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Tag: Den Networks

  • TRAI asks MSOs and LMOs to mutually draft agreement to fast forward billing

    TRAI asks MSOs and LMOs to mutually draft agreement to fast forward billing

    MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) will not see any further delay in implementation of billing. And it is with this aim that the regulator has decided to meet both the last mile owners (LMOs) and the multi system operators (MSOs) at regular intervals. The first of these meetings was held on 3 June in Mumbai, the focus of which remained billing, revenue share and instilling good practices.

     

    TRAI met some 300 cable operators, comprising members of Maharashtra Cable Operators Federation (MCOF) and a few independent MSOs from Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune in the morning, while met the national MSOs including: Hathway Cable & Datacom, DEN Networks, Siticable, IMCL and MSOs from Nagpur, Pune among others in the afternoon.

     

    The message from the TRAI officials that comprised GS Kesarwani and SK Singhal was clear. “TRAI has asked the MSOs and LMOs to mutually come up with an agreement clearly defining the revenue share model, billing details etc which then needs to be signed by both the parties. In case the MSOs and LMOs cannot come up with this agreement mutually, TRAI will then draft an agreement, which will have to be followed by all,” informs a MSO who attended the meeting.

     

     No deadline has been set as yet for the two parties to draft the agreement. “TRAI officials also questioned MSOs on the reasons for not complying with the existing regulations,” adds the MSO.

     

    On the other hand, LMOs in their meeting with TRAI brought out issues relating to a few MSOs who indulged in taking the networks forcibly from LMOs, revenue share and billing. “We had a fruitful meeting with TRAI officials and now will wait for what they come up with next,” says MCOF president Arvind Prabhoo.

     

    He informs, “Well! We had reached some kind of agreement on the issue of billing with both Hathway and IMCL four months back, but nothing happened after that. We discussed those issues with TRAI officials as well.”

     

    In the meeting with LMOs, TRAI also discussed issues pertaining to DAS phase III and IV. “We had points about revenue share as well. TRAI has taken notes of the same,” he concludes.      

  • Den Networks and Wipro join hands for enhancing customer experience

    Den Networks and Wipro join hands for enhancing customer experience

    MUMBAI: Multi system operator (MSO) Den Networks is not only expanding its business, but with that is looking at enhancing customer experience as well. And with this, the MSO has entered into a strategic partnership with information technology giant Wipro. The alliance aims at accelerating Den Networks’ evolution from being a B2B organisation to a B2C one.       

     

    The strategic partnership will empower Den Networks’ customers with seamless connectivity and integration. Through this decade-long alliance, the MSO will be able to provide its customers, local cable operators (LCOs) and partners with real time efficient services, thereby ensuring continuous engagement and zero downtime. The initiative will also help Den Networks to streamline the deployment of its next generation services and provide quicker service activation, accurate rating and billing and excellent customer service.

     

     “As the industry continuously evolves, it is imperative to drive innovations for an enhanced customer experience. This initiative will help us connect better with our customers, and meet operators’ demand for quicker and accurate dissemination of a variety of services, thereby driving increased loyalty, adoption and efficiency. We are looking at automating our backend processes as a part of this deal, to provide a seamless subscriber experience and build customer loyalty,” said Den Networks COO M.G. Azhar.

     

    According to the agreement, Den Networks can offer SMS and BSS user friendly solutions, which allows cable operators to deliver more personalised and sophisticated services to cable and broadband subscribers at sharply improved delivery time.

     

    “We are delighted to be chosen as a strategic partner for Den. Wipro will leverage its extensive experience in business and technology transformation, combined with platform-driven integrated delivery of IT to ensure we deliver a robust, flexible and scalable infrastructure to help Den do business better,” added Wipro Infotech chief executive Soumitro Ghosh.

     

     

    The cloud based platform will use a highly extendible patented model that consolidates all subscriber, product, service and infrastructure based operational data, allowing operators to reliably and rapidly create and manage a wider range of residential and business products that deliver increased operational efficiency and a greater user experience.

     

    “This partnership will enable both the companies to meet the changing needs of the customer, providing them with more choices and market solutions, using a blend of onboard and cloud-based distributed analytics. Our user-centric architecture and expertise in the broadband & cable space will help DEN Networks engage with customers at a deeper level,” concluded Wipro senior vice president and business head-global communications Anil K. Jain.

  • Den Network’s profit run continues in FY-2014; topline rises

    Den Network’s profit run continues in FY-2014; topline rises

    BENGALURU: At a time when most companies involved in carrying television signals from the broadcaster to the consumer via cable have reported losses and are complaining about poor collections, Den Networks Ltd  (Den Networks) has reported profits, albeit slightly lower by 3.6 per cent as compared to last fiscal’s.

     

    The company’s assets and liabilities show that its trade receivables in FY-2014 has gone up by 20.4 per cent to Rs 391.92 crore (35.1 per cent of Operating Revenue of Op Rev) as compared to the Rs 325.62 crore (35.6 per cent of Op Rev) in FY-2013 as is obvious, in terms of percentage of Operating revenue vis-a-vis the previous year, the percentage of trade receivables has dropped fractionally.

     

    Den Networks reported a PAT of Rs 75.14 crore (6.7 per cent of Op Rev) for FY-2014, as compared to the PAT of Rs 77.94 crore (8.5 per cent of Op Rev) in FY-2014. In Q4-2014, the company reported a PAT of Rs 15.21 crore (5.04 per cent of Op Rev), lower by 5.4 per cent than the Rs 16.08 crore (5.9 per cent of Op Rev) during the immediate trailing quarter and 41.7 per cent lower than the Rs 26.08 crore (9.61 per cent of Op Rev) in Q4-2014.

     

    On the topline front, Den Networks has crossed the Rs 1000 crore operating revenue mark in FY-2014. The company reported Op Rev of Rs 1116.69 crore which was 22.2 per cent more than the Rs 914.05 crore last fiscal. Op Rev for Q4-2014 at Rs 301.86 crore was 10 per cent more than the Rs 274.46 crore in Q3-2014 and 11.2 per cent more than the Rs 271.43 crore in the year ago quarter Q3-2013.

     

    Here’s what the company has to say in its investor update:

     

    The company’s income from operations in Q4-2014 at Rs 930.43 crore can be broken in to streams –Rs 281.69 crore from its cable business and Rs 648.65 crore from its distribution business. After cost of distribution rights of Rs 633.57 crore, net revenue from the segment along with other income is Rs 17.44 crore, while the net revenue from the cable including other income is Rs 308.23 crore. The cable business has shown a positive result before tax of Rs 11.78 crore, while its distribution business a negative result or loss of Rs 4.6 crore.

     

    Consolidated Full Year EBITDA for FY-2014 was Rs 367.71 crore, a 52 per cent jump from Rs 242.70 crore in FY-2013. The Company says that it has incurred expenses of Rs 15 crore (approx) towards broadband and DAS Phase III and IV cities in this year, which have been considered in the EBITDA.

     

    Full Year EBITDA for FY-2014 Rs 357.51 crore, a 54 per cent jump from Rs 231.72 crore in FY-2013 EBITDA margins stood at 32.1 per cent.

     

    Subscribers and Set Top Box Deployment

     

    In Q4-2014, Den Networks claims to have deployed 450,000 set top boxes.  It says that it now has digitised approximately 6.1 million homes of its total subscriber base of 13 million homes. The company says that it has an estimated analog base of 7 million homes in its Phase III and IV markets. It confirms that it is well capitalised to meet the deployment requirements of its existing analog subscriber base in these cities. 

     

    Click here to read the full report

    Click here for investor update

  • DEN Networks introduces 22 HD channels in Kochi

    DEN Networks introduces 22 HD channels in Kochi

    MUMBAI: DEN Networks is looking at serving its Kochi subscribers better. The multi system operator (MSO) has announced the launch of its HD package comprising 22 channels for its existing subscribers in Kochi. With this launch, DEN has become the only cable TV distribution company in Kerala to offer highest number of HD channels.

     

    The HD package would include channels like, Star Plus, Zee TV, Zee Cinema, Star Gold, Star World, Life OK, NGC, NGC Wild, NGC Music, HBO Hits, HBO Defined, Star Movies, Movies Now, Romedy Now, Zee Studio, Star Sports HD1 and Star Sports HD2. 

     

    Commenting on the development, DEN Networks CEO S.N. Sharma said, “At DEN Networks, we have always believed in consistent improvement – both in terms of customer service and our offerings. Our ability to keep our customers in pace with the times has led to us being among the fastest growing players in Cable TV distribution in Kerala. Our new HD Package is yet another step towards bringing a richer, high definition TV viewing experience for our customers in Kochi.”

     

    “Kerala has more than 1.2 million subscribers and most of them are early adapters when it comes to latest technology. At DEN Networks, our ability to sense the evolving demand and offer our customers customised solutions have helped us to garner increasing market share,” added Sharma. 

     

    “In the next few months, while we will increase our presence across all 14 districts of Kerala; we will also introduce this HD Package in other towns like Trivandrum, Kottayam, Kannur, Mallapuram, Pallakad etc,” he concluded.

     

    DEN Network’s Cable TV services are available in 10 of the 14 districts in Kerala, namely Eranakulam (Kochi), Allapuzha, Kottayam, Trivandrum, Thrissur, Mallapuram, Pallakad, Kozhikode (Calicut), Kannur and Kasargode.

     

    The MSO offers 200 SD channels and 22 HD channels in Kochi as of now, all the other places offering is 140 channels, which will be upgraded to 200 and 22 HD channels in the coming months. Also company will soon be introducing packages to subscribers in Kerala, that will offer the choice of deciding what bundle of channels to view and pay for. Kerala has a total market size of six million cable homes, out of which, DEN is having more than 20 per cent market share as of now and fast growing.

  • DEN Networks appoints Gaurav Tikoo as GM, Brand

    DEN Networks appoints Gaurav Tikoo as GM, Brand

    MUMBAI: DEN Networks has appointed Gaurav Tikoo as general manager, Brand to accelerate its transformation from a B2B business into a leading consumer facing digital cable and broadband company.

     

    Tikoo joins DEN from HCL Infosystems where he was the head of Global Marketing Mobility Solutions. Prior to HCL, he has worked with Samsung India Electronics as lead, marketing communications for its Home Appliances Division. He has previously been associated with companies like Radico Khaitan, Max New York Life Insurance and LG Electronics.

     

    Gaurav brings with him over a decade’s experience in the field of strategic brand management and establishing brand identities. He was instrumental in creating and managing HCL’s “ME” tablet brand globally. His work on ME tablets helped HCL win prestigious awards like Marketing Campaign of the Year, Emerging Brand, Best use of Social Media, Brand Excellence at the CMO Asia forum. He has also been conferred with the Star Youth Achiever award by the Global Youth Marketing Forum for his work at HCL.

     

    Commenting on the appointment DEN Networks chairman and managing director Sameer Manchanda said, “It is my pleasure to welcome Gaurav to the DEN team. DEN is at the cusp of a rapid evolution into a B2C company serving digital cable and high speed broadband to millions of Indians. We are very happy to have Gaurav on board to take charge of DEN’s transformation into a leading digital entertainment brand.”

  • Viren Raheja’s reengineering drive at Hathway

    Viren Raheja’s reengineering drive at Hathway

    BALI: Viren Raheja is a man with a mission: to change the culture at India’s leading cable TV multi system operator Hathway Cable & Datacom. With eight million digital TV homes from a total of 11 million, the network has been regarded as one of the shining stars emerging out of India’s cable TV ecosystem. But it has lost some of that shine in recent times.

     

     Admits Raheja who is a director of the firm: “We are going through a challenging phase – turbulence in the cable TV space – life is challenging.”

     

     Raheja is using the changing climes in India’s fragmented cable TV ecosystem – which has been undergoing a government mandated digitization rollout – to re-engineer his firm. “The company – like most of the other MSOs – was rooted in a B2B mindset as most of the time we were dealing with LCOs,” he reveals. “Now we are working on changing the DNA of Hathway from B2B to B2C.  We have already changed the entire senior management with one that has more of a B2C mindset. You will see more of that happening with talent from the telecom being hired.”

     

    Speaking at the Media Partners Asia organized Asia Pacific Operators Summit in Bali, Raheja  revealed that Hathway has done better than most in digitizing and putting set top boxes in subscribers’ homes  with a 30 per cent marketshare nationally. 

     

    “Now the key challenge is monetizing, upscaling customers to HD services and getting subscribers to pay,” he said.  “Gross billing has happened in some places but we are mostly at net billing with the LCOs. Over six months we see the movement to net billing being completed in phase I areas and over 12 months in phase II.”

     

     Raheja pointed out that digitizing is leading to a new power equation being forged between LCOs and MSOs. “Over 12-18 months, this relationship will stabilize. The current revenue split between us and our LCOs in 40 per cent to us and 60 per cent for them.  We see that settling at 65 per cent for us and 35 per cent for the LCOs. Once that happens, we may then think about acquiring some of them.”

     

    He is clear that the next 12 months are going to see the MSO focus on developing local content, pushing HD services and also building up its broadband play.

     

    “HD will help us give a better viewing experience and also the customer will pay more and local content will help keep them engaged,” Raheja disclosed.

     

    “On the broadband front, today, 15-20 per cent of our revenue is coming in from broadband. I would like to see that going up to 35-40 per cent over the next three years. Our play includes giving world class broadband with DOCSIS 3.0 modems. For me getting a nice return from subscribers is more important. Hence, I will be open to losing a video subscriber to retain a broadband subscriber who pays a lot more.”

     

    He believes that all this will need a cash infusion of about $100-150 million, which he intends to raise through a mix of debt and equity dilution.

     

    No merger or acquisition is on the cards with any other multisystem operator – at least for now- he revealed. “Cable is about local operations…I am not sure a merger with DEN or anyone else will create something unique,” concluded Raheja.

  • Cisco’s technology in six million digital homes of Den Networks

    Cisco’s technology in six million digital homes of Den Networks

    MUMBAI: As India slowly inches towards 100 per cent digitisation, it is the various cable and multi system operators who are to be applauded for the increase of digitisation in the country. One of the well known technology companies, Cisco has announced that its services have reached to six million pay-TV homes on Den Networks.

     

    Cisco’s conditional access and middleware has been used by Den Networks since 2008 in its set top boxes. A range of Videoscape technologies from Cisco are used to cater to its subscribers. Den’s digital head-ends, networking routers, switches and set top boxes have been procured from Cisco.

     

    Earlier this year, Cisco expanded its Videoscape TV services delivery platform to include new cloud video capabilities. This would help media companies increase revenue, reduce operating expenses and enhance agility.

     

    Den currently has about 30 million viewers across the country and is looking at increasing that number through phase III and IV of digitisation. Commenting on the partnership Den Networks CEO SN Sharma said, “It gives me immense pleasure, in this highly competitive market, to reach out to more than 30 million viewers through our digital cable TV services. We expect this number to increase significantly with the completion of the remaining phases of digitisation. Cisco’s global expertise in managing the end-to-end delivery of digital pay-TV solutions gives us a strong competitive edge and empowers us to enable new services and advanced features, resulting in satisfied subscribers and encouraging growth.”

     

    Cisco Service Provider Video Software Solutions Vice President Sales Asia Pacific Sue Taylor said, “Cisco is excited by the success of its customers and would like to congratulate Den for reaching such a major milestone. We anticipate that the current digitisation drive will spur us on to achieve many greater milestones, both in roll-out volume and technology deployment, with the introduction of many new features using the latest designs and technologies. This will lead to overall customer enjoyment in terms of the TV viewing experience.”

     

    Den’s footprint now stretches over 200 cities in India covering markets such as Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Kerala, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar.

  • Orange TV goes on air

    Orange TV goes on air

    KOLKATA: Viewers in West Bengal will get to see one more Bengali satellite entertainment channel starting today.

     

    Named Orange TV, the new channel will be launched today at 7pm by Kolkata-based production house, T Sarkar Productions. With tie-ups with distributors like SitiCable, KCBPL-GTPL, Manthan, Digicable, AMBC and DEN Networks already in place, Orange TV aims to have a national presence soon and a team of nearly 70 to 75 professionals in the next one year.

     

    “People in West Bengal can see Orange TV from today. We plan to have a national presence sooner,” Orange TV channel coordinator Subhajit Manna told indiantelevision.com. “We started the test signal from 4 March,” he added.

     

    While T Sarkar Productions operates out of Lenin Sarani, the Orange TV studio is located at Tollygunge, better known as Kolkata’s entertainment hub. The channel will cater to the youth by airing a mix of Bengali movies and music and shows related to the Bengali and Hindi film industry. For the next few months, it will air shows at different time slots between 7pm and 10pm.

     

    An anchor-hosted music show titled ‘Orange Ishq’ will be aired at 7pm, followed by ‘Orange Retro’ featuring retro music. For ‘Orange Studio’, the channel has already started getting feeds about the whereabouts of Bollywood from Mumbai-based sources. “The shows will be anchored in Bengali but the music will be in the respective languages,” said Manna. Also in the pipeline are ‘Orange Dhaba’ (cookery show), ‘Orange Blockbuster’ and ‘Orange World Premiere’. The company has produced shows for leading networks including ‘Ei Ghar Ei Sansar’ and ‘Spandan’ for Zee Bangla, ‘Joto Haasi Toto Ranna’ for STAR Jalsha, the ‘Feluda’ series and ‘Arjun’ among others.

     

    According to Manna, Orange TV would be a reflection of contemporary lifestyle and entertainment choices and enjoy a universal appeal among the audience. “The identity of Orange itself is entertainment. Like any other channel that dabbles with fiction, non-fiction, movies and reality shows, we will do that too, with the difference being that we are youth-skewed and more ‘filmi’,” he concluded.

  • Den Networks appoints Sheetal Garg as VP – finance

    Den Networks appoints Sheetal Garg as VP – finance

    MUMBAI: Multi system operator (MSO), DEN Networks, today announced the appointment of Sheetal Garg as the vice president finance for its broadband division. The announcement has come at a time when the MSO is gearing at launching its broadband services, soon.

    Garg, prior to joining DEN Networks was working as Ernst & Young vice president transaction advisory services. In his four years stint with Ernst & Young, Garg has been involved with advising clients on nuances of the sectors through an in-depth analysis of the financial and operating metrics.  He has also  executed over 100 due diligence assignments including strategic buy outs, PE investments and carve outs in diverse sectors including IT/ITes, media & entertainment, education, real estate, infrastructure projects (Power & Road), equity and commodity brokerage, telecommunication, telecom towers, airlines and automobiles.

    Earlier, he was associated with Deloitte for over two years. His major clients included Hero Honda Motors, Godfrey Phillips India, Goodyear India, Idea Mobile Communications, Titan and ITC (Hotels Division).

  • Case by MSOs challenging Entertainment Tax to be heard on 27 May by DHC

    Case by MSOs challenging Entertainment Tax to be heard on 27 May by DHC

    NEW DELHI: Three multi-system operators were given interim relief in January in the entertainment case issue. In January, the case was adjourned to 13 March and today has further been adjourned to 27 May by the Delhi High Court. However, the HC said that the stay order issued earlier in January to multi-system operators in entertainment tax issue will continue.

     

    DEN Networks, Hathway Cable & Datacom, and Siticable had moved the court seeking protection against the Entertainment Tax Officer’s order to pay entertainment tax.

     

    Acting Chief Justice B D Ahmed and Mr Justice Siddharth Mridul gave the order on a plea by counsel for the petitioners.

     

    DEN Networks, Hathway Cable & Datacom, Siti Cable and InCable were ordered to pay entertainment tax due since April 2013.

     

    Orders were issued directing the four MSOs to file returns and deposit the pending tax amount with interest under the Delhi Entertainment and Betting Tax Act and Rules, 1996.

     

    The MSOs argued that it was the local cable operator who should pay the entertainment tax. They had moved the Court to prevent any coercive action.

     

    DEN and Hathway argued in the last hearing that they are not liable to pay entertainment tax from April since they have started consumer billing only from November. DEN also argued that the entertainment tax must be collected only on actual collections. The MSO also sought clarity from the tax department whether entertainment tax is paid on per subscriber or per set-top box (STB) basis. While Siti Cable adhered to pay entertainment tax, it challenged the quantum of the tax. IMCL