ITV

Tag: Dish TV

  • GST: Both good and bad for the Indian cable TV sector

    GST: Both good and bad for the Indian cable TV sector

    MUMBAI: India’s most ambitious indirect tax reform, the Goods and Service Tax (GST) got the green flag from the Lok Sabah on 8 August.

    While, taxation rates under the GST regime are yet to be finalised, an indicative figure of 18 per cent is being talked of in various circles.

    Indiantelevision.com has already postulated that DTH companies like Dish TV could be beneficiaries when GST goes live. Broadcasters, however, could be slapped on their wrists as GST is likely to result in their tax payment going up.

    However, cable TV distribution sector is going to benefit like its country cousin – the DTH segment. Estimates are that multisystem operators could end up saving around five to 10 per cent in taxes in many Indian states. However, in some the tax payouts could likely go up courtesy GST.

    MSOs operating in states like Punjab (with up to Rs 15000 annual entertainment tax), and Gujarat (Rs 6 per cable TV sub per month), Harayana (no tax), Kerala (Rs 5), Orissa (Rs 3) are going to be impacted negatively with their tax bill climbing up once GST becomes applicable. Other states like Maharashtra (Rs 45 per month subscriber), Jharkhand with Rs 30-50 per month per subscriber, Rs 20 in Delhi, Bihar Rs 15 per month per subscriber, will see a lightening of their tax burden.

    Says a cable TV industry observer: “Cable operators normally maintain three sets of books. One for the tax folks, one for the content providers, and one which has the real facts about their business. Many of them are not tax payers at all. Under the new regime, they will have to clean up their acts, get their registration done, get their subscriber information all in order. And then pay their GST. That’s even if their margins keep coming under pressure on account of this.”

    Keep watching this space for further updates!

  • GST: Both good and bad for the Indian cable TV sector

    GST: Both good and bad for the Indian cable TV sector

    MUMBAI: India’s most ambitious indirect tax reform, the Goods and Service Tax (GST) got the green flag from the Lok Sabah on 8 August.

    While, taxation rates under the GST regime are yet to be finalised, an indicative figure of 18 per cent is being talked of in various circles.

    Indiantelevision.com has already postulated that DTH companies like Dish TV could be beneficiaries when GST goes live. Broadcasters, however, could be slapped on their wrists as GST is likely to result in their tax payment going up.

    However, cable TV distribution sector is going to benefit like its country cousin – the DTH segment. Estimates are that multisystem operators could end up saving around five to 10 per cent in taxes in many Indian states. However, in some the tax payouts could likely go up courtesy GST.

    MSOs operating in states like Punjab (with up to Rs 15000 annual entertainment tax), and Gujarat (Rs 6 per cable TV sub per month), Harayana (no tax), Kerala (Rs 5), Orissa (Rs 3) are going to be impacted negatively with their tax bill climbing up once GST becomes applicable. Other states like Maharashtra (Rs 45 per month subscriber), Jharkhand with Rs 30-50 per month per subscriber, Rs 20 in Delhi, Bihar Rs 15 per month per subscriber, will see a lightening of their tax burden.

    Says a cable TV industry observer: “Cable operators normally maintain three sets of books. One for the tax folks, one for the content providers, and one which has the real facts about their business. Many of them are not tax payers at all. Under the new regime, they will have to clean up their acts, get their registration done, get their subscriber information all in order. And then pay their GST. That’s even if their margins keep coming under pressure on account of this.”

    Keep watching this space for further updates!

  • Dish TV & Shemaroo get religious; launch Bhakti Active

    Dish TV & Shemaroo get religious; launch Bhakti Active

    MUMBAI: After launching a special Gujarati VOD pack, both the Jawahar Goel – headed Dish TV India, Asia’s largest DTH brand, and Shemaroo Entertainment are back once again in yet another move to expand the operator’s gradient of value added services (VAS) with the launch a new premium service called “Bhakti Active.”

    The Bhakti Active service will cater to the needs of consumers and viewers who enjoy mythological and religious content. It will air live aartis, bhajans, shlokas and documentaries throughout the day. The respective programmes on the Bhakti Active service will be lined up based upon the Hindu calendar and festivals.

    Bhakti Active is a premium religious ad free subscription based service and is being launched for trials and previewing till 31 August, following which it will carry a price tag of Rs 30 a month.
    This religious service will be available on channel number 755 on DishTV & Zing. Customers can easily activate this service by giving a missed call on 18002700371.

    Speaking on the launch, Arun Kumar Kapoor, Chief Executive Officer, DishTV said: ““Being a pioneer and a market leader in the DTH industry, DishTV stands for quality and commitment. It has always lived up to its promise of providing maximum width and depth of content to its consumers. We have always taken the lead in enhancing the value proposition and provide the best in entertainment to our subscribers. We are happy to announce our partnership with Shemaroo to launch the Bhakti Active Service on our platform. This move reiterates our commitment to augment the TV viewing experience for our viewers.”

  • Dish TV & Shemaroo get religious; launch Bhakti Active

    Dish TV & Shemaroo get religious; launch Bhakti Active

    MUMBAI: After launching a special Gujarati VOD pack, both the Jawahar Goel – headed Dish TV India, Asia’s largest DTH brand, and Shemaroo Entertainment are back once again in yet another move to expand the operator’s gradient of value added services (VAS) with the launch a new premium service called “Bhakti Active.”

    The Bhakti Active service will cater to the needs of consumers and viewers who enjoy mythological and religious content. It will air live aartis, bhajans, shlokas and documentaries throughout the day. The respective programmes on the Bhakti Active service will be lined up based upon the Hindu calendar and festivals.

    Bhakti Active is a premium religious ad free subscription based service and is being launched for trials and previewing till 31 August, following which it will carry a price tag of Rs 30 a month.
    This religious service will be available on channel number 755 on DishTV & Zing. Customers can easily activate this service by giving a missed call on 18002700371.

    Speaking on the launch, Arun Kumar Kapoor, Chief Executive Officer, DishTV said: ““Being a pioneer and a market leader in the DTH industry, DishTV stands for quality and commitment. It has always lived up to its promise of providing maximum width and depth of content to its consumers. We have always taken the lead in enhancing the value proposition and provide the best in entertainment to our subscribers. We are happy to announce our partnership with Shemaroo to launch the Bhakti Active Service on our platform. This move reiterates our commitment to augment the TV viewing experience for our viewers.”

  • GST Bill, DTH and broadcasting

    GST Bill, DTH and broadcasting

    MUMBAI: When the The Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill, 2014 was passed in the Rajya Sabha late Wednesday night, it heralded the rollout of the goods and service tax era in India. In the making for nearly 16 years it is estimated to inject an additional one to two points in growth to the world’s fastest growing economy.

    GST, as envisaged by the government, is one indirect tax for the whole nation, which will make India one unified common market. It will subsume central excise duty, additional excise duty, service tax, additional customs duty commonly known as countervailing duty, and special additional duty of customs at the Central level. GST will also subsume state value added tax/sales tax, entertainment tax, central sales tax, octroi and entry tax, and purchase tax at the state level.

    Last year when finance minister Arun Jaitley had tabled the Bill then for debate, indiantelevision.com had spoken to industry stalwarts. Videocon D2H CEO Anil Khera had at that stage opined: “GST is a welcome move. It will help the DTH sector to prosper. DTH is the biggest victim of multiple taxation policy and GST will simplify that. The industry needs a uniform taxation system and the sooner it comes the better it is.”

    Speaking to CNBC TV18 on 2 August Dish TV chairman and managing director Jawahar Goel had said that the passage of the GST amendments would benefit his company to the tune of three to four per cent initially and this would likely improve to four to five per cent going forward.

    “Currently our outgo on indirect taxes is roughly around 23 percent and then for tax administration also, our expenditure is almost 1-1.5 percent, for managing our logistics in each of the states. The savings should go directly to our bottomline,” he had shared with the business news channel.

    Broadcasters would likely be impacted too as the indirect taxes that they pay currently are around 14-15 per cent. Observers expected the outgo for them could rise to about 18-20 per cent the introduction of GST.

    (Because this is a developing story, more facts may emerge as we go along. Hence it will be updated with new viewpoints then.)

  • GST Bill, DTH and broadcasting

    GST Bill, DTH and broadcasting

    MUMBAI: When the The Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill, 2014 was passed in the Rajya Sabha late Wednesday night, it heralded the rollout of the goods and service tax era in India. In the making for nearly 16 years it is estimated to inject an additional one to two points in growth to the world’s fastest growing economy.

    GST, as envisaged by the government, is one indirect tax for the whole nation, which will make India one unified common market. It will subsume central excise duty, additional excise duty, service tax, additional customs duty commonly known as countervailing duty, and special additional duty of customs at the Central level. GST will also subsume state value added tax/sales tax, entertainment tax, central sales tax, octroi and entry tax, and purchase tax at the state level.

    Last year when finance minister Arun Jaitley had tabled the Bill then for debate, indiantelevision.com had spoken to industry stalwarts. Videocon D2H CEO Anil Khera had at that stage opined: “GST is a welcome move. It will help the DTH sector to prosper. DTH is the biggest victim of multiple taxation policy and GST will simplify that. The industry needs a uniform taxation system and the sooner it comes the better it is.”

    Speaking to CNBC TV18 on 2 August Dish TV chairman and managing director Jawahar Goel had said that the passage of the GST amendments would benefit his company to the tune of three to four per cent initially and this would likely improve to four to five per cent going forward.

    “Currently our outgo on indirect taxes is roughly around 23 percent and then for tax administration also, our expenditure is almost 1-1.5 percent, for managing our logistics in each of the states. The savings should go directly to our bottomline,” he had shared with the business news channel.

    Broadcasters would likely be impacted too as the indirect taxes that they pay currently are around 14-15 per cent. Observers expected the outgo for them could rise to about 18-20 per cent the introduction of GST.

    (Because this is a developing story, more facts may emerge as we go along. Hence it will be updated with new viewpoints then.)

  • DD Free Dish looking for tenant?

    DD Free Dish looking for tenant?

    MUMBAI: Pubcaster Doordarshan is looking for a tenant for a vacant slot it has on its Free Dish platform. The condition it has laid out for this is that it should become an occupant only for the month of August. And the cost of doing so: Rs 4.90 crore for the month.

    DD has issued an email circular – a copy of which has reached indiantelevision.com today – wherein it has asked private broadcasters to send in their expression of interest to take up the vacant slot. It, however, has cautioned that the carriage fee needs to be paid in advance along with service tax. It has also stated that the slot will be filled on a first come first serve basis.

    DD Free Dish has a bouquet of 104 video channels and 51 radio channels, according to the updated channel list (till 2 August 2016) on its website.

    DD Free Dish which is beaming DD Direct Plus/Free Dish off GSAT-15 at 93.5 East has a total of six – five in MPEG-2 and one in MPEG-4 – transponder frequencies for its service.

    The DTH provider added Zee News on Free Dish on 1 August after it won the e-auction on 28 July 2016. The Hindi news channel is also available as a FTA on Dish TV.

  • DD Free Dish looking for tenant?

    DD Free Dish looking for tenant?

    MUMBAI: Pubcaster Doordarshan is looking for a tenant for a vacant slot it has on its Free Dish platform. The condition it has laid out for this is that it should become an occupant only for the month of August. And the cost of doing so: Rs 4.90 crore for the month.

    DD has issued an email circular – a copy of which has reached indiantelevision.com today – wherein it has asked private broadcasters to send in their expression of interest to take up the vacant slot. It, however, has cautioned that the carriage fee needs to be paid in advance along with service tax. It has also stated that the slot will be filled on a first come first serve basis.

    DD Free Dish has a bouquet of 104 video channels and 51 radio channels, according to the updated channel list (till 2 August 2016) on its website.

    DD Free Dish which is beaming DD Direct Plus/Free Dish off GSAT-15 at 93.5 East has a total of six – five in MPEG-2 and one in MPEG-4 – transponder frequencies for its service.

    The DTH provider added Zee News on Free Dish on 1 August after it won the e-auction on 28 July 2016. The Hindi news channel is also available as a FTA on Dish TV.

  • Q1-17: Dish TV adds 4 lakh subs, subscription revenue up at Rs 728 cr

    Q1-17: Dish TV adds 4 lakh subs, subscription revenue up at Rs 728 cr

    BENGALURU: Indian direct to home (DTH) television operator Dish TV India Limited (Dish TV) has reported growth across important financial and operational parameters including operating revenues (TIO) , EBIDTA and subscription numbers. The company announced the addition of 402,000 net subscribers for the quarter ended 30 June 2016 (Q1-17, current). It closed the quarter with 149 lakh subscribers. Average revenue per user (ARPU) for Q1-17 remained the same year-over-year (y-o-y) and quarter-over-quarter (q-o-q) at Rs 174.

    Dish TV reported 6.7 percent higher y-o-y subscription revenue of Rs 728.2 crore for Q1-17, as compared to Rs 682.8 crore. Operating revenue in the current quarter increased 5.7 percent y-o-y to Rs 778.6 crore from Rs 736.7 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. (Refer Note 2.1 and 2.2 below)

    Dish TV reported PAT of Rs. 50.9 crore in Q1-17, down 24.6 percent as compared to Rs 54.2 crore in Q1-16.

    EBIDTA in the current quarter increased 12.2 percent to Rs 264.6 crore from Rs 235.7 crore in Q1-16.

    Total expense in the current quarter increased 2.6 percent y-o-y to Rs 513.9 crore (66 percent of revenue) from Rs 500.9 crore (68 percent of revenue). (Refer note 2.3 below). Personnel cost increased 9.8 percent y-o-y to Rs 38.1 crore (4.9 percent of revenue) from Rs 34.7 crore (4.7 percent of revenue). Cost of sales and services declined 1.8 percent y-o-y to Rs 358.4 crore (46 percent of revenue) from Rs 365 crore (49.5 percent of revenue).

    Dish TV managing director Jawahar Goel said, “Buoyed by digitization, notwithstanding the relative seasonal weakness in 1Q, the industry collectively added around 15 percent higher subscribers compared to the same quarter last fiscal. Dish TV maintained its lead in incremental subscriber additions during the quarter. Our strengthened distribution in DAS Phase III and IV areas along with the popularity of the Dish TV Insta Care – 4- Hour Service Assurance Campaign were instrumental in helping us maintain an edge over competition. Our regional and mass-market offerings continued to remain crowd-pullers in respective geographies.”

    “The consumers growing passion for HD has the potential to trigger yet another round of growth, beyond that being driven by digitization, for the DTH industry. Going forward, we would continue to build on our HD advantage while focusing on its sales across the country,” Goel added.

    To further enhance the digital TV experience for subscribers and build an affordable and fast deployment model for itself, Dish TV recently selected Wyplay’s Frog as the Middleware for its next generation Set-Top-Boxes. Wyplay is an HTML5 browser based system and incorporates all features required for traditional linear broadcast TV consumption, on-demand content and applications distributed over the internet.

    Talking about the first quarter results, Goel said, “Healthy subscriber additions led to a 12.3 percent y-o-y increase in subscription revenues (on a like-to-like basis). EBITDA margin bounced to 34.0 percent from 32.0 per cent in the corresponding quarter last fiscal. Net Profit for the quarter was Rs. 409 million leading to FCF generation of Rs. 627 million. Churn for the quarter at 0.7 percent per month remained well within manageable limits.”

    Expressing his views on other regulatory overhangs Goel, said, “An industry favourable resolution of the DTH license fee matter should go a long way in ensuring non-discrimination amongst various distribution platforms in the country. We are also hopeful of a just and logical outcome of the currently debated TRAI consultation paper on Interconnection Framework for Broadcasting TV Services Distributed through Addressable Systems.”

    Notes: (1) The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:

    (a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.

    (b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

    (2) Dish TV says

    (2.1) For Q1-17, subscription revenue, on a like-to-like basis, was Rs 766.9 crore, a growth of 12.3 percent y-o-y.

    (2.2) For Q1-17 operating revenue, on a like-to-like basis, was Rs 817.2 crore, a growth of 10.9 percent y-o-y.

    (2.3) For Q1-17, COGS, on a like-to-like basis, was Rs 3,97 crore, a change of 8.8 percent y-o-y. The resultant Total Expense, on-a like-to-like basis, was Rs. 552.6 crore, a change of 10.3 percent y-o-y.

  • Q1-17: Dish TV adds 4 lakh subs, subscription revenue up at Rs 728 cr

    Q1-17: Dish TV adds 4 lakh subs, subscription revenue up at Rs 728 cr

    BENGALURU: Indian direct to home (DTH) television operator Dish TV India Limited (Dish TV) has reported growth across important financial and operational parameters including operating revenues (TIO) , EBIDTA and subscription numbers. The company announced the addition of 402,000 net subscribers for the quarter ended 30 June 2016 (Q1-17, current). It closed the quarter with 149 lakh subscribers. Average revenue per user (ARPU) for Q1-17 remained the same year-over-year (y-o-y) and quarter-over-quarter (q-o-q) at Rs 174.

    Dish TV reported 6.7 percent higher y-o-y subscription revenue of Rs 728.2 crore for Q1-17, as compared to Rs 682.8 crore. Operating revenue in the current quarter increased 5.7 percent y-o-y to Rs 778.6 crore from Rs 736.7 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. (Refer Note 2.1 and 2.2 below)

    Dish TV reported PAT of Rs. 50.9 crore in Q1-17, down 24.6 percent as compared to Rs 54.2 crore in Q1-16.

    EBIDTA in the current quarter increased 12.2 percent to Rs 264.6 crore from Rs 235.7 crore in Q1-16.

    Total expense in the current quarter increased 2.6 percent y-o-y to Rs 513.9 crore (66 percent of revenue) from Rs 500.9 crore (68 percent of revenue). (Refer note 2.3 below). Personnel cost increased 9.8 percent y-o-y to Rs 38.1 crore (4.9 percent of revenue) from Rs 34.7 crore (4.7 percent of revenue). Cost of sales and services declined 1.8 percent y-o-y to Rs 358.4 crore (46 percent of revenue) from Rs 365 crore (49.5 percent of revenue).

    Dish TV managing director Jawahar Goel said, “Buoyed by digitization, notwithstanding the relative seasonal weakness in 1Q, the industry collectively added around 15 percent higher subscribers compared to the same quarter last fiscal. Dish TV maintained its lead in incremental subscriber additions during the quarter. Our strengthened distribution in DAS Phase III and IV areas along with the popularity of the Dish TV Insta Care – 4- Hour Service Assurance Campaign were instrumental in helping us maintain an edge over competition. Our regional and mass-market offerings continued to remain crowd-pullers in respective geographies.”

    “The consumers growing passion for HD has the potential to trigger yet another round of growth, beyond that being driven by digitization, for the DTH industry. Going forward, we would continue to build on our HD advantage while focusing on its sales across the country,” Goel added.

    To further enhance the digital TV experience for subscribers and build an affordable and fast deployment model for itself, Dish TV recently selected Wyplay’s Frog as the Middleware for its next generation Set-Top-Boxes. Wyplay is an HTML5 browser based system and incorporates all features required for traditional linear broadcast TV consumption, on-demand content and applications distributed over the internet.

    Talking about the first quarter results, Goel said, “Healthy subscriber additions led to a 12.3 percent y-o-y increase in subscription revenues (on a like-to-like basis). EBITDA margin bounced to 34.0 percent from 32.0 per cent in the corresponding quarter last fiscal. Net Profit for the quarter was Rs. 409 million leading to FCF generation of Rs. 627 million. Churn for the quarter at 0.7 percent per month remained well within manageable limits.”

    Expressing his views on other regulatory overhangs Goel, said, “An industry favourable resolution of the DTH license fee matter should go a long way in ensuring non-discrimination amongst various distribution platforms in the country. We are also hopeful of a just and logical outcome of the currently debated TRAI consultation paper on Interconnection Framework for Broadcasting TV Services Distributed through Addressable Systems.”

    Notes: (1) The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR). The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:

    (a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.

    (b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

    (2) Dish TV says

    (2.1) For Q1-17, subscription revenue, on a like-to-like basis, was Rs 766.9 crore, a growth of 12.3 percent y-o-y.

    (2.2) For Q1-17 operating revenue, on a like-to-like basis, was Rs 817.2 crore, a growth of 10.9 percent y-o-y.

    (2.3) For Q1-17, COGS, on a like-to-like basis, was Rs 3,97 crore, a change of 8.8 percent y-o-y. The resultant Total Expense, on-a like-to-like basis, was Rs. 552.6 crore, a change of 10.3 percent y-o-y.