three weeks.

    “Till such time as DD puts encryption into place, about 2-3 weeks, Nimbus has offered to provide the live coverage TV signal to DD,” Nimbus chief Harish Thawani has been quoted by Zee News as saying from Mumbai.

    “We are highly committed and want to provide the cricket telecasts on DD also. The ball is in DD`s court,” he said.

    Thawani said Nimbus was insisting on encryption as the satellites used by DD have significant signal dispersion into many neighbouring countries, often as far as the Middle East and Singapore.

    “The growth of sports in any country is substantially dependent on the revenues it gets from sports channels and those revenues would be substantially destroyed if the rights of sports channels are not protected, having a terrible impact on sport itself,” Thawani argued.

    Till now though, Prasar Bharati officials, citing previous government orders and court rulings that they claim have gone in their favour, have been adamant that they should get live feed of the cricket series, without any conditions, and that it also be shared on DD’s DTH platform.

    Following the breakdown of talks DD officials have gone back to taking the cover of the Uplink-Downlink Guidelines that perforce allow DD to get the telecast feed.

    The ball is now really in the government’s court on what its next move will be.

  • Hathway implements Oracle E-Business Suite

    Hathway implements Oracle E-Business Suite

    MUMBAI: Hathway Cable & Datacom has implemented Oracle 11i E-Business Suit as its ERP applications in order to manage data of different lines of its businesses. The multi-system operate offers services in areas of cable TV, broadband and cable channels.

    Covered in the first phase were the purchase, stores and inventory, accounts and finance functions. This went live from 18 January. In the next phase, which will start shortly, the ERP solutions will involve the human resources, marketing and sales functions.

    Hathway has engaged the services of Satyam Computer Services for the implementation of this project.

    “Our business processes are ready and in line with Oracle’s integrated solutions which will tightly integrate the various functions, business processes, key stakeholders and employees across the organisation through this ERP solution,” said Hathway Cable & Datacom MD and CEO K Jayaraman.

    In April 2006, Hathway decided to implement Oracle Applications 11i E-Business Suite This was to run on HP servers using Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.0 Advanced Server and Oracle 10g database on the Sun server platform.

    “The implementation of this ERP solution is expected to provide better visibility on our transactions and inventory. This will improve our customer delivery performance, reduce inventory and process cycle while bringing down operating costs. The solution is also expected to better cost of compliance and resource utilization through standardized processes, and improve customer service with better controls,” said Jayaraman.
     

  • LG earns Cablelabs certification for two-way interactive digital cable HDTV

    LG earns Cablelabs certification for two-way interactive digital cable HDTV

    MUMBAI: Paving the way to integrated digital cable-ready HDTVs with two-way interactive capability, LG Electronics recently showcased a TV platform in the US.

    The LG plasma HDTV has achieved certification status as Ocap-enabled interactive digital television set, including the multi-stream CableCard (M-Card) system, from a recently concluded certification by Cablelabs.

    LG’s 42-inch OpenCable plasma HDTV set (42PC1DN) was honoured with a 2007 CES Innovations Award — features built-in Ocap technology, M-Card capabilities and interactive capabilities, as well as high-definition content and interactive services like Video-on-Demand and Pay-Per-View. The LG 42PC1DN has been honoured as a 2007 CES Innovations Award recipient.

    This retail device can connect directly to a local cable TV system, and receive current advanced interactive cable TV services, as well as be ready for future interactive applications –without the need for a separate digital set-top box (STB). Ultimately, a common US platform for delivering interactive cable applications would be enabled by implementing the OpenCable specification, a process in which LG is an active contributor.

    The company adds that it is committed to commercialising retail interactive digital cable-ready TVs and STBs to accelerate the rollout of OpenCable and Ocap across the North American Cable industry. LG says that it has now have advanced devices capable of receiving and displaying advanced cable services such as program guides and video-on-demand (Vod) without requiring separate cable STBs.

    In parallel with ongoing inter-industry standardisation efforts, it will continue working with the cable industry to commercialise this platform.

    LG’s close collaboration with Cablelabs and cable TV operators has enabled the company to develop products that run cable services including an interactive programme guide, Vod and other interactive applications and services. “At the same time, LG is continuing to explore additional new features to maintain product leadership and be a market differentiator.

  • MSOs on prowl, Incablenet to support Home Cable in Delhi

    MSOs on prowl, Incablenet to support Home Cable in Delhi

    MUMBAI: Conditional access system (Cas) is forcing multi-system operators (MSOs) to strike alliances as they take up the challenge of expanding their digital subscribers.

    The latest to join hands is Incablenet and Vikki Choudhry’s Home Cable Network. Incablenet will be supplying its feed and digital set-top boxes (STBs) to the subscribers of Home Cable Network in South Delhi.

    “We have entered into a strategic alliance with Incablenet. They will be providing STBs to our subscribers. For those consumers who want to take our advanced boxes which are priced at Rs 2150, we will be providing them our systems. Others will have an option to take the Incablenet STBs,” says Choudhry.

    Incablenet uses a different encryption system and its boxes will not support the feed from Home Cable Network. “We have agreed to share each others fibre and infrastructure as we go ahead,” says Choudhry.

    Incablenet offers subscribers digital STBs at Rs 1500 (plus taxes) while cable TV subscription is free for six months on three bouquet packages. Home Cable, on the other hand, has an outright purchase scheme with the STB priced at Rs 2150. It offers 10 pay channels on a monthly subscription fee of Rs 45 while the 60-channel package is available for Rs 225.

    “Smaller MSOs in the Cas areas will find it difficult to subsidise the boxes and will take support of the bigger ones. Besides, they do not have enough boxes and know that any delay will mean that their subscribers will go away to other available options,” says an analyst who tracks the cable industry.

    Earlier, Wire & Wireless India Ltd (WWIL) had expanded its footprint in Delhi by acquiring a 51 per cent stake in Satellite Channels and signing up with Spectranet and Sanjay Cable Network for supplying digital services.

    In Kolkata, Sristi Broadband takes the feed from Manthan Cable Network. A group of operators of Sristi Cable TV are using the feed from Mathan and Zee’s Indian Cable Net as it could not make arrangements for STBs.

    “Sristi Broadband and a group of operators from Sristi Cable are taking feed from us,” says Manthan director Gurmeet Singh. Manthan has recently introduced a package for the second TV set where subscribers will have to pay Rs 90 a month for 50 pay channels. Manthan’s STB costs Rs 2599.

  • ‘Trai has kept entry barrier low to make Cas acceptable’ : Nripendra Misra – Trai chairman

    ‘Trai has kept entry barrier low to make Cas acceptable’ : Nripendra Misra – Trai chairman

    The cable TV industry is on the cusp of change. The multi-system operators (MSOs) have chalked out plans to roll out digital cable, a transition that they believe will make their business models viable and add value to their networks.

     

    Perturbed by the cap on a la carte pricing of their channels at Rs 5, the broadcasters, on the other hand, have taken shelter in legal cases.

     

    Crucial to making Cas (conditional access system) a reality has been the role played by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai). It has not only come out with a consumer-friendly tariff order but also made sure that progress is made by the MSOs on the implementation front.

     

    In this interview with Indiantelevision.com‘s Sibabrata Das, Trai chairman Nripendra Misra reiterates that digitalisation is the way forward. Cas will be implemented and even regulating direct-to-home (DTH) in areas of quality of service is on Trai‘s radar.

     

    Excerpts:

    How ready are the multi-system operators (MSOs) to implement Cas in the notified areas of Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata?

    The progress is satisfactory and let there be no doubt in the minds of stakeholders that Cas is going to be implemented on the due date. There is no element of uncertainty. We already have reports of 10 MSOs (as of 16 December) having conducted the trial runs for testing out their digital systems under Cas. We want to be sure that there are no glitches in implementation of Cas and that the transition is smooth.

    In Delhi, Spectranet, Satellite Channels, Sanjay Cable Network and Star Broadband Services have been issued letters by the information and broadcasting ministry that they are not in a position to switchover to addressable system by 31 December as they are not ready with the digital systems including headend, Cas and set-top boxes (STBs). What is the action Trai has taken?

    There are four networks who we found are not in a position to roll out their service. We have asked the other MSOs (Hathway Cable & Datacom, Incablenet, Wire & Wireless India Ltd. and Home Cable Network) to step in so that consumers falling under the Cas belt of Delhi do not suffer blackout of their cable TV service. We are constantly monitoring the progress made by the MSOs.

    How many MSOs have applied for licence and got approval to operate in the Cas areas?

    There were 21 MSOs and five more applied later. Our focus is on 21. Out of this, as I told earlier, 10 (as of 16 December) have started trials.

    Estimates are that there are around 1.2 million cable & satellite homes in the Cas areas. Have the MSOs brought in adequate number of STBs?

    There are already a total of over 300000 boxes available with the MSOs. It is tough to estimate the exact number of C&S households in the Cas region. The whole cable TV industry is marked by high levels of under-reporting of subscribers. But supply shouldn‘t be a problem as the MSOs say that they can quickly import the STBs in case of demand. Their argument is that they shouldn‘t be stuck up with investments if Cas, for any reason, doesn‘t pick up. We expect 40 per cent of analogue subscribers converting into digital. That apparently is in line with the global trend. Digitisation is a way forward and consumers falling under the Cas notified areas should start ordering for STBs from now so that there is no crowding towards the end.

    What gives you the confidence that Cas will take off this time?

    Unlike in 2003, we now have a broadcast and cable regulator in Trai. We have kept the entry barrier as low as possible so that Cas can get accepted by everybody. Consumers also can select individual channels and we have fixed a price cap on a la carte channels at Rs 5. The tariff order also means that STBs are available on rental schemes with a fixed deposit amount (Rs 30 per month on a deposit of Rs 999 and Rs 45 for a deposit of Rs 250). Besides, this time there is competition from direct-to-home (DTH) with DD Direct, Dish TV and Tata Sky already offering their services. In fact, we have found medium-sized MSOs in some non Cas areas investing around Rs 15 million on diogital headends so that they can compete against DTH.

    The average monthly bill for digital cable TV subscribers will not see a sigificant drop as they will be loaded with an entertainment tax of Rs 45 (other areas different), Rs 45 as rent on the STB (if they pay a deposit of Rs 250) and a service tax. Add to this a payout of Rs 77 on free-to-air (FTA) channels and there is a slim chance of lowering down the bills. Would you agree?

    We shouldn‘t be talking of a system where we do not pay taxes. The taxes are applicable even under the current system. That is no way to calculate the cable TV subscription rates. Consumers can now pay as little as Rs 5 for the channel they want to see and limit their bills.
    ‘Regulating DTH in the quality of service area is certainly on our radar‘

    Will the rental schemes attract value added tax (VAT)?

    Yes. In any case, taxation is not a subject which falls within the purview of Trai.

    Consumers complain that costs will go up as they have to pay for the second TV set as well?

    We have decided not to regulate on the concessional rates for the second or more TV sets. Market forces should take care of that – as has been happening now. In any case, a large percentage are single TV households. We shouldn‘t regulate wherever we can, but only in areas where there is need.

    How long will this price of Rs 5 and a minimum subscription commitment of four months for any channel last?

    We are open to taking a relook at this. As we determined on a price as low as Rs 5, we also decided to balance it by asking consumers to subscribe a channel for at least a period of four months. After six months, we intend to first assess whether a review on the pricing and other related issues is necessary at all or not.

    Are you looking at coming out with some kind of regulations for non Cas territories?

    We are considering if we should step in and regulate the non cas areas so far as quality of service is concerned.

    Will Trai try to encourage various modes of digitalisation?

    We have a forward-looking approach. We generally feel digitisation is the road ahead. Besides mandated Cas, we are looking at voluntary spread of digitisation across all technologies. We will be having a serious of discussions from January-June. The first round table kicks off on 27 January. There are various alternatives – DTH, Cas, IPTV. We will be having a series of regional meetings where we want to discuss and review all these things. Then we will send our recommendations to the government.

    Is Trai going to regulate DTH as well?

    Perhaps, we need to look at regulating DTH in the quality of service area. It is certainly on our radar. As the DTH base grows, subscribers need to be protected. But DTH is at an infant stage and it may be too early to regulate it like cable. Let us not forget that cable TV has grown in India so far as an unorganised industry.

    As the DTH base grows, subscribers need to be protected. But DTH is at an infant stage and it may be too early to regulate it like cable. Let us not forget that cable TV has grown in India so far as an unorganised industry.
  • Americans love for media continues to grow : Census

    Americans love for media continues to grow : Census

    MUMBAI: Americans spend more time watching TV, listening to the radio, surfing the Internet and reading newspapers than anything else except breathing.

    Data released by the US census bureau forecasts that Americans will spend a total of 65 days watching TV next year and 41 days listening to the radio. A week each will be given to reading newspapers and surfing the internet. All that reading, surfing and listening will occupy 3,518 hours of the average American adult’s year – almost five months. The average American will spend $936 on media in the coming year.

    Americans spend an average of 4 1/2 hours a day watching television, far more time than they spend on any other medium. Next come the radio and the Internet. Reading newspapers is fourth, passed this year by Internet use.

    An increasing variety of cable TV channels has cut into broadcast viewers, but it has helped increase overall viewership. Before, if you looked at kids’ TV programming, it was on Saturday morning. Now there is always targeted programming available for anyone in the household.

    The number of hours projected for next year in different categories are as follows:

    -1,555 hours watching television, up from 1,467 in 2000. The estimate includes 678 hours watching broadcast TV and 877 watching cable and satellite.

    -974 hours listening to the radio, up from 942 in 2000.

    -195 hours using the Internet, up from 104.

    -175 hours reading daily newspapers, down from 201.

    -122 hours reading magazines, down from 135.

    -106 hours reading books, down an hour.

    -86 hours playing video games, up from 64.