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Tag: cable

  • GTPL Hathway sees demand surge on both cable, broadband amid the lockdown

    GTPL Hathway sees demand surge on both cable, broadband amid the lockdown

    MUMBAI: As the country battles the COVID-19 crisis, a large chunk of the population is confined at home. To ease the burden of social distancing, most of the people are consuming more content, both on linear TV and online. The surge in consumption has caused higher demand for cable boxes as well as broadband connection of GTPL Hathway.

    “The demands are becoming higher actually as people are staying at home. We are recovering a number of old boxes in the cable side and there is demand for new boxes as well. However, we are seeing more surge in broadband connection and bandwidth consumption is also very high. The consumption has increased on the cable side as well,” GTPL Hathway business head – video and chief strategy officer Piyush Pankaj said.

    While there is a curfew-like lockdown, it is challenging for on-ground staff to run operations. But Pankaj mentioned that as MSOs and LCOs come under essential services, the proper documentation proving that they are, is helping them to work. He also said that they are updating police permission everywhere that the service comes under essential segments.The on-ground staff have also been given proper cards and letters to save them from any hassle. To ensure safety, they have also been given health guides, hand sanitizers, dresses covering their face and body.

    However, GTPL has also reduced the manpower working on ground, as the main requirement there is the technical staff. The workforce, which do not need to be on-ground, have been given work-from-home option. Hence, while 20 per cent of the team is working from the real location, rest of the workers perform their duties from home.

    “Till now the payment side is rolling smoothly, we are sending URLs to customers and asking them to pay and in some cases operators are also collecting on their paytm also. Sometimes operators are using the URL, using paytm to pay us; somewhere consumers are paying directly to us. Lockdown started one week ago; we have not faced any problem on the credit side till then. If any problem comes, we will update technology and adhere to that,” Pankaj added.

    GTPL has put some advertisements on COVID-19 on its own local channels. Moreover, whenever a customer calls, it is giving out messages to ensure consumer’s safety as well.

  • MIB extends time for feedback on Cable TV Networks Amendment Bill 2020

    MIB extends time for feedback on Cable TV Networks Amendment Bill 2020

    MUMBAI: The ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) has extended the timeline to receive feedback or comments on the proposed amendments of Cable Television Networks Amendment Bill 2020. While it was extended upto 17 March first time, the ministry has extended the date now till 13 April.

    “In response to request received from various quarters with reference to this Public Notice dated 15.01.2020 and its letter of even number dated 21.01.2020 and 10.02.2020 respectively on the subject cited above, this ministry has decided to extend the time again upto 13 April, 2020 for furnishing suggestions/feedback/comments/inputs/views on the proposed amendments,” the MIB said in a notice.

    MIB published the draft on 15 January inviting feedbacks from the stakeholders and generale public. The ministry is bringing in a slew of amendments to the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 through the draft Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2020.

    While MIB is planning to bring amendments to the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995 through the proposed  draft, one of the major changes planned by the ministry is to prevent state governments or the entities as well as religious and political parties from entering the TV distribution space. The clause 4(1) now reads as follows: “Registration as cable operator–(1) Any person who is desirous of operating or is operating a cable television network may apply for registration or renewal of registration, as a cable operator to the registering authority.”

    “Provided that such a registration or renewal of registration shall not be granted to the state governments, urban and local bodies, political and religious bodies, state government departments, state government-owned companies, State government undertakings, joint ventures of the state government and the private sector and state government funded entities.

  • No plan to levy 10% licence fee on b’casters, cable ops: I&B Min

    No plan to levy 10% licence fee on b’casters, cable ops: I&B Min

    MUMBAI: The Minister Of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar has made it clear in a parliamentary response that the ministry does not intend to add any sort of 10 per cent licence fee on broadcasters and cable operators in India.

    His response came for a question that asked if the minister had an intention to do so on the lines of what it follows for the DTH industry. Currently, DTH operators need to pay 10 per cent of their gross revenue as annual licence fee.

    The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in a recommendation, last year, mentioned that this 10 per cent should be brought down to 8 per cent of adjusted gross revenue rather than gross revenue.

    The minister also mentioned there is no central register that maintains industry-wise information regarding licence fees.

  • Gujarat High Court accepts plea against TRAI NTO 2.0 amendments

    Gujarat High Court accepts plea against TRAI NTO 2.0 amendments

    MUMBAI: The empire strikes back even as TRAI has been rubbishing news that NTO 2.0  is detrimental to the industry and will put the brakes on it. Despite repeated representations from different bodies, TRAI is sticking to its guns on imposing pricing regulations. Now the industry is fighting back.

    A spate of cases has been filled in different courts in a bid to turn TRAI and the government to its point of view. Earlier broadcasters have appealed at the Bombay and Madras High Courts and now they have filed a petition in the Gujarat High Court. Sources say that a few more petitions will be filed in different courts.

    The Gujarat High Court accepted a petition filed by broadcasters challenging the new tariff order for the broadcast sector by TRAI. Hearing the petition, Justice AY Kogje of the Ahmedabad bench of the Gujarat High Court issued notices to the Union of India and TRAI, asking them to file replies by 3 February, failing which the high court would grant interim relief to the petitioners.

    Petitioners named Somabhai Makwana, Nidhi Jani, Bharat Thakore, and Falguni Shah in their petition have stated that the tariff order issued by the regulatory body is beyond the powers under Section 11(2) of the TRAI Act and is conflicting with the provisions of Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act, 1995.

    On 1 January this year, TRAI had issued amendments to its tariff order for the broadcast sector, which received huge criticism from broadcasters and distribution operators alike.

    According to the petitioners, fixation of the network capacity fee (NCF) of Rs 130 per month per subscriber is not based on any intelligible material, and the criteria for determining the proposed amount lacks transparency.

    The case is ongoing in the Bombay High Court as well. In the previous hearing held on 14 January, the Bombay HC bench consisting of Justice SC Dharmadhikari and Justice RI Chagla had directed TRAI to file a reply in one week. They, in fact, had also refused to put a stay on the amendments pertaining to the new regulatory framework.

    Key amendments proposed by the broadcasters include the reduction of MRP cap to Rs 12, implementation of twin conditions on bouquet pricing, and other being the discount on channel bouquets to around 33 per cent.

    Earlier, Sun TV Network moved Madras High Court challenging the amendments to the new regulatory framework. The case  will be heard on 4 February. Hearing the matter, the division bench of Chief Justice Amreshwar Pratap Sahi and Justice Subramonium Prasad also issued notices to the Union of India and TRAI.

  • TRAI report: Broadband sector saw growth of 36.52% in 2019

    TRAI report: Broadband sector saw growth of 36.52% in 2019

    MUMBAI: TRAI in its annual report has stated that in the last ten years a substantial number of HD pay television channels have been launched by broadcasters. As on 31 March 2019, there are a total of 99 operational HD channels.

    Let’s have look at detailed description below:

    Internet and Broadband subscribers

    The Internet subscriber base in the country as on 31 March 2019 was 636.73 million in comparison to 493.96 million in March 2018. The total broadband subscriber base of the country as on 31 March 2019 stood at 563.31 million whereas it was 412.60 million as of 31 March 2018.

    The broadcasting and cable TV services sector and FM Radio services continue to exhibit growth over the two decades. Equivalent to the growth in the subscriber base, the number of platforms & service providers has also increased. The broadcasting sector comprises of cable TV services, DTH services, terrestrial TV services, HITS services, IPTV services, and broadcast radio services.

    Satellite TV channels

    Currently, there are 902 private satellite TV channels permitted by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting by the end of the financial year 2018-19, out of which, 229 are SD pay-TV channels and 99 are HD Pay TV channels. The number of Standard Definition (SD) pay-TV channels have grown from 147 in the year 2010 to 229 in 2019.

    DTH Services

    Ever since its introduction in the year 2003, Indian DTH service has displayed a phenomenal growth. DTH has attained a net active subscriber base of around 72.44 million. At the end of March 2019, there are 5 pay DTH service providers catering to this subscriber base. The database rose to 72.44 in 2019 as compared to 67.53 in 2018.

    Apart from an increase in the availability of conventional TV channels, the pay DTH operators have continued to add several innovative offerings and value-added services (VAS) such as movie-on-demand, gaming, shopping, education etc.

    Cable TV

    The Cable TV segment is the largest of the TV service sector with an estimated subscriber base of around 103 million subscribers

     As per the statistics, the pay TV universe consists of around 103 million Cable TV subscribers, 72.44 million active DTH subscribers and 1.5 million HITS subscribers. Where the terrestrial TV network of Doordarshan alone covers about 92 per cent of India’s population connected via a vast network of terrestrial transmitters. The TV broadcasting sector includes 350 broadcasters, out of which, 39 are pay broadcasters.

     Talking about the television distribution side there are 1469 Multi-System Operators (MSOs) coming under the wings with Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), an estimated number of 60,000 cable operators, 5 pay DTH operators, 2 HITS operators, and a few IPTV operators. Apart from this public service broadcaster-Doordarshan, also provides a free-to-air DTH service in India.

  • VBS 2019: Industry stalwarts discuss NTO second phase issues

    VBS 2019: Industry stalwarts discuss NTO second phase issues

    MUMBAI: The sixteenth edition of the Video and Broadband Summit (VBS) organised by Indiantelevision.com has brought together industry doyens under one roof to discuss and understand the impact of the new tariff order (NTO) on the television broadcasting and distribution sector. VBS 2019 marked the presence of leaders from DTH, cable and broadband, broadcast, regulatory bodies and technology segments to discuss the state of the industry, key issues and finding solutions.

    Indiantelevision.com CEO, founder and editor-in-chief set the tone for the day with his welcome speech. "It is the best time for TV industry today. We are in the midst of uncertain times but uncertain times bring a lot of opportunities to build the business and explore the new way of building the cable-TV industry." He also emphasised on initiating a discussion on best practices, case studies on better execution and way forward towards a healthy television ecosystem.  

    The one-day conference began with a special address by TRAI advisor Arvind Kumar. He briefed the audience on the reason behind releasing the consultation paper to review NTO within few months of the regulatory framework. He informed that the consultation paper is only to address some infirmities in the NTO and will not bring any fundamental changes to the regulatory framework.

    “Broadcasters should rest assured that the new consultation paper will not seek to decide their channel prices. The only objective of the new consultation paper is to open a debate on how the NTO is impacting the industry and to address some of the infirmities in the NTO. The main objective of the industry was transparency and to create a level-playing field for everyone. NTO has empowered the consumer by giving him choice,” he said.

    In a fireside chat with Anil Wanvari, JioFiber president Anuj Jain elaborated on the company's plan and partnership.  He says, "Cable is a global technology and our intent is not to bring disruption in the market but add value to the industry. We have to see that television and OTT complement each other and the value that we bring is broadband. With broadband, we bring OTT content and voice services. There is enough space for everyone, there is nothing called overlap. "

    The session was followed by BARC India’s presentation on ‘TV viewership trends-post NTO era’ by chief operating officer Romil Ramgarhia. 

    The first panel discussion of VBS 2019 focused on NTO-The future roadmap. The panel was moderated by Elara Capital VP- research analyst (media) Karan Taurani with panellists IndiaCast Media Distribution president Amit Arora, Star India Distribution distribution and international business president and head Gurjeev Singh Kapoor, Metro Cast Network India promoter Nagesh Narayandas Chhabria, The Remediation Company founder & partner Shyamala Venkatachalam ; IndusInd Media & Communications chief executive officer Vynsley Fernandes and GTPL Hathway vice president Yatin Gupta.

    The objective of the NTO was to bring transparency, freedom of choice and level playing field in the industry. The panellists shared their perspective on the impact of NTO on the media and entertainment ecosystem, pricing, bouquet and ala carte price, and recently released consultation paper to review NTO.  The panellists agreed that the dust of new tariff order has settled down but the NTO 2.0 period might impact pricing again. With the new consultation paper, Gupta expects that there would be price capping on bouquets and ala carte. 

    The next panel discussion highlighted the advertisers’ take on the dynamic pay-TV landscape and how AdEX is likely to fare going forward with more changes anticipated to NTO. The panel ‘The Advertisers’ View’ was moderated by Anil Wanvari. ITC Ltd head media and PR Jaikishin Chhaproo, Havas Media Group West & South managing partner Kunal Jamuar, Godrej Consumer Products VP and head media services Subha Sreenivasan Iyer and Madison Media vice president Vandana Ramkrishna were the panellists.

    After that, Broadpeak business development manager Hervé Creff gave a presentation on ‘Keeping control of HDMI1 with Android TV operator Teir – the ‘super – aggregator’ approach’.

    The first half of VBS 2019 successfully ended with a panel discussion on ‘Transforming the sector to fuel growth’. Elara Capital VP research analyst (media) Karan Taurani, Shemaroo Entertainment chief operating officer Kranti Gada, BBC Global News South Asia distribution head Sunil Joshi and PwC India media, entertainment and sports advisory –partner and leader Raman Kalra were the panellists. The session was moderated by SBICAP Securities equity research head Rajiv Sharma.

    For more updates from post-lunch sessions stay tuned.

  • MSO applicants seek approval status in OHM

    MSO applicants seek approval status in OHM

    MUMBAI: Five MSO applicants and registered MSOs participated in an open house meeting to ascertain the status of their MSO application for grant of registration along with other queries.

    Representatives from TJ  Cable Network, World Phone Infrastructure Services, Haur Cable Network, Lamjingba Times Pvt Ltd, Yadav Cable Network were present in the meeting.

    Representatives from TJ Cable Network raised a query regarding change of entity from proprietorship firm to partnership firm and asked whether it is possible to transfer MSO registration from proprietor to partnership. But such a change is not possible since there is no such provision in the CTN Act.

    The representative of applicant MSO World Phone Infrastructure Services informed about the status of the application and were told that their application is under examination in the DAS Section of the Ministry.

    In addition to that, the  representatives of Haur Cable Network, Lamjingba Times  Pvt Ltd, Yadav  Cable  Network  mentioned  were informed about the  status of their applications that is under scrutiny in  the DAS section and security clearance from  MHA awaited. 

  • TDSAT directs Meghbala to pay Rs 1.6 cr to Star India within 1 week

    TDSAT directs Meghbala to pay Rs 1.6 cr to Star India within 1 week

    MUMBAI: The Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) has directed Meghbala Cable And Broadband Services Pvt Ltd, in an order dated on 2 September, to pay Rs 1.5 crore to Star India within one week. The cable service provider has been instructed to pay the balance amount of the total outstanding due within a period for further two weeks.

    Star India issued a notice to Meghbala Cable on 13 August disclosing that the latter is required to clear the outstanding dues upto invoiced amount for June aggregating to Rs 2,62,97,810. According to the notice, the cable service provider was supposed to pay the required amount on 3 September.

    Learned counsel for Meghbala Cable has submitted that it has reduced the outstanding dues over a period of three months and hence some more accommodation will enable them to liquidate the entire arrears so that it may start paying the current invoiced amounts in accordance with the agreement and the industrial practice.

    “Evidently, the petitioner (Meghbala Cable ) will be liable to pay the invoiced amount even for subsequent months like July and August, 2019 very soon. Therefore, only a limited accommodation can be granted to the petitioner to clear the outstanding dues covered by the notice. For that purpose, we direct that respondent (Star India) shall not give effect to the impugned notice until further orders if the petitioner pays amount of Rs 1.5 crore within one week from today and the balance amount within a period for further two weeks. We trust that petitioner shall make efforts to pay the future invoiced amount within stipulated time,” TDSAT said in an order on 2 September.

  • SITI Networks elevates Anil Kumar Malhotra to CEO

    SITI Networks elevates Anil Kumar Malhotra to CEO

    MUMBAI: SITI Networks has elevated Anil Kumar Malhotra as the new CEO of the company. Malhotra’s appointment will be effective from 1 September. He joined SITI Networks as chief operating officer in 2011.

    Malhotra holds over 34 years of rich experience across the cable television industry with deep expertise across various facets of media distribution like technology, content, regulatory compliances and sales operations.

    He also played a critical role in the successful implementation of new tariff order framework at SITI Networks and was instrumental in the transformation of SITI Networks from an analog player to a digital multiple system operator.

    Malhotra had various successful entrepreneurial stints, including serving as president (North India) for In-Cable. He realised the potential of cable TV & distribution, long before the emergence of MSOs, and ventured into hardware manufacturing for the industry and later setup his multiple Master Control Rooms & Head-ends.

    He has  been an  active member of  various  government & industry bodies including MIB task forces  for implementation of DAS regulations, new tariff order, etc. 

  • TRAI does not intend to revise NTO, aims to fine-tune it

    TRAI does not intend to revise NTO, aims to fine-tune it

    MUMBAI: Amid several ongoing speculations on changes in the new tariff order (NTO), Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) chairman RS Sharma clarified that the regulatory body does not have any plan to revise the pricing framework. He also added that it is only trying to fine-tune it due to certain issues consumers are facing.

    “The framework is already fixed. There is no proposal to change any component of that framework, and if somebody is making a point that we (TRAI) are changing the framework, it is absolutely false. Since this framework has started operating, we have observed that certain issues largely related to consumers have cropped up. We are only trying to fine-tune it,” Sharma said in an interview with the Economic Times.

    He also added that the consultation paper which stirred the recent controversies is not about changing the framework but it is bringing perfection in the phenomenon observed in the last few months. After finding certain issues, it brought the consultation paper on the table. But it may tweak a few parameters if it finds that all parameters are not working fine.

    “We are ensuring that consumers have a choice and are empowered to exercise their choice. Our objective is not to increase or decrease ARPU. Our aim is to enable the consumers to choose channels and safeguard them against any obstacle in their path,” he said.