ITV

Tag: DD

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Zeel launches Anmol; to be available on TV, mobile and WAP

    Zeel launches Anmol; to be available on TV, mobile and WAP

     NEW DELHI: Zee network has launched Zee Anmol, a free-to-air channel, taking the number of Zee channels to 34. The new entrant will be available on both mobile phones and on WAP zeeanmol.tv from 1 September.

    Denying the charges of it being a channel of repeats on lines of Star Utsav, ZEEL chief creative and content officer Bharat Kumar Ranga in a press meet here said that not only will the channel reach those areas which were hitherto covered only by DD and DTH DD Direct Plus, but also be re-packaged to suit the audiences in smaller towns and semi-urban and rural areas.

    He said a series may even be cut from the original number of episodes to lesser episodes if research showed people did not want it to be too long.

    He said that this marked the first phase of the channel, which may have new programming in the second phase expected sometime next year.

    Ranga told indiantelevision.com later that Zee was presently spending around fifty per cent of its normal marketing budget for other channels for this particular channel. Asked to be more specific, he said around 15 per cent of the revenue from Zee Anmol will go into its marketing. But he admitted that this was going to be tough going since the aim was to reach unreached areas and even those where there was no television. He said he was prepared to advertise the channel on all platforms, including Doordarshan if the pubcaster accepted this.

    Four persons who have excelled in different programmes on Zee TV – Kratika Sengar who played Jhansi ki Rani, Sayantani Ghosh who was Naagin, Binny Sharma who won hearts in Dance India Dance, and Jasraj Joshi who won the SA RE GA MA PA 2012 were present at the press meet.

    ZEEL marketing head Akash Chawla said the new channel was more of a video brand than a television brand, and the expectation was to reach places where cable and satellite TV had just begun to make inroads, or where broadband was available. He said the mobile penetration had reached 100 million and was bound to catch on, particularly if the programmes are re-purposed.

    Asked if the ad cap could affect the channel since it was not based on subscriptions, Ranga said even advertisers had products they wanted to reach out to small consumers.

    Ranga said Zee Anmol was the only channel to have up to 39 hours repackaged programming for a week.

    Head content Ajay Bhalwanker said that the research had taken many months because the network wanted to know exactly what the people in small towns wanted. Ranga added that the channel had been astonished to discover that people were aware of serials and names of characters even in places with limited TV viewing.

    In the initial phase, the channel will have series like Maayka, Pavitra Rishta, Dance India Dance, India’s Best Dramebaaz, Chhoti Bahu, Saat Phere, Naagin, Kasamh Se, Sindoor, Jhansi ki Rani, and Shabaash India among others.

    Interestingly the press meet was attended by mediapersons from smaller cities like Ahmedabad and Jaipur who had been brought here to see a preview.

  • DD commences e-auction of six slots for its DTH Platform

    DD commences e-auction of six slots for its DTH Platform

    NEW DELHI: In an effort to reach its target of 97 channels by the end of this year, Prasar Bharati is auctioning six slots on its free-to-air direct-to-home platform DD Direct Plus by e-auction.

    A Bangalore based private firm – Synise Technologies – has been chosen to conduct the e-auction which commenced yesterday.

    It is also learnt that Prasar Bharati is considering carrying out a change in its policy to try and get the best of channels on its DTH service.

    Currently, Doordarshan’s DTH platform offers 59 channels of which 30 are private, 21 of DD, Lok Sabha TV, Rajya Sabha TV and two channels run by the UGC.

    Four foreign channels – NHK, ABC, France 24 and Russia Sunday – complete the bouquet of channels on the DTH wing.

    “The capacity to carry channels on our DTH wing is set to increase significantly as Doordarshan is planning to buy equipment that will allow it to utilise an additional transponder on satellite INSAT 4B,” a DD official told indiantelevision.com.

    Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar has earlier said another aspect that the broadcaster is considering is how it can get better quality channels on its DTH wing. “We are considering framing a policy by next year which will allow the best of channels to be shown on our DTH platform,” Sircar said.

    There was a need to consider a new policy which would be transparent but also to ensure that the best of channels prefer to come to the Doordarshan platform so that they can be shown to viewers all across the country, he said.

  • NDTV readies for Profit relaunch

    NDTV readies for Profit relaunch

    MUMBAI: When things are going ok, you still need to fix them to make them fabulous, is an adage some business executives believe in. And that’s exactly what the folks at newscaster NDTV group’s NDTV Profit are doing. On the cards, is a total rejig of the business channel’s FPC – the only thing it will happen post 4 p.m. when business prime time and coverage of the stock market ends.

     

    Says NDTV Group CEO Vikram Chandra: “We have been thinking of revamping NDTV Profit for a while. Though it is good to have business shows during the day, there isn’t much interest in the channel, once business prime time ends at 4 p.m.”

     

    Most business news channels air magazine programming which is related to technology, property and automobiles. And Chandra wants NDTV to refrain from doing just that, he wants programming in the entertainment space to be added on. One show that will continue to be on the channel is The Property Show.

        
    Sources indicate that external and independent TV producers are being called in to pitch in with ideas for programming the late evening slots. Among the business models being considered is the airtime barter model wherein producers and brands can buy time slots and get advertising time in exchange for programming, something which channels like DD and Sun TV have been doing rather profitably. Sources have also said that some programs will also be commissioned for the new channel.

     

    The ‘NDTV Profit’ name is also likely to give way to another moniker. A date has not been set yet, but Chandra says that in the next three or four months, a brand new channel should be up and running. Though he refrained from giving specific details he did say “It will be a completely new channel in the evening. It will stay as a business channel during the day time.”

     

    Some changes have already taken place. For instance, NDTV Profit has over the past months or so put together a special band from 9 to 11 p.m. calling it NDTV Classics. The best episodes of some of its old shows such as The World This Week, 24 hours, Ravish ki Report and Reality Bites are being featured under NDTV Classics.

     

    Chandra says that the reason for telecasting them are two-fold: provide an interim base for the transition process as well as celebrate the completion of 25 years of the NDTV group. “A lot of people have been requesting us to air our old content. It serves two purposes this way,” he says. What he has not mentioned is that it is helping keeping the channel’s costs lower and possibly improving its bottomline. That’s profitable thinking.

  • DD’s Q1 revenues see spike thanks to new primetime programming

    DD’s Q1 revenues see spike thanks to new primetime programming

    NEW DELHI: With new initiatives that have helped to add spice to the national prime time telecasts, Doordarshan managed to push up its gross quarterly revenue from just over Rs 322.4 million in the last quarter of 2012 to above Rs 503.4 million in the first quarter of 2013.

    The monthly revenue for this time slot shot up from just Rs 9.21 million in October last year to more than Rs 197.1 million in March this year.

    Doordarshan additional director general Raj Shekhar Vyas told Indiantelevision.com that this had been achieved by adding variety to the programmes and not necessarily getting stuck to the same series from Monday to Friday as most private television channels tend to do.

    He said DD was set to break new ground with the telecast of Hollywood blockbusters in English from midnight onwards daily from mid-May. He said negotiations were on with the American studio Lionsgate Films. It was expected that the films would initially be offered without any payment. This slot was until now reserved either for old films or repeat telecasts, he said.

    However, on account of a decline in national mid-day prime time slots between noon and 3.00 pm, the quarterly revenue went down from Rs 177.9 million in the last quarter to just about Rs 156.7 million.

    Asked about this, Vyas said he was currently concentrating on re-vamping the evening prime time but would also overhaul the mid-day prime time since around 240 proposals had been received for various programmes.

    Following an initiative by Prasar Bharati chief executive officer Jawhar Sircar, DD had for the first time decided to go in for out-of-home publicity and also advertised in newspapers, Facebook and Twitter about its new programmes. An initial sum of Rs 20 million had been set aside since Republic Day this year for this. Advertising in cinema houses will form the second phase of the advertising binge.

    Vyas claimed that following directions from DD director general Tripurari Sharan, he had given the national prime time a youthful look with programmes like ‘Bharat ki shaan’, ‘Yahan ke hum Sikandar,’ ‘Ek Kiran Roshni ki’ and ‘Yeh hai India Meri Jaan’ by the renowned Saeed Akhtar Mirza remembered for the path-breaking ‘Nukkad’ series. The channel also had its share of interpretation of classics like ‘Krishna Kali’, ‘Gora’ and ‘Sarsaswati Chandra’, apart from old favourites like ‘Byomkesh Bakshi’ and ‘Ek tha Rusty.’

  • DD on studio upgradation drive

    DD on studio upgradation drive

    New Delhi: A total of 39 studio centres in the country have been taken up for full digitization as part of the ongoing scheme of digitization of Doordarshan’s Network, Parliament has been informed.

    State of the art digital equipment would therefore be made available at the studio centres in the north east states on a par with other similar studio centres in the country.

    Of these 39, eleven are in the north east states: three in Assam, two in Meghalaya, and one each in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. The others are: five in Uttar Pradesh; two each in Chhatisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, and West Bengal; and one each in Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh and Puducherry.

    Five Digital Satellite News Gathering Units (DSNG) have also been provided at Guwahati to cater to the coverage requirements of north east states. DSNG Units are deployed at different places in north east states as per coverage requirements. As part of the ongoing schemes, four additional DSNG Units for North East States are envisaged to be procured.

    Meanwhile, Prasar Bharati sources said upgradation/modernization which includes induction of new technologies, replacement of old aging equipment and augmentation/upgradation facilities of all Doordarshan Kendras including those located in north-east region is a continuous process and schemes in this regard are formulated and implemented from time to time.

    The sources said that for the north east region there is a dedicated 24×7 North East Channel, besides Kendras in North East like DDK Guwahati, DDK Aizwal, DDK Gangtok, DDK Tura, DDK Shillong , DDK Silchar, DDK Dibrugarh, DDK Itanagar, DDK Agartala, DDK Kohima and DDK Imphal which telecast programmes in their respective regional languages.

  • DD plans for multiplex transmitters at 630 locations for SDTV, HDTV, and mobile TV

    DD plans for multiplex transmitters at 630 locations for SDTV, HDTV, and mobile TV

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan has drawn up a long term plan to have a ‘multiplex‘ of five transmitters each at 630 locations to provide a competitive platform.

    Each of these multiplex transmitters will have two for standard television, two for high definition TV, and one for mobile TV services.

    Stating this in an action-taken report to the Parliametary Standing Committee on Information and Technology, the information and broadcasting ministry has said it is in discussion with the department of telecom for release of more spectrum.

    The I&B Ministry has asked the telecom department to give spectrum for various broadcasting services in the UHF Band V since the frequency band 700 MHz – that is, 698 to 806 MHz – has been earmarked for international mobile telecom services by the World radio Conference 2007.

    As part of digitisation of its terrestrial networks, DD is planning to set up 630 digital transmitters which comprise 230 high power and 400 low power transmitters. Projects for establishment of forty digital transmitters (SDTV) and four high definition digital transmitters have already been taken up under the Eleventh Plan.

    It is felt that in view of its long-term plans, the total spectrum requirement of DD will be met in Band-IV (470-582 MHz) and eight channels in Band-V (582-646 MHz).

    DD also has frequency assignment in 700 MHz band in two carriers: (745 MHz and 795 MHz each with a bandwidth of 20 MHz for mobile video link and Channel 54 (734-742 MHz) for digital terrestrial transmitters (DTT) in the four metro cities.

    Furthermore, the Ministry says it is estimated that at least 96 MHz of spectrum will be required for four operators to start mobile TV services.

    The Ministry has also pointed out that under NFAP (National Frequency Allocation Plan) 2008, the frequency band 585-806 MHz is predominantly for broadcasting services including mobile TV.

    However according to the draft India Remarks for NFAP 2011, it was suggested that the UHF Band V be bifurcated with 585-698 MHz going to digital broadcasting and 698-806 MHz be given for IMT applications.

    Following the note by the I&B Ministry not to bifurcate this frequency, a committee has been set up with officials of the department of telecom and I&B Ministry.

    When it was revealed that the frequency band 625-675 MHz is being given to the defence ministry, it was pointed out by I&B Ministry that this disturbs the entire band and therefore the defence ministry be asked to relocate its frequency beyond 646 MHz so that the broadcasting spectrum remains contiguous.This matter is now with the Empowered Group of Ministers on vacation of spectrum.

  • DD’s DTH gets an additional transponder on INSAT 4B

    DD’s DTH gets an additional transponder on INSAT 4B

    NEW DELHI: The Prasar Bharati Board has been asked to take an expeditious decision on expanding the number of channels on Doordarshan‘s direct-to-home (DTH) platform DD Direct Plus to 97, following the decision of the Department of Space to give it an additional transponder of INSAT 4B.

    The Space Department had initially declined to give an additional transponder, forcing Prasar Bharati to lower its expansion plan for the country‘s only free-go-air DTH platform to 75 from the current 59.

    Prior to the latest decision of the Department of Space, Prasar Bharati had already received and processed the tenders for upgradation to 75 slots.

    Prasar Bharati‘s ultimate plan is to increase the number of channels on the platform to 150.

    Information and Broadcasting Ministry stated this when answering a query from indiantelevision.com relating to an observation by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology relating to delay in expansion of DD Direct Plus.

    The sources said that Prasar Bharati had earned revenue of Rs 920.5 million from the auction of 37 slots on the platform. The remaining 22 channels are those of Doordarshan itself.

  • Decision on Arasu DAS licence will depend on Govt. view on Trai report

    Decision on Arasu DAS licence will depend on Govt. view on Trai report

    NEW DELHI: The Government has said the application by the Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable Television Corporation Ltd. for issuance of a digital addressable system licence is under consideration.

    However, Information and Broadcasting Ministry sources said that the application was being examined in the light of the report of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) which is opposed to granting licences for television channels or distribution networks owned or supported by state governments or political parties.

    The sources also said that no time frame could be given for a final decision on the application for registration as multi-system operator received on 5 July last year to operate in notified areas of Chennai.

    A newly constituted Inter-Ministerial Committee was currently examining the recommendations of Trai in its report in mid-December reiterating its stand taken in 2008, and so a decision on Arasu would be taken only after this process is finalised.

    Chaired by the Additional Secretary of the I&B Ministry, the IMC has representatives of the Departments of Information Technology, Telecommunications, Economic Affairs, and Industrial Policy and Promotion apart from some experts. The representatives of these Ministries should be of a rank not lower than Joint Secretary.

    The two Joint Secretaries (Broadcasting) in the I&B Ministry serve as member secretaries depending on the subject and section concerned.

    The experts are: Chairman and Managing Director of the Broadcasting Engineering Consultants India Ltd., the Director-Generals of Doordarshan and All India Radio, and the Engineers-in-Chief of DD and AIR.

    The Committee may co-opt any number considered necessary from time to time.

    Recommendations of the IMC would be communicated to the I&B Ministry Secretary and ‘thereafter to the Minister for instructions on matters relating to the recommendations of Trai.

  • Govt wakes up to the power of social media, begins monitoring

    Govt wakes up to the power of social media, begins monitoring

    NEW DELHI: Stung by the campaigns on the social media both in the Delhi gang rape case as well as on the India-Pakistan exchange of fire on the Line of Control, the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Ministry has set up a group to monitor the various social media channels on the internet.

    While the anti-corruption campaign and gang rape messages on the social media showed how people could be mobilised to come onto the streets, the campaign relating to the killing of two Indian soldiers also exposed the fragility of this medium to creating tensions between nations.

    It is learnt that the group has been instructed to give a weekly report to I&B Minister Manish Tewari on what the social media is saying on crucial issues. The team is tracking all social media including Twitter, Facebook and blogs.

    The ministry has not just begun monitoring the social media channels, but also increased its own presence on the internet. Even as it had earlier launched a page on Facebook on digitisation, the ministry as well as All India Radio (AIR) and Doordarshan (DD) have created separate accounts on Twitter.

    The ministry also launched itself on YouTube late last year and publicised this at the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in November. This can be downloaded on android phones and will soon be made available on other smart phones through a special download application.

    India has over 120 million Internet users – Twitter has about 16 million subscribers and Facebook over 60 million from India. The penetration of 3G will mean more exchange of data. Mobile sales may soon touch the 250 million mark in India.