ITV

Tag: DD Freedish

  • Sony Wah, Zee Anmol Cinema & 9X Jalwa set to join DD FreeDish, bid Rs 80m each

    NEW DELHI: Three general entertainment channels – Sony Wah, Zee Anmol Cinema, and 9X Jalwa – have bagged three slots on Doordarshan’s DTH platform FreeDish.

    In the 34th e-auction om 9 May 2017, the three channels bid Rs 80 million each, which was the reserve price.  

    After final trials of MPEG4 and the success of the 32nd auction in February, the reserve price for the next auction has been raised to Rs 80 million from Rs 48 million per slot.

    Parliament was informed earlier last month that FreeDish was soon getting approval to increase this capacity to 250 channels over the next two years.

    Until last year, the reserve price was Rs 43 million but one channel fetched the bid of Rs 70 million in the auction held on 14 February 2017.

    Earlier last year, the price for one channel went up to Rs 53 million and gave DD the confidence to raise the price which had been Rs 37 million till 2015 but was raised to Rs 43 million for the 25th e-auction in January 2016.

    DD got a jolt last month when its auction slated for 11 April could not be held. Although there was no official confirmation, indiantelevision.com learns that the FreeDish auction could not be held because there were no applicants.

    The participation amount (EMD) in the e-Auction was Rs.28 nullion – up from Rs 15 million – along with processing fee of Rs.25,000 (non-refundable, up from Rs 10,000).

    Incremental amount for the auction was Rs One Million. Of the bid price, Rs 11 million will be deposited within one month of placement and another Rs 11 million within two months along with service tax of 15 per cent on the bid amount.

    The balance bid amount will be deposited within six months, failing which the deposited amount will be forfeited and the channel discontinued after a 21-day discontinuation notice. The participation fee will be adjusted against the third and final installment for the respective channel.

    A new era begun with the adoption of MPEG4 helping FreeDish take the first major step to mark towards its target of 104 television channels by March end with its 32nd e-auction which helped it cross the capacity of eighty channels. FreeDish touched the figure of 104 with its 32nd Auction.

    Doordarshan had in October last year formally announced that FreeDish was capable of carrying 104 television channels and 24 channels would be added to the existing 80 channels after the launch of MPEG4 technology.

    In line with the ‘Digital India’ and ‘Make in India’, DD has implemented Indian CAS (iCAS) on DD FreeDish Platform. iCAS (which is an initiative of the central government) was introduced in the auction held last month. The introduction of iCAS will provide enhanced viewing experience.

    DD officials said the existing viewers will continue to get 80 SDTV channels and 32 radio channels, but will have to obtain iCAS-enabled authorized set-top boxes for accessing all new channels.

    Although FreeDish will remain free to air with no monthly or periodic fee, the viewers will be required to register with DD FreeDish on getting the new STB from Doordarshan authorized STB dealers.

    DD officials said implementation of iCAS and authorisation of STB original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) by Doordarshan will give a major thrust to ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’. At present, a majority of STBs are imported. However, the introduction of iCAS will help in standardization of STBs and encourage quality STB manufacturing in India.

    With analogue having been switched off, Parliament had been told that many stakeholders feel that FreeDish is the best option in Phase IV which covers rural India.

    FreeDish was launched with a modest bouquet of 33 channels in December 2004, and now carries eighty TV channels and 32 radio channels. This includes 22 Doordarshan channels and two parliamentary channels, seven general entertainment channels, 18 movie channels, 13 news channels, seven music channels, three religious channels and eight channels of other genres. All All India Radio stations also piggy-back on the platform.

    Also Read

    MIB favours switching to DTH if consumers have problems with MSOs or LCOs

    FreeDish aims to reach 150 channels, earned Rs 3 bn in a year

    DD FreeDish auction next week, reserve price is Rs 80 million

  • DD FreeDish auction next week, reserve price is Rs 80 million

    NEW DELHI: Even as the Parliament was informed earlier last month that Doordarshan’s DTH platform was soon getting approval to increase this capacity to 250 channels over the next two years, FreeDish is all set to hold its 34th e-auction on 9 May 2017 to fill vacant slots.

    After final trials of MPEG4 and the success of the 32nd auction in February, the reserve price for the next auction has been raised to Rs 80 million from Rs 48 million per slot.

    Until last year, the reserve price was Rs 43 million but one channel fetched the bid of Rs 70 million in the auction held on 14 February 2017.

    Earlier last year, the price for one channel went up to Rs 53 million and gave DD the confidence to raise the price which had been Rs 37 million till 2015 but was raised to Rs 43 million for the 25th e-auction in January 2016.

    DD got a jolt last month when its auction slated for 11 April could not be held. Although there was no official confirmation, indiantelevision.com learns that the FreeDish auction could not be held because there were no applicants.

    In many ways, this was a repetition in the sense that the e-auctions for the primary channels of DD National were postponed twice last year.

    The e-Auction will be conducted by M/s. C1 India Pvt. Ltd., Noida which also conducted the FM Radio Phase III auctions on behalf of Prasar Bharati.   

    The participation amount (EMD) in the e-Auction is Rs.28 million – up from Rs 15 million – which has to be deposited in advance before or by 12 noon on the date of auction along with processing fee of Rs.25,000 (non-refundable, up from Rs 10,000) in favour of PB (BCI) Doordarshan Commercial Service, New Delhi.

    Incremental amount for the auction will be Rs One Million and the time for every slot e-auction will be of fifteen minutes duration. This may be extended by five minutes if a bid is received before the closing time.

    Of the reserve price, Rs 11 million will be deposited within one month of placement and another Rs 11 million within two months along with service tax of 15 per cent on the bid amount.

    The balance bid amount will be deposited within six months, failing which the deposited amount will be forfeited and the channel discontinued after a 21-day discontinuation notice. The participation fee will be adjusted against the third and final installment for the respective channel.

    DD refused to disclose the number of slots being put up for e-auction as officials claim this leads to unhealthy practices.

    Doordarshan had in October last year formally announced that FreeDish was capable of carrying 104 television channels and 24 channels would be added to the existing 80 channels after the launch of MPEG4 technology.

    In line with the ‘Digital India’ and ‘Make in India’, DD has implemented Indian CAS (iCAS) on DD FreeDish Platform. iCAS (which is an initiative of the central government) was introduced in the auction held last month. The introduction of iCAS will provide enhanced viewing experience.

    DD officials said the existing viewers will continue to get 80 SDTV channels and 32 radio channels, but will have to obtain iCAS-enabled authorized set-top boxes for accessing all new channels.

    Although FreeDish will remain free-to-air with no monthly or periodic fee, the viewers will be required to register with DD FreeDish on getting the new STB from Doordarshan authorized STB dealers.

     DD officials said implementation of iCAS and authorisation of STB original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) by Doordarshan will give a major thrust to ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’. At present, a majority of STBs are imported. However, the introduction of iCAS will help in standardization of STBs and encourage quality STB manufacturing in India.

    With analogue having been switched off, Parliament had been told that many stakeholders feel that FreeDish is the best option in Phase IV which covers rural India.

    The Ministry had itself said  in Parliament in February that HITS (Head-end In The Sky), private DTH and DD FreeDish are the options in remote rural areas while discussing the issue of the concerns expressed by operators that over 20 per cent of rural and remote areas were not financially and technically viable.

    FreeDish earned Rs 2.8665 billion through auction of 54 slots in six auctions from 30 March 2016 to 14 February 2017.

    In comparison, DD had earned Rs 1.8034 billion in 2015-16. The last e-auction – the 32nd e-Auction – on 14 February 2017 fetched Rs. 655 million. 

     A new era begun with the adoption of MPEG4 helping FreeDish take the first major step to mark towards its target of 104 television channels by March end with its 32nd e-auction which helped it cross the capacity of eighty channels. FreeDish touched the figure of 104 with its 32nd Auction.

    In line with the ‘Digital India’ and ‘Make in India’, DD has decided to implement Indian CAS (iCAS) on DD FreeDish Platform. iCAS (which is an initiative of the central government) is being introduced in 24 MPEG-4 channels. The introduction of iCAS will provide enhanced viewing experience.

    DD officials said these additional 24 MPEG-4 SDTV channels will be available to viewers in FTA mode. The existing viewers will continue to get 80 SDTV channels, but will have to obtain iCAS-enabled authorised set-top boxes for accessing all 104 channels.

    Although FreeDish will remain free-to-air with no monthly or periodic fee, the viewers will be required to register with DD FreeDish on getting the new STB from Doordarshan authorised STB dealers.

    FreeDish was launched with a modest bouquet of 33 channels in December 2004, and now carries eighty TV channels and 32 radio channels. This includes 22 Doordarshan channels and two parliamentary channels, seven general entertainment channels, 18 movie channels, 13 news channels, seven music channels, three religious channels and eight channels of other genres. The All-India Radio stations also piggy-back on the platform.

    Also read:

    MIB favours switching to DTH if consumers have problems with MSOs or LCOs

    FreeDish aims to reach 150 channels, earned Rs 3 bn in a year

  • DD FreeDish poised to increase channel capacity to 250

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan DTH platform FreeDish, which already has a capacity of 124 channels including HD channels, will soon getting approval to increase this capacity to 250 channels over the next two years. The minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore told the Parliament that Doordarshan’s DD National Channel has been uplinked in the High Definition (HD) format since 1 January this year.

    With analogue having been largely switched off, many stakeholders feel that FreeDish is the best option in Phase IV which covers rural India. The Ministry had itself said  in the Parliament last month that HITS (Head-end In The Sky), private DTH and DD FreeDish are the options in remote rural areas while discussing the issue of the concerns expressed by operators that over 20 per cent of rural and remote areas were not financially and technically viable.

    The only free-to-air DTH platform in the country, FreeDish – which conducted its 33rd auction this week – earned Rs 2.8665 billion through auction of 54 slots in six auctions from 30 March 2016 to 14 February 2017. In comparison, DD had earned Rs 1.8034 billion in 2015-16. The last e-auction – the 32nd e-Auction – on 14 February 2017 fetched Rs. 655 million.

    Despite the reserve price of Rs 48 million, the highest bid for a slot was Rs 73 million for Sony Pal. The reserve price in the first five auctions was Rs 43 million and was raised to Rs 48 million in the 32nd auction. The reserve price for the 33rd auction was Rs 80 million.

    A new era begun with the adoption of MPEG4 helping FreeDish take the first major step to mark towards its target of 104 television channels by March end with its 32nd e-auction which helped it cross the capacity of eighty channels. FreeDish touched the figure of 104 with its 32nd Auction.

    In line with the ‘Digital India’ and ‘Make in India’, DD has decided to implement Indian CAS (iCAS) on DD Free Dish Platform. iCAS (which is an initiative of the central government) is being introduced in 24 MPEG-4 channels. The introduction of iCAS will provide enhanced viewing experience.

    DD officials said these additional 24 MPEG-4 SDTV channels will be available to viewers in FTA mode. The existing viewers will continue to get 80 SDTV channels, but will have to obtain iCAS-enabled authorised set-top boxes for accessing all 104 channels.

    Although FreeDish will remain free to air with no monthly or periodic fee, the viewers will be required to register with DD FreeDish on getting the new STB from Doordarshan authorised STB dealers.

    DD earned Rs 980 million in 2014-15, Rs 1800 million in 2015-16, and Rs 1040 million till September in 2016-17.

    FreeDish was launched with a modest bouquet of 33 channels in December 2004, and now carries eighty TV channels and 32 radio channels. This includes 22 Doordarshan channels and two parliamentary channels, seven general entertainment channels, 18 movie channels, 13 news channels, seven music channels, three religious channels and eight channels of other genres. All All India Radio stations also piggy-back on the platform.

    Also read

    MIB favours switching to DTH if consumers have problems with MSOs or LCOs

    FreeDish aims to reach 150 channels, earned Rs 3 bn in a year

  • MIB favours switching to DTH if consumers have problems with MSOs or LCOs

    NEW DELHI: The ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) has said that HITS (Head-end In The Sky), private DTH and DD FreeDish are the options in remote rural areas while discussing the issue of the concerns expressed by operators that over 20 per cent of rural and remote areas were not financially and technically viable.

    DTH operators were advised by MIB to pay special attention to such area enabling customers in these areas to readily adopt these services given by them and to explore the possibility of cost effective packages especially for these remote and inaccessible areas.

    About the issue of sharing infrastructure cost with MSOs & Local Cable Operators (LCOs) keeping in mind high cost of providing signals in remote areas, the Ministry said it felt consumers have the option to take services from DTH operators and/or DD Free Dish and it may not be administratively feasible by the Ministry to share cost for infrastructure as a large number of MSOs and LCOs are operating in these areas.

    MeITY to solve problems relating to STB manufacturers

    A Parliamentary Committee was told that the Electronics and IT (MeitY) Ministry was attempting to address the entire value-chain holistically and was in active consultation with the concerned Ministries in view of the demands by the Association of domestic STBs manufacturers of long term financing to the MSOs and 0% import duty with effect from 1 January 2016 under India-ASEAN FTA which has also adversely affected the production of domestic STBs.

    The Committee noted that though there was no stay now after all cases relating to Phase III were transferred to the Delhi High Court, the cut-off date was extended “due to poor seeding of STBs because of the uncertainty caused due to the court cases.”

    Under-utilisation of funds due to market uncertainty

    It was also noted that Rs 50 million was allocated at budget estimate stage 2016-17 which was reduced to Rs 30 million at Revised estimates 2016-17 due to the large number of court cases filed in various High Courts and “total uncertainty in the market” about the implementation of cut-off date of 31 December 2015 & 31 December 2016 for Phase III and Phase IV of digitisation respectively.

    As a result, workshops with the nodal officers could not be conducted, which resulted in the underutilisation of funds from the projections made at BE stage.

  • Tarun Katial’s big magic with Big Ganga

    MUMBAI: A takeover is in progress. Yet, that is not getting in the way of television veteran Tarun Katial. For him, it is business as usual.

    The CEO of Reliance Broadcast Networks Ltd, who cut his teeth as a media professional in the early part of his career, is pleased as punch. The reason: RBNL’s lead channel Big Ganga continues to flow on its charted course — that of being the leader in the Bihar, Jaharkand region. It has the highest share of 37 per cent of the viewership in the region  (source: BARC. Period: wk02’17-wk05’17, Market: Bihar & Jharkhand).

    And what’s more — in a short span of six months, the channel has notched up a whopping growth of 19 per cent in viewership (August 2016 – Jan 2017).

    “We have created a unique proposition in Ganga which is a regional channel among the Hindi-speaking market which actually taps in to a very large segment of population that did not have enough to connect with,” says Katial. “Big Ganga is very differentiated channel,” he added.

    For starters, its prime time is different from other channels; as is the scheduling, reveals Katial. “Our biggest prime time is early morning. The biggest peg that works in that market is faith,” he points out. “We have devotional bands which are rated very well. Then, we have very big prime time on weekends where we have reality shows that connect with the audience. If you see the rating contribution that’s not how it works. Devotional contributes probably the best, weekend contributes next, and then we have (the traditional) prime time. Where the eyes are, that is the prime time.”

    And that’s shored up by numbers too. Nine out of the top 10 shows in regional viewership are from the Big Ganga portfolio. Shows such as Birha Dangal, Big Memsaab, Rasoi Ki Rani and Bhakti Samrat are its major audience pullers and are homegrown assets.

    “We have about 50 per cent of market share. And, every quarter, we have a  big reality show that fuels the aspiration of that region,” explains Katial.

    He is quick to point out that the channel has also been one of the big beneficiaries of the growing clout and geographical spread  of the state-owned FreeDish.  “The rural market is very deeply penetrated by DD FreeDish and you cannot deny that. I think when urban market was being measured, we were doing very well there, and when the rural market started getting measured we realised that there big element of FreeDish, we got that into our plan and included that into our distribution line-up.”

    That has helped the RBNL team to monetise the channel effectively, especially from the ad revenue front.

    “Our pricing has gone up significantly over the past year as we do offer 30-40 per cent of additional coverage than any other Hindi GEC in that market,” expresses Katial. “Bihar is one of the highest GDP growth markets in the country. So, the advertisers look at us as the unique standalone regional option to invest. There are two kinds advertisers  looking for additional reach in Bihar out of the HSM or looking only at Bihar because that’s their priority market.  My pitch to the fence sitter advertiser is: TV is deeply penetrated now and there are numbers which are comparable with print and the CPT looks far better and more efficient with TV.”

    Also Read

    Big Ganga shows now available on ZEEL’s OZee

    RBNL all set to relaunch Big Magic

  • DD, AIR covers most naxal-hit areas too

    DD, AIR covers most naxal-hit areas too

    NEW DELHI: The entire state of Chhattisgarh, including its rural and naxal-affected areas, has been provided with multichannel TV coverage through Doordarshan’s free to air DTH service DD FreeDish while 13 AIR stations are operating in Chhattisgarh including eight of 100 W FM relay transmitters for localised coverage.

    Answering a question in the Parliament about coverage by Prasar Bharati in naxalite-affected areas, minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore said that the signals of Direct to Home (DTH) service can be received with a small-sized dish receiving unit.

    A total of 29 terrestrial TV transmitters of varying power are functioning in Chhattisgarh, he added.

    As far as AIR was concerned, he added that some areas of Dantewada, Bijapur and Koriya districts were still uncovered by AIR’s terrestrial broadcast. High Power Medium Wave transmitter from AIR Nagpur is also providing AIR service in Chhattisgarh state.

    Most of the populated parts of Chhattisgarh are covered with AIR MW coverage and by its FM coverage also at reasonably good numbers of places.

    In addition, 31 channels of All India Radio are available on DD FreeDish throughout the country.

    Thirteen popular channels of All-India Radio can also be received through internet by browsing AIR’s website and by downloading suitable apps on iOS/ Android/ Windows based mobile phones.

    AIR’s scheme for replacement of existing outlived 100 kW MW transmitter at Jagdalpur by new 100 kW MW transmitter has already been approved under special scheme. A 5 kW FM transmitter under continuing scheme of 12th Plan has been approved for testing at Ambikapur

  • DD, AIR covers most naxal-hit areas too

    DD, AIR covers most naxal-hit areas too

    NEW DELHI: The entire state of Chhattisgarh, including its rural and naxal-affected areas, has been provided with multichannel TV coverage through Doordarshan’s free to air DTH service DD FreeDish while 13 AIR stations are operating in Chhattisgarh including eight of 100 W FM relay transmitters for localised coverage.

    Answering a question in the Parliament about coverage by Prasar Bharati in naxalite-affected areas, minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore said that the signals of Direct to Home (DTH) service can be received with a small-sized dish receiving unit.

    A total of 29 terrestrial TV transmitters of varying power are functioning in Chhattisgarh, he added.

    As far as AIR was concerned, he added that some areas of Dantewada, Bijapur and Koriya districts were still uncovered by AIR’s terrestrial broadcast. High Power Medium Wave transmitter from AIR Nagpur is also providing AIR service in Chhattisgarh state.

    Most of the populated parts of Chhattisgarh are covered with AIR MW coverage and by its FM coverage also at reasonably good numbers of places.

    In addition, 31 channels of All India Radio are available on DD FreeDish throughout the country.

    Thirteen popular channels of All-India Radio can also be received through internet by browsing AIR’s website and by downloading suitable apps on iOS/ Android/ Windows based mobile phones.

    AIR’s scheme for replacement of existing outlived 100 kW MW transmitter at Jagdalpur by new 100 kW MW transmitter has already been approved under special scheme. A 5 kW FM transmitter under continuing scheme of 12th Plan has been approved for testing at Ambikapur

  • Maha Cartoon targets 65 per cent rural HSM via DD FreeDish, 2000 LCOs

    Maha Cartoon targets 65 per cent rural HSM via DD FreeDish, 2000 LCOs

    MUMBAI: Who can forget the Charlie Chaplin show which entertained the world audience of all ages. Maha Cartoon, the first free-to-air (FTA) Hindi cartoon channel targeted at the Hindi-speaking markets (HSM), will be launched on India’s largest DTH platform DD FreeDish on 1 November. The new Maha Cartoon channel is owned by DV Group of Companies that also successfully operates the Maha Movie Channel.

    DV Group’s core purpose is to improve the quality of life of the communities it serves globally, through long-term value addition based on leadership with trust. Founded by Darshan Singh and Vishvajeet Sharma in 1998, the DV Group is an Indian enterprise headquartered in Delhi, comprising eight operating companies, with operations across Pan India. The group, whose revenue stands at Rs 150 crore, has varied interest in various business segments which include telemarketing, media and broadcasting real estate, Ayurveda and herbal products, fitness products, courier services to name a few and opportunities for expansion in various spheres of business are endless. 

    In the sector of media and broadcasting, DV Group launched its first venture as Maha Movie – a 24 hour satellite channel which is free to air and is in its third year of operations and going strong. Maha Cartoon TV is its second launch. Maha Cartoon TV channel has now been added in Intelsat20Satellite. This channel will be at place of Teleshop TV. 

    Speaking to indiantelevision.com, DV Group CEO Sanjay Verma said, with the help of BARC’s available data, Maha Cartoon TV is aiming to capture 51 per cent business in the Indian rural market  and 13 per cent market in villages with less than one lakh population. “Children in rural India have negligible option or Hobson’s choice as far as freely available cartoons in Hindi are concerned,” Verma said. “Although there are over 20-plus channels operating in the kids genre, Maha Cartoon will of course have the ‘first mover’ advantage,” Verma said.

    The third most-viewed genre after Hindi GEC and Hindi movie, Indian kids genre is dominated by three leading broadcast networks — Disney India (Hungama, Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney Junior), Viacom18 (Sonic, Nick and Nick Jr), and Turner India (Pogo, Toonami and Cartoon Network). 

    “Apart from DD FreeDish, Maha Cartoon will almost immediately be aired through 2000 small LCOs (local cable operator) and later through other DTH, and cable operators,” Maha Cartoon business head Amit Dave said.

    DV Group has been in operation for eight years and launched Maha Movie channel around six years ago. “Launching in the kids genre soon, we plan to double our revenues in a year’s time,” Verma said.

    “The space for a Hindi free to air channel was virtually lying idle and nobody had explored this space to give quality entertainment for majority of Indian kids who do not have any ‘free’ option. The market size of the rural and semi-urban areas of kids constitutes about 65 per cent of the audience for which they have no other option but to pay and watch for kids entertainment or else forego the kids requirement due to low paying capacity of the family to afford kids entertainment channels,”  a Maha Cartoon press release earlier stated.

    DV Group founder and managing director Vishvajeet Sharma said, “Today, we have over 20 kids channels in India but none of the channels is free to air. 65% of the kids target audience which reside in rural and semi urban  areas in India is not able to access the kids entertainment space because of high acquisition cost of the content and time taken to prepare this content is also more, as a single episode of 22 minutes takes one and half to two months to complete therefore increasing the cost of acquisition and creation.”

    Group chairman and founder director Darshan Singh said, “I relate to this audience as I come from rural area. Having established ourself in this industry, we felt that it was about time to give something back to the people where we belong.”

    “The channel is aiming at the 4–14 age group kids audience and will feature unique cartoon characters conceived and made by in-house production teams which created Indian characters which instantly appeal to Indian kids audience and have the potential to be popular home-grown characters which Indian kids can easily relate to,” Verma added.

    Mooshak Gungun: It is an Indian adaption of the classical cat and mouse chase show which will have frills and adventure. This show inculcates true value of friendship and compassion.

    Bal Chanakya: An Indian kid with a sharp mind and a strong  ability to overcome various obstacles with ease and composure. “Chankaya Ka Brain Jaise running Bullet Train”

    Panchtantra stories: This series is a compilation of short stories of Panchtantra which gives a message of India’s cultural heritage and respect for wildlife and the ecosystem.

    Ciko: This character and series will tell the kids facts related to various aspects of life which they are unaware of.

    The channel will also air myriad variety of foreign content which will be shown for the first time in the Indian market from various countries. The content will be dubbed in Hindi, and will provide a wholesome entertainment for the Indian audience.

    Apart from cartoon series, Maha Cartoon will also air interactive and educative programming which will help the NexGen to inculcate a healthy mind and healthy body concept. ‘Techno Kids’ as the first techno-commercial show which aims at harnessing kids imagination and making great gizmos from day-to-day items used in Indian homes. This channel will also air kids movies thus giving them total entertainment and educative solutions.

  • Maha Cartoon targets 65 per cent rural HSM via DD FreeDish, 2000 LCOs

    Maha Cartoon targets 65 per cent rural HSM via DD FreeDish, 2000 LCOs

    MUMBAI: Who can forget the Charlie Chaplin show which entertained the world audience of all ages. Maha Cartoon, the first free-to-air (FTA) Hindi cartoon channel targeted at the Hindi-speaking markets (HSM), will be launched on India’s largest DTH platform DD FreeDish on 1 November. The new Maha Cartoon channel is owned by DV Group of Companies that also successfully operates the Maha Movie Channel.

    DV Group’s core purpose is to improve the quality of life of the communities it serves globally, through long-term value addition based on leadership with trust. Founded by Darshan Singh and Vishvajeet Sharma in 1998, the DV Group is an Indian enterprise headquartered in Delhi, comprising eight operating companies, with operations across Pan India. The group, whose revenue stands at Rs 150 crore, has varied interest in various business segments which include telemarketing, media and broadcasting real estate, Ayurveda and herbal products, fitness products, courier services to name a few and opportunities for expansion in various spheres of business are endless. 

    In the sector of media and broadcasting, DV Group launched its first venture as Maha Movie – a 24 hour satellite channel which is free to air and is in its third year of operations and going strong. Maha Cartoon TV is its second launch. Maha Cartoon TV channel has now been added in Intelsat20Satellite. This channel will be at place of Teleshop TV. 

    Speaking to indiantelevision.com, DV Group CEO Sanjay Verma said, with the help of BARC’s available data, Maha Cartoon TV is aiming to capture 51 per cent business in the Indian rural market  and 13 per cent market in villages with less than one lakh population. “Children in rural India have negligible option or Hobson’s choice as far as freely available cartoons in Hindi are concerned,” Verma said. “Although there are over 20-plus channels operating in the kids genre, Maha Cartoon will of course have the ‘first mover’ advantage,” Verma said.

    The third most-viewed genre after Hindi GEC and Hindi movie, Indian kids genre is dominated by three leading broadcast networks — Disney India (Hungama, Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney Junior), Viacom18 (Sonic, Nick and Nick Jr), and Turner India (Pogo, Toonami and Cartoon Network). 

    “Apart from DD FreeDish, Maha Cartoon will almost immediately be aired through 2000 small LCOs (local cable operator) and later through other DTH, and cable operators,” Maha Cartoon business head Amit Dave said.

    DV Group has been in operation for eight years and launched Maha Movie channel around six years ago. “Launching in the kids genre soon, we plan to double our revenues in a year’s time,” Verma said.

    “The space for a Hindi free to air channel was virtually lying idle and nobody had explored this space to give quality entertainment for majority of Indian kids who do not have any ‘free’ option. The market size of the rural and semi-urban areas of kids constitutes about 65 per cent of the audience for which they have no other option but to pay and watch for kids entertainment or else forego the kids requirement due to low paying capacity of the family to afford kids entertainment channels,”  a Maha Cartoon press release earlier stated.

    DV Group founder and managing director Vishvajeet Sharma said, “Today, we have over 20 kids channels in India but none of the channels is free to air. 65% of the kids target audience which reside in rural and semi urban  areas in India is not able to access the kids entertainment space because of high acquisition cost of the content and time taken to prepare this content is also more, as a single episode of 22 minutes takes one and half to two months to complete therefore increasing the cost of acquisition and creation.”

    Group chairman and founder director Darshan Singh said, “I relate to this audience as I come from rural area. Having established ourself in this industry, we felt that it was about time to give something back to the people where we belong.”

    “The channel is aiming at the 4–14 age group kids audience and will feature unique cartoon characters conceived and made by in-house production teams which created Indian characters which instantly appeal to Indian kids audience and have the potential to be popular home-grown characters which Indian kids can easily relate to,” Verma added.

    Mooshak Gungun: It is an Indian adaption of the classical cat and mouse chase show which will have frills and adventure. This show inculcates true value of friendship and compassion.

    Bal Chanakya: An Indian kid with a sharp mind and a strong  ability to overcome various obstacles with ease and composure. “Chankaya Ka Brain Jaise running Bullet Train”

    Panchtantra stories: This series is a compilation of short stories of Panchtantra which gives a message of India’s cultural heritage and respect for wildlife and the ecosystem.

    Ciko: This character and series will tell the kids facts related to various aspects of life which they are unaware of.

    The channel will also air myriad variety of foreign content which will be shown for the first time in the Indian market from various countries. The content will be dubbed in Hindi, and will provide a wholesome entertainment for the Indian audience.

    Apart from cartoon series, Maha Cartoon will also air interactive and educative programming which will help the NexGen to inculcate a healthy mind and healthy body concept. ‘Techno Kids’ as the first techno-commercial show which aims at harnessing kids imagination and making great gizmos from day-to-day items used in Indian homes. This channel will also air kids movies thus giving them total entertainment and educative solutions.

  • Three new TV channels join DD FreeDish bouquet; 24 get extension

    Three new TV channels join DD FreeDish bouquet; 24 get extension

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan earned a sum of Rs 1293 million (Rs 129 crore ) by sale of three new slots and extension of the licence of another 24 on the 31st auction of its free-to-air direct-to-home platform FreeDish on 20 and 21 October.

    The auction was called off on 6 October 2016 because of technical glitches. The new channels which successfully bid for the slots are — News State Uttarakhand/Uttar Pradesh, 9x Bajao TV, and a teleshop channel.   

    A DD announcement had earlier said the reserve price per slot is Rs 4.3 crore. FreeDish has not raised its reserve price, although the price for one channel went up to Rs 5.3 crore in an earlier auction. The reserve price had been Rs 3.7 crore till last year but was raised to its present level for the 25th e-auction in January.

    The e-Auction was conducted by M/s. C1 India Pvt. Ltd., Noida which also conducted the first stage of the FM Radio Phase III auctions on behalf of Prasar Bharati.   

    Earlier this month, a senior DD official told indiantelevision.com that the “glitches were experienced by the bidders”. Following several complaints received in this regard, “the Competent Authority has cancelled the e-Auction conducted for the slots on 5 and 6 October 2016”.

    DD had made it clear that all registered bidders for the 31st e-Auction will be eligible for participating in the fresh bidding process on the rescheduled date, “which will be communicated in due course of time”.

    Meanwhile, DD has formally announced that it is now capable of carrying 104 television channels on its FTA FreeDish and the 24 channels being added to the present 80 channels will be the first to be launched on MPEG4 technology.

    DD officials also confirmed that FreeDish will soon be capable of carrying up to 250 channels.

    The official confirmed that a Call Centre would be set up for subscribers as soon as MPEG 4 becomes fully operational. The customer care service will have extensive complaint redressal mechanism. 

    DD has decided to implement Indian Conditional Access System (iCAS) on DD Freedish Platform. iCAS, an initiative of the Central Government, is being initially introduced in the 24 MPEG-4 Channels. The introduction of iCAS will provide enhanced viewing experience to the viewers.

    DD officials said these additional 24 MPEG-4 SDTV channels will be available to viewers in FTA mode. The existing viewers will continue to get 80 SDTV channels, but will have to obtain iCAS-enabled authorised Set Top Boxes for accessing all 104 channels.

    Although FreeDish will remain free to air with no monthly or periodic fee, the viewers will be required to register with DD Freedish on getting the new STB from Doordarshan authorised STB dealers.

    FreeDish was launched with a modest bouquet of 33 channels in December 2004 and now carries 80 TV channels and 32 radio channels. 

    The platform has a bouquet of channels consisting of 22 Doordarshan channels, two Parliamentary channels, seven general entertainment channels, 18 movie channels, 13 news channels, seven ,music channels, three religious channels and eight channels of other genres.

    After active consultation with all the stakeholders, DD has started the process for rolling out MPEG-4 STBs for its DD Freedish with iCAS. Doordarshan has invited e-Applications for authorisation/empanelment of STB original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to sell / distribute DD approved CAS enabled DD Freedish STBs in India. In this regard a pre bid meeting with the Indian STB manufacturers was held on 3 October 2016.

    Once the Indian STB OEMs are authorised by DD, they will start manufacturing quality STBs in India. They will set up their distribution network all over India for selling Indian STBs and providing services to Doordarshan Free Dish viewers.

    The participation amount (EMD) in the e-Auction was Rs.1.5 crore which had to be deposited in advance before or by 12 noon on the date of auction along with processing fee of Rs.10,000 (non-refundable) in favour of PB (BCI) Doordarshan Commercial Service, New Delhi.

    Incremental amount for the auction will be Rs 10 lakh and the time for every slot e-auction will be of fifteen minutes duration. This may be extended by five minutes if a bid is received before the closing time.

    Of the reserve price, Rs 1.1 crore will be deposited within one month of placement and another Rs 1.1 crore within two months along with service tax of 14.5 per cent on the bid amount.

    The balance bid amount will be deposited within six months, failing which the deposited amount will be forfeited and the channel discontinued after a 21-day discontinuation notice.

    Tags: e-Auction, FreeDish, Doordarshan, C 1 India, MPEG4, iCAS, Prasar Bharati, Set Top Box, Original equipment manufacturers,

    Also read: FreeDish ready to beam 104 TV channels; 24 on MPEG4