Tag: Dish TV

  • Dish TV CEO RC Venkateish resigns

    Dish TV CEO RC Venkateish resigns

    MUMBAI: There’s change coming at the top in India’s oldest DTH operator Dish TV India. The company informed the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) a short while ago that its CEO R.C. Venkateish has resigned following a board meeting earlier today.

     

    The meeting also saw the elevation of managing director Jawahar Goel as Dish TV chairman, and the resignation of non-executive promoter director Subhash Chandra from the board.

     

    Venky or RC as he is commonly called was Dish TV CEO for the past five years and his resignation will be effective from 31 October, 2015, while Chandra’s resignation comes into effect by end of today.

     

    RC shall however continue to be associated with the company in an advisory role specifically in areas relating to content, legal and regulatory affairs. He shall also continue to represent Dish TV in the DTH Association and before industry and regulatory bodies.

     

    Under his leadership, among other achievements, Dish TV more than doubled its revenues, increased market share and launched various new services including a  sub brand – ‘Zing’ for the regional market as well as turned profitable.

     

    Said Goel, “On behalf of the Board of Directors and the entire company, I want to thank Mr. Venkateish for his outstanding work and leadership in continuing the growth and success story at Dish TV. His term as Chief Executive was marked by outstanding business performance and exemplary leadership in the challenging environment that the DTH sector operates in. Venkateish lead the company with strength, resolve and passion. Dish TV shall benefit with his continued association with it in an advisory role.”

     

    Added RC, ”I have enjoyed every moment of my stint at Dish TV and it was a great experience to lead the company for over five years through a highly complex business environment and to build it to its current position as a strong profitable leader in the DTH space in India. I look forward to seeing the company continue to build on its successful track record of executing on its plans, innovating and expanding the business and remain very confident about its future prospects. I shall continue my association with Dish for the specific projects.”

     

    Meanwhile the company has announced its Q2FY-2016 results. Details of that will follow shortly.

  • Revamp the Dominant News Pattern through India 24X7 Kya Khabar Hai!

    Revamp the Dominant News Pattern through India 24X7 Kya Khabar Hai!

    MUMBAI: India 24×7 ushers in a breadth of fresh air, revamping the dominant pattern of Indian News channel and bringing Hope amidst apparently gloomy happening. India 24X7 a national Hindi ‘Free To Air (FTA)’ news Channel is going to start operations in Indian domain from October 24, 2015.

     

    To cut the morass of market, the channel aims to serve family entertainment, healthy viewing and distinctive news to upgrade its viewers to make informed choices rather than only news. To draw fringe audience on to the channel, anchors will play a key role. Their personality, styling and reliability will determine which audiences find resonance with the brand.

     

     While the news genre is traditionally seen as largely an individual viewing space, India 24×7 wishes to create a family appointment viewing experience. It will attract different age groups and different gender skews. It will also address viewers who are young in terms of mindset and shared value.

     

    Channel Editor Vasindra Mishra said, “India 24X7 will choose clarity over aggression, Jankari over sensationalism. It endeavours to offer ‘distinctive news’ as opposed to breaking news, or sensational news. With our family viewing objective, the flavour of coverage will focus on the positive side of every story and also enliven us through its entertainment quotient.”

     

    Mishra went on to add, “If you look at existing news programmes, you will find that majority of the news channels are busy proliferating negativity in the society as if there is no hope available for them. But, India 24X7 believes in hope. We will try to fish out hope even from the tragic incidents.”

     

    Traditionally, news genre targets male 35+ audiences, but India 24×7 is young at heart through the presentation of its content.  The channel will work on inventory of 12 mins per hour giving more content and news to the viewers that brings knowledge and empowers them.

     

    The channel is available on major DTH platforms and local cable networks like Dish TV, Airtel, Tata Sky, DD Free Dish, Siti Cable, Fastway, Digi Cable, DEN, Hathway, In Cable, GTPL and other local cable networks.

  • Dish TV takes HD offering to 47 with Ten Golf HD addition

    Dish TV takes HD offering to 47 with Ten Golf HD addition

    MUMBAI: With the addition of Ten Golf HD, direct to home (DTH) operator Dish TV has taken its high definition channels and services count to 47, which is the highest in the country so far.

     As of August, rival DTH operator Videocon d2h offered 39 HD offerings to its subscribers.

    Ten Golf HD, the 24-hour sports channel dedicated to golf, takes DishTV’s HD sports channel count to seven. DishTV subscribers will be able to watch it on channel number 81. As was earlier reported by Indiantelevision.com, Ten Golf HD was slated to launch on 7 October.

    Dish TV India chief operating officer Salil Kapoor said, “Latest trends suggest that the growth of the HD category over the past year together with rising sales of flat panel TV’s (LED/LCD) has added a new dimension to the superior HD viewing experience. With the usage of DTH connections with HD boxes, the experience quotient for the subscribers is all set to go up. We are proud to announce addition of Ten Golf HD channel on our platform.”

     “Dish TV has a complete offering and mix of HD entertainment, music, news and regional language channels and has maximum content with 47 HD channels and services, making it the highest in the country,” he added.

  • DTH operators woo customers with lucrative offerings

    DTH operators woo customers with lucrative offerings

    The year has started on a good note for direct to home (DTH) subscribers. Even as Indian DTH players have seeded close to four million set-top-boxes (STBs) across the country in Q1-2015 alone, with growing competition and increasing digitization push, the companies are now also putting their best foot forward to woo more subscribers, while retaining existing ones.

     

    Going by the latest Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) report, almost 34.90 million DTH subscribers in India are inactive as against the total registered subscriber base of 76.05 million till the quarter ending March 2015. So while the DTH operators have been thumping their chests about adding new subscribers, their constant effort is channelized towards luring existing subscribers to stay on. And one such way to do that is by launching new products and services.

     

     

    As the year kicked off with the ICC Cricket World Cup and Indian Premiere League (IPL), DTH players got into overdrive mode early on with offerings galore. From Tata Sky launching 4K STBs, Videocon d2h rolling out a 4K Ultra HD multi genre channel, Dish TV offering discount packs, Sun Direct giving away an HD DVR connection at the cost of an HD connection on buying Samsung Curve to Airtel Digital TV’s UHD TV, it has been the year when DTH subscribers have been spoilt for choice.

     

     

    Over the past eight months, different players have come up with different strategies to increase subscription as well as add more active subscribers.

     

    Here’s a lowdown on who did what:

     

    Dish TV

     

    The DTH operator, which had in 2014 created a sub-brand called Zing, started the year by launching Zing for the Tamil Nadu market. Dish TV had introduced the sub-brand to cater to the specific needs of consumers in different regions and also give competition to the cable industry. Through this, Dish TV offered more than 145 channels, including 49 Tamil channels and services in a mere price of Rs 99 per month. Soon after, the operator launched Zing for the Kerala region as well. This time, it gave more than 150 channels, including 16 Malayalam channels at Rs 99 per month.

     

    Cashing in on the IPL, Dish TV, which was one of the sponsors for Kolkata Knight Riders, introduced a special Cricket+ package to increase its subscription revenues as well as the entertainment quotient.

     

    Dish TV, in order to get the ‘Art of Living’ lovers onboard launched Anandam Active to showcase the teachings of the spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravishankar. The service was made available to the subscribers of Dish TV with a monthly subscription fee of Rs 59 per month.

     

    “It has been our constant endeavour to make television viewing a wholesome experience for the entire family. We have always believed in offering unique content to our subscribers,” Dish TV COO Salil Kapoor had then said.

     

    Soon after, in order to lure music lovers, Dish TV tied up with Hungama to launch ‘Music Active Service.’ The service was launched to enhance Dish TV’s portfolio in the field of VAS and music and provide unlimited music to subscribers. While it launched the service at an introductory price of Rs 35 till 31 October, it will be priced at Rs 45 starting 1 November.

     

    The platform has something for everyone. In order to satiate the needs of movie lovers, Dish TV launched its first Home Video System – DishFlix. With this first of its kind push VOD service, Dish TV aims to empower consumers to enjoy uninterrupted ad-free entertainment. Through the service, viewers will be able to pause, play, fast forward and rewind movies or TV shows at their own convenience. Another unique feature is that this service will not require an internet connection as the content will be pushed to the customer’s STB via satellite. The customers for the service will need a DishFlix Box, which is priced at Rs 5990 that comes preloaded with 50 movies. Out of these, 15 movies will be refreshed every month on FIFO (First in First Out) basis (one new movie every two days) so that the viewable movie library is always updated. The monthly subscription to Flix studio is Rs 100.

     

    Tata Sky

     

    Tata Sky started its year with the launch of first 4K STB in India at a time when the country was preparing for the biggest cricketing extravaganza, the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015. While for the new subscribers, the 4K box was available for Rs 6400, existing subscribers could avail the box at Rs 5900.

     

    Soon after, the DTH operator decided to disrupt the market by making DTH connections affordable for its customers. Keeping this in mind, the operator launched the ‘Daily Recharge’ voucher, which empowered subscribers to pay only for the day they watched TV at Rs 8. This also became the smallest denomination of recharge voucher in the television-viewing sector globally. Tata Sky’s aim was to make inroads into untapped markets.

     

    “This initiative elevates the DTH sector by redefining the pace of digitization and reach to markets nationwide,” said Tata Sky MD & CEO Harit Nagpal at the time of launching the service.

     

    The latest addition to the DTH operator’s offering is its new upgraded STB – Tata Sky+ Transfer, which will enable users to transfer the recorded content onto alternative screens. The new product addresses the growing consumption of video on the move, through smartphones, tablets and other alternative screens. The new STB, which is priced at Rs 9300 for new subscribers and Rs 7200, for existing customers, will work on a Wi-Fi connection.

     

    Videocon d2h

     

    For Videocon d2h, the highlight of the year has been the launch of the first 24-hour 4K Ultra HD multi genre channel in January. The 4K Ultra HD channel is a content pipe that can carry multi genre feeds like movies, video on demand, travel, infotainment, sports etc provided by international broadcasters or independent content providers. The channel was launched just before the ICC Cricket World Cup, thus enabling subscribers to experience the sport in 4K Ultra HD.

     

    In June, the company unveiled its new initiative aimed at preschool and elementary school aged children with the launch of SMART Services. This comprised value-added bouquet of learning activities and games available exclusively to Videocon d2h subscribers at a subscription rate of Rs 45 per month. The banner included Smart Learning, Smart Kids and Smart Games, all available on subscription basis.

     

    Airtel Digital TV

     

    Airtel Digital TV was the first to launch indigenously manufactured STBs, in keeping with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ campaign. The STBs have been made available in HD and soon all of Airtel Digital TV’s STBs will be manufactured in India. These indigenous Airtel Digital TV HD+ STBs offer features like – Full HD 1080p support, MPEG-4 video with Dolby Digital Plus Surround Sound; 5X picture clarity; unlimited recording (via USB-drive); and USB-based Wi-Fi connectivity for On-demand, Anytime TV and Interactive Gaming.

     

    In order to make available DTH account details easily, Airtel Digital TV launched the missed call service for customers. Through this, customers can get their DTH account details on their mobile number by just giving a missed call on 08130081300. The service is completely free of cost for all Airtel Digital TV customers and provides information regarding customer ID, balance and validity, package name, monthly rental, base package rental, top up rental, last recharge date and amount and number of connections to customers on an SMS within five seconds of the missed call.

     

    The company also rolled out an innovative and easy to use Self-Care application for television sets, a first-of-its kind by a DTH service provider. A TV replica of the ‘My Airtel mobile app,’ the Self-Care enables customers within Airtel Digital TV HD STBs could easily access their account details real-time on their TV sets. The app can be accessed by connecting the STB to an internet connection via a LAN cable or with the help of the newly launched plug and play Wi-Fi dongle– Airtel Infinity.

     

    Sun Direct

     

    DTH operator Sun Direct wooed its customers during the two mega sporting events of the year – the ICC Cricket World Cup and IPL. The platform, which believes that events like these help increase its existing subscriber base, came up with special packs during the World Cup and IPL. While it offered the Star Sports bouquet on its bestselling Cinema+Sports pack for the World Cup, it provided Sony Six, the official broadcaster for the league free to new customers in order to incentivize them during the IPL.

     

    Sun Direct offered the Cinema+Sports package at Rs 195 per month during WC and focused on the pack in order to fulfill the requirements of its customers, during the cricketing season.

     

    During IPL, the operator also provided IPL add-on free for customers, who recharged beyond six months. That apart, Sun Direct also came up with an add-on for Rs 44, which allowed customers to watch the T20 matches for the entire duration of the tournament. “We see the IPL as a good tool to win back customers and improve our recharges substantially,” Sun Direct CEO Mahesh Kumar had earlier told Indiantelevision.com.

     

    While DTH operators have been putting their money where the mouth is by launching innovations as well as technological upgrades, the fact remains that close to 45 per cent of DTH subscribers are inactive in India. Going by this figure, DTH players will have to ramp-up their offerings to ensure that those coming onboard stay with them on as loyal customers in the long run.

  • Subhash Chandra’s Living Ent. to launch 5 channels; eyes Rs 1000 crore revenue in 4 years

    Subhash Chandra’s Living Ent. to launch 5 channels; eyes Rs 1000 crore revenue in 4 years

    MUMBAI: Essel Group’s Living Entertainment is looking at launching five new channels in the Indian market.

     

    The first channel to go on air will be an international food and lifestyle channel christened Living Foodz. Hitting Indian airwaves on 11 September, 2015, this foodtainment channel will have dual feed in Hindi and English.

     

    Additionally, the group also plans to launch Zee Living in India, which is already an established channel in the US. Apart from this, channels that will be launched under the Living Entertainment’s umbrella are: Living Rootz, which will concentrate on the rich civilization of the country, Living Homez focusing on home décor and Living Travelz, which will emphasise on the traveling aspect. The launch dates of these four channels have not yet been decided. 

     

    What’s more, the Living network, which has generated revenues of Rs 80 crore from global operations, is eyeing global revenue of Rs 1000 crore in the next four years.

     

    “In the next six months, we will add Rs 30 crore from India operations, which will take our business to around Rs  110 – 115 crore. In next four years, Living network will reach the Rs 1000 crore mark,” informed Zeel and Essel Group chairman Dr Subhash Chandra.

     

    According to him, 12 – 13 per cent of the global television viewership comes from the lifestyle category, while in terms of revenue generation the percentile goes up to 18 to 20 per cent, hence offering a huge space to explore.

     

    “This is yet another endeavour from our group to bring the world closer through entertainment. Living is all about global mindsets and experiences. This is also in line with our group philosophy of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ – The world is my family. Our group has always believed in creating not just great content but building genres and brands that are milestones,” he added.

     

    According to Dr Chandra, the American market, where Living network’s Zee Living has already established itself, is the most closed economy. “I have no hesitation in saying that, though people say US is the father of market economy, it’s the most closed economy I have ever seen in my life. We had to tussle hard to get distribution and even today out of 110 million homes, we managed to reach only 30 million homes,” he asserted.

     

    Zeel MD & CEO Punit Goenka added, “With Living, we intend to make global content for global audiences. This will be for the first time ever  that original content from India will be available to audiences across the globe. We are very proud to present this new form of entertainment to our audiences.”

     

    Drawing light to the business aspiration of the first channel to be launched from the bouquet, Goenka said, “Living Foodz will be a profitable from year one. Given the quality and content we have, I am sure of the fact that Living Foodz will go a long way.”

     

    Living Foodz will specialise in exploring the evolving social status of food: moving out of the confines of the conventional kitchen into a world of entertainment and adventure with food. Having food at its core, Living Foodz will explore different perspectives towards food and the way it touches people – from lifestyle, travel, wellness to food infotainment and reality.

     

    “Living is our endeavour to showcase audiences with great lifestyle content. Growth of digitisation is leading to fragmentation of audiences, thereby creating an opportunity for differentiated and genre specific content. Moreover, increasing digital households are giving rise to increased audience expectations and demand for more diverse viewing opportunities. Under this scenario we are providing Living Foodz to people who love exploring and knowing more about food,” opined Zee Living – India & APAC CEO Piyush Sharma. 

     

    Sharma further informed that the network will launch an app in six months’ time as well as a website in the next two months. “The channel will have 100 per cent original content,” he added.

     

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Living Foodz business head Amit Nair said, “We will have 80 per cent of Indian content, while 20 per cent will be English. The entire programming will be in-house. We have a very good in-house team who will handle that part.”

     

    In terms of marketing, the channel will emphasize more on digital platforms while there will be a 360 degree presence.

     

    For the Indian market, Living Foodz will be the international food & lifestyle channel that will have a universal feel and will appeal to new age groups in digital households. The core audience set will comprise the well travelled and connected people with high interest level of food. 

     

    The launch of Living Foodz will also mean curtains down for Zee’s Khana Khazana channel. “We are proud of the achievements and accolades Khana Khazana has garnered so far but now we believe audiences’ taste has changed and hence we decided to come up with Living Foodz. We will use Khana Khazana content and re-package it for our digital platforms, but since Living Foodz is going to have 100 per cent fresh content we cannot have its content on television,” said Sharma.

     

    The shows that Living Foodz is launching with are: Food Xpress: Rocky & Mayur, Chef on Wheels, Vickypedia, with Chef Vicky Ratnani, The Great Indian Rasoi with chef Ranveer BrarGood Food America and Peggy’s Kitchen Cures.

     

    The channel will be available across all direct-to-home (DTH) platforms like Dish TV, Tata Sky, Airtel Digital TV and Videocon d2h as well as leading cable networks.

     

    Living Entertainment in India will be an extension of the Living network belonging to Essel Group, which already exists in international markets.

  • Dish TV ties-up with Hungama to launch music service

    Dish TV ties-up with Hungama to launch music service

    MUMBAI: Keeping in mind the ever growing demand in music, direct to home (DTH) operator Dish TV has tied up with Hungama to launch Music Active, which will provide subscribers with music across 10 different genres.

     

    The active service will enhance Dish TV’s portfolio in the field of value added services (VAS) and provide unlimited music to its subscribers.

     

    Catering to the need of Bollywood music lovers and other streams of music such as devotional, western, and pop music Music Active will have a mix of Bollywood hits and Bollywood retro. Simultaneously reaching out to the music lovers of other genres, Music Active will also have international hits, international classics, devotional, ghazals, Bhojpuri, Kannada, Tamil and Carnatic hits.

     

    Customers of the active service will be able enjoy uninterrupted music unlike music channels. Music Active is completely ad free. Another important advantage for music lovers would be that unlike music apps, there will be no buffering of songs leading to steady entertainment.

     

    The service while will be free from 27 August to 6 September, it will then be made available at an introductory price of Rs 35 till 31 October and will be priced at Rs 45 starting 1 November, 2015. The audio service can be availed by giving a missed call on 18002700096. Music Active will be available on channel number 671 on Dish TV.

     

    Dish TV chief operating officer Salil Kapoor said, “Being a pioneer and market leader, it has been our constant endeavour to make television viewing a wholesome experience for the entire family and to increase affinity with our audiences by providing them the choice of content they would like to watch. Dish TV has always taken the lead in enhancing the value proposition and believes in providing the maximum and the best in entertainment to its subscribers. We are delighted to tie up with Hungama for launching Music Active, with the launch of Music Active, we are continuing with our legacy of offering another unique service for our consumers who are inclined towards music and will have this great opportunity to enjoy music of all genres in the close comfort of their homes.”

     

    Hungama.com CEO Siddhartha Roy added, “Music Active co-launched by Hungama and Dish TV will bring uninterrupted and ad-free music to subscribers. We are proud to associate with the DTH service as we bring subscribers their favorite music across 10 different genres ranging from Bollywood, regional, devotional to international, etc. I am certain that Dish TV subscribers will enjoy grooving to Bollywood, regional and international music’s most popular hits and retro tracks only on Music Active.”

  • M&E stocks take a beating as Sensex crashes 1600+ points; NDTV worst hit

    M&E stocks take a beating as Sensex crashes 1600+ points; NDTV worst hit

    MUMBAI: Triggered by global concerns over China’s falling economy and its impact on global markets, the benchmark BSE Sensex witnessed bloodbath on Monday, 24 August as it closed the day at 25,741.56, down 1,624.51 points (5.94 per cent). This is one of the biggest fall since 2009.

     

    Moreover, the Nifty was also down 490.95 points (5.92 per cent) to close at 7809.

     

    According to media reports, on the back of the market meltdown, investors lost more than Rs 7 lakh crore. The downfall not only left the major oil, goods and bank companies in the red but the Indian Media and Entertainment (M&E) companies were also badly hit. 

     

    In the media sector, news company NDTV India was the worst hit as it fell 16.27 per cent to close the day at Rs 88.50. This was followed by TV Today, which witnessed a fall of 13.99 per cent to close the day’s trade at Rs 192.15. On the other hand, multi system operator (MSO) Hathway Cable & Datacom at Rs 40.05 was down 13.78 per cent.

     

    Some of the other major M&E companies like Balaji Telefilms, direct to home (DTH) company Dish TV and Sun TV Network were not spared either. While Balaji Telefilms was down 12.31 per cent to close the day at Rs 72.65, Dish TV was down 11.85 per cent at Rs 96.35. The Maran owned Sun TV dipped 11.63 per cent to close at Rs 298.50.

     

    Eros International Media closed at Rs 441.95 after registering a 11.60 per cent decline. Even music companies were not left untouched from the stock market waves. Shemaroo Entertainment, Saregama and Tips recorded a fall of 10.74 per cent, 9.98 per cent and 9.53 per cent respectively.

     

    Other media companies including DQ Entertainment, Network18, B.A.G Films and Entertainment Network India Ltd (ENIL) were down by 9.38 per cent, 8.78 per cent, 8.59 per cent and 7.33 per cent respectively.

     

    The Dhoot family owned DTH company Videocon d2h was the sole company unaffected by the fall of the Sensex. The company’s stock was up by 0.33 per cent and closed at Rs 137. 75.

     

    Some of the companies, which were not as impacted as much were Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL), which was down 6.11 per cent to end the day at Rs 359.65, Jagran Prakashan (down 5.20 per cent) and MSO Siti Cable (down 5 per cent). 

     

    HT Media bore a loss of 2.84 per cent, whereas the Orissa based MSO Ortel Communications was down 2.27 per cent to close the day’s trade at Rs 202.30. 

     

    Ascribing the market crash to global turbulence, finance minister Arun Jaitley said that the government along with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) was watching the situation and hoped that things will stabilise once the transient impact is over.

  • Dish TV ups Malayalam channels offering to 28 with Janam TV

    Dish TV ups Malayalam channels offering to 28 with Janam TV

    MUMBAI: Direct to home (DTH) operator Dish TV has added Malayalam news channel Janam TV in its bouquet for its Kerala viewers. Dish TV now offers the maximum regional entertainment amongst all DTH players with a total of 28 Malayalam channels and services on its platform. 

     

    Dish TV’s subscribers in Kerala will be able to watch Janam TV on channel number 730. 

     

    Dish TV India chief operating officer Salil Kapoor said, “Being a pioneer and market leader, Dish TV has always stood up to its promise of providing maximum width and depth of content with an overall of 500+ channels & services. Dish TV has always taken the lead in enhancing the value proposition and believes in providing the maximum and the best in entertainment to its subscribers. Our endeavour is to increase affinity with our audiences by providing them the choice of content they would like to watch. And now by adding Janam TV exceedingly popular Malayalam news channel in our channel bouquet, we take pride to offer maximum Malayalam content to our customers in Kerala and we will continue to expand our offerings with further additions.”

  • Dish TV unveils VOD movie service DishFlix

    Dish TV unveils VOD movie service DishFlix

    NEW DELHI: Dish TV has launched a video on demand service that – unlike IPTV – works without the Internet and offers a choice of fifty English and Hindi films to choose from at any time.

     

    While conceding that it was akin to the Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), which had been introduced without much success almost a decade earlier, Dish TV CEO R C Venkateish said that the difference was that DishFlix would work without the internet.

     

    The new technology would require a small box costing Rs 5990 that will be attached to the set top box. Viewers can avail the service for a monthly fee of Rs 100. One film will be added every second day, making it a total of 15 new films every month. However, the total number of films would remain the same on the service.

     

    Dish TV executive vice president Anjali Malhotra tells Indiantelevision.com that the company will be spending approximately Rs 20 – 25 crore in marketing the new product.  DishFlix will be promoted on Zee and other channels as well as across theatres chains like PVR and INOX. Movie portals will also be seen sporting DishFlix ads.

     

    While at launch the ratio of Hindi and English film on the service would be 70:30, other language films would be brought in at a later stage. The films were divided across five genres on DishFlix, informs Malhotra.

     

    Dish TV MD Jawahar Goel informs that the new service would help curb piracy as lesser people would be templed to download films from the internet. Moreover, consumers could also bid goodbye to the problem of buffering caused by the slow Internet rate.

     

    Venkateish added that this VOD version puts the power in the hands of the consumer. “It is a plug in service with films that would be completely free of advertisements,” he said.

     

    Viewers will be able to pause, play, fast forward and rewind movies or TV shows at their own convenience. The service works sans any internet connection as the content will be pushed to the customer’s STB through satellite. Customers need to buy a DishFlix Box that comes preloaded with 50 movies. Out of these, 15 movies will be refreshed every month on first in first out basis so that the viewable movie library is always updated.

  • Dish TV takes HD channels offering to 45 with Comedy Central HD

    Dish TV takes HD channels offering to 45 with Comedy Central HD

    MUMBAI: Keeping in mind the promise of providing maximum high-definition channels; Dish TV has added another HD channel – Comedy Central HD to its portfolio.

     

    With this, Dish TV has taken its HD channel & services count to 45, which is the highest in the country so far. It may be recalled that Videocon d2h recently upped its HD offering to 39 channels with the addition of Colors Infinity HD and Nat Geo Wild HD.

     

    Dish TV chief operating officer Salil Kapoor said, “Latest trends suggest that the growth of the High Definition category over the past year together with rising sales of flat panel TVs (LED/LCD) has added a new dimension to superior HD viewing experience. With the usage of DTH connections with HD boxes, the experience quotient for the subscribers is all set to go up. We are proud to announce the addition of Comedy Central HD channel on our platform. Dish TV has a complete offering and mix of High-Definition entertainment, music, news and regional language channels and has maximum content with 45 HD channels and services, making it the highest in the country.”

     

    Viacom18 EVP and head of English entertainment Ferzad Palia added, “We are thrilled to be a part of Dish TV’s HD offering. Comedy Central HD is the country’s premier English comedy destination and it is great that our viewers will now get to enjoy their daily dose of fun and laughter in high definition.”