ITV

Tag: digitisation

  • Digitisation at one-third of the investments by MSOs, claims JAINHITS

    Digitisation at one-third of the investments by MSOs, claims JAINHITS

    NEW DELHI: A campaign “Cable ka Shahenshah, DTH ka Baap” has been launched by JAINHITS, India’s only HITS based Direct to Network (DTN) service, relating to quality of services and its ability to deliver digitised content across terrains, anywhere in India.

     

    JAINHITS technology in partnership with Motorola (now ARRIS) and IntelSat offers a unique proposition to the LCOs (local cable operators) of an overnight plug and play digitisation solution that comes for an investment as low as Rs 4.99 lakh only. This makes them fulfill Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) guideline requirements of All India digitisation by 31 December 2014.

     

    The HITS platform claims that if the 6,000 odd MSOs were to digitise their networks, they would require an investment of up to Rs 3 crores per MSO, thereby costing approximately Rs 18,000 crores as mere investments. JAINHITS on the other hand can provide direct services to over 60,000 LCOs spread across India with average investment of only Rs. 10 lakh per operator, thereby digitising the country for just Rs 6,000 crore, which is one-third of the investment required by MSOs. Thus, the massive saving of Rs. 12,000 crore is being passed on to the customers by providing cheaper services with enhanced quality viewing.

     

    Moreover, JAINHITS “Go Digital” entry scheme strategy will help LCOs to increase their subscriber base manifold in a short span of time. Not only this, through this partnership model LCO will witness significant increase in their customers ARPUs which are likely to double in 2014-15 with broadband and other VAS product/service roll outs. All this put together will help JAINHITS LCO partners enhance their business and earnings.

     

    With a mere investment of Rs 4.99 Lakh, an LCO will get all the necessary help in terms of technology, content and Set Top Boxes that will enable them to operate independently. JAINHITS offers LCO’s new product/ service roadmaps to address the ever- evolving market and customer needs along with the full technology solution roadmap for cable TV network upgradation. In addition, LCO’s also receive all necessary training on technical, legal, product, consumer satisfaction, compliance aspects etc. which facilitates them to offer standardised services.

     

    JAINHITS is the only platform in the country, offering complete empowerment and ownership to even the smallest LCO by making him a Leader and Cable Owner and an ISO (Independent Service Operator).

     

    JAINHITS national sales head Jeet Narayan Singh said, “In our endeavor to enable 60,000 small and medium operators to become MSOs and go digital independently, we are offering end to end single window solutions. JAINHITS offerings are fully DAS compliant with wider choice of channels that are cost effective and fastest way to offer Digital Cable services in any part of India. Our Broadband offering gives additional edge to ISOs and helps them to increase their revenues.”

     

    Through this engagement, JAINHITS provides subscriber management system (SMS), which empowers LCOs to manage his own customer base and offer, customized packs to its subscribers. In addition to this, JAINHITS LCO will be able to manage billing and create his own subscriber records as required by regulators. The SMS also provides an inventory management system and MIS system which enables the LCO to operate his business, generate reports and manage taxation etc.

  • Ravi Mansukhani to handle content business for IMCL associate Indusind Entertainment

    Ravi Mansukhani to handle content business for IMCL associate Indusind Entertainment

    MUMBAI:  For quite a while now, multi-system operator (MSO) IndusInd Media and Communications Limited (IMCL) has been focused on distribution though it started out with local content. However, the MSO has decided to revisit its core strength, with none other than former MD Ravi Mansukhani taking up the gauntlet.

     

    Ever since Ravi stepped down from his position in February, making way for Tony D’Silva, speculation has been rife about his next move. In the midst of all this, indiantelevision.com found out that he will be returning to the fold, albeit in a new role. “Digitisation has new content challenges and that content needs to be segmented,” Hinduja group sources say.  “He has played a crucial role in IMCL in the last decade, but prior to that, he was also in charge of content. So, he has experience in different spheres. Now, it is up to the promoters to utilize his services.”

     

    The Hinduja Group is looking at developing content as a major international vertical.

     

    Ravi meanwhile said, “Yes, I will be taking up the role. But nothing is finalized yet. The exact role still needs to be discussed,” before clarifying that there would be clarity on his new job profile only after a couple of more meetings.

     

    The Hinduja Media group , according to industry sources, is not only interested in localised content but also animation and some of this would be sourced from Indusind Entertainment.  If they are to be believed, Ravi may be involved with content related to animation and might be working closely with Ambika Hinduja. Further, the company may also be looking at setting up an animation facility with Ravi working on it.

     

    With the Hinduja group acquiring the license for its Headend In The Sky (HITS) project, and phase III and phase IV to be tapped by both the MSO and the HITS platform, will foraying into content help? “Content can do well, only if the distribution does,” said a source.

  • “Phase III and IV should be broken into three phases”: Ashok Mansukhani

    “Phase III and IV should be broken into three phases”: Ashok Mansukhani

    Having served as Indian Revenue Service Officer in the income tax department for 22 years, Ashok Mansukhani’s last government posting was as Doordarshan deputy director general (1992-96), during which DD metamorphosed from being a single channel broadcaster to a multilingual and multichannel regional entity reaching over 100 million homes in the country.

     

    Mansukhani’s association with the cable TV industry started in 1996 when he joined IndusInd Media and Communications Limited (IMCL), the media wing of Hinduja Ventures Limited (HVL), as director. Over the years, he became executive director and then president of Hinduja TMT before taking on the mantle of whole-time director of HVL.

     

    In his present capacity, Mansukhani is preparing IMCL for a future that is essentially about pay-per-view, video-on-demand and triple-play services, even as his contemporaries grapple with the initial phase of digitization. With his vision and experience, Mansukhani has also been appointed president of the MSO Alliance.

     

    In a t?te-?-t?te with indiantelevision.com’s Seema Singh, Mansukhani, who is just back from a week-long holiday, talks about the way the industry is moving in terms of digitisation, plans for IMCL, and the growing need for communication among its various stakeholders.

     

    Excerpts:

     

    IMCL underwent huge reshuffling a couple of months back. What was the reason behind it?

     

    There is a new digital era that has come in and the board and promoters may have felt that it would be good to bring in fresh talent, to get professionalism in the analogue regime as we transit to the digital era. And what has really been done is that a new team has been brought in that not only understands media but will be able to carry the media assets of the Hinduja group in the next 10 years. So, it is from that point of view that changes may have been made.

     

    The company recently got the licence for taking forward its Headend In The Sky (HITS) project. How far has the work progressed?

     

    Every possible step will be taken to meet the December 2014 deadline. There are certain permissions which are statutory in nature and which need to be taken. There could be perhaps a three to four week lag factor because of elections. But post 15 May, the process will get fast forwarded and personally, I would like to see it operational before the end of the year.

     

    Will HITS play a major role in phase III and IV markets? How will IMCL cope with these phases?

     

    Yes it will, because it is meant to really take advantage of the fact that in phase III and IV, there are hardly any MSOs that operate. But there are 6,000 independent operators and 60,000 LCOs and a majority of them are in phase III and IV. Now they will find it tough to meet digital regulations, quality of service norms, subscriber management system, conditional access systems and sourcing of STBs.

     

    It is a tough task for a small guy, but if he continues to be the proprietor of his network and is helped by a HITS platform to be able to supply high quality 300-500 channels in MPEG 4 capacity, then surely it will cause excitement. To add to it, it will be a prepaid model, having complete transparency.

     

    Yes, HITS will play a major role, but that doesn’t mean that Indigital will be left behind. From the group’s perspective, both will be developed and both are being developed.

     

    Incable exists in phase III, but not in phase IV. For phase III, there are already specific cities for which plans are being drawn up. Incable is also pioneering the concept of digital feeds, which is fibre optic based feeds. Because it may not make sense in a city like Udaipur to put up a digital headend of Rs 10 crore, but it may make sense to take a city like Bhopal and set up a headend and the rest of the state can well be served by fibre optic feed, because then the cost of transmission goes down.

     

    Incable anyways has thousands of kilometres of installed fibre optics of its own, which many others do not have. So we have the capacity and we will now utilize that. Even in phase II, we have digital feeds running through fibre optics. There have been regulatory issues like broadcasters having a different view, but our say to broadcasters is that in digitisation when every box is accounted for and every customer is paid for, then surely the mode by which we transmit should not be the problem of the broadcaster, but should be left to the MSO to work out the best cost effective model.

     

    Digitisation means that you can use a mix of both. Currently, fibre in India is to the colony gate and in the time to come, it will be to home and when that happens, there will be quadra-play. We will have cable telephony as well coming in, but these are far away, at least 3-4 years away.

     

     Will we see investments in IMCL as well by the group?

     

    IMCL is currently being funded by HVL through a preferential share capital based on its requirements for phase III and consolidation of phase II. IMCL will not suffer from shortage of money. That’s not the issue. The issue is that IMCL has to cope with change and with that change, whatever support is needed is available.

     

    SitiCable has launched local cable TV channels. Is IMCL treading that path? If you have to launch a channel, what kind of content will you have?

     

    We are the pioneers as far as local content is concerned. In Mumbai for example, we had In Mumbai channel which we started way back in 1995-96. It was operational for a couple of years and was very popular. It had a mix of news, local events, interviews and it was more of a city-specific channel. At one stage, almost every city that Incable was operating in had a local channel and even today there are local channels, but it has typically not been run by the company in the recent past, but has been run by people who had perhaps bought time on the channel or have agreed to share a part of their advertising revenue.

     

    So basically, they source the content and not the company, since our focus had shifted more on distribution. But today, with a fat distribution pipe being created and video on demand on the way, with two-way to happen with broadband, localization of content, in my view, has a strong public demand.

     

    It also helps in stickiness in terms of vast competition in MSOs and DTH. So at one stage, when In Mumbai was part of Incable, it was a reason that people stayed with us, because they wanted to watch it. Also we had In News which ran in five languages.

     

    Localisation, not on the Siticable model, but perhaps reviving the In Mumbai model, may take place.

     

    While news and sports are important, I feel localized content, like local events, regional events, festivals and community events, have been neglected. The vast progress that we have seen internationally is more of a mom and pop show in India.

     

    This area can undergo an upgrade, both in terms of quality and quantity. It is an interesting area to look at. Animation is again an interesting area that can be tapped.

     

    Content can be self generated, syndicated or can be brought in and then re-created. What we have seen recently is that there is enough competition in every sphere of television and yet there is scope. Therefore, our sister company in entertainment will look at it and take advantage. There are 30 million cable TV homes with boxes, another 100 million to follow. 2014 is an ambitious year. Even if we can achieve 50 per cent of this, there will be 80-90 million cable TV homes to tap. 24 hours of programming is needed. It is not easy to really supply that content, so perhaps it’s easier to create content or to source it and then re-purpose it for your own audience.

     

    The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) recently came out with its regulation on tariff rise in non DAS areas. How does it impact the business of MSOs?

     

    This simply means that the cost of television has gone up by 27 per cent. When the consultation had started, I had personally taken it up with TRAI and told them that the price shock, if it has to be given, must be in phases. It was expected and long due and in the long run, as long as packaging is sensibly done, a la carte channels are offered, it will benefit all the stakeholders.

     

    In the beginning, customers will be hit by the price shock, but after that, they will adjust.

     

    Time has come for MSOs to discipline themselves. The MSO today has to take a stand that it doesn’t make sense for a non-paying or a zero paying LCO to have the signal.

     

    Every change is resisted initially, but once it happens, things fall into place.  There is a need for more communication in the industry.

     

     When do you see gross billing starting in Mumbai for phase I? By when will digitisation of 38 cities in phase II be completed?

     

    There have been discussions and there are amendments in the entertainment tax acts, but the notification has not been issued as yet by the entertainment tax authorities. According to me, in whichever way gross billing has to happen, it will take a couple of weeks more.

     

    The 38 cities that comprise phase II should be completed by 30 June.

     

    When do we see packaging of channels taking place in phase I and II cities? Why is it taking so long? What kind of packages can one expect?

     

    The initial task of installing 30 million STBs was tough. Today, attention has shifted to packaging which will also be a function of the prices at which packages can be obtained from the broadcaster. There is disaggregation that will happen soon, which will lead to re-pricing of packages, possibly from July 1.

     

    Packaging has to be a joint exercise of broadcasters and MSOs. Currently, it is not. So that’s another aspect which needs to be kept in mind that at the end of the day, it is the product of the broadcaster and the distribution is ours.

     

    What if packaging teams were to be set up between MSO Alliance and IBF as an example? They could then get together and do a customer research and find out who wants to do what.

     

    New models for packaging need to come in. Why should I pay ‘X’ amount for sports throughout the year, when during the year, there will be only three times that we watch Sports channels,. So can’t we have variable pricing, say during the world cup?

     

    The second phase of digitisation will happen when the market will mature. And all this will happen in 2014-15 and 2016.

     

    DTH today has a much better hold on packaging, than the MSOs. Regional packages need great attention and especially for national MSOs. The need of a customer in Bengaluru is different from that of a customer from Gujarat. Packaging requires research and customer connect. The customer is being currently taken for granted and they do not like it.

     

    We still need to move to the CPS model and once that happens, the MSO can collect the money and pay the broadcaster. There are people who are still working with an analogue mindset in the digital era.

     

    One way is to sell the channels on an a la carte, the other way is to shrink the package and the third is to say that I will give you growth, but cannot give the growth you demand which has no relation with the actual size of my network.

     

    Why is there resistance from broadcasters, every time a new packaging model is suggested? 

     

    When status quo is disturbed, things change. Also when a particular channel is not available in a package offered to most, then the broadcaster may lose the advertisement support. But in time to come, we will move to a 50:50 regime, in subscription and advertisement.

     

    What is the impact of the TRAI regulation on disaggregation on MSOs?

     

    The regulation has given a great level playing field for independent MSOs like IMCL. So far, there has been clear favoritism towards MSOs who are owned by broadcasters and therefore, independent MSOs have had tough times or litigation times and that has taken away from further move to say digitisation. This is a welcome move and yet, sufficient safeguards have been given to the broadcasters. They have got 27 per cent tariff hike. The order should be accepted in the spirit. It is to increase digitisation and not to harm anyone.

     

    Are you looking at enhancing broadband services, like Hathway Cable & Datacom did recently?

     

    We have broadband services and that will be a key focus area in the years to come and what I personally look forward to is: pay per view, video on demand and triple play services. But these will take time. These services will be possible more in the prepaid era.

     

    We always have been operating broadband as we have the ISP licence.

     

    We don’t want to ape Hathway. They have their own focus point, we have ours. We want to develop digital best practices, keeping in mind what the customers want.

     

    How would you look at phase III and IV markets? Will Incable compete with HITS in these areas?

     

    It will be in phases. We will first concentrate on phase III, where we already have a reach, so we will see which cities to cover there. Then we have to decide which cities will be covered by the HITS platform. Which cities will have headend and which will have fibres. These are things that the IMCL management is working on.

     

    No, the two will not compete with each other, as the markets will be different. There could be synergies in best practices but not in market.

     

     Should phase III and phase IV of digitisation be taken at the same time? Do you think it can be completed within the deadline of December 2014?

     

    My view is phase III and IV should be broken into three phases. If it took two phases to do 30 million homes, how can one expect 100 million homes to be done in two phases? The statistics don’t work and then currently, there is no movement in phase III.

     

    While TRAI gave a start date for implementing digitisation, there is no need to give an end date. The regulator should incentivise those who digitise faster. Tax holiday or tax benefit or a better rate in terms of 42 per cent guideline of the Supreme Court, would work better than giving deadlines.

     

    Phase III and IV is huge and untapped. The industry needs to be recognised as a small industry. Also there is a need for bank financing, formation of cable cooperatives and associate ventures. This is the reason that IMCL has pioneered joint ventures which exist is smaller towns and cities.

     

     

    Dish TV launched its new Zing service in February; does it bother the MSOs in any way?

     

    90 per cent of cable TV homes in phase I and II remained with MSOs. While the customers may have switched MSOs, they largely stayed with being a cable TV home. And this, when everyone thought that DTH players will have a smooth walk in these cities. DTH is an expensive proposition.

     

    If DTH players think of launching something which is less expensive, it can lead to cannibalizing DTH itself and not necessarily an MSO. The MSO already has a sunken asset. We are just looking at stickiness of consumers and return on investment. Such moves will not affect MSOs.

     

    Post elections, there can be a regulation on the cable TV monopoly. Do you think that will impact MSOs?

     

    It may affect the regional MSOs, but not the national ones. These are proposals, but what comes out in the fine print will finally determine our way to look at it. I expect lighter facilitative and not restrictive regulations and I think TRAI is moving towards that.

     

    What are the biggest challenges for you today?

     

    The ability to harness the latest technology with the fastest way in which you can bring in specialty content at the cheapest possible cost in such a way that every member of the value chain is made happy with the money he retains after all taxes are paid is the real business plan challenge that industry needs to work on and which we are also working on. Ultimately, we should be able to run a profitable business.

     

    Do you see the ARPUs going up? If so, by how much, and when?

     

    The ARPUS will go up by 20 per cent in the next 12 months.

  • Star Sports, Hathway lock horns

    Star Sports, Hathway lock horns

    MUMBAI:  Two hard-to-miss campaigns have been doing the rounds of television, radio and digital media lately.

     

    One, launched by sports broadcaster Star Sports, hits out at multi-system operator (MSO) Hathway for not providing Star Sports channels to subscribers, apart from suggesting that subscribers move to other MSOs or a DTH platform.

     

    The other, launched by Hathway, informs viewers to subscribe to Star Sports channels as part of the MSO’s ‘Sports Package’ or on a la carte basis.

     

    Subscribers may be confused but what is obvious is that Star India and the MSO, once close partners, seem to be no longer on the same page and are scrapping with each other like a couple after a bitter parting. And that too in the public eye.

     

    But both deny that they are hitting out at each other; they say they are just protecting their individual interests.

     

    “We noticed that several subscribers didn’t even know how to subscribe to our channels and were therefore under the impression that the channels had been switched off at our end. We were thus compelled to issue an advertisement in mainline newspapers to assist our viewers and clear all misgivings so that consumers could explore their options to avail our channels,” explains the Star Sports spokesperson.

     

    “We would like to highlight that we have received complaints that many consumers are facing lot of difficulties in getting our channels activated. There are newspaper reports talking about subscribers facing challenges in availing signals from Hathway.”

     

    On his part, Hathway Cable & Datacom CEO Jagdish Kumar says, “We had to launch the campaign because of the wrong information that was being spread against us. We have not pulled off Star Sports channels. We have simply removed them from our premium package and are now giving them to subscribers either a la carte or through our Sports package.”

     

    Didn’t Star Sports spark off Hathway’s move by raising the sticker price of its channels? “We have not increased the price of our channels.  The channel pricing is regulated by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and no broadcaster can unilaterally increase the channel price,” the spokesperson shoots back.

     

    However, unconfirmed reports are that Star Sports asked Hathway to pay for a higher number of subscribers this year – when its contract came up for renewal –  if it wanted  the channels to be placed in any of its packages. Something which most broadcasters are resorting to with the onset of greater transparency following the wider spread of set top boxes in subscriber homes.

     

    This was something which Hathway was not open to hence it yanked Star Sports channels from its existing pack and begin charging separately for them.

     

    “I don’t understand why it is being made out as such a big issue? Isn’t digitisation about this? We are giving the consumer the power to choose. Any consumer who wants the sports channels can get them either a la carte or they can subscribe to our sports pack,” Pillai maintains.

     

    The Star Sports spokesperson however insists that the move has affected Hathway consumers adversely. “They are today worse off than before as they have to now pay more to Hathway for availing the same set of channels, including the Star Sports Channels,” he empasises.

     

    Pillai contradicts this saying, “Who says we are charging more? We have instead reduced the package price for consumers, who have opted for a la carte channels.”

     

    He claims that the MSO has reduced the price of its premium package by Rs 5 and is offering Star Sports 1, 2, 3 and 4 at Rs 17.25 per month. Consumers opting for these channels would have to subscribe for a period of three months, he adds. Else, the channels are available as part of its Sports Pack with Neo Sports at the same price and consumers could subscribe to that for a period of one month.

     

    The Star Sports spokesperson then accuses Hathway of not giving prior and adequate notice to its consumers before making these changes to its package composition and “discontinuing the exhibition of Star Sports channels”.

     

    “We have received information that Hathway did not protect those who had subscribed to the packages containing the Star Sports channels in the last six months nor did it protect those who had paid for the same on a yearly basis, thereby breaching its obligations under the relevant regulations. We have been inundated with enquiries from agitated and confused consumers of Hathway, who saw their favourite sports channels suddenly going off  their TV screens, thereby missing out on quality sporting action on our channels,” alleges the spokesperson.

     

    Pillai has a quick riposte to this allegation. Says he:  “Who says we had not given any prior notice? We had sent out a public notice 20 days back informing our subscribers of our plan. In fact, we were also running scrolls on the TV screen, informing them of the same.”

     

    So, can consumers expect some kind of resolution soon? “We have always acted in the spirit of cooperation. As a result, our content is widely available across cable TV and DTH platforms,” highlights the Star Sports spokesperson. “Having said that, we cannot accept that our viewers are taken for granted. We also expect distribution platforms to behave responsibly as both broadcasters and distributors owe a minimum quality of service to our viewers as provided for in the regulations framed by TRAI.”

     

    Pillai reveals that his company is just following market demands, adding that  “we are examining all options. The case had come up for hearing in TDSAT, where the tribunal had disposed-off the petition of Star Sports. I don’t see a reason for the sports broadcaster’s reaction. We are just complying with what digitisation was meant for.”

  • Siti Cable promoters pump in Rs 102.75 crore

    Siti Cable promoters pump in Rs 102.75 crore

    MUMBAI: India’s leading multi system operator (MSO) Siti Cable today announced to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) that it had received an injection of Rs 102.75 crore from its promoters. This is the second tranche after the Rs 81 crore its promoters had pumped in March 2013.

     

    The announcement to the BSE states that “as per the terms of the 16.2 crore warrants issued on 19 March 2013 on preferential basis the allotment committee of the board of directors has upon receipt of the balance of 75 per cent consideration aggregating to Rs 102.75 crore approved allotment of 6.85 crore equity shares upon conversion of equal number of warrants at an issue price of Rs 20 per share to the allottees – Essel Media Ventures and Essel International.”

     

    Sources within Siti Cable point out that the promoters led by Zee and Essel group chairman Subhash Chandra is extremely bullish on the MSO’s prospects post completion of cable TV digitisation  nationally.

     

    The company’s CFO Sanjay Goyal confirms to indiantelevision.com that “the company had received clearances in March 2013 to bring in Rs 324 crore from the promoters in four tranches. As part of that Rs 81 crore flowed in that month itself. Though the promoter group had until September 2014 to bring in the rest, they plan on infusing the remainder of the money before 31 March 2014 to speed up the digitisation push.”

     

    The company’s CEO VD Wadhwa had in an interview to indiantelevision.com in January 2014 said that “Phases III and IV of digitisation has a total universe of about 90 million. Of these, we are targeting 6 to 7 million homes. At a gross level, we will require an investment of Rs 1200 crore. On a net basis, we are expecting an investment to the tune of Rs 600 crore. The funding of Phase III will be largely done through warrants’ funding of Rs 243 crore, which is likely to be invested by promoters before March 2014. Balance funding requirement will be met through internal accruals and raising of further equity, as may be required.”

     

    In September 2012, when the company had announced that it was raising Rs 324 crore via warrants to promoter firms, it was reported that after completion of the entire exercise, he total promoter shareholding will rise to 73.08 per cent from 63.43 per cent and that of the public will drop to 26.92 per cent from 36.57 per cent.

     

    Also read:

    Siti Cable gets Rs 810 mn first tranche from promoters

    WWIL to raise Rs 3.24 bn via warrants to promoter firms

  • Digitisation worked wonders for TV industry, FICCI-KPMG report

    Digitisation worked wonders for TV industry, FICCI-KPMG report

    MUMBAI: The Indian media and entertainment industry grew by about 12 per cent in 2013 amid overall muted growth due to economic slowdown, but digitization of cable TV worked wonders for the television industry, according to a FICCI-KPMG report released ahead of FICCI Frames 2014.

     

    The three-day trade event for the entertainment industry will be held from 12 March, and is expected to be attended by over 2,000 Indian and 600 foreign delegates.

     

    The FICCI-KPMG report said due to the economic slowdown, advertising revenue dependent sectors such as TV and print were impacted on a large scale. The depreciation in the rupee also affected print, cable and DTH companies adversely but helped export oriented sectors such as animation and VFX to some degree. At the same time, this was countered by the impact of continued digitisation of media products and services, and growth in regional media.

     

    Digitisation was moving in the right direction, with the mandatory Digital Access System (DAS) rollout almost complete in Phase II cities. The impact was felt to the extent that carriage fees saw a reduction of 15-20 per cent overall, however the anticipated increase in ARPUs and subscription revenues for broadcasters and MSOs (Multi System Operators) is expected to be realized only over the next 2-3 years.

     

    Other key highlights in 2013 were the inclusion of LC1 (less than class I) markets in TV ratings, the 12 minute advertising cap ruling and the shift from TRP to TVT ratings.

     

    What gained was the film industry by recording a double digit growth, albeit slower than in 2012, thanks to the multiple movies scoring big at the box office collections. Approximately 90-95 per cent movie screens are now digitised in the country, with a shift in focus to tier II and III cities. Going forward, multiplex growth is expected to slow down, in line with the overall delays and future expectations for retail sector and commercial real estate development, impacting box office growth in the short term.

     

    The Print sector continued to buck the global slowdown trend. The sector grew at a CAGR of 8.5 per cent this year to reach INR 243 billion. Regional markets performed exceedingly well on the back of steady advertiser spends, state election impact and new launches. However, with the validity of IRS data called into question by the industry majors, the sector in the short term suffers from the lack of a robust measurement system, critical for decisions on media planning and allocations.

     

    The total internet user base in India grew to approximately 214 million by end of the year with almost 130 million going online using mobile devices. Mobile Internet users dominated the total internet user base capturing an overall share of 61 per cent.

     

    Digital media advertising in India grew faster than any other advertising category. Streaming and download services continued to see growth in the music industry, with the growth in mobiles, in particular smartphones, contributing significantly to increased consumption of music ‘on-the-go’. However, with the continued decline in physical sales, compounded by the significant fall in ringback tone revenues (following the backlash of TRAI guidelines issues in 2012), the sector saw an overall fall in size by 10 per cent in 2013.

     

    Going forward, digital revenues are expected to drive growth in the sector. Further, the vibrant live events sector is expected to continue its role as a catalyst for driving growth in artists’ fan-base, and public performance royalties.

     

    FICCI M&E committee chairman Uday Shankar said 2013 was a challenging year for the media and entertainment sector. He opines: “2013 has been an important year for the media and entertainment sector. It was a year of challenges and significant change. The industry dealt with a host of issues that will lay the foundation for robust growth in the years to come.”

     

    Television saw the implementation of the 10+2 advertising cap, seeding of set top boxes in DAS 1 and II phases was largely completed – setting the stage of revenue growth and expansion in genres. The film sector continued to mature on the back of multiplex expansion and a wide range of content succeeding.

     

    Radio and print continue to defy global trends and await positive regulatory intervention that will take these sectors to greater heights. I am certain that the insights and findings from this report will provide a comprehensive and useful lens for all of us in the industry.

     

    KPMG head of M&E Jehil Thakkar states: “2013 was a year in which many parts of the M&E industry paused and took stock. Focus shifted from top line growth to bottom line growth with companies focusing on operations and efficiency. Inspite of a very challenging macro environment, the industry grew 12 per cent, a far better performance than many other industries. The structural changes taking place in the industry – especially in television and digital, continued to take the industry down the path of fulfilling its potential.”

     

    This year, the report also highlights opportunities that could come from tapping international markets such as the US and Middle East, with a special feature on opportunities in South Africa and Nigeria.

     

    Going forward, there is need for continued positive regulatory intervention, such as implementation of Phase III for the radio sector. In an increasingly digitised media world, the ability to create compelling and targeted content across multiple channels, will be the bedrock for creating differentiation in a cluttered market.

  • Neo Sports decides to break away from The One Alliance

    Neo Sports decides to break away from The One Alliance

    MUMBAI: Three weeks after the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) issued its television content aggregation regulation, Neo Sports Broadcast has decided to break away from its distributor The One Alliance.

     

    A statement from the company states that the broadcaster has decided not to renew its agreement with The One Alliance that expires on 31 March. From 1 April, the sportscaster will be distributing its channels Neo Sports and Neo Prime through an in-house distribution team.

     

    When contacted by Indiantelevision.com, The One Alliance president Rajesh Kaul says, “The contract was coming to an end on 31 March and we were contemplating of not renewing the contract because they have lost all the sporting properties from the network. With MSM investing heavily on Sony Six and with IPL and FIFA, it is a formidable sports channel and so we did not want anything else in the bouquet.”

     

    Apart from Neo Sports, The One Alliance currently distributes television channels of Multi Screen Media, Discovery, Times Television Network and TV Today.

     

    Neo Sports believes that it can on its own strength build a robust relationship with cable operators, DTH operators and HITS companies. Even when its channels were being distributed by the aggregator to cable platforms, it was handling distribution through DTH on its own.

     

    According to Neo Sports, standalone channels with good content mix at affordable prices can be good and effective business cases in a digital environment.

     

    Says Neo Sports Broadcast EVP distribution platforms, Dilip Sharan, “The suggestive regulatory approach combined with digitisation clearly points that future distribution deals will be dictated by the relevant content that is made available to various audiences and the ability to work with the platforms keeping in mind the business issues and not entirely on the strength of the channels size in the bouquet, a prevalent practice in the analogue era.  Our cable distribution deal with MSMD made better commercial sense in the analogue environment.”

     

    TRAI’s regulation has barred aggregation of television channels from different broadcaster groups and allowed the aggregators six months of transition period.

     

    Neo Sports believes that there is a lot more scope to monetise from digitisation. The analogue era didn’t allow many channels due to bandwidth limitation. “The new regulation is indicative of how things are likely to pan out in the future. We were waiting for TRAI’s view on it to take this step at the opportune time,” adds Sharan.

     

    One of the major concerns of various broadcasters is that an aggregator might be bias against the smaller networks. Although Sharan doesn’t agree, he does feel it is very natural for an aggregator to give preferential treatment to its own channels.

     

    Most aggregators are aligned with several broadcasters.

     

    Will some other broadcasters also follow suit? “I won’t be surprised if others also do the same,” says Sharan.

     

    Neo Prime and Neo Sports channels are currently available on DTH platforms such as Dish TV, Videocon D2H, Airtel Digital TV, Reliance DTH and Sun Direct. The Neo channels are available on cable channels across all the leading networks.

  • MSO Alliance condemns attack on Hathway senior executive

    MSO Alliance condemns attack on Hathway senior executive

    MUMBAI: The MSO Alliance comprising Hathway Cable & Datacom, SitiCable, DEN Networks and IndusInd Media and Communication Limited (IMCL) has condemned the attack on Delhi-based senior executive of Hathway.

     

    The executive was attacked in Gurgaon on 25 February, while he was on his way home and is currently recuperating in the hospital.

     

     

    A statement issued by MSO Alliance secretary SN Sharma reads, “All national MSOs are implementing DAS as per rules and regulations defined by TRAI and are implementing the law passed by the Parliament to bring greater transparency in the entire value chain of the cable TV industry.  This is being done to enhance consumer viewing by delivering world class digital experience to them. However, there are certain persons who are trying to derail the entire process of digitisation and have even used illegitimate and criminal means to stall the process.”

     

     

    All the leading MSOs have strongly deplored and condemned the criminal and nefarious activities “and persons who have done such reprehensible act against an employee who had no fault and was simply involved in implementing the law of land,” the MSO Alliance says.

     

     

    The MSO Alliance has reiterated its commitment to DAS. “We would like to emphasise once again that such activities would not deter us in implementing the process of digitising the country and we urge the authorities to take strict action against such criminals immediately,” reads the note.

     

  • We want to be amongst the top three Indian pay TV operators: Anil Khera

    We want to be amongst the top three Indian pay TV operators: Anil Khera

    When the Dhoots of the Videocon group decided to foray into the direct to home (DTH) television business, the odds were stacked against them. Five other players had already established themselves, and the segment was already boiling over with competition. But that did not deter the Dhoot family which was keenly looking at investing in high growth emerging businesses.

     

    They charged an old hand who had spent nearly three decades with the consumer durables and electronics group in various managerial positions in sales and marketing – Anil Khera – to get the venture going under Bharat Business Channel. Launched in 2009, with Khera as CEO, Videocon d2h, is another success story for the Dhoots. 

     

    And Khera has contributed in no small measure to that success. A very desi brand builder and marketer, he is known to have his ear very close to the ground, and his eye on the consumer. Today Videocon d2h has more than 10 million subscribers and claims to be the fastest growing company in terms of net DTH additions. And Khera is looking at further accelerating that growth. 

     

    He took out some time to speak to indiantelevision.com’s Vishaka Chakrapani about the company’s stellar performance, the way ahead and the DTH industry on an overall basis.

     

    Excerpts:

     

    How has 2013 been for Videocon d2h? What are your expectations in 2014?

     

    2013 has been a tremendous year for us. We consolidated our market leadership further and maintained a 26-27 per cent market share in incremental growth. We crossed 10M subscriber base and introduced several innovative products like 1TB DVR recording facility in zapper boxes through USB etc. 

     

    We expect 2014 to be a similar year. We would also look at introducing new products and services to our customers like Anywhere TV etc.  

     

    What is good about the India DTH industry? How can it be made better?

     

    The size of Indian Pay TV market in terms of number of subscribers is unparalleled across the world. Also, it’s a completely open market structure that promotes competition by accommodating several DTH and Cable companies at the same time. However, its overly regulated and high rate of taxation is the single biggest issue. 

     

     

    What differentiates Videocon d2h from other players?

     

    The hallmark of Videocon d2h is its simplicity and execution focus in approach. Some of these can be described as:

     

    ·We constantly thrive on simplifying our offerings to customers. 

    ·Our consumer durable DNA means we have decades of insights and knowledge on customer behavior.

    ·Our entire organisation is very execution orientated constantly speaking to trade and customers.

     

    What are the value added services (VAS) that the subscribers get from d2h? How do you finalise the services for your customers?

     

    We offer the following value added services:

     

    ·Pay Per View channel bringing the best and latest movies to our customers

    ·In house VOD channels

    ·Audio music channels bringing music across 20 genres ranging from religious to romantic

    ·Audio Video channel

    ·Premium subscription channels like Star World Premiere

    ·Special customised tickers like stock market updates 24X7 across any channel 

     

    Our services are finalised on the customer’s demands, maturity of offering and our hypothesis on future potential of the service.

     

    Do you have plans to target the mobile space any time soon?

     

    We would be launching Anytime TV sometime soon in 2014.

     

    How many net customer additions did you have in 2013? Have you seen a fall in the number of subscribers?

     

    We have added arguably the largest chunk of industry net additions in 2013. We have certainly seen dramatic fall in churn rates post phase 1 and phase 2 digitisation. We expect this to further drop post phase 3 and 4 of digitisation process.

     

    How has revenue growth been in 2013? Has the revenue growth been on account of subscriber additions or rise in average revenue per user (ARPU)?

     

    2013 has seen significant growth in terms of revenue. This has been on account of:

     

    ·Subscriber base has gone up significantly from where we were at the start of the year.

    ·Customer prices have seen a 5-6 per cent increase during the year.

    ·Increase in HD is improving our revenue mix and hence overall revenue.

    ·With reduction in churn and suspension rates due to digitisation, customer realisation has improved quite a lot.

     

    Have your ARPUs grown over the years?

     

    Over the past few years, ARPU has grown at a healthy double digit rate. We expect this to continue to grow and a low double digit rate for the next three years

     

    How do you work on increasing your ARPUs?

     

    We expect ARPU to grow by a low double digit this year on account of Better HD mix; marginal price increases; and introduction of VAS offerings like Anywhere TV.

     

    Claims are that the DTH business has stayed stagnant for some time now. Your opinion?

     

    While the overall industry is growing at only 10-12 per cent, this is not necessarily true for each player. Various players are growing at rates varying from negative to high double digit rate.

     

    What is status of your IPO? Why has it not happened even after getting SEBI approval in March last year?

     

    We have had fantastic feedback from potential investors across the world on our IPO. However, given the election year, there is uncertainty about any investments in the market at this point. We are waiting for the opportune moment and investor mindset to realise the true value of our IPO.

     

    Do you believe that content aggregators are trying to push several unwanted channels along with the popular ones on DTH platforms? What is your way of dealing with the aggregators?

     

    This does happen at this point for sure.  We generally avoid putting unwanted channels.  We focus on channels only which will add value to the customer and some channels which are entering in carriage arrangement with us.

     

    Should the DTH players bring content costs down, or upselling is better as both the content owner and platform increases its revenues and thus the ARPUs?

     

    This is the moot issue today as for the past 10 years DTH industry has alone bore the brunt of broadcasters cost. We have subsidised the cable industry for far too long. With digitisation complete in Phase I and II, major markets for carriage, it’s high time broadcasters and aggregators star treating digital cable and DTH at par. They can’t continue to expect DTH to fund everyone’s P&L forever. In entire value chain DTH is the only industry where all six players are still making losses.

     

    Having said that, there is no doubt we need to continue to focus on revenue growth and subscriber growth also. We need to strike the right balance between growth and cost efficiency.

     

    Are you planning to move from a fixed-fee deal with broadcasters to per subscriber arrangement?

     

    In our view once a certain critical mass is achieved, which today almost every player has achieved, it doesn’t matter whether deals are fixed or per subscriber. There are similar robust calculations and negotiation that go behind it. 

     

    How many subscribers from phases I and II switched over from cable to Videocon d2h? What is your expectation from phsases III and IV?

     

    Close to 25-30 per cent in various Phase I markets and 30-35 per cent in various Phase II markets have shifted to DTH. Our estimate is that 26-27 per cent of that has shifted to Videocon d2h. We expect Phase III and IV to be in favor of the DTH industry.

     

    What is the vision for the company?

     

    We want to be amongst the world’s leading top 10 Pay TV operators and surely amongst the top three in the Indian market. We want to be known for our simplicity, innovation and customer centricity.

  • Den Networks reports higher revenue, lower PAT in Q3-2014

    Den Networks reports higher revenue, lower PAT in Q3-2014

    BENGALURU: Indian cable TV distribution company Den Networks Limited (Den Networks) reported 22.9 per cent consolidated revenue growth to Rs 297.24 crore in Q3-2014 as compared to the Rs 241.83 crore in Q3-2013 and a 7.5 per cent growth from Rs 276.58 crore in the immediate trailing quarter. YTD, Den Networks reported consolidated revenue of Rs 849.25 crore during nine months – 2014 which was 29 per cent more as compared to the Rs 658.54 crore during nine months (9M) – 2013. During FY 2013, Den Network’s Operating revenue was Rs 934.65 crore. 

     

    PAT (after minority interest) for the current quarter was down (59.1) per cent to Rs 7.02 crore in Q3-2014 as compared to the Rs 17.17 crore in Q3-2013 and was (37.2) per cent lower than the Rs 11.18 crore in the immediate trailing quarter. During 9M-2014, the company’s PAT at Rs 28.35 crore was down (37) per cent as compared to the Rs 44.94 crore in the corresponding nine month period of last year. 

     

    Let us look at the other Q3-2014 figures reported by Den Networks 

     

    Cable revenue for Q3 -2014 was Rs 281.00 crore as compared to Rs 229.66 crore in Q3 FY’13, up 22 per cent y-o-y and 7 per cent more than the Rs 263.32 crore in Q2-2014. Over 9M-2014, cable revenue was up 31 per cent to Rs 807.16 crore as compared to the Rs 617.18 crore in 9M-2013. 

     

    Cable EBIDTA in Q3-2014 was up 44 per cent to Rs 91.95 crore  from Rs 63.63 crore in Q3-2013 and was up 3 per cent from Rs 89.43 crore in Q2-2014.During 9M-2014 EBIDTA was 80 per cent higher at Rs 267.21 crore than the Rs 148.64 crore in 9M-2013. 

     

    Den Networks Total expense for Q3-2014 at Rs 238.63 crore was up 17.19 per cent as compared to the Rs 203.63 crore in Q3-2013 and 6.3 per cent more than the Rs 224.43 crore in Q2-2014. YTD, the company’s Total expense during 9M-2014 at Rs 692.75 crore was 23.7 per cent more than the Rs 560.20 crore in 9M-2013. The company reported Total expense of Rs 777 crore in FY 2013. 

     

    The networks content cost in Q3-2014 at Rs 95.33 crore was 15 per cent higher than the Rs 82.93 crore in Q3-2013 and was 5.3 per cent more than the Rs 90.54 crore in the immediate trailing quarter. During 9M-2014, Den Networks paid Rs 270.88 crore towards content cost, which was  19.3 per cent more than the Rs 227.03 crore in 9M-2013. During FY 2013, the company paid Rs 298.8 crore towards this cost head.

     

    Den Networks finance cost more than doubled (up 2.08 times) in Q3-2014 to Rs 24.40 crore from Rs 11.69 crore in Q3-2013 and was up 0.5 per cent from Q2-2014’s Rs 24.28 crore. YTD, in 9M-2014, the company paid Rs 696.94 crore which was 2.28 times the Rs 30.72 crore in 9M-2013. During FY 2013, finance cost was Rs 40.78 crore. 

     

    The company says that out of a total subscriber base of 1.3 crore homes, approximately 0.57 crore homes have been converted to digital. It claims to be present in 27 out of a total of 41 Phase 1 and 2 cities and approximately 0.5 crore set top boxes have been deployed in these markets.

     

    Den Networks further says that it has an estimated analog base of 0.8 crore homes in its Phase 3 and 4 markets. The company says that is well capitalised to meet the deployment requirements of its existing subscriber base in these cities. More than 0.07 crore set top boxes have already been installed and the pace of deployment is expected to pick up rapidly as the deadline approaches. The company says that it has also launched digital services in several major cities and towns of Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar, Rajasthan and West Bengal over the last few months.

     

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