ITV

Tag: DTH operator

  • TRAI issues new tariff order to balance consumer rate and broadcaster demands

    TRAI issues new tariff order to balance consumer rate and broadcaster demands

    NEW DELHI: In a major initiative aimed at simplifying tariffs and meeting demands of consumers, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) today issued a new tariff order which apart from fixing tariffs also amended the definition of addressable systems (DAS) as understood at present.
    The Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services (Second) Tariff (Fourteenth Amendment) Order, 2015 said “addressable system” means an electronic device (which includes hardware and  its  associated  software)  or  more  than  one  electronic  device  put  in  an integrated system through which signals of digital addressable system can be sent in encrypted form, which can be decoded by the device or devices, having an activated Conditional Access System at the premises of the subscriber within the limits of authorisation made, through the Conditional Access System and the subscriber management system, on the explicit choice and request of such subscriber, by multi-system operator or DTH operator or IPTV operator or HITS operator  to the subscriber; and the expression “non-addressable system” shall be construed accordingly.
    The Order shall come into force on the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.
    The order also specifies that it will apply to specified states, cities, towns and areas notified from time to time and not the entire country.  
    The order has specified that if any new pay channel is launched or any free-to-air channel is converted to pay channel after the first day of January 2015, then the ceiling shall not apply if the new pay channel or pay channel converted from free-to-air to pay channel is provided on a standalone basis, either individually or as part of new, separate bouquet.The broadcaster shall declare the genre of its channels and such genre shall be either News and Current Affairs or Infotainment or Sports or Kids or Music or Lifestyle or Movies or Religious or Devotional or General Entertainment (Hindi) or General Entertainment (English) or General Entertainment (regional language).
    The rates of channels, referred to in the first proviso shall be similar to the rates of similar channels existing as on the date of such launch of new channel or such conversion of free-to-air channel into a pay channel and the ceiling of charges, specified under sub-clauses (a), (b) and (c) shall not, in any case, exceed by the rates of channels referred to in the third proviso.
    In case a multi system operator or a cable operator reduces the number of pay channels that were being shown on the date of coming into force of the Telecommunication(Broadcasting and Cable) Services (Second) Tariff (Fourteenth  Amendment) Order 2015, the ceiling shall be reduced taking into account the rate(s) of the channel(s) so removed. In the case of the commercial subscriber, for each television connection, the charges payable by the Ordinary cable subscriber under sub-clause (a), shall be the ceiling.

    If a commercial subscriber charges his customer or any person for a programme of a broadcaster shown within his premises, he shall, before he starts providing such service, enter into agreement with the broadcaster and the broadcaster may charge the commercial subscriber, for such programme, as may be agreed upon between them.
    The charges referred to in sub-clause (a) shall in no case exceed the maximum amount of charges specified in the Part I or Part II, as the case may be, of the Schedule annexed with this Order.”
    In determining the similarity of rates of similar channels referred to in the provisos below clause 3 above the following factors shall be taken into account:
    (i)  the genre and language of the new  pay or converted Free to Air  to pay channel; and
    (ii) the range of prices ascribed to the existing channels of similar genre and
    language in the price of a bouquet(s) and prices of bouquet(s) that exist.”
    Every broadcaster shall offer or cause to offer on non-discriminatory basis all its channels on a-la- carte basis to the multi system operator or the cable operator, as the case may be, and specify an a-la-carte rate, subject to provisions of sub-clause (2) of this  clause and clauses 3 and 3B, for each  pay channel offered by him.
    In case a broadcaster, in addition to offering all its channels on a-la-carte basis, provides, without prejudice to the provisions of sub-clause (1), to a multi system operator or to a cable operator, pay channels as part of a bouquet consisting only of pay channels or both pay and free to air channels, the rate for such bouquet and a-la-carte rates for such pay channels forming part of that bouquet shall be subject to the following conditions, namely:-
    (a) the sum of the a-la-carte rates of the pay channels forming part of such a bouquet shall in no case exceed one and half  times of the rate of that bouquet of which such pay channels are a part; and
    (b) the a-la-carte rates of each pay channel, forming part of such a bouquet, shall in no case   exceed three times the average   rate of a pay channel   of that bouquet of which such pay channel is  a part and the average rate of a pay channel of the bouquet be calculated in the following manner, namely:
    If the bouquet rate is Rs. ‘X’ per month per subscriber and the number of pay channels is ‘Y’ in a bouquet, then  the average pay channel rate of the bouquet shall be Rs. ‘X’ divided by number of pay channels ‘Y’:
    Provided that the composition of a bouquet existing as on the 1 day of December 2007, in so far as pay channels are concerned in that bouquet, shall not be changed: and nothing contained in the first proviso shall apply to those bouquets of channels existing on the first day of December 2007, which are required to be modified pursuant to the commencement of the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable Services) Interconnection (Seventh Amendment) Regulation, 2014.
     
    If there is a bouquet, comprising of 10 channels of 3 broadcasters as per the following details.

    After  the  reconfiguration  the  bouquets  to  be  offered  by  the  individual broadcasters shall be as under:
    Broadcaster B shall offer the bouquet as per the following details

    Broadcaster C shall offer the bouquet as per the following details:

    While the Broadcaster A can offer channel 1 at a-la-carte rate of Rs. 2.”
    TRAI has aslo appended an Explanatory Memorandum which traces the history of discussions and orders over the last 11 years on its website trai.gov.in.

  • Tata Sky’s celebrity association: Key to increasing sales

    Tata Sky’s celebrity association: Key to increasing sales

    MUMBAI: ‘Isko laga dala toh life jingalala’ was one line that caught the attention of the entire country. To add to it, DTH operator Tata Sky got on board Bollywood celebrity Aamir Khan to endorse the product in his inimitable style. Last year, it took a u-turn to the south and roped in Kerala film star Mohanlal to do the trick in the Malayalam market and recently it tapped into the north east section of the country with popular singer Papon.

    While Khan endorsed the product years ago, Mohanlal was taken up only last year and Papon was roped in during the 2014 FIFA World Cup to send the message of Tata Sky into areas where it hasn’t gained traction. Mohanlal was used extensively across the state through TVCs, van activations and outdoor hoardings. “We wanted to tell that Tata Sky is as much a Malayalam brand as it is in other parts of the country. So we wanted a name that would connect not just with the audience but with the brand offering as well.  We had Mohanlal speak to the family audience after he tested our product and approved its quality,” says Tata Sky CCO Vikram Mehra.

    Simultaneously it launched 19 Malayalam channels and set up sales and services structure in the state including 3000 dealers across 10 districts along with service partners and call centre executives trained in the local language. The perception of the brand was that it had less Malayalam channels and poor infrastructure. The TVC with Mohanlal sought to communicate a new message- ‘there can be arguments on many things but no arguments on our set top boxes’. A year on, Mehra says that its sales in the area have multiplied by 800 per cent.

    Taking advantage of the FIFA fever in June 2014, Tata Sky went ahead and introduced HD and personal video recorder (PVR) along with its latest innovation of streaming Tata Sky channels on the laptop. “With these products, we wanted to associate with someone who could talk to the youth segment,” says Mehra. Hence, popular singer Papon’s photo was spread across print, outdoor and digital with a lot of stress on the former.

    The result was a 110 per cent increase in sales in the seven sister states with a lot of it coming from its laptop viewing service. Phone and iPad service did not pick up well.

    Soon, the operator is looking to unite itself with two more personalities. “We will be making an announcement soon regarding two other south Indian markets,” says Mehra.

    This apart, Tata Sky also undertakes several associations for its ‘home’ channel, targeting markets at a time. The personalities roped in for promotion of the home channel include former cricketer Navjot Singh Siddhu and actors Nina Gupta and Richa Chadda. According to Mehra, personalities are used depending on the market, the product and whether there is a need for a famous face to be associated with the product.

    Several researches are conducted for particular markets as well as on a regular basis. Regular research is done with GFK Mode and Nielsen as and when required. “I personally visit 300 customer homes every year for feedback,” says Mehra. The core team of 14 people ensures that every month 3 million Tata Sky homes are reached out to, to know their feedback on its services.

    Surveys are conducted for all states individually every month and the market is analysed over two or three years. Simultaneously its product offerings are also studied in terms of consumer reception.

    This involves third party agencies reaching out to random sample size of people who are ready to buy a DTH set top box and ask them which brand will they buy and why? This is termed as ‘intention to buy score’. The measurement is done comparing ‘intention to buy score’ to the actual sale in that area.

    Similarly, Tata Sky also introduced six new Odiya channels to promote that it is not only great in customer service but also its channel offerings.

    A few years ago, this wouldn’t have been so easy, since it hadn’t been getting the additional transponder space from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). But now that has been overcome by using MPEG-4 technology compression.

  • Videocon d2h innovates once again; announces 4K service

    Videocon d2h innovates once again; announces 4K service

    Updated – 08:46 PM

    MUMBAI: It has built up its reputation as arguably the fastest growing DTH operator in India, apart from delivering snazzy features to subscribers. Now Videocon d2h has added another feather to its cap by becoming the first player in this space to announce its Ultra HD or 4K TV service. Readers should know that the TV picture gets more colour, more depth, and more details once viewed on a 4K TV set. 

    With nearly 11 million and growing subscribers, Videocon d2h MD Saurabh Dhoot is pretty proud of the company’s achievement when he says: “We wanted to be the first company to deliver 4k ultra HD service to India.”

    He is quite sure that demand for its service is bound to increase in India, even though Indian TV viewers are just about beginning to take a fancy to plain old vanilla HD television services. This apart, he is not perturbed by the fact that Indian broadcasters and producers are not really thinking 4K as yet and are ill-equipped to produce even if they decide to do so.  Says the Dhoot family scion: “You have to preempt, at times. We come with the thought process of surprising customers and delivering what they are about to ask for before they ask for it.”

    Indeed, the Videocon group is involved in the entire pipeline of television – right from TV sets to self-made STBs to its own DTH service (Ok so it has left TV channels and content creation to other players). Hence, it has been able to price the Ultra HD box at Rs 10,000 when production starts at its factories. Discussions are on with Broadcom for chips and semiconductors while Cisco is likely to provide the conditional access.  Dhoot expects the price of the box to fall to Rs 4000 or Rs 5000 depending on the demand and production scale.

    The STB works on a technology called high efficiency video compression (HEVC) which is 50 per cent more efficient than the MPEG-4 technology used in HD boxes. “The main investment is in transponder space. To overcome this, we have HEVC technology or else it would be a criminal waste of satellite space,” points out Videocon d2h CEO Anil Khera.

    Official roll out of the service will be around October or November 2014, during Diwali when the company expects sale of 4K TV sets to pick up. “Ultra HD TV sales have picked up sharply this year as compared to last year when they were negligible. Over Diwali, we expect ultra HD sales to pick up more,” explains Dhoot.

    While travel and lifestyle, sports and movies are the expected first lot of genres to experiment with 4K technology, it will tie up its first market promotion with a good 4K event. Talks with broadcasters have already commenced for the same, one of the first being Travelxp. 

    Dhoot is quite clear that Ultra HD will be a ‘very very premium service’ constituting a single digit per cent of its entire subscriber base. The initial offering to customers will be a single Ultra HD channel, broadcast from its Noida headend, which will carry content from any producer or broadcaster which wants to show case its Ultra HD content. 

    Eight million pixels versus two million pixels of HD TV is the clarity that this service along with TV sets of size 65 inches and above will provide. 4K UHD TVs are capable of delivering four times the picture resolution of 1080p full HD. It will also provide a cloud based recording facility. 

    The first target audience will be in the metros and their own existing subscribers, even though Dhoot stresses that it isn’t necessary that only cities consume expensive TVs. As and when events come along, communication will be given to subscribers through its channel page. Khera says that 30 per cent of new acquisitions request for an HD box. These will be the likely target audiences.

    Though raising average revenue per user (ARPU) plays a significant role in increased revenues, ultra HD service will take a while to give a significant contribution given that initially it will only be event based such as finals of key sporting events or big movies. “HD subscribers have played a big role in incrementing revenue and ARPUs. The investment in ultra HD is made for a very long time. Once it clicks, the recovery is very fast,” says Dhoot. 

    On the sideline, it has also undergone a re-christening. Bharat Business Channel is now officially Videocon d2h. The main prompt for this was that the company’s identification was its service and for better communication practices, the name needed a change.

    Khera is aware that the biggest issue with recording in 4K is the storage space as well as post production. He is hopeful that broadcasters and producers will test the Ultra HD waters. 

    Click here to view the event pictures

  • Govt cannot deny permission for de-endorsing any channel: TDSAT

    Govt cannot deny permission for de-endorsing any channel: TDSAT

    NEW DELHI: The information and broadcasting ministry (I&B) was directed by the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) to de-endorse the SK TV channel of Sindhi Kachchhi Entertainment Corporation from the list of channels permitted to be up-linked by the Noida Software Technology Park through its teleport using INSAT 4A satellite with immediate effect.

     

    Noting that the government has itself admitted that it has no role to play with regard to agreements between teleports and television channels, chairman justice Aftab Alam and member Kuldep Singh said “we are unable to appreciate the submissions made by the ministry that it is waiting to receive ‘no objection’ from Sindhi Kachchhi Entertainment Corporation as well as the claim regarding excess payment made by the channel to NSTPL.”

     

    The judgment written by Singh also said the Ministry “can also not delay the permission to NSTPL just because the guidelines do not contain specific provision in this regard and the policy is under process of being framed.”

     

    The tribunal noted that Sindhi Kachchhi Entertainment Corporation has not appeared before the tribunal in spite of notice and from its letters, “it is evident that it has accepted the position of suspension of uplinking of its channel by the petitioner and it is in search of an alternative for the same.”

     

    The Tribunal also said the cost of litigation amounting to Rs 25,000 would be paid to NSTPL.

     

    NSTPL manages JAINHITS, the only head-end in the sky platform at present licensed by the government.  It is engaged in the business of providing up-linking facility and transponder service to the broadcasters and has been granted a license on 24 January 2003 under Section 4 of the Indian Telegraph Act 1885 to establish, maintain and operate the up-inking hub (teleport). It has also obtained license from WPC (Wireless Planning & Coordination), Department of Telecommunications. It is operating the teleport as permitted in the letter of the Ministry dated 27 January 2003.

     

    The tribunal noted that the teleport is a satellite ground station that functions as a hub connecting a satellite in a geo-stationary orbit with terrestrial communication network. Teleports are used to provide various broadcasting as well as telecommunication services. In the case of the petitioner, the license granted to it is for up-linking the approved television channels using C-Band. The hub is to be used for up linking TV channels only and not for any other mode of communication.

     

    While NSTPL and Sindhi Kachchhi Entertainment Corporation had entered into an agreement in September 2010 and NSTPL received the requisite permission from the ministry with regard to SK TV.  NSTPL had contended that the channel defaulted in its payments amounting to Rs 31,66,395. The NSTPL then terminated the agreement and approached the Ministry in July last year seeking de-endorsement of the said channel from the list of channels permitted to be uplinked by JAINHITS.

     

    NSTPL filed the petition in January this year after it failed to get a suitable reply from the ministry which told the tribunal that this was a matter between the two parties, and that the channel had written to the ministry in September 2013 that it had made excess payment. It also said when the ministry receives requests for de-endorsement, then it awaits a no-objection from the channel.

     

    The channel had also written to the ministry that since NSTPL was not having transparent business dealing, it has under force majeure clause accepted suspension of its service and was in search of other teleport or DTH operator for transmission of its channel. 

  • Dish TV financials Q3 FY14 see it generating free cash flow

    Dish TV financials Q3 FY14 see it generating free cash flow

    Dish TV India Limited (Dishtv) (BSE: 532839, NSE: DISHTV) today reported third quarter fiscal 2014 standalone operating revenues of Rs. 6,128 million, recording 9.9% growth over the corresponding  period last fiscal. Subscription revenues of Rs.
    5,529  million  recorded  a  growth  of  11.9%  over  the  corresponding  quarter  last  fiscal.  A translational loss, due to foreign exchange fluctuation, of Rs. 70 million and an exchange rate adjustment demand for transponder payments amounting to Rs. 54 million negatively impacted EBITDA of Rs. 1,355 million. Net Loss for the quarter stood at Rs. 382 million compared to Rs.
    449 million in the corresponding quarter last fiscal.

    The Board of Directors in its meeting held today, has approved and taken on record the unaudited standalone results of Dish TV for the quarter ended on December 31, 2013.

    Mr. Subhash Chandra, Chairman, Dish TV India Limited, said, “Global economic prospects seem to be improving with a faster pace of expansion predicted for 2014 going all the way up to 2016. For the Indian economy too, the worst seems to have come to an end and things should gradually start looking better from hereon with a bumper Kharif crop harvest expected to further boost sentiments.”

    “The Indian television distribution sector is not completely out of the woods though. With more than 14 months passed post the rollout of Phase I of mandatory digitization, billing and other critical requirements have not yet been fully put in place by majority of the MSOs. Though far too delayed, we remain optimistic about the completion of digitization in its true sense,” he added.

    “Sticking to fundamentals, Dish TV continued to pursue its strategy of self-funded profitable growth. The third quarter was witness to Dish TV announcing some industry leading initiatives that look promising enough to weed out inefficiencies from the television industry,” said Mr. Chandra.

    Mr. Jawahar Goel, Managing Director, Dish TV, said, “It was an eventful quarter for Dish TV with the rollout of the first of its kind ‘On Request Ala-carte’ (ORA) scheme on its platform. While a reasonable content cost payout is well adopted, an unjustified increase in payment for content can jeopardize the existence of DTH in the country. With DTH continuing to contribute bulk of the subscription revenue to the broadcasters, it is high time they get started on collecting their share of revenue from close to 5,000 cable companies apart from rationalization of carriage fee payout.”

    “Further to the ‘ORA’ scheme, we successfully completed the migration of 22 channels of a content  aggregator  from  respective  packages  to  a-la-carte  with  effect  from  January  1. Henceforth  these  channels  would  be  available,  without  any  extra  charge,  to  only  those subscribers who specifically request for them. The current trend of demand for these channels makes us confident of significantly rationalizing our payout for content going forward,” he added.

    “Dish TV added 220 thousand net subscribers in the quarter and continued to maintain its leadership share. Notwithstanding the festival period, the overall additions for the industry remained  muted  largely  due  to  the  sluggishness   in  the  economy  as  compared  to  the corresponding period last fiscal,” said Mr. Goel.

    “A relatively strong currency resulted in a translational loss, due to foreign exchange fluctuation, of Rs. 70 million on foreign deposits. This along with an exchange rate adjustment demand worth Rs. 54 million, for transponder payments, negatively impacted the EBITDA for the quarter. In line with expectation, higher promotional and marketing expenses and a sports driven content payout also put pressure on the EBITDA of Rs. 1,355 million. ARPU for the quarter increased to Rs. 166 from Rs. 165 in the previous quarter. Subscriber Acquisition Cost (SAC) was recorded at Rs. 1,889 while churn was maintained at 0.6% p.m. Dish TV paid off debt to the tune of Rs. 5,631 million in the nine months ended December 31, 2013,” Mr. Goel added.

    “Our Sri Lanka subsidiary project is on track and test signals are planned for February end. On the digitization front, TRAI and the government have already started the process for implementation of DAS in Phase III and IV which should give us a significant opportunity going forward. We are confident of acquiring industry leading incremental share while still keeping a tab on the subsidy per box. We have planned a specific differentiated strategy to address these markets, details of which will be unveiled in the next quarter,” he added.

    Dish TV India Limited continues to be the largest DTH Company in India and the Asia Pacific region and is one of the largest DTH platforms in the World.

    Condensed statement of operations
    The table below shows the condensed statement of operations for Dish TV India Limited for the third quarter ended December ‘13 compared to the quarter ended September ‘13:

    Rs. million Quarter ended
    Dec. – 2013    		 Quarter ended
    Sept. – 2013    		 % Change
    Q o Q
    Operating revenues 6,128 5,926 3.4
    Expenditure 4,773 4,447 7.3
    EBITDA 1,355 1,479 (8.4)
    Other Income 97 210 (53.8)
    Depreciation 1,534 1,504 2.0
    Financial expenses 301 345 (12.8)
    Profit / (Loss) before tax (382) (160) –
    Provision for tax 0 0 –

    Key movements:

     

    Rs. million Quarter ended
    Dec. – 2013    		 Quarter ended
    Sept. – 2013    		 % Change
    Q o Q
    Programming and other cost

    1,989

    1,864

    6.7
    Transponder lease

    398

    342

    16.4
    Advertisement expenses

    141

    113

    24.8
    Other expenses:
    Foreign exchange fluctuation 70 – –
    EBITDA 1,355 1,479 (8.4)

    Expenditure

    Dish TV’s primary expenses include cost of goods and services, personnel cost, administrative cost, advertisement expenses and selling expenses. The table below shows each as a percentage of total revenue:

    Rs. million Quarter ended Dec. – 2013 % of Gross revenue Quarter ended Sept. – 2013 % of Gross revenue % Change Q o Q
    Cost of goods &
    services    		 3,384 55.2 3,187 53.8 6.2
    Personnel cost 215 3.5 223 3.8 (3.6)
    Other expenses 323 5.3 300 5.1 7.7
    Advertisement expenses 141 2.3 113 1.9 24.8
    Selling & distribution expenses 710 11.6 624 10.5 13.8
    Total Expenses 4,773 77.9 4,447 75.0 7.3
  • Tata Sky’s ‘Everywhere TV’ to launch on Android

    Tata Sky’s ‘Everywhere TV’ to launch on Android

    MUMBAI: This New Year will bring a huge smile on the faces of Tata Sky subscribers and especially if they have an Android smartphone. It was in November that Tata Sky launched its innovative ‘Everywhere TV’ concept on iOS that allowed Apple phone users to watch their favourite channels live on their Apple phones and iPads with an internet pack, anywhere in the country.

    Now, the DTH operator with a subscriber base of nearly 11 million is all set to introduce the application on the largest mobile operating system- Android. Set to launch within the next fortnight, this move will bring ‘TV on mobile’ to a platform that is being used by nearly 85 per cent of the population using smart phones.

    The initial launch was for iOS users and not Android due to the large number of compatibility tests that need to be done for the various phones supporting Android. “We are very happy with the number we got in the first three weeks from Apple users. The response has exceeded our expectations,” says Tata Sky CEO Harit Nagpal. Sources say that nearly 1 lakh downloads of the app have happened so far. The number is expected to be much higher with the Android application coming soon.

    Subscribers will have to pay Rs 60 per month to watch their favourite channels on their mobile phones and tablets, even when on-the-go. The application allows subscribers to watch Live TV, pause live TV, download movies, watch and record shows from their mobile phone.

    What led to this innovation, answers Nagpal, “People are spending a lot of time outside of homes but are still consuming videos using different screens. So why can’t your Tata Sky connection be given to you on your mobile screen? A decent broadband or 3G/4G connection is all one needs to get the experience of TV everywhere.”

    The DTH industry has been adding nearly 3 million subscribers each year and TRAI says the national subscriber base is 54 million on a gross basis. Industry estimates, however, place the active subscriber base at around 40 million odd nationally. ‘TV Everywhere’ will allow customers to watch TV seamlessly on their TV sets or on their mobile phones or on their tablets or phablets.

    The DTH player believes in providing services to cater to the needs of its customers. “The consumer has a need, we simply try to address that need,” says Nagpal who believes that it is the ability to tier which helps in increasing the average revenue per user (ARPUs). “One cannot increase ARPUs through increasing the package price, it is a myth. It is only through introducing tiers that one can increase ARPUs, which is what we are doing,” concludes Nagpal.

  • Tata Sky signs WPP’s Kantar Media to better understand subscribers

    MUMBAI: How much can you know about your subscribers? Well, India‘s leading DTH operator Tata Sky believes the more the better. In a first for India, Tata Sky has signed an audience measurement deal with WPP media research firm Kantar Media. The contract with Kantar, will deliver a service, which is expected to help Tata Sky understand its subscribers viewing habits and also measure their behaviour.

    Expected to launch later this year, the service will take full advantage of Kantar Media’s return path data technology RapidView to collect complex audience data directly from set top boxes (STBs) and provide insights into subscriber behaviours not easily captured elsewhere.

    Kantar will have overall responsibility for setting up and operating the service and will be closely supported in the local market by India’s leading market research agency IMRB. Data from the service will be made available to Tata Sky using Infosys+, the leading edge TV analysis software platform developed by Kantar Media.

    Data will be collected from an opt-in panel chosen from Tata Sky’s subscriber base. An additional panel will be used to monitor those homes with High Definition (HD) televisions. Viewing data will be captured across all the ways in which Tata Sky customers are able to view TV (including live, time shift, on demand and interactive).

    Tata Sky chief content & business development officer Nicola Bamford said, “We are excited about launching this service in India in collaboration with Kantar Media and IMRB. The insights that will be available to us will help us to stay at the forefront of the Pay TV business in India.”

    Kantar Media Audiences global director for return path data Nick Burfitt said: “Pay-TV is showing incredible growth in India and Tata Sky is a leader there. We are delighted to have been chosen to develop and deploy this ground-breaking service, the first of its kind in this important market. The new service will provide real insights into the viewing habits of subscribers and we look forward to working with Tata Sky further as the service develops.”

    Kantar Media has been operating audience measurement services for set-top box operators around the world since 2005 and is the acknowledged thought leader in the successful deployment and research techniques using return path data.

    The partnership with Tata Sky is the latest addition to existing services operating in the USA, UK, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand with data being processed from many millions of set-top boxes each day. And that has helped operators there to service subscribers better and possibly offer solutions to potential partners and advertisers.

    Among the benefits clients such as BSkyB have got out of the service include: improved targeting of consumer marketing, increased advertising sales through more compelling audience insights, enhanced understanding of programming priorities, and increased revenues through possession of this valuable data.

    The fact is Tata Sky is taking cue from other markets to further up its service and business standards. Now one will have to wait and watch whether other DTH operators in India follow suit.

  • Dish TV Q1 net hurt by forex loss

    MUMBAI: India’s leading DTH operator, Dish TV, has narrowed its net loss in the fiscal first-quarter to Rs 323 million compared to a net loss of Rs 490 million in the trailing quarter.

    Ebitda stands at Rs 1.56 billion, up from Rs 1.44 billion in the preceding quarter, as the company has cut down on marketing costs. The content cost has seen 2.9 per cent rise and is in line with the industry expectation. But a deal with Media Pro, which distributes Star, Zee and Turner channels, is expected this month which would up the content cost.

    “Net loss of Rs 323 million was adversely impacted by foreign exchange loss of Rs 138 million. At the cash flow front, Dish TV continued to be free cash positive for the second consecutive quarter,” said Dish TV managing director Jawahar Goel.

    Operating revenue has seen a marginal decline (0.9 per cent), but Dish TV has seen subscriber growth while ARPUs (average revenue per user) have climbed from Rs 151 to Rs 156. With Dish TV taking a price increase of Rs 20 in the first week of July across all its monthly packs, the ARPU for this fiscal should rise to around 5 per cent.

    The churn rate has bettered to 1 per cent, against 1.1 per cent in the trailing quarter.

    Dish TV added 504,000 gross subscribers in the quarter ended 30 June, taking its total base to 13.4 million gross and 9.8 million net subscribers at the end of the quarter. The company is on track to achieve its target of 2.5 million new subscribers in the fiscal.

    “Churn sustained its downward movement, closing at 1% per month, while ARPU strengthened to Rs 156, mainly due to the price hikes taken previously.

    Efficiencies at the cost front helped enhance operating margins despite normalised lease rentals flattening the top-line growth. Enhanced offer fee, coupled with higher number of subscriber adds sequentially, maintained subscriber acquisition cost largely in line with the previous quarter,” Goel said.

    Dish TV’s subscriber acquisition cost (SAC) has jumped to Rs 2,145 compared to Rs 2,127 in the preceding quarter.

    Dish TV‘s operating revenue fell by 0.9 per cent to Rs 5.20 billion, compared to Rs 5.25 billion in the trailing quarter.
    Subscription revenue grew 5 per cent QoQ to Rs 4.5 billion on higher ARPUs. Carriage income fell to Rs 80 million, from Rs 130 million.

    Dish TV has controlled its expenses during the quarter which stood at Rs 3.64 billion, from Rs 3.80 billion in the previous quarter. This was due to a 49.6 per cent cut in advertisement expenses.

    The company spent Rs 135 million on advertising compared to Rs 268 million in the previous quarter. Marketing spends should go up substantially as the company guided an expenditure of Rs 1 billion this fiscal.

  • Dish TV plans to raise $200 mn via equity

    Dish TV plans to raise $200 mn via equity

    MUMBAI: Dish TV, India’s largest DTH operator in terms of subscribers, plans to raise up to $200 million via the equity route to fund its expansion programme.

    The promoter holding stands at 64.8 per cent, providing enough leverage to raise capital by either issuing equity shares or through equity-linked instruments.

    Dish TV had earlier taken an enabling resolution to raise up to $200 million, following which it had got US-based Apollo Management to invest $100 million in November 2009.

    “We do not have any plans to raise this amount in the near future. It is an enabling resolution that we have taken,” Dish TV CEO RC Venkateish tells Indiantelevision.com.

    Dish TV has a cash balance of Rs 4.5 billion and is looking at ramping up 3.1 million subscribers this fiscal to take its total base to the 10 million mark. The customer acquisition cost for the direct-to-home (DTH) service provider has dropped from Rs 2147 in the first quarter of FY’11, but still stands at Rs 2083 in Q2.

    “The company does not have any fund requirement at this stage. Perhaps, it wants to build a war chest and utilise the cash if there is a business opportunity. Dish TV may not raise capital in the short run,” says a media analyst who tracks the DTH sector.

    In a cricket-heavy year, the DTH sector expects to mop up 11 million subscribers this fiscal. Dish TV expects the trend to continue in the next fiscal as well.

    For the second-quarter this fiscal, Dish TV has added 0.76 million subscribers and claims to have a robust 27 per cent incremental market share. In the first six months of this fiscal, Dish TV has mopped up 1.4 million new subscribers.

    Says Dish TV India chairman Subhash Chandra, “With 2.8 million subscribers added in the second quarter, the overall market for DTH in the country has already grown to more than 26 million households. In a strong six player market, incremental share over and above a secular number is laudable. Dish TV with an incremental market share of 27 per cent continues to deliver industry leading performance.”

    The company’s net loss has narrowed to Rs 452 million for the three-month period ended September, from Rs 631 million in the trailing quarter. In the year-ago period, the DTH operator had posted a net loss of Rs 562 million.
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    Dish TV’s revenues stand at Rs 3.29 billion, representing a six per cent growth over the trailing quarter and a 27.4 per cent growth over the year-ago period. While subscription revenue accounts for Rs 2.7 billion (up 8 per cent from previous quarter), lease rental is at Rs 550 million.

    The Ebitda for the quarter under review stands at Rs 523 million, up from Rs 391 million posted in the previous quarter.

    Dish TV has been able to maintain its ARPU (average revenue per user) at Rs 139 million despite sizeable customer acquisitions. Low ARPUs, however, remain a matter of concern.

    Says Chandra, “While ARPUs in India remain significantly under-priced compared to similar economies in the world, there exists substantial headroom for growth. Dish TV’s efforts to enhance them with a trade-off between ARPUs and subscriber acquisition is heartening.”

    Dish TV is making efforts to lift its ARPUs. Says Dish TV managing director Jawahar Goel, “Our game changing initiatives and strategic marketing resulted in increased stickiness on the higher value packs and maintenance of ARPUs despite huge activations. In our endeavor to strengthen the overall ARPU levels, amongst other things, a price hike across two popular packs was announced towards the end of the second quarter, the impact of which should be visible in the forthcoming quarters.”

    Dish TV has reduced its content cost as a percentage of subscription revenue to an all time low of 39 per cent. In the previous quarter, the content cost stood at 41 per cent.

    Dish TV’s gross subscriber base stood at 8.3 million for the quarter ended September 2010, while the net subscriber base was 6.8 million. Subscriber churn remained constant at 0.7 per cent per month.

    Advertising expenditure for the first six months was at Rs 430 million, well in line with the overall fiscal’s budget of Rs 950 million.

    “We remain on track to meet our guided acquisition target as well as budgeted revenue and profitability. With recent pricing and operational initiatives, our focus on driving margin improvements and cash generation gets further strengthened,” says Goel.

  • Dish, Star DTH cases: SC declines interim order

    Dish, Star DTH cases: SC declines interim order

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court today refused to pass any interim order on petitions filed by Dish TV and Star India relating to a disputes tribunal directive on channel pricing for the DTH platform.

    The apex court admitted both the petitions, but is yet to decide on the next date of hearing.

    Dish TV, the country’s first pay DTH platform, had petitioned to get Star channels at a cheaper rate than what had been directed by TDSAT (Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal). On the other hand, Star’s contention was that the disputes tribunal had no jurisdiction over pricing issues and had accordingly sought a stay on TDSAT’s order.

    An executive of Dish TV said, “We’d have to wait for the court directive. But in the meantime, a deal with Star can be concluded at the prescribed rate of Rs 27 per subscriber.”

    Earlier, TDSAT had said that Star should make available its channels to Dish TV at half the rate at which they are available to cable ops presently. This worked out to RS 27 per subscriber.

    It was only yesterday that Star delivered to Dish TV the integrated receiver decoder boxes that would enable the DTH operator to access its channels for redistribution purposes.