ITV

Tag: Dish TV India

  • Dish TV India to convene 33rd AGM on 30 November

    Dish TV India to convene 33rd AGM on 30 November

    Mumbai: Dish TV India has informed its shareholders that its board of directors has approved the convening of the 33rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 30 November after a resolution was passed by the board on 7 November.

    On 29 October, the company had applied to the Registrar of Companies, Mumbai seeking an extension till 31 December to convene the AGM.

    Dish TV India had first sought an extension of the AGM in a notice submitted on 19 September. The AGM was previously scheduled to be held on 27 September. In its notice to the BSE, the company applied for the extension to ensure compliance with a notice sent by Dish TV India’s largest shareholder Yes Bank.

    In another development, the crime branch in Gautam Buddh Nagar (a district in Uttar Pradesh) has sent a notice to Dish TV India on 6 November, restricting Yes Bank from dealing in/and or exercising any rights over equity shares of Dish TV India held by Yes Bank until completion of an investigation being conducted by them. More details on the investigation are awaited.

    Yes Bank, which has a 25.63 per cent shareholding in Dish TV India had sought the removal of directors of the company including managing director Jawaher Lal Goel and independent directors Dr. Rashmi Aggarwal, Bhagwan Das Narang, Shankar Agarwal, and Ashok Mathai Kurien.

    The bank had proposed the appointment of a new board including Akash Suri, Sanjay Nambiar, Vijay Bhatt, Haripriya Padmanabhan, Girish Paranjape, Narayan Vasudeo Prabhutendulkar, and Arvind Nachaya Mapangada.

    Dish TV India board rejected the EGM notice by Yes Bank stating that a resolution to reconstitute the board can only be placed post receipt of approval from the ministry of information and broadcasting and other requisite approvals for appointment of new directors, within statutory guidelines.

    Yes Bank moved National Company Law Tribunal Mumbai with a petition to call for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of shareholders of Dish TV India and pass its resolution. 

  • Dish TV seeks further extension of time to convene AGM

    Dish TV seeks further extension of time to convene AGM

    Mumbai: Dish TV India has applied to the Registrar of Companies, Mumbai seeking a further extension of time to convene their 33rd annual general meeting (AGM) from 30 November to 31 December.

    This is the second time the company has deferred its AGM which was originally scheduled to be held on 28 September. The company sought the extension in view of the issues arising out of the pendency of an application filed by Yes Bank before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai bench.

    Yes Bank had sought NCLT’s direction to the company to call for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to pass a resolution for the reconstitution of the company’s board.

    On 6 September, Yes Bank had sent a requisition notice to Dish TV India’s board to convene a special meeting of the shareholders seeking the removal of its board of directors including managing director Jawaher Lal Goel and independent directors Dr Rashmi Aggarwal, Bhagwan Das Narang, Shankar Agarwal, and Ashok Mathai Kurien.

    The bank proposed the appointment of a new board including Akash Suri, Sanjay Nambiar, Vijay Bhatt, Haripriya Padmanabhan, Girish Paranjape, Narayan Vasudeo Prabhutendulkar, and Arvind Nachaya Mapangada.

    Yes Bank holds a 25.63 per cent stake in the company. It stated that it sought the removal of the present board of directors on the grounds that the board approved a Rs 1000 crore rights issue process despite objections raised by the bank, solely to dilute the shareholding of the bank.

    Dish TV India board rejected the EGM notice by Yes Bank stating that a resolution to reconstitute the board can only be placed post receipt of approval from the ministry of information and broadcasting and other requisite approvals for appointment of new directors, within statutory guidelines.

  • Yes Bank moves NCLT against Dish TV

    Yes Bank moves NCLT against Dish TV

    Mumbai: The Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has allowed Dish TV India till 15 November to file its response in a petition filed by its majority shareholder Yes Bank.

    Yes Bank sought NCLT’s direction to call for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of Dish TV India and pass a resolution for the reconstitution of the company’s board.

    On 6 September, Yes Bank had sent a requisition notice to Dish TV India’s board to convene a special meeting of the shareholders seeking the removal of its board of directors including managing director Jawaher Lal Goel and independent directors Dr Rashmi Aggarwal, Bhagwan Das Narang, Shankar Agarwal, and Ashok Mathai Kurien

    The bank proposed the appointment of a new board including Akash Suri, Sanjay Nambiar, Vijay Bhatt, Haripriya Padmanabhan, Girish Paranjape, Narayan Vasudeo Prabhutendulkar, and Arvind Nachaya Mapangada.

    Yes Bank holds a 25.63 per cent stake in the company. It stated that it sought the removal of the present board of directors on the grounds that the board approved a Rs 1000 crore rights issue process despite objections raised by the bank, solely to dilute the shareholding of the bank.

    Dish TV India board rejected the EGM notice by Yes Bank stating that a resolution to reconstitute the board can only be placed post receipt of approval from the ministry of information and broadcasting and other requisite approvals for appointment of new directors, within statutory guidelines.

    It also postponed its 33rd annual general meeting scheduled on 27 September by two months.

  • Yes Bank issues notice to Dish TV India calling for EGM

    Yes Bank issues notice to Dish TV India calling for EGM

    Mumbai: Yes Bank has called for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) of shareholders of Dish TV India Ltd, after the latter sought an extension on its annual general meeting (AGM) scheduled for 27 September.

    The bank had issued a notice on 6 September calling for a resolution for the removal of the current board of directors of the company and appointment of a new board of directors including Akash Suri, Sanjay Nambiar, Vijay Bhatt, Haripriya Padmanabhan, Girish Paranjape, Narayan Vasudeo Prabhutendulkar, and Arvind Nachaya Mapangada.

    It had called for the ouster of Dish TV India’s managing director Jawaher Goel, and directors Ashok Mathai Kurien, Bhagwan Das Narang, Shankar Aggarwal, and Dr Rashmi Aggarwal.

    Yes Bank alleged that Dish TV India is seeking an extension of the AGM based on “unfounded reasons.” “In light of the company engaging in dilatory tactics in placing the resolution before the shareholders, the bank is constrained to issue the present notice for holding an extraordinary general meeting of the company,” it said.

    Dish TV India had notified the bank that a change in directorship requires prior approval of the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) and hence the resolutions for removal and appointment of directors cannot be placed before the shareholders at the AGM.

    To which the bank issued revised notices to the company on 9 September wherein the effectiveness in change in the directorship of the company was subject to MIB approval. The bank submitted details of the proposed list of directors to apply to MIB and seek their approval on 18 September.

    The bank believes that Dish TV India is not acting in line with good corporate governance standards and is not fairly representing the interests of the incumbent significant shareholders of the company. Its grievances include the company’s decision to move ahead with its capital raising exercise to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore by way of rights issue without consulting the significant shareholders.

  • DTH operators report sharp drop in subscribers in Jan-March: TRAI

    DTH operators report sharp drop in subscribers in Jan-March: TRAI

    Mumbai: The total number of active DTH subscribers declined to 69.57 million at the end of March 2021 from 70.99 million at the end of December 2020, as per the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). This is in addition to the subscribers of DD Free Dish (DTH service of Doordarshan).

    The share of leading DTH players stood at Tata Sky (33.3 per cent), Dish TV India (24.09 per cent), Bharti Telemedia (25.54 per cent), and Sun Direct TV (17.07 per cent).

    A total of 901 satellite TV channels have been permitted by the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) out of which 327 are pay-TV channels. There are 235 SD channels and 92 HD channels. All the other channels permitted by MIB may be considered free-to-air channels.

    There are 1726 MSOs registered with MIB out of which only 12 MSOs and one HITS operator have a subscriber base greater than one million. Siti Networks had 8.2 million subscribers followed by GTPL Hathway at 7.7 million, Hathway Digital at 5.6 million, Den Networks at 4.5 million, Thamizhaga Cable TV Communication at 3.5 million, Kerala Communicators Cable at 3.05 million, Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable at 2.9 million, Fastway Transmissions 2.2 million, NXT Digital (HITS) at 2.05 million, KAL Cable at 2.02 million, VK Digital at 1.7 million, Asianet Digital Network at 1.2 million and NXT Digital (Cable TV) at 1.1 million.

    There are 366 private FM radio channels in 105 cities with 30 private FM radio broadcasters. Odisha Television Ltd, has ceased the operation of its single FM radio station in the city of Rourkela, Odisha. The advertising revenue reported by FM radio broadcasters is Rs 321.52 crore as against Rs 323.01 crore in the previous quarter.

    There are 324 operational community radio stations up from 315 in the previous quarter.

  • Pandemic drags down DishTV India’s FY’21 financials

    MUMBAI: India’s first DTH operator Dish TV India continues to slog it out to get out of the financial quagmire it has got itself into. That’s despite the fact that the company  has seen a loss of subscribers in its latest quarter ended 31 March 2021 and for the full year, its top line has dipped even as it continues to report losses. According to its audited Q4 FY 21 results released yesterday, Dish TV India  has reported consolidated subscription revenues of Rs  685.2 crore (Rs 776.6 crore in Q4 FY’20) and operating revenues of Rs  751.7 crore (Rs 869.06 crore). EBITDA for the quarter was Rs 426 crore (Rs 543.2 crore). Net loss was Rs 1415.3 crore as against a loss of Rs 1456.2 crore  in the same quarter last year.

    Subscription revenues for the whole year have fallen from Rs 3192.8 crore in FY ’20 to Rs 2987.4 crore in FY’21, even  as operating revenues saw a reduction to Rs 3249.4 crore as against Rs 3556.3 crore in FY20.  EBITDA for the full year fell to Rs 2017 crore as against Rs 2106 crore in FY’20. However, to its credit, it has reduced the red ink on its bottomline to Rs 1189.9 crore as against Rs 1654.8 crore in the previous financial year.

    What helped it shore up its performance in the latest financial year is its hard focus on shaving expenditure which it has reduced by 15 per cent to Rs 1232.4 crore as against Rs 1450.4 crore in FY ’20.  

    Dish TV management said the company has been hit by the sporadic lockdowns due to the ongoing pandemic during the year and the last quarter. “The later part of the fourth quarter saw re-emergence of urban to rural migration, amongst migrant workers. The sporadic lockdowns have left many in the aspiring class with reduced disposable incomes while taking a toll on overall consumer confidence. Subscriber churn, thus remained on the higher side during the quarter and full year,” said Dish TV India group CEO Anil Dua in a press release.

    Additionally, the company largely relied on internal cash flows for capital expenditure and for debt reduction. Hence, it kept a tight rein on capital expenditure which in turn limited new subscriber additions, and when compounded with high subscriber churn, it  led to a net reduction in its subscriber base.

    Overall, Dish TV repaid Rs 213 crore of its debt in the quarter, reducing its loan  exposure to Rs 809.9 crore at end FY’21 as against  Rs 1817.5 crore at end FY20.  

    Said Dish TV chairman & managing director Jawahar Goel: “The year gone by was difficult but has left us stronger with all the innovations and process improvements in place. However, with continuing uncertainties, we maintain a cautious stand. A strong balance sheet boosts confidence in such tough times and our focus on paying down debt and other liabilities is in that direction only.”

    Dua said that investors need to take heart about the positive manner in which Dish TV has pivoted to take advantage of the opportunities that the pandemic has thrown up. “Effectively, the pandemic rushed the need to innovate. Be it artificial intelligence for resolving customer complaints, enabling work-from home for customer care agents and employees, developing set-top-boxes and other key accessories in India, moving trade partners to a fully digital recharge mode or upgrading our OTT platform, Watcho, we rose to the challenges thrown by the trying year while touching new highs in EBITDA margins.”

    What according to the two of them shows promise is the growth in sign-ons to DishTV’s OTT service Watcho to 25 million by FY 21 year end as against just a million users in January 2020.  Said Dua: “At Dish TV India, it has always been our endeavor to meet the entertainment needs of all our subscribers all the time. Watcho is a step in that direction and delivers a seamless, streaming entertainment experience to viewers through future ready technology and diverse content.”

    Dua is quite optimistic about the company’s fortunes pointing to the important role TV continues to play in viewers lives in India, and believes that a revival in discretionary spending, due to economic activity normalizing going forward, will improve business revenues. The company is going ahead with the procedures relating to raising funds through a rights issue totting up to Rs 1,000 crore.

  • Subhash Chandra denies rumors related to Dish TV India

    Subhash Chandra denies rumors related to Dish TV India

    KOLKATA: Dish TV India promoter and managing director Jawahar Goel has offered a substantial portion of his equity in the DYH operator as security for the credit facilities availed by Essel Group (Subhash Chandra Group). The group will return the security cover soon, Subhash Chandra Group official spokesperson Ronak Jatwala said in a statement.

    He went on to add that the Group is also extremely thankful to Goel. “Goel has extended support, in the form of a substantial portion of his equity in the mentioned listed entity (Dish TV), as security for the credit facilities availed by Subhash Chandra Group,” he noted.

    “The Group is confident and fully committed to return the mentioned security cover back to Jawahar Goel and his family. The group also wishes to iterate that Jawahar Goel, as the rightful owner of the equity stake in Dish TV India Ltd, had only stepped forward to offer support, and has no financial stress whatsoever in his personal capacity,” the statement added.

    Essel Group has also denied all the speculations and rumours pertaining to the shares being released from the lenders at a lower price and sold to third party investors at higher price points. These speculations are absolutely baseless and incorrect, and the company has no such intentions whatsoever, it claimed.

    “The Group has been consistently focused on its commitment towards its lenders and truly values the priceless support received during the turbulent phase, recognising their trust and belief. With their undeterred faith and support, the Group has successfully resolved majority of the issues and is on a steady path to iron out the limited pending issues,” Jatwala added.

  • ‘Scan to help’ feature now available on My DishTV app

    ‘Scan to help’ feature now available on My DishTV app

    KOLKATA: Dish TV India has introduced a new ‘scan to help’ feature for its subscribers for a more convenient television viewing experience. Executed and conceptualised by the first runner-up team of Dish-a-thon 2020 (which happens to be an in-house team- team DishTV), the ‘scan to help’ feature is available on My DishTV app, which is powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning and supports Hindi and English language for easy understanding. 

    With this feature, the company aims to empower all existing and new subscribers for self-help in case of any technical errors on the set-top Box. Furthermore, the new feature also helps to achieve higher C-SAT, reduction in calls to Dish TVs call centre, and an opportunity to cross-sell.

    Subscribers can seamlessly initiate the self-help journey by scanning the error plate and it will automatically share an update on the account status and current subscription. In case of bad weather conditions at the broadcasting center, it will take an update of the weather conditions in the subscriber’s locality and proceed with technical troubleshooting. The app will also provide an option to raise a service ticket within the journey itself.  

    Dish TV India executive director and group CEO Anil Dua said new features like ‘scan to help’ are set to redefine and shape up the future of the M&E/broadcasting industry.

    "In this digital era, technology-led solutions and offerings are paramount to achieving customer satisfaction and this new AI-enabled tech feature is a step in the same direction. What makes this feature extremely special is the fact that this idea was proposed by one of the top three winning teams of Dish-a-thon 2020. This was an in-house team – team DishTV – and they have taken the idea forward to its solutioning and complete execution,” he added.

  • Dish TV India-MX Player tie-up to offer seamless video-on-demand content

    Dish TV India-MX Player tie-up to offer seamless video-on-demand content

    MUMBAI: In a bid to offer unmatched video-on-demand content, leading DTH company Dish TV India Limited has partnered with MX Player that emerged as India’s #1 entertainment app of 2019 as per the annual FICCI Report. With this strategic association with MX player, Dish TV India has further strengthened its portfolio by adding one more app in the app zone on its Android-based connected devices, namely Dish SMRT Hub and d2h stream for its DishTV and d2h users respectively. Users will now be able to stream an exciting slate of popular MX Originals, TV shows, Music Videos and Movies across multiple genres and languages. DishTV and d2h already offer the most popular apps including its streaming app ‘WATCHO’.

    Dish TV India Limited executive director & group CEO Anil Dua said: “Our partnership with MX Player makes it easy for our Android box users to access large content library spanning over 10 languages through this in-built app and further enhance their TV viewing experience. Offering unique and unparalleled content to our customers is always a top priority for us and through this partnership, we have taken one more step to fulfill our promise.”

    MX Player head of marketing & business partnerships Abhishek Joshi said: “Our core proposition is to distribute premium original content in local and regional languages for the 100s of millions of Indians for whom smartphones are the first screen. But with the Dish TV association, we are looking at widening our existing base of viewers and extending a superior entertainment experience to Indian audiences across genres and through a screen of their choice – be it their mobiles, tablets or TV screens.”

    In addition to MX Player, the Android box offers a host of features including built-in Google Assistant, Chromecast, Google Play and access to all popular featured OTT platforms like YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Zee5, Watcho, Voot, ALTBalaji and many more. Coupled with the ease of using voice commands via Google Assistant, the Android-based set-top box is compatible with any television set. ‘Dish SMRT Hub’ and ‘d2h stream’ are internet-enabled Android-based HD Set Top Box, available for INR 3,999 for new subscribers & INR 2,499 for existing subscribers.

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  • Discovery India gets favourable order from Delhi High Court on DSport

    Discovery India gets favourable order from Delhi High Court on DSport

    MUMBAI: How times change. It was hardly a couple of years ago, that  Discovery Communications International Networks (DCIN) LLC, Discovery Networks Asia Pacific (DNAP) and Discovery Communications India (DCI) were all bum-chummy with the former Dish TV India CEO and ESPN India managing director R Venkateish. Discovery had launched its channel DSPORT with Venky and his firm  Lex Sportel Vision as its “consultant.”

    But the two parted ways on 23 January 2020, with Discovery  –  “exercising their right under the provisions of the Term sheet, following material breaches of Law by Lex Sportel and Venkateish in providing services to DCIN and DNAP” – terminating the relationship with Venky and Lex from 23 January 2020. 

    Prior to that, DNAP and DCI had put Lex Sportel and Venky on a four-month notice from 14 October 2019 during which they were required to provide services in accordance with the term sheet to DCI and DNAP.

    And DCI has been slugging it out with Venky in the courts since then. And yesterday, the Delhi high court passed an ad interim order restraining Lex Sportel Vision, Venky and Dilip Sharan, CEO from using the logo DSPORT in any manner whatsoever and specifically for marketing its own channel 1Sport thereby using the goodwill of DSPORT. The interim injunction was granted against their former partner “as in the past weeks they issued several communications in public causing confusion within the market and industry on the ownership of DSPORT,” says a Discovery India press release.

    Discovery – south Asia senior vice-president – affiliate sales and head of sports business  Vijay Rajput says that the court order clarifies who the true owner of the DSPORT brand is.

    He adds:  “Discovery has carried out business in this country for the past 25 years with utmost credibility and business ethics. We followed all processes despite multiple false accusations and are delighted that finally, the truth has prevailed. “