ITV

Tag: DishTV

  • 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.

  • DishTV launches Anandam Active to showcase Ravishankar’s teachings

    DishTV launches Anandam Active to showcase Ravishankar’s teachings

    MUMBAI: Direct to Home (DTH) operator DishTV has launched Anandam Active at the Art of Living headquarters on 14 May, 2015. The service will showcase teachings of the spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravishankar.

     

    This service will be available to subscribers for a monthly fee of Rs 59. Anandam Active will be available across cities, semi urban and rural areas of India.

     

    Anandam Active will have harmony of spirituality, health, culture, social concerns, mythology, science, and education. This service will also have capsules of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar at regular intervals, spreading the word of hope and faith.

     

    Sri Sri Ravishankar said, “I am extremely happy at the launch of Anandam Active service only on Asia’s largest DTH player, DishTV. This service has made it possible for millions of people who due to their hectic lifestyles cannot attend live discourses in my Ashram to now listen and learn The Art of Living, even at the remotest part of the country. Together, we hope to make world a better place to live.My blessings are with everyone who is a part of this initiative.”

     

    DishTV chief operating officer Salil Kapoor added, “We are delighted to be partners in this noble initiative. It has been our constant endeavor to make television viewing a wholesome experience for the entire family. We have always believed in offering unique content to our subscribers. With the launch of Anandam Active, we are continuing with our legacy of offering another unique service for our consumers who are spirituality inclined and will have this great opportunity to enjoy Sri Sri’s teachings in the close comfort of their homes.”

     

    Talking about the initiative the content provider for the Anandam Active, Amazing India Television chief executive officer Ajay Kumar asserted, “Anandam Active is launched on the auspicious occasion of Guru Ji’s birthday. The key message of Art of Living is to celebrate life and spread happiness. Anandam Active echoes the same mission and hopes to achieve a positive behavioral change within the masses, who will consume this content. Sri Sri’s teachings on Anandam Active will remove the hindrance of the physical distances with the people at large and will enable us to interact with a much larger audience to share our thoughts and ideology. We firmly believe that DishTV, Asia’s largest direct to home entertainment company shall prove to be a priceless partner in this endeavor.”

  • IndiaCast vs DishTV: The final TDSAT order says it all

    IndiaCast vs DishTV: The final TDSAT order says it all

    MUMBAI: Last week, there was a lot of brouhaha about the IndiaCast vs DishTV round of fisticuffs on the DTH operator’s “on request channel service” and the former’s flurry of ads in newspapers and on TV. Both sides claimed victory, saying the Telecom Disputes Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) had ruled in their favour. But there was no order in sight.

     

    Today the TDSAT posted it on its web site, with he verdict pronounced by its chairman Aftab Alam. And here are the highlights: 

     

     

    * The tribunal says that a legal objection cannot be taken to Dish TV’s arrangement of ‘on request channels’ which its counsel said would imply that from1 January 2014, 22 IndiaCast channels will be available only as a-la-carte out of its package. The deal with the other 16 channels shall come to an end on 31 March and from 1 April, they would also be treated similarly.

     

    * The Dish TV counsel also clarified that the scroll running on IndiaCast channels shall from now on only say that those channels will be available on a-la-carte basis and people shall be asked to communicate through the SMS number mentioned on it in case they want to subscribe to any of them.

     

    * IndiaCast counsel was requested to give an undertaking to the court that the ads published by its client against Dish TV shall stop. 

     

    And with these statements, the TDSAT disposed off both the petitions. 

     

    Who really won? It looks like each got its way, in some way, and the tribunal told them to cease firing.  But is it the last that we have seen of them bashing each other? Will they come together on the table and negotiate a deal? 

     

    After all, the seven million subs of Dish TV are not to be sniffed away. And the absence of channels such as Colors on Dish TV pack can lead to customer attrition. History has shown that very few Indian customers go for a-la-carte channels. This will continue to be the case unless customers miraculously have a change in their consumption habits. Both IndiaCast and Dish TV might hold out for a while but we at indiantelevision.com  are betting on the duo reaching a settlement – sooner, than later. 

     

    Click here for the full order

  • IndiaCast UTV vs DishTV: Who really won?

    IndiaCast UTV vs DishTV: Who really won?

    MUMBAI:  It’s a battle that has both warring parties claiming victory. We are referring to the IndiaCast UTV Disney vs Dish TV scrap wherein each has been taking potshots at each other on an ‘on-request channel’ scheme that the platform has been running which involves the aggregators’ channels.

    Both petitioned the Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) for a resolution and judgment.

    The matter was heard by the TDSAT today. IndiaCast’s pleas were:

    *Declare that the ‘on request’ categorisations of IndiaCast UTV channels in its current form be declared null and void.

    * Declare that the payment of monthly licence fees by DishTV be done in terms of TRAI regulations.

    * Declare that the scrolls/crawls being run by DishTV on IndiaCast UTV is (sic.) absolutely illegal.

    *Permanently restrain Dish TV from running any scroll in any manner whatsoever.

    *Pass an ad interim ex-parte order directing Dish TV to pay licence fees to IndiaCast UTV on the basis of the number of subscribers of packages in which the aggregators channels are placed.

    * Pass an ad interim order restraining Dish TV from, in any manner whatsoever switching off or blacking out the aggregator’s channels to subscribers, subscribing to the package in which the IndiaCast UTV channels exist.

    DishTV’s plea was:

    * IndiaCast UTV be restrained from issuing false, frivolous, and baseless alert notices to the subscribers of DishTV.

    *Declare the alert notice issued by IndiaCast UTV as illegal, malafide and defamatory.

    * Direct IndiaCast UTV to issue an unconditional and unqualified apology for publishing the wrong false and misleading alert notices to subscribers of DishTV.

    * Direct IndiaCast UTV to issue a corrigendum in all the newspapers and channels with the same prominence where the alert notices have been published.

    At the time of writing both claimed that the tribunal had ruled in their favour.

    While IndiaCast UTV stated that the TDSAT has struck down the ‘on-request channel’ scheme, Dish TV said it has not, adding that it is going to continue with it – albeit with a rejoinder that it will be called an ‘a la carte on request channel scheme.’

    IndiaCast UTV, on its part, has agreed to DishTV’s pleas to stop running the alert notices in newspapers and on air.

    Sources in IndiaCast UTV say their fears about the scheme were that DishTV could have mis-utilised it by making its channels available in both the DTH operator’s base and other subscriber packs and also in its a la carte offerings.

    If subscribers did not send an SMS confirming that they wanted the IndiaCast UTV channels, these would be dropped from their pack offerings, even as subscribers would continue paying as per earlier pack prices. Since subscribers would have unsubscribed, Dish TV would not be liable to make payments to IndiaCast UTV despite collecting the entire price for the pack (inclusive of the IndiaCast UTV channels).  This, IndiaCast UTV executives feared, would lead to a loss of revenues for them.

    They point out to an earlier interview in which DishTV CEO R.C. Venkateish was quoted as saying that the ‘on request channel’ scheme “is not a la carte offering but a scheme that will run on existing packs. We intend to progressively classify a number of channels as ‘on request channels’.”

    DishTV’s lawyers, however, clarified with the TDSAT today that the IndiaCast UTV channels would not be offered in all the various subscription packs that the operator offers but rather as a la carte offerings from 1 January 2014. And this is exactly what the aggregator was seeking, say IndiaCast UTV sources.

    Earlier agreements between DishTV and IndiaCast UTV for 22 channels in its bouquet are slated to expire on 31 December 2013, while those for another 11 are slated to expire on 31 March 2014.

    DishTV sent out an official statement, which said:

     “The TDSAT has disposed off the petition of IndiaCast UTV and has upheld the ‘on request DishTV’ scheme where the channels of IndiaCast UTV will be provided by DishTV to its subscribers on a la carte basis.  On the petition of DishTV, the TDSAT has also directed IndiaCast UTV to stop publishing advertisements against the ‘on request channel’ scheme of DishTV. We have also been allowed to run the scrolls publishing the ‘on request channels’ scheme by mentioning that the channels will be available on a la carte basis.”

    We at indiantelevision.com don’t know if we have seen the last of the exchange of fisticuffs between the two. Let’s wait and watch how things pan out in the coming days.

  • No DTH JV for content and carriage fees

    No DTH JV for content and carriage fees

    MUMBAI:  Is a joint venture between three DTH players – DishTV, Airtel, and Videocon2h – as erroneously and amateurishly reported recently really on the cards? The purpose behind the joint venture – it was reported – was to bring content costs down and carriage revenues up for the three DTH players.

    “The fact of the matter is that several discussions and proposals are mooted by those in the ecosystem,” says an observer close to the discussions. “Indeed around six months ago the joint venture proposal was floated and some meetings were held. But it was being pushed by one player and the rest were just examining whether it was feasible and what were its merits and demerits. No concrete steps were taken to give it any shape or form.”

    Says a senior executive at one of the three DTH players: “The talks simply died down and no further moves were made in that direction.  To the best of my knowledge it seems to have been put on the back burner – at least for now.”

    Another executive points out that if the three were in agreement on this score, then why did Dish TV break away and announce its carriage fee rate card recently?  “If one goes by current indications, the other two are being cautious on the joint venture proposal,” says a media observer.

    So you heard it here first: the DTH joint venture was only a proposal, which seems to have fizzled out – at least for now.

  • DTH Assn’s Harit Nagpal: “We can plug the shortfall in STBs in Phase II”

    DTH Assn’s Harit Nagpal: “We can plug the shortfall in STBs in Phase II”

    MUMBAI: They are being pretty direct. DTH TV operators have categorically stated that they can definitely fill the gap should there be any shortage of set top boxes in any city under phase II of the government mandated digitsation of cable TV.

    “Digitisation does not need to be postponed,” says DTH Association of India president Harit Nagpal emphatically “ We have been digitizing the TV industry for the past seven years. We have national contracts with the broadcasters, which we keep working on with them. We have adequate stocks of STBs and trained manpower to meet any demand which crops up in any city should cable TV operators not be in a position to deliver the set top boxes to their customers.”

    He is pretty confident that this can be done overnight. “At Tata Sky we have about 1.5 million set top boxes in stock,” he reveals. “I am speaking for all DTH operators: If there is a colony or a ward or a pincode which is feeling the shortage, we can rush boxes there overnight to plug the shortage.”

    Nagpal believes that media reports claiming that 50 per cent of homes in some cities are facing a TV blackout could be attributable to independent cable TV operators in these cities not clearly reporting the number of STBs they have installed. “I think it is a reporting problem,” he says. “The number of TV homes not receiving signals is much lower. Some anomalies like this are bound to occur on an exercise of this scale.”

    DTH today accounts for about 27-28 per cent of the entire pay TV base in this country with about 40 million active subscribers according to the DTH association.

    Also, according to MIB reports almost 40 per cent of the digitization that has been achieved in the 38 cities has been done by DTH players, among which figure Tata Sky, Airtel, Videocon d2H, DishTV, Sun, DDDirect, Big TV.

  • Dishtv, Tata Sky plan schemes for World Cup

    Dishtv, Tata Sky plan schemes for World Cup

    MUMBAI: DTH service providers Dishtv and Tata Sky will use the upcoming cricket World Cup to entice their viewers and increase subscription numbers.

    Dishtv has come out with a World Cup For Free offer. It has come out with a special world cup promotional pack at Rs 3990, all inclusive with six months subscription free. This also includes dishtv’s sports active services free for the same six-month period. The offer is being introduced by the dishtv mascot who entices the viewer with his histrionics and invites them to this unique experience only on dishtv.

    Dishtv is positioning itself as offering active services that enable a better than stadium experience for the viewer. Besides digital picture quality and stereophonic sound, viewers will have value added controls.

    The matches can be viewed with multi-camera angles. Subscribers can watch a match through three different camera angles – the main feed, the square leg and the third which will be a mix of stump cam/high wide shot.

    Language Feed: The dish subscriber will have the opportunity to hear the commentary from a choice of five languages – English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Bengali along with a live stadium ambient sound.

    Highlights: Match highlights, i.e. all wickets and key shots like – 4’s, 6’s will be available to the dishtv viewers at the press of a button whenever they want

    Statistics: The dishtv subscriber will have access to a stupendous Amount of cricketing data like team line ups, score cards, in-depth history of the players, their past records and so on again on their TV screens merely at the touch of a button.

    The firm says that subscribers will get the Sports Active services at no extra cost that would otherwise cost Rs. 25 per month.

    Dishtv CEO Arun Kumar Kapoor says, “Cricket is like religion in our country and the Cricket World Cup being the biggest opportunity to delight the consumers. With the advent
    of active services and new consumer offers available in the market, the subscribers have a win win situation. dishtv has always worked towards maximising its viewer’s delight and will continue to do so”.

    Commenting on the caricature launched by, dishtv to flag off the World Cup campaign, dishtv VP marketing Anjali Malhotra says, “The mascot lends a face to the brand that is warm, consumer friendly and trustworthy. Moreover he seems to simplify an otherwise perceived technology product apart from adding an element of fun to our communication as we are but, an entertainment provider to Indian homes. We are sure that the consumers will warm up to him.”

    As far as Tata Sky is concerned the company’s MD and CEO Vikram Kaushik says, “Tata Sky is offering free subscription for three months and has roped in actor Hrithik Roshan for its new marketing campaign.”

    He explains that as part of this campaign select viewers who have subscribed before 15 April will get to watch the World Cup final match with him. In adition the company is extending the free pricing policy to the second, third and fourth television set within a consumer’s household.

    “The new marketing campaign is a step to reach one-million subscriber base by the end of this year. We expect phenomenal subscription during the World Cup.”

  • Dishtv announces special pricing for Cas

    Dishtv announces special pricing for Cas

    MUMBAI: With conditional access (Cas) coming in shortly in Dehli, Mumbai, Kolkatta, the war is on for the consumer. Direct-to-home (DTH) service provider Dishtv has announced pricing offers for the Cas cities.

    Dishtv has worked on a 2 pronged pricing strategy – both for the hardware as well as for the monthly subscriptions.

    For a dishtv connection, there is now an entry option and an overall value proposition.

    The new pricing options are as follows:

    Down Payment Offer: To deliver better value to its consumers, the existing scheme has been enhanced for all new incumbent subscribers in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata

    On the payment of monthly subscription of one month of any of the two packages, the consumer can enjoy six months viewing. This is applicable on the acquisition of hardware at Rs 2950 along with Rs 200 as installation charges.

    Easy Pay Offer: In order to enable an easy ‘getting started’, Dishtv offers the following scheme for Cas notified areas in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.

    A pay out of Rs 1300 (to take the entire equipment home, on right to use basis) + Rs 200 as installation charges. Thereafter, a monthly rental of Rs 35 for the hardware will apply for a period of five years. This will be charged along with the monthly subscription of any of the two packages that the consumer subscribes to.

    Multi TV households can now get started with dishtv at a special price. For instance, for four TVs in a typical south city home, one now needs to foot a bill of only Rs 6000 to get four dishtv connections. Further, the monthly subscriptions on the second, third and fourth connections would cost only Rs 100 + taxes each month.

    In addition its monthly subscription packages are also two tiered – one with 85 channels at Rs 210 +taxes per month and the other enhanced package with 125 channels at 240 + taxes per month, keeping in view the entertainment needs of varied users.

    Clearly, DTH service providers are taking the fight to the multi-system operators (MSOs). Tata Sky recently announced it would offer free subscription for six months to consumers who fall in the Cas area.

  • Kingfisher Airlines and DishTV introduce Live TV In-flight

    Kingfisher Airlines and DishTV introduce Live TV In-flight

    MUMBAI: Dishtv and Kingfisher Airlines have joined hands to bring Live TV entertainment for the very first time in the Indian skies. As a part of the tie-up, DTH player DishTV, will demonstrate its services on Kingfisher Airlines.

    The first aircraft empowered by DishTV complete with the Live TV service, will be ready to take-off by the end of December.

    Now on flying with Kingfisher Airlines, guests will be able to keep themselves updated and entertained with critical news or business event, sporting action, Hollywood and Bollywood movies, latest music, and popular sitcoms, with DishTV’s technology of making digital content services available on board, asserts an official release.

    Speaking on the occasion Essel Group chairman Subhash Chandra said, “We are extremely pleased to join hands with Kingfisher Airlines, marking dishtv’s presence and dominance in the Indian skies. This marks a red letter day, yet again in the history of Indian entertainment when we have been able to take TV entertainment to completely unprecedented levels. This reiterates our commitment to not just be the pioneers in the DTH category but as true leaders, continue to innovate and lead from the front, giving the consumer the best he could ever imagine in entertainment, constantly. We look forward to such historical innovations with like minded corporates in the future as well.”

    Kingfisher Airlines Limited chairman and CEO Vijay Mallya added, “Today we take our commitment to take the best of Good Times, one step further for our guests. Our association with DishTV has helped us create yet another path-breaking innovation which will revolutionise the way Indians perceive In-flight Entertainment and we are very proud that dishtv will now enable Live TV onboard every Kingfisher Airlines flight. With the launch of Live TV onboard, we are not re-defining In-flight Entertainment, but creating history”.

    With this alliance, DishTV will now empower Kingfisher Airlines’ Fun TV with 16 Live channels from its platform. Fun TV also has five channels of the broadcasted video content and one moving map channel. In addition guests can enjoy 10 channels of chartbusting music from hip-hop to retro to old Hindi melodies on Kingfisher Radio, adds the release.

  • Zee Tele Q2 revenues up 38% at Rs 4.6 billion; Net Rs 333 million

    Zee Tele Q2 revenues up 38% at Rs 4.6 billion; Net Rs 333 million

    MUMBAI: Subhash Chandra’s Zee Telefilms Limited today reported second quarter consolidated revenues of Rs 4.64 billion representing a 38.1 per cent growth over the corresponding period in the previous fiscal where it stood at Rs 3.36 billion.

    Consolidated operating profit stood at Rs 338 million, after expensing of initial investments in new activities viz. Zee Telugu, Zee Smile, Zee Sports and others, amounting to Rs 832 million (17.9 per cent of consolidated revenues).

    As a result, consolidated operating profits of continuing businesses were Rs 1,171 million, higher by 28.4 per cent over to the corresponding quarter last year.
    Profit before tax for the second quarter of fiscal 2007 was Rs 409 million while net profit was Rs 333 million, down 21.6 per cent from the Rs 425 million recorded last year.
    The results announced are after consolidating the financials of ETC Networks Limited (ETC) for the second quarter of FY2007.

    2Q FY2007 – Highlights
    Advertisement revenue Rs 2,107 million – up 42.6%
    Subscription revenue Rs 1,930 million – up 10.6%
    Zee TV now leader in 9-10 pm & in 6-8:30 pm time band
    Siticable acquires 250,000 last mile cable connections
    DishTV enhances content offering, Star bouquet available from August
    DishTV subscriber base now 1.5 million

    Said Chandra, “Zee’s second quarter results prove the continued strength of our content business and a growing presence across new genres. Not only are we growing our content business, we have been very successful in integrating it with new platforms like DTH, with significant growth potential. The performance reflects our success in delivering superior content to viewers and stronger relationship with our consumers.”

    Chandra added, “We are also happy about some recent developments relating to our business. There is continued monitoring of High Court for implementation of CAS in the notified areas of Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata by December 31, 2006. This will additionally help in bringing about addressability on cable. On DTH, DishTV further enhanced its offering from August when the Star bouquet was also made available to subscribers and now DishTV has the most comprehensive content on any pay television service, whether cable or satellite. All these have extremely positive and long term impact on our business.”

    Commenting on the restructuring exercise, Chandra continued, “The restructuring exercise is underway and is expected to be completed by January 2007. There has been some delay from our earlier expectation of November 2006, due purely to a number of adjournments of court hearings. When completed, the restructuring would result in four listed companies ready to exploit the vast emerging opportunities in each line of business. The next several years would provide tremendous growth opportunities for all these four businesses.”

    Punit Goenka, whole time director and responsible for content creation, commented, “Zee TV continued to increase its viewership share from 25% in 1Q FY2007 to 28% during 2Q FY2007, along with a significant growth in time spent. During the quarter, average gross ratings points (GRPs) of Zee TV remained at 240 levels, while recording peak GRPs of 270 in week 36. The growth momentum has been led by widespread success of Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Little Champs, Saat Phere and Kasamh Se, while our new launches Dulhan and Betiyan have been very well received. Betiyan touched a TVR of 5 in its first week. Zee TV now has five programmes in the Top 20 and 12 programmes in the Top 50. It has leadership in the 9 pm to 10 pm time band, and between 6 pm to 8:30 pm on weekdays.”

    “Zee Cinema continues to be the No. 1 movie channel, and increasingly is becoming a reach channel for the advertisers. Zee Marathi has improved its viewership by 16 per cent during 2Q FY2007. Zee Bangla has improved its viewership by 60 per cent and has gained leadership position in the 8:30 pm to 9:30 pm time band. Zee Sports continues to build on the back of Cricket Tri-Series in Malaysia between India, Australia and West Indies. We will continue to reinforce our competitive advantage and deliver more value to viewers and shareholders.” Goenka added.

    Elaborating on the performance, CEO Pradeep Guha said, “We are pleased with the strong operating results, content business delivered in the second quarter. We once again outperformed the market with unmatched connection with our audience and remain focused on building on our progress. Looking ahead, we are confident that continued execution of our content strategy would result in a revenue growth faster than that of industry.”