ITV

Tag: C&S

  • Broadcasters huddle up, as 5G roll-out plan gathers pace

    Broadcasters huddle up, as 5G roll-out plan gathers pace

    Mumbai: Just as the industry was gearing up to welcome 2022, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) set the ball rolling on the 5G roll-out in India. The next wave of disruption in the telecom sector is set to hit 13 cities in the first phase: Gurugram, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Delhi, Jamnagar, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Pune, and Gandhi Nagar.

    The auctions are likely to be held in mid-2022 following the Telcom department’s request for a recommendation on modalities such as reserve price, band plan, block size, and the quantum of spectrum. But amid all this, the broadcasters’ concerns continue to escalate, with apprehensions regarding a potential spectrum clash with 5G.

    5G Vs Broadcasters

    Airwaves in several bands including 526-698 MHz, 700 MHz, 800MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100 MHz, 2300 MHz, 2500 MHz, 3300-3670 MHz, and 24.25-28.5 GHz have been identified for 5G auctions in India, whereas downlinks by all broadcasters intended for reception by MSOs are in the band of 3700-4200 MHz as prescribed by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and are also governed by the downlink policy by the government. Over 600 licensed satellite channels in India operate in this band.

    Ever since the 5G trials started in India in June 2021, broadcasters who claim to have faced interference on downlink frequencies during that period have been raising the issue with the MIB, DoT, and WPC (Wireless Planning and Coordination Wing of DoT), and the Trai. There are concerns regarding potential interference due to the larger C band allocation to 5G and the limited guard band of 30 MHz between the two services.

    The current upper limit of the National Frequency Allocation Plan 2018 is 3600 MHz. “A guard band of 100 MHz is ideal,” broadcasters say. They further contend that the proposed revision of NFAP-18 to include new bands for 5G use by DOT’s arm WPC may even stretch beyond 3670 MHz to 3800 MHz. This could lead to serious disruption of satellite services for media and broadcast in the 3700-4000 MHz band.

    Prasar Bharati joins the chorus against 5G

    Joining the chorus, Prasar Bharati recently raised objections to the auctioning of the 526-582 MHz frequency band that is being used by Doordarshan for providing terrestrial TV broadcasting. According to media reports, the public broadcaster argued that airwaves in this frequency range are required for expansion and modernisation of its services. Prasar Bharati has told Trai that “availability of spectrum is very crucial for planning DD TV Transmitters. Thus, the decision to use frequency band 470-698 for IMT purpose can be taken only after finalisation of terrestrial TV services by Doordarshan or other private broadcasters.”

    “Many analogue, digital-ready and digital terrestrial TV transmitters are operating in the band. Also, digital-ready transmitters are under installation in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir for which the wireless planning & coordination wing (WPC) has provided for in this band only,” it added.

    Another hurdle on the way: Field trials

    Private broadcasters have also expressed displeasure about field trials of 5G services without notifying the framework – specifically the study of emission and interference on already existing C Band satellite service, non-involvement of incumbent users of the C-band who have been using the satellites for over 30 years in the trials, lack of study on the use of band pass filters at cable headends as well as no consideration of their funding, non-determination of emission safeguards and monitoring architecture for 5G emitting towers, and absence of potential options which can be implemented immediately.  

    As a solution, they have suggested the use of alternative bands for 5G – an option unavailable for C&S services. Based on trial information available with the regulator and DoT, they have further urged the authorised bodies to recommend and publish the specifications for appropriate Band Pass Filters to be used by MSOs, IPTV, and HITs operators per downlink chain for receiving satellite TV signals.

    In order to compensate for the lower availability of C-band transponder capacity, the regulators have been requested to allow broadcasters to use foreign satellites without seeking any clarification from them. Fast track approval for newer compression technologies such as HEVC or H.265 that use lower transponder capacity in comparison to present MPEG4 bandwidth recommendation without any reduction in the quality of the television channels has also been sought. The minimum bandwidth recommended for approval by all regulatory bodies for HEVC is 4Mbps per HD channel and 1.5Mbps per SD channel.

    The television broadcasting and distribution industries in India are facing major disruption under the new tariff regime. Even though they welcome the launch of 5G, which holds great opportunity for the M&E sector in the era of convergence, the smaller players have argued for government intervention in the form of subsidies if they have to move to a higher or alternative frequency.

  • Russia to ban ads on C&S pay-TV channels

    Russia to ban ads on C&S pay-TV channels

    MUMBAI: Even as broadcasters in India are fighting tooth and nail with the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) to rollback the ad cap regulation that restricts satellite TV channels from airing more than 12 minutes of advertisements per hour, a completely different situation has just cropped up in Russia.

     

    A new bill that has gone through three stages of hearings in one week is just waiting for approval from the President of Russia. The state Duma has passed a bill banning advertising on cable and satellite pay TV channels that will be effective from 1 January 2015. The bill has been created for a level playing field between Russia’s free to air (FTA) cable channels and those that monetise by both ads and subscription.

     

    Channels that are available on a paid basis as well as those that are encoded will be included in the ad ban. National, universally accessible and terrestrial channels will not come under the ban. Last week, a letter was sent by few Russian channels requesting the government to think through before passing a bill of such nature. The letter mentioned that of the 270 C&S channels in Russia, 150 will be threatened due to this bill, leading to an increase in the price of pay TV.

     

    According to reports by Association of Communication Agencies of Russia, advertising revenue from digital and satellite channels last year was just 2.6 per cent of total TV ad market as compared to the rest taken by FTA channels ($ 4.4  billion).

     

    Across the world, the standard rate of advertisement is 12 minutes per hour including the UK, Germany, Ireland, Norway and Argentina.

     

    Zee Russia is one Indian broadcaster that is present in Russia.

  • C&S shows double-digit growth in 2012: IRS Q3

    C&S shows double-digit growth in 2012: IRS Q3

    MUMBAI: Cable and satellite (C&S) television has posted double-digital growth in 2012, according to the latest figures by Indian Readership Survey (IRS).

    The C&S sector‘s reach grew from 488.642 million in second quarter 2012 to 499.437 million in the third quarter. It saw a 10.5 per cent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) from Q1 to Q3 in the calendar year of 2012, according to the findings of IRS Q3 2012, released by the Media Research Users Council (MRUC) and Hansa Research.

    Media consumption for Internet continued to show the fastest growth at 27.5 per cent CAGR from 2012 Q1 to 2012 Q3. The users climbed from 39.94 million in Q2 to 42.32 million in Q3 of 2012.

    The reach of television also showed positive growth from the second quarter’s 563.43 million to 571.426 million in the third quarter. The CAGR of the reach of television for the same time period is 6.1 per cent (Q1-Q3).

    Radio saw a CAGR of 6.4 per cent, with increase in listenership from 158.165 million in Q2 to 159.820 million in Q3.

    Meanwhile, cinemagoers grew at a CAGR of 17.2 per cent to 81.4 million in quarter three as compared to 79.25 million in the second quarter.

    Newspaper readership grew by just 0.7 per cent CAGR with its reach increasing from 352.004 million in Q2 2012 to 353.33 million in Q3 2012.

  • ‘Food chnnls have tremendous potential to grow’ : FoodFood COO Karthik Lakshminarayan

    ‘Food chnnls have tremendous potential to grow’ : FoodFood COO Karthik Lakshminarayan

    FoodFood, one of the three recently launched food specialty channels in India, is completing six months on 24 July. With Sanjeev Kapoor and Astro as promoters and Madhuri Dixit as the lifestyle promoter, the channel took up the challenge of growing a new genre in India.

     

    Indiantelevision.com‘s Gaurav Laghate caught up with FoodFood COO Karthik Lakshminarayan to talk about the plans ahead and the journey so far.

     

    Excerpts:

    FoodFood is completing six months of operations. Has it been a bumpy or a smooth ride for a channel that is exploring a new genre in India?
    We are on track as per our business plan. We launched in January and as we are completing our first phase, we are seeing a healthy growth in terms of ratings as well as revenues.

     

    Being a speciality channel in Hindi, our connectivity in the Hindi speaking markets is approximately 60 per cent, which is quite good. Also if you see our reach, we have a 5.7 per cent reach in C&S households, while in the core TG of Female 25+ Sec ABC, our reach is almost 9 per cent.

    Isn‘t the ratings too narrow at this stage?
    Our reach is growing and in the core TG we are in the 8-12 GRPs (gross rating points) band. We are more than double of the competition (Zee Khana Khazana and Food First) in terms of ratings as well as time spent on the channel. Our weekly average time spent is over 30 minutes per user, which is extremely healthy.

     

    So, you see, there is no immediate competition. However, having said that, we do feel there is more potential for the genre to grow. But there is no benchmark as such. If you see the US market, the food channels are doing really well, and we see similar potential here also.

    So are you planning to take the channel overseas?
    There are definitely plans to take the channel to the international markets. We have already signed carriage deals in the Middle East and will launch FoodFood there soon. We are a Hindi food channel and will cater mainly to the Indian diaspora.

    FoodFood seems to be the only channel in this genre that is spending on distribution. How big is your carriage payout?
    I do not call it spend. It is an investment me make for distributing the channel. And as far as our position on the cable platform is concerned, we try to get in the Hyper-band and we are also available on S-band in certain markets.

     

    The industry is very dynamic and one has to always fight for the right band.

     

    Having said that, we are now entering into the second phase of growth. We will step up our investments in distribution, marketing and content.
    ‘We are now entering into the second phase of growth. We will step up our investments in distribution, marketing and content. ‘

    And in content?
    When we launched the channel, the buzz generated by Bollywood actress Madhuri Dixit (lifestyle ambassador of the channel), and Sanjeev Kapoor (promoter, celebrity chef) took us to a certain level. Now with our programming, we are going to cash on it.

     

    Very soon, you will see the launch of our biggest reality show – Maha Challenge which will have both Dixit and Kapoor and their teams of women and men battling it out to answer who is the better cook – men or women. It is a battle of sexes in its true sense. The 13-part series is being produced by Fremantle India. We will launch it in September and you will see Dixit for the first time in this role on television.

     

    We will also launch another reality show Secret Recipes in which people will come with their recipes and will cook with Kapoor.

    How many advertisers do you have on board now?
    We have over a dozen advertisers right now including Amul and Samsung. Most of them are either kitchen appliances or food related clients, who get perfect exposure on FoodFood.

     

    And all these get integrated seamlessly in the shows that we air. We do not want to clutter our shows with advertisements at this time and we have only 4-5 minute ads in the half-hour slots.
  • ‘The real value of cricket is now going to show up’ : Rohit Gupta – SET India executive vice president ad sales and revenue management

    ‘The real value of cricket is now going to show up’ : Rohit Gupta – SET India executive vice president ad sales and revenue management

    Cricket, cricket and cricket. That is the exciting scorecard SET India will have for display in the fiscal 2006-07.

    A lineup of eight sponsors that is set to gobble up 50 per cent of the inventory. A bulk deal with Dentsu that eases the pain of selling individually to clients. Sony’s ad target: Rs 5 billion upwards. A figure that many in the industry are sceptical about, but the team at SET India is confident of achieving.

    Centring around the World Cup will also be a slew of high-profile programme launches. The aim: to give SAB TV and Sony TV the much-needed lift.

    In an interview with Sibabrata Das, SET India executive VP ad sales and revenue management Rohit Gupta talks about how media agencies should go beyond ratings and rates to work with broadcasters for deriving value from sports and other big properties. The industry with 70 million cable & satellite (C&S) homes, he says, is under-served and undervalued.

    Excerpts:

    What exactly is the deal with Dentsu?
    Dentsu has bought a high proportion of inventory on Max for the two ICC tournaments. By coming in early, the agency has ensured that its clients get into the World Cup without paying a real high premium (settling between the sponsorship and spot rates). The deal has put less pressure on us to individually sell that many spots.

    Was there a proposal to handle the entire inventory on a minimum guarantee (MG) and revenue share basis?
    Dentsu did make an offer. But we couldn’t have done that in India because of ICC restrictions. Besides, we were clear that we wouldn’t do one block deal. We still have to maintain our relationship with other agencies and clients.

    Is the Dentsu deal going to be a trendsetter in sports selling even as acquisition costs for cricket TV telecast rights go up?
    It definitely is an eye opener for a lot of people. What Dentsu has done, most agencies should start doing – engaging with broadcasters well in advance. Agencies shouldn’t try to beat the ground pricing always. As much as I have to sell, they have to buy. Everything can’t boil down to rates; then you will never get value. Where are the CPRPs (cost per rating point) for Super Bowl in the US? There is something called an ‘impact buy.’ Cricket should be looked at from that perspective; it not only brings in new audiences but is also a religion in the country.

    Is SET India targeting an advertising revenue of Rs 5 billion from the two ICC tournaments?
    I can’t disclose the exact figures. But we are going to double our revenues from the last World Cup.

    How?
    Just look at the cable and satellite (C&S) viewing universe which will have more than doubled from 32.5 million homes in the 2003 World Cup to 70 million by the time the March 2007 edition kicks off in the Caribbean. That would mean a potential viewership of over 300 million glued on to their TV sets.

    Besides, the two tournaments sit on a perfect timing with brands being active from October (festival season) to April (summer spending). Add to this the advantage of the Champions Trophy being played in India.
    ‘We will use the World Cup to lift Sab to the next level. With cricket and Fame X, we have a far more aggressive growth plan for the channel‘

    How much money have you tied up from the eight sponsors?
    I can’t go into the specific details, but 50 per cent of the total inventory is consumed by the two presenting (Reliance Infocomm and Nokia) and six associate (Pepsi, Hero Honda, Maruti, Hewlett Packard, LG Electronics and ITC Foods) sponsors. We have sold the two tournaments together as they involved huge outlays from clients. We will eat into the share of the biggest channel’s revenues.

    What are the brands you target for Extraa Innings?
    This is a very big property for us and we sell it to a separate set of sponsors. We target smaller brands who do not have that kind of budgets to be on the World Cup matches itself. Extraa Innings is not just wraparound programming but is fun and entertainment. We monetise every property that we have.

    How much of a revenue advantage will the Hindi feed on Sab TV be?
    Doordarshan gets 30 per cent of its viewership from C&S homes because of the Hindi commentary. Our aim is to eat into this. We are, thus, simulcasting 18 key matches on Sab in Hindi. We are offering value to the advertisers who would have also bought on DD. We want to own the entire C&S homes.

    During the last World Cup, SET India’s strategy was to push Max. Are you working out a similar strategy with Sab this time?
    We will use the World Cup to lift Sab to the next level. We did that with Max during the last World Cup and raced ahead of Zee Cinema, which had an early mover advantage, in one year’s time. We have planned big launches like Fame X (the refurbished version of Fame Gurukul) on Sab TV. We have also recently put up a clutch of comedy shows.

    Have you changed the positioning of Sab TV after buying it out?
    When we acquired Sab TV, it had a fuddy, duddy image with an appeal in the Hindi heartland. As this old image restricted growth in ad revenues, we felt the need to reposition it as a youthful, light hearted channel. Sony as a network stands for the youth brand. With cricket and Fame X, we obviously have a far more aggressive growth plan for Sab. Our aim is not to make Sab TV a flanking but a strong channel standing on its own.

    Sony is in talks to acquire stake in Ten Sports. Do you feel the need of a complete sports channel?
    I wouldn’t like to offer comments on this.

    Is the time right to hive off Max into a complete movie channel in the changing scenario?
    With so much of cricket happening now, it is certainly good to have a sports channel. Because in a hybrid channel, you are disrupting the viewership and revenues. But it all depends on what properties you are acquiring. For us, Max has worked well as a hybrid channel. We have been able to marry together both the passions – movies and cricket. The ICC property we had offered major tournaments every two years; we could change gears effectively. Max is no more a poor cousin of Sony, but rakes in ad revenues over Rs 1 billion (from around Rs 280 million before the World Cup) purely on its movie strength. Whether we will continue down this road, I don’t really know. I wouldn’t at this stage be able to comment for the future.

    How will revenue support high telecast fees for the next World Cup bid?
    The industry will have to use new ways. As TV telecast rates climb higher and higher, we may have tie-ups with agencies and clients at the time of bid. We don’t know – all that may happen to minimise risks. We will have to explore all options. Cricket, after all, will be a dominant monopoly at least for the next ten years. Of course, other sports like football will emerge. But cricket will continue to rule in viewership and revenues.

    Will advertising back up such acquisition costs or the model be driven by subscription revenues?
    Ad rates will have to go up. When Harish Thawani starts selling this time, he will have to get real pricing because his company Nimbus has paid that kind of money to get the telecast rights for cricket in India. He couldn’t do that last time because he didn’t have a channel. The real value of cricket is now going to show up because the new rights where people have paid huge money are now coming in. So the next 6-8 months in cricket is going to be exciting because you will see the rates go up substantially. Otherwise, somebody is going to get bankrupt.

    We will also see money shift from on ground to on-air advertising. The value of on ground properties is diminishing.

    What about subscription revenues?
    Direct-to-home (DTH) and conditional access system (CAS) will form a revenue component when the ICC bid comes up this time. We had factored in some inflows from DTH when we made the bid last time, but it got delayed by two years. For us, it has been advertisement-led and we have successfully achieved that.

    With Zee TV on a resurgence, how has the slip in Sony TV’s ratings affected the revenues?
    As a network, our ad sales will grow by 30 per cent this fiscal. Sony TV saw a blip last quarter but with the launch of Jhalak Dikhla Jaa we are sorting it out. We will also be using cricket in a big way to promote our properties and are launching Big Brotherimmediately after the Champions Trophy. Unlike the last World Cup, we have planned up big show launches just after the tournament.

    Isn’t Pix slow to take off?
    We have now got the distribution right. We will start focussing on selling. We are looking at premium brands as the positioning of the channel is for SEC A.

    Pix has a library from MGM but lacks new movies which HBO and Star Movies are able to telecast. How do you plan to correct that?
    The two movie channels show premium new titles only once a quarter. We don’t plan to have those titles for at least the next one year. But that won’t affect us. We have a good library. Besides, there is space for three English movie channels.

    What are the plans for AXN?
    We will continue to do at least three big local ground events. That is the advantage AXN has against its competing channels. We integrate events with the local brands. Man’s World is also coming up. AXN is a youth and adventurous channel which telecasts action titles.

    Is there concern that the World Cup almost coincides with the implementation of CAS?
    We see it as an opportunity. The World Cup will drive CAS. Much like brands being born out of the World Cup. We have seen how the top two players in any sector (consumer durables, telecom, automobiles, etc) have used cricket to grow. That is the power cricket has over audiences in India.
  • NDTV clocks 24.5 % growth in FY06; revenues Rs 2.24 billion

    NDTV clocks 24.5 % growth in FY06; revenues Rs 2.24 billion

    MUMBAI: Prannoy Roy’s NDTV has recorded 24.49 percent growth in fiscal 2005-06 with total revenues of Rs 2.239 billion.

    NDTV’s revenues were up from the Rs 1.798 billion recorded in fiscal 2004-05, the company has stated.

    Q4 FY’ 06 saw NDTV hitting its highest ever revenues at Rs 704.4 million versus Rs 497 million in the corresponding quarter of the previous year, representing a 41.73 per cent year-on-year growth.

    Expectedly, the rise in personnel costs took a huge chunk out of the company’s net with profit after tax after ESOP for Q4 FY’ 06 standing at Rs 20.1 million. If ESOPs are discounted then net profit for Q4 has increased 22 per cent to Rs 125.5 million as against Rs 102.9 million in Q4 FY’ 05. There were no ESOPs granted last year.

    Following the results, NDTV has declared a dividend of 20 per cent.

    BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

    During the year the company made significant investments in building new businesses and strengthening and consolidating its existing business.

    NDTV’s advertising base has seen an impressive growth this year. The network has added 637 new advertisers and 810 new brands in its portfolio, taking its advertising universe to over 2000. A reflection of the group’s marketing strength is also the strategic tie-up with the Microsoft Network, under which NDTV’s subsidiary, NDTV Media Ltd represents and carries out all marketing activity for MSN exclusively in India.

    The reach of the NDTV News Network’s unduplicated reach amongst C&S households has increased to 90.8 per cent, the highest amongst all news networks. NDTV has also extended its global presence across Africa, Asia, Europe and the US. This year it entered into strategic tie-ups with DirecTV, BskyB and ATN to launch NDTV 24×7 in the US, UK and Canada respectively.

    NDTV’s website ndtv.com has emerged as India’s number one news and television portal, attracting over 200 million page views and 1.2 million unique visitors every month. The focus on monetizing the website by adding transaction based portals – Travel, Gadgets, Shopping, Commodities, Profit, Movies and Music, has begun to drive revenues this year.

    “In this year the company has put in significant investments into building new businesses and going forward we are committed to maximizing shareholder value by capitalizing on these investments,” NDTV chairman Dr Prannoy Roy was quoted in the statement as saying.

    Additionally, NDTV has entered into an agreement with Genpact a leading business and technology services company, to jointly offer outsourcing services to the global media and entertainment industry. This is the first of its kind Media Process Outsourcing company in India which will focus on providing cost effective, high quality media services.

    This year also heralded NDTV’s entry into high end-consultancy for news services. The company has entered into a joint venture agreement with Astro Broadcast of Malaysia to provide consultancy for setting up news channels in Malaysia and Indonesia. The Indonesian channel will be launched shortly.

    The NDTV Group, together with other strategic investors, also acquired a minority shareholding in 3 radio companies that hold licenses for FM radio broadcasting in Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata under the brand name of RED FM. The company sees tremendous cross media synergies in extending its presence in the radio sector.