ITV

Tag: digital cable

  • WWIL lines up Rs 2 billion debt, rebrands digital cable as Galaxzee

    WWIL lines up Rs 2 billion debt, rebrands digital cable as Galaxzee

    MUMBAI: Zee Network’s Wire & Wireless India Ltd. (WWIL) is in the process of lining up a debt of Rs 2 billion for funding its digital initiatives and acquisition of cable operators.

    “We have already got Rs 500 million from Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation (IDFC). We are already in the process of tieing up a debt of Rs 2 billion,” WWIL CEO Jagjit Singh Kohli tells Indiantelevision.com.

    The company plans to invest Rs 7.40 billion over two years and Rs 8.50 billion within five years. “The debt to equity ratio will be firmed up once we know the price it quotes after getting listed in the exchange by February-March 2007. That in a way will determine how much debt component we will require to raise,” Kohli says.

    The company is in talks with strategic and financial investors but conclusive agreement will take place only after the listing. “We are not necessarily looking at a strategic investor. We want somebody who will give us the maximum valuation,” Kohli says.

    WWIL, the de-merged entity of Zee Telefilms’ cable TV business, has set an ambitious target of ramping up its direct subsciber base to 9.6 million within five years. “We expect 7.6 million to receive digital cable. Our aim is to have 4.4 million through our own digital cable service and an additional 3.2 million through our Headend-In-The-Sky (HITS) platform. We will have two million through analogue acquisitions,” says Kohli.

    WWIL claims to have added 250,000 subscribers in recent months through aggressive acquisitions. The multi-system operator (MSO) has also expanded operations from 35 to 43 cities. “We plan to be in 66 cities in three years,” Kohli says.

    WWIL will deploy several models of set-top boxes (STBs) aimed at various subscribers. Apart from the basic box, it plans to introduce a STB which will enable internet facilities on TV. “Customers can enjoy interactive games and online share trading through this. We are looking at a monthly fee of Rs 70 for internet and Rs 75-100 for movie-on-demand. Subscribers will have to pay Rs 1499 as deposit and Rs 45 as monthly rent. We haven’t, though, arrived at the final pricing. We plan to introduce these boxes after two months,” says Kohli.

    The basic STB is available on a refundable deposit of Rs 250 and rent of Rs 45 per month or a refundable deposit of Rs 999 with a monthly rent of Rs 30.

    WWIL will also deploy a STB through which it can offer VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) sometime in April, according to Kohli. The MSO is also poised to offer HITS which will enable it to tap cable operators at a national level even in places where WWIL has no presence, he adds.

    GalaxZee will be the brand under which WWIL will offer its digital cable service. “We have commissioned a digital headend two days back at Worli. We will be in the Cas (conditional access system) notified area of south Mumbai and several operators from rival MSOs are joining us,” Kohli says.

  • StarHub spices up as Fashion TV hits the runway

    StarHub spices up as Fashion TV hits the runway

    MUMBAI: Singaporean pay-TV operator, StarHub will launch Fashion TV – the international channel dedicated to fashion, beauty and style – on StarHub Digital Cable. The channel will make its debut on 13 November 2006.

    The info-communication company had recently launched a slew of new channels on its digital platform, including Star Chinese Channel, Vihay TV, Sky News, Channel [V] International, Foxcrime, Boomerang and National Geographic Wild.

    Fashion TV will be made available on the Digital-only Add-on Tier, and customers with a digital or DVR set-top box will be able to enjoy Fashion TV for a monthly subscription of $8 ($8.40 with GST), which includes the complimentary use of their first digital set-top box.

    StarHub VP cable TV services Patrick Lim says, “The customers we serve have a diverse spectrum of interests, and we aim to meet the needs and desires of all of them by offering a more comprehensive range of channels. This is certainly something local consumers can continue to expect from us.

    “While there are many excellent fashion publications available in Singapore, we believe that a market exists for a global fashion channel that combines music and stunning visuals to offer viewers the ultimate fashion experience. Fashion TV brings the ritz, glamour and excitement of fashion shows ‘live’ to audiences.”

    Fashion TV CEO and president Michel Adam Lisowski says, “As the definitive fashion channel, Fashion TV has been very well received in Asia, and we are confident that the refreshing, uniquely sophisticated content on the channel will not only win over keen fashion buffs, but also the general Singapore audience who appreciates beauty and style.”

    Fashion TV is the fashionista’s ticket to all the hottest fashion events around the globe. From the catwalks of New York, Paris, Milan and London, to glamourous red carpet events – Fashion TV is there on the front lines, poised to present up-to-the-minute news on every aspect of the fashion industry.

    Shows like Fashion Week and Fashion Event deliver the world of international fashion home to viewers, while Midnight Hot – one of the most popular segments on Fashion TV, serves up a visual feast for viewers at midnight, as the world’s top supermodels parade in the season’s trendiest lingerie and bikini outfits.

    Fashion TV also celebrates the personalities who make it all happen in the cutting-edge world of fashion. The designers and photographers featurettes give viewers an in-depth look at the creative process behind the work of designers, stylists and photographers who inspire the latest trends, while “First Face” and “F People” give the low down on the lifestyles of models and celebrities who dictate what’s in and what’s not in the fickle fashion scene.

    Fashion TV also has the latest tips and fashion finds – all that the fashion and beauty fan needs to hit the streets. Viewers will receive expert tips to revamp their wardrobe and makeup via programmes like Hair and Make-up, Now in Stores and Tendances. Hair and Make-up reveals the beauty secrets behind the most dazzling hairstyles and makeup; Now in Stores highlight one’s shopping spree must-haves; while Tendances showcases the season’s most coveted accessories.

    The channel’s Fashion and Film and Fashion and Music programmes take viewers behind-the-scenes of the latest films and music videos, and give them an exclusive glimpse of the elaborate makeup, styling and costume designing that takes place on the set of upcoming movies and music videos.

    This month Fashion TV profiles acclaimed designer, Roberto Cavalli, who started with humble beginnings in the late 60’s when he created his own fashion line inspired by art made from patchwork of different fabrics. He had his first taste of fame in the mid-90’s when his new line of clothing drew a celebrity clientele that included Madonna and Kate Moss. Cavalli was chosen as the favorite menswear label in Florence in 2002, and Cavalli was picked by Fashion Group International as Designer of the Year. Check out Cavalli’s latest inspirations on Fashion TV this November.

    Come December, Fashion TV will present the latest spring/summer 2007 fashion looks ‘live’ from shows in all the fashion capitals around the world. Book a spot next to the catwalk by tuning in to Fashion TV!

    Viewers can refer to the On-screen TV Guide or StarHub’s Online Programme Guide at www.starhub.com/cabletv for the schedule of the programmes on Fashion TV, and customers can call 1630 or 1633 to subscribe to the channel from 13 November 2006 onwards.

  • Catvision undergoes restructuring

    Catvision undergoes restructuring

    MUMBAI: Catvision, a provider of cable TV and broadband networking products and services to the cable television and hospitality industry, has initiated a restructuring of its operations into two main divisions: cable television equipment (CATV) and interactive television systems (ITV).

    The two businesses of the company, namely sales of cable television equipment and sales of interactive television systems, are expected to grow with the implementation of the conditional access system (CAS). The CATV division develops manufactures and markets networking equipment used in cable television system wherein the major client base is cable operators.

    In the cable television sphere, the competition from direct-to-home (DTH) is expected to trigger digitalization of cable networks in India. It is expected to provide a huge hardware opportunity since this would require large scale upgradation of all existing networks. This in turn would provide a business opportunity for the company.

    According to a media market analyst, “In case the cable distribution business becomes more organised with the implementation of CAS, the fortunes of the company will turn.” DTH itself is set to create a massive market for dishes, set top boxes and IF distribution system (for multi-dwelling units), all markets the company can address.

    The government’s intention to implement of CAS in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata by 1 January 2007 and also the aggressive launch of DTH services by Dish TV and Tata-Sky, has for the first time provided a serious competitive threat to cable operators. These developments are likely to transform the cable television landscape. The only way forward for cable operators is to digitalize their networks and professionalise their services. Only then they will be in a position to compete with DTH, avers the analyst.

    In the US, cable still maintains 80 per cent of the market share. If digitization were to happen – and there is every reason to believe it will – it will throw up an enormous market for digital cable hardware. In addition, manufactures of cable television equipment are equipped to manufacture DTH products since they are technically similar.

    To address these above business opportunities Catvision has set up a manufacturing facility at Dehra Dun in Uttar Pradesh for digital cable and DTH products and to expand its marketing operations in ITV and CCTV.

    The company has also forayed into security systems, starting with high-end digital CCTV systems targeted at premium hotels and shopping malls, which is driven by the heightened security risk perceived by public institutions from terrorist threat.

    The ITV division installs, operates and maintains cable satellite television and interactive television systems. Major customers are premium hotels in India and the Middle East (where the company operates through distributors).

    US based KoolConnect Technologies, a supplier for in-room entertainment solutions recently picked up a small stake in Catvision through a preferential allotment.

    The tie-up will enable Catvision to offer services like Video On Demand entertainment and information systems, high-speed internet access, virtual concierge services, which has become standard in premium hotels the world over. Interestingly, the company has secured a contract with the Hyatt group of hotels to provide multimedia interactive products and services.
    The company has also joined hands with a UK based firm Dedicated Micros, worldwide provider for CCTV surveillance applications and will be offering their systems in India. With this tie-up, the company believes it can address another emerging segment — shopping malls, which also have concerns of security.

  • China plans nationwide launch of digital cable

    China plans nationwide launch of digital cable

    MUMBAI: China is planning to launch digital cable television across the country this year. The country had tested the switch from analogue to digital through a three-year pilot programme and the positive result has inspired the government to go ahead with the expansion plan.

    The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television administration vice director Zhang Gaitao said at a national conference on cable TV that the right time had come for China to popularize digital cable TV, as the country now has the technology and hardware following the three-year trial program.

    Reportedly, the pilot program has been testing the switch from analog cable television to digital cable television in 49 areas since 2003. The digital switch has already taken place in the cities of Qingdao, Hangzhou, Shenzhen and Mianyang and now the process has moved to municipalities including Shanghai, Tianjin, Guangdong and Guangxi.

    China has more than 120 pay television channels licensed by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, with over one million digital cable TV users.

  • In the brave new digital world, content could really be king

    In the brave new digital world, content could really be king

    “If content is King and distribution is God, then God save the King!” That was Prasar Bharati CEO KS Sarma speaking at a recent industry seminar.

    In these times of increasing channel influx onto already overloaded analogue cable systems, the distribution God is certainly making the content king do the merry carriage dance. Reminds one of the ever-worsening infrastructural mess that is Mumbai actually, where people are paying more and more for less and worse but with a big difference. Mumbai’s is a story that is looking more hopeless by the day, while in this case there is much optimism about the future.

    True, for the short to medium term, it will be the distribution God in whose hands will lie the fate of the content King. But once the dust has settled on all of this and the new platforms like digital cable, DTH, IPTV and mobile TV have reached critical mass, then it will be content that will hold sway, and how.

    True, for the short to medium term, it will be the distribution God in whose hands will lie the fate of the content King
    _____****_____

    Disney’s ABC network is already pointing one of the ways forward with its new online service of free programming. As part of a two-month-long experiment, Disney-ABC Television Group will be offering ad-supported, full-length episodes of four ABC primetime series online at www.abc.go.com.

    What’s the logic working here? Is ABC getting Get ‘Desperate’ and ‘Lost’ as regards its online strategy. Not at all. It all makes sense if we keep in mind that if there is one place where the dominant culture is to access content for free, it is the Web.

    So if ABC is trying to transpose the “traditional advertising driven network model” onto the Web there is already an inbuilt advantage over television. It is that while the whole TiVo, time-shifting, DVR mentality is now carrying over to the Web, the consumer cannot zap out the ads. And since many of the ads will be interactive, advertisers will be guaranteed even greater value.

    The content creators that stay ahead of the curve and the distribution platform providers most alive to the challenges and opportunities that the digital world offers will be the ones who will reap the benefits
    _____****_____

    Closer to home, companies like Reliance and Airtel expect to start IPTV services by the end of this year. And for a basic package they are promising rates as cheap as your current cable TV charges. No one is trying to say there won’t be teething problems (and knowing the ground realities here, these would probably be pretty severe). In India the biggest problem is going to be unbundling of the so called last mile, which basically means that incumbent operators like BSNL or MTNL should allow other operators to use their copper wires.

    With the imminent arrival of Tata-Sky DTH, Zee’s Dish TV ramping up and the big telecom players aggressively pushing ahead with IPTV and mobile TV, the value of quality content can only go up. We see some sort of shakeout — both on the content as well as the technology side by 2008.

    In the meanwhile, the content creators that stay ahead of the curve and the distribution platform providers most alive to the challenges and opportunities that the digital world offers will be the ones who will reap the benefits.

    There could well be a lesson in this for the cable fraternity too. Market forces could soon make the whole CAS debate irrelevant and the MSOs may well end up “missing the addressability bus”.

    Maybe MSOs should instead be focussing their efforts on attractively packaging and marketing CAS to their direct points to begin with and concurrently convincing their franchisees of the need to get CAS going, government or no government.

    The cable fraternity has a huge first mover advantage vis-?-vis pushing addressability because they own the last mile. Maybe they should as aggressively be chasing market-driven addressability as they are the mandating of CAS. A twin strategy would better cover their bases one would think.

    As for the content game, to quote John Hendricks, chairman of Discovery Communications Inc, from a recent report: “Newly empowered TV consumers will drive networks to improve their offerings, putting a ‘great squeeze’ on ‘marginal quality content’. They’re in control now.”

    Not in India, they’re not. But they will be. Of that nobody need have any doubt.

  • Hathway launches digital cable in Hyderabad

    Hathway launches digital cable in Hyderabad

    MUMBAI: Even as the government is assimilating views of the various industry stakeholders on how to roll out conditional access system (CAS) smoothly, multi-system operators (MSOs) are busy plotting expansion of their digital cable TV service.

    Hathway Cable & Datacom today announced the launch of its digital cable in Hyderabad. The MSO has already rolled out its digital services in Chennai, Mumbai, New Delhi, Pune and Bangalore.

    Digital cable TV services are offered to the customer through a remote controlled digital device, which will be accompanied by a fully functional sleek smart card.

    “The advantages of the digital set-top boxes (s) is that the consumer does not have to pay extra money in their monthly cable TV bill but in turn can enjoy over 150 digital channels. The device costs over Rs. 2500,” Hathway said in a release.

  • EuroNews launches on digital cable in Mexico

    EuroNews launches on digital cable in Mexico

    MUMBAI: EuroNews has launched on digital cable in Mexico by Cablevision and has appointed Eurochannel as its exclusive representative for South America. As a result of this partnership, 100,000 subscribers can now watch EuroNews in Spanish, English and French since 1 March 2006.

    Eurochannel’s mission will be to extend the distribution network of the multi language news channel all across the continent via cable, satellite and all new media platforms.

    Based in Miami, USA, Eurochannel distributes a cable TV programming service for pay TV Systems in South America and is released in 25 countries in Latin America. More than six million homes receive Eurochannel and it is a part of the 30 most popular thematic channels available.

    EuroNews president Philippe Cayla said, “EuroNews is the most watched and widely distributed international news channel in Europe. As well as North America, we plan to develop the channel’s distribution in South America. Eurochannel’s in depth market knowledge will be a key element in the implementation of our strategic plans for distribution in these dynamic markets. EuroNews broadcasts in seven languages including the two main languages of South America, Spanish and Portuguese. The channel has great potential to expand its presence on this continent and to bring a new perspective on international news to audiences in these territories.”

    Eurochannel chairman and CEO Gustavo Vainstein added, “We are proud to contribute towards the growth of EuroNews’ distribution in Latin America. EuroNews is eagerly anticipated in Latin America, because everybody in the continent is keen to have access to “the European vision of the world”. EuroNews is also a well known brand for journalist and professionals. With such a powerful mix of brand and programming we envision a rapid development of EuroNews in Latin America.”