Tag: DTH platform

GloboSat to distribute SaharaOne channels in UK, Europe

MUMBAI: In a bid to garner international subscription revenues and also expand its footprint in UK and Europe, SaharaOne Media and Entertainment has entered into a long term deal with New York based broadcast distribution outfit GloboSat Entertainment in order to help the company launch its channel services at various countries.

SaharaOne Media and Entertainment CEO Shantonu Aditya says, “Through the association with GloboSat Entertainment, we are looking forward to the expansion of our channels in newer markets through this partnership so as to entertain our viewers worldwide.”

The company is also eyeing broadband as well as mobile platforms in the US. GloboSat Entertainment is said to be in talks with a couple of moblie companies in this regard.

One such company that the GloboSat is talking to for carrying the two Sahara channels (Sahara One and Filmy) is US based made for mobile company Ithentic.

The channels will soon be on JumpTV, the subscription-based broadcaster of ethnic television over the internet. JumpTV already streams other Indian channels SET, India TV News, Kairali TV, People TV and Amrita TV.

GloboSat president and CEO Sudhir Vaishnav says, “Our strategic partnerships with DTH, cable, broadband, IPTV, mobile and other platforms spanning across North and South America, Europe and UK help our broadcast partners to build international presence faster.”

The media company will soon launch the channels SaharaOne and Filmy in UK and Europe. The two channels will soon be visible in Bangladesh as well. The channels will also be accessible on Rogers Cable in Canada.

The general entertainment channel SaharaOne already has its presence in US on Echostar. And the movie channel Filmy is offered on DirecTV, the other DTH platform in US controlled by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.

The two channels have recently been launched in Nepal and Maldives. The company now plans to push SaharaOne in the Middle-East, where the movie channel has already made its entry via the Pehla platform.

The company is also targeting to push the two channels in Africa as well as in Australia in due course.

October 9, 2006
Star gets FIPB approval for new channels, share transfer

MUMBAI: The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has approved a proposal by Star Group to invest in the country to start and create new non-news channels, which in all probability, would be niche channels for the direct-to-home (DTH) platform.

FIPB has also approved share transfer from Indian shareholders to others in companies through which Star proposes to undertake other initiatives.

“The commercial feasibility of creating channels in India has been matched by the liberalisation in foreign investment norms relating to the sector, which now makes it possible for a foreign investor to invest wholly in an Indian company to undertake activities of owning and uplinking a TV channel in India,” the Star application with the FIPB had stated.

However, FIPB’s approval will have to be ratified by the finance ministry before Star can go ahead with its proposed activities.

In its application to FIPB, Star had said that for its newer activities, it proposes to use three companies in India, which have already been incorporated. The need for separate companies was driven by the fact that the nature of content in the (proposed) channels is distinct and this necessitates different skill sets and facilities, which can be more “efficiently housed in different entities.”

The three companies sought to be used by Star are Touch Tele Content India Pvt Ltd (TTCL), PPV Movies & Content Pvt Ltd (PMCPL) and Star Games Development Company Pvt Ltd (SGDPL). Star’s holding in the last two companies would be held by a Mauritius based group company, Star ISP Ltd.

In addition to the investment into fresh equity of PMCPL and SGDPL, Star ISP Ltd will also purchase the existing shares from the current shareholders of the investee company, which were in the process of seeking clearance from the information and broadcasting ministry for uplinking channels from India.

Touch Tele is presently engaged in providing support services to other media companies. PPV Movies and Star Games Development were recently incorporated as companies.

The Star application also stated that amongst the many benefits accruing from this proposal will be investments made in India to create “world class infrastructure related to channel creation that is, on-air promotion, playout (facilities), delivery, etc.”

August 29, 2006
Tata Sky, ESS introduce interactivity in sport with Actve Sports

MUMBAI: Interactive sports content for the Indian audiences! That is what DTH platform Tata Sky has up its sleeve. The service has tied up with ESPN Star Sports (ESS) to launch its Actve Sports service. The first event is the ongoing Natwest tri series between England and Pakistan.

Basically at any time in the match a viewer if he/she has missed what happened earlier can get highlights at the click of a button. They can also get statistics of the teams, players as well as ball trajectory courtesy a virtual screen. Viewers can also switch the language commentary and get expert analysis. This also applies to channels that have dubbed feeds like Discovery.

Tata Sky CEO Vikram Kaushik noted that this initiative transforms the viewer from a couch potato to an active participant. This he says is just the start of new interactive services that will be introduced soon.

Tata Sky is also looking for other sports broadcasters to jump on the bandwagon. While it has started with cricket Kaushik says that the likes of soccer, tennis give a lot of scope. In the future one could see a service where the viewer can see a four or a six being hit from different angles. Of course this requires work on the part of the broadcaster to put up extra cameras in certain locations. Also for the Natwest series Kaushik noted that there is a dedicated team of professionals doing the necessary updates as a match progresses.

Tata Sky is looking to introduce a pay per view service for films in the coming weeks. For this purpose it is talking to both Indian and Hollywood film producers. This he says is a way for producers to get additional revenue and fight piracy. As far as getting in more channels in addition to the over 50 channels already present Kaushik expressed optimism that Zee would come onboard. He is also looking to rope in Sun TV. As far as bringing in niche channels are concerned he noted that at the moment exclusivity in DTH is not allowed. He hopes that partial exclusivity will allowed in the future so that someone who is interested in niche content like gardening or cooking can watch that kind of content on DTH even if it is not present on cable.

When asked about targets he said that he would be disappointed if Tata Sky did not reach the one million subscriber mark in the first year of operation. In terms of breakeven the company is looking at a four to five year time frame. Right now the introductory price is Rs. 200 a month in addition to the Rs. 3999 for the dish and installation. In a few months time subscribers can choose from packages.

August 28, 2006
Manorama News unveiled; ‘varied content’ USP

MUMBAI: Print major Malayala Manorama Group has launched its maiden television broadcast venture Manorama News, a 24-hour free-to-air news channel. The channel hit the airwaves with a news bulletin at 12 noon on 17 August and the day also marked the beginning of the Onam month for Keralites.

Manorama News attempts to make a mark in the highly contested Malayalam (Kerala) television market with its USP of ‘varied content’. “Our strategy is to offer varied content than just news. We have lined up a complete set of different news formats targeted at different viewer segments,” MM TV — the broadcast arm of Malayala Manorama — COO Anil George told indiantelevision.com.

MM News has divided the state into three regions — South (Thiruvananthapuram), Central (Kochi) and North of Kerala (Kozhikode) — to enable itself to dish out local news in a better way. The channel telecasts three different beams of six local news bulletins every day catering to the regions on an exclusive basis. Except these six local news bulletins, the rest of the channel programming is uniform for the entire state.

Apart from the three key local points of Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode, MM News has set up its studios in Delhi and Mumbai.

MM News offers a package of half-an-hour news bulletins, making it a total of 12 news bulletins per day. The channel airs extended news programmes early morning and in the night. The morning news show Pularvela, slotted for 7 am to – 8:30 am – functions as a platform to provide and discuss all the early news stories coming in. Manorama News Hour, from 9 pm to 10 pm, will provide an in-depth analysis of the day’s news with the updates.

MM News targets the viewer segment which vies for lighter stuff with a 7 pm show Sakalakala. The crime news genre has been taken care of with Kutapathram at 10 pm. the ‘business class’ is targeted with business news bulletins twice in a day, at 5 pm and 11 pm. Vanita, a female-oriented show, has an afternoon slot at 2:30 pm. The channel has also lined up a celebrity interview series to mark the beginning.

MM News’ interactive prime time chat show Ningal Parayoo explores the channel’s online space and the mobile short code 7333. According to George, MM News will change its short code to 6776 as the group is planning to acquire a uniform mobile interactive identity.

“For the time being, we will be using the short code 7333 for Manorama News. But soon, the entire Manorama group will come under the short code 6776,” says George.

Speaking on the initiatives made on the distribution front, George says the channel has a 100 per cent presence in Kerala and Delhi, while plans for the other key centres are on the anvil.

“We are working on the distribution front and we will be soon hoping on the Direct to Home (DTH) platform as well. At present, we are not available in the Gulf region. However, talks are on and we would be making it to the Gulf very soon,” he says.

When queried on the channel’s strategy to make a first impression in the market, George said even entertainment channels had been considered as competitors. “It is not that, we are fighting with the existing news channels of the space. We consider even entertainment channels as out competitors. MM News is launching a number of innovative formats and the plan is to bring in viewers from the other viewing genres also. The national scenario, where news channels are really improving their viewer-base with various innovative strategies, has been really inspiring.”

Speaking on the immediate target, George said the plan was to let the content bring in viewers and then advertisers. “Our focus is on building a brand in the interest of consumers by offering them the right content. In the next six months, the plan is to win the mindshare and we are sure that the revenue share will follow.”

MM News follows a two-pronged marketing strategy to create a buzz in the market, according to George. “Our immediate goal is to provide a different experience of news broadcasting to the viewer. The strategy is to let the content bring in the viewer. Then, we will have a consistent advertising campaign series across different media wings of Manorama to promote the channel,” he says.

When queried on MM TV’s next television venture, George said the company is presently looking at a couple of genres. “We have a long term strategy of getting into other ventures. A couple of formats have been thought of, but no time frame has been set yet.”

August 17, 2006
Interoperability wouldn’t support VAS, interactivity: Kaushik

NEW DELHI: With the arrival of the second pay DTH player in the market, a buzz word would be interoperability, meaning whether consumers can switch from one service to another effortlessly.

Though Indian government norms specify that all DTH systems need to be interoperable for consumer’s convenience, in reality it may not be so.

Vikram Kaushik, MD and CEO of Tata Sky, which launched its commercial service on 8 August, hinted that interoperability may be limited.

“Interoperability may not support interactive and value added services,” Kaushik admitted to a specific query on the issue today in Delhi.

Tata Sky consumer marketing head Vikram Mehra explained that for seamless interoperability of all services, including interactive services, DTH service providers must have similar software.
“In the absence of some (proprietary) software, value added services of a DTH platform may not get supported when a consumer changes the service provider. Yes, the TV channels would be available and that’s what government rules specify,” Mehra elaborated.

What does this mean?

If an existing Dish TV consumer, wants to switch over to Tata Sky service and hopes just a replacement of the smart card in the set-top box would give him all the features of Tata Sky, then he would have to think again.

Features like interactive news and sports and some value added services like movie-on-demand of Tata Sky would not be available by just inserting a Tata Sky smart card in a set-top box bought/rented from Dish TV.

For the records, Siebel will manage customer relationship management of Tata Sky, while Kenan will support the billing system, SAP will be responsible for enterprise resource planning and Sun Microsystems will provide technology infrastructure.

The boxes would be sourced from Thomson and Korean company Humax.

Both the companies will be manufacturing the set-top boxes in India, Kaushik said, which would help in keeping the price line under control.

At present country’s first pay platform, Dish TV, boasts of 1.25 million subscribers, while pubcaster Doordarshan’s subscription-free DD Direct+ has a reported consumer base of 3.5 million.

August 8, 2006
Dish TV set to create niche channels to beat the competition

NEW DELHI: With a second player in the DTH arena round the corner in the form of Tata Sky, Dish TV is finalizing creation of new channels for its subscribers.

According to Dish TV CEO Sunil Khanna, work has started on new niche channels to be introduced on the DTH platform over the next 12-24 months.

Pointing out that the target is to have a between 190-200 channels on Dish TV, Khanna said, “Some of the new channels would be created within the Zee group, while few may be brought in as part of third party distribution.”

The reason behind creating niche channels instead of importing products from outside India is that not all niche channels available are suited for Indian viewers.

For example, Khanna said, if Dish wants to introduce a premium gardening channel, there was no use getting one from outside as the weather conditions and local environment is different in India.

“To give an instance, if we have a gardening channel, then it’s best to create it in India and in-house. This way we would also be able to study the feasibility of such niche channels, which may have limited, but loyal viewership that would be ready to pay even a premium,” Khanna said.

Dish TV, country’s first pay TV platform, is managed by the Subhash Chandra-controlled ASC Enterprises that is the DTH licence holder. Another Chandra company, Zee Network, has a programme supply agreement with ASC.

Dish TV, which is pumping up the noise around the usefulness of subscribing to a DTH service, is also increasing its investment in the project.

“We have spent around Rs 3.5 billion in the DTH project till now, out of which a major part has been spent on customer acquisition,” Khanna said.

He added that investment would be upped “as needed from time to time to expand operations and offerings.”

August 7, 2006
Star offers to shake hands with Dish TV

NEW DELHI: Star and Dish TV move towards a consensus by shaking hands even as the launch of Tata Sky’s DTH service is imminent.

A day before the Supreme Court is to hear a case on channel pricing, Star today delivered to Dish TV, country’s first pay DTH platform, the integrated receiver decoder boxes that would enable the DTH operator to access Star channels for redistribution purpose.

Some formalities are yet to be completed, both the companies said.

Dish TV CEO Sunil Khanna added, “It might take a couple of days for us to start beaming the Star channels on the platform as the boxes need to be tested.”

As per a directive of the disputes tribunal TDSAT (Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal), Star has offered its channels to Dish TV at Rs 27 per subscriber a month. Dish would also not pay any minimum guarantee money to Star.

A spokesperson for Star India said that in deference to TDSAT directive an offer was made to Dish TV despite the latter moving the Supreme Court on the tribunal order.

Not clear at the moment is what would happen to a Supreme Court case, which was filed by Dish TV some time back. Dish had petitioned that instead of Rs 27, the Star channels should come to it cheaper as Star had offered its channels to Dish some years back at one-fourth the price paid by cable ops.

The price of Rs 27 fixed by TDSAT for Star bouquet of channels is 50 per cent of Rs 54 that a cable operator presently pays.

Dish TV sources said the Supreme Court case is likely to continue, but is unlikely to have much of a bearing on the present truce called by Dish and Star. The apex court will be hearing the Dish TV petition on 4 August.

Dish TV has been waging a legal battle for over a year to get Star and Sony-Discovery channels on its platform. The Sony-Discovery One Alliance recently signed up with Dish TV.

Meanwhile, Dish’s Khanna said that a price revision of the monthly subscription would be decided in a few days time. “In all probability, Star Plus and other popular channels would be part of Dish TV’s basic tier of service, which also includes other mass general entertainment channels like Zee TV, Sony and HBO.”

August 3, 2006
MGM channel gets distribution deal in Africa

MUMBAI: The MGM Channel will be broadcast to subscribers across sub-Saharan Africa via the new DTH platform, My TV.

The MGM Channel will join networks such as BBC World and Fox Sports on the growing My TV satellite service.

MGM Networks executive VP Bruce Tuchman says, “This agreement represents a very positive development for us in the African marketplace and fits nicely into our preferred strategy of providing more and more local viewers with choice in channels and choice in platforms.

“We believe that the launch of My TV, and the emergence of new opportunities across the region, will help spur higher multi-channel penetration and create even more attractive business prospects for channels across this burgeoning television market.”

My TV COO John Tydeman says, “The inclusion of western movies on the MGM Channel in the My TV bouquet will complement the news, music, children’s, sports, documentaries and local African programming currently available.

“My TV offers entertainment for African families across the sub-Sahara at an affordable price. MGM’s decision to join My TV is a further endorsement by the international programming community of the My TV proposition.”

The MGM Channel broadcasts handpicked selections from the MGM library, the world’s largest collection of modern films, on a 24/7 basis. The agreement with My TV is non-exclusive and follows a number of breakthrough deals in other parts of the world announced by MGM Networks in the last several months, including the launch slated for later this year of the MGM Channel into Central/Eastern Europe, in partnership with Liberty Global’s chellomedia division, as well as a slew of new distribution deals for the MGM Channel in Asia.

July 28, 2006
NDS to deploy full end to end system to Romania’s DTH platform Boom TV

MUMBAI: News Corporation’s NDS Group has announced that a leading digital satellite pay-TV broadcaster in Romania, DTH Television Group has contracted NDS to deploy a full end-to-end system including NDS VideoGuard conditional access, MediaHighway middleware and EPG on their newly launched digital pay-TV platform, Boom TV. NDS is the provider of technology solutions for digital pay-TV.

The platform had launched in May to homes in Romania. The NDS VideoGuard will protect all content delivered to new digital subscribers.

DTH Television Group chose the full end-to-end system to secure their premium subscription content and will also take advantage of new services offered by NDS, including interactive TV applications, informs an official release.

NDS Group chairman and CEO Dr Abe Peled said, “We’re delighted that DTH Television Group has selected our proven solutions for their new service, Boom TV. This is an important contract for NDS as Romania, which has a population of over 40 million, is a significant TV market with the highest TV viewing figures in Europe by a wide margin. It also signals our expansion into the high-growth Eastern European broadcasting market, which we will continue to develop over the coming months and years.”

Boom TV CEO Isaac Waldman said, “NDS is an important partner in being able to offer our subscribers enhanced TV services to make their viewing experience more entertaining.”

May 8, 2006
Tdsat directive on Dish TV: Deadline over, MTV mum

MUMBAI: With just a day left for the 30-day deadline set by the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (Tdsat), but music channel MTV and sibling kids’ channel Nick are still missing from Dish TV.

It was on 10 February that Tdsat had issued a directive giving the two Viacom channels 30 days notice to make themeselves available to Zee Group’s DTH service Dish TV. As per Tdsat’s dictat, within the time frame from 10 February to 12 March, the two channels from the MTV stable had to be visible to Dish TV subscribers.

Dish TV had issued a reminder to MTV, stating that the time period is on the verge of expiry and hoping for a positive response on the same. According to a senior Dish TV executive, “We issued a final reminder on 9 March. If they fail to respond to the same, we will move the Tdsat next week.”

When contacted by Indiantelevision.com, a senior MTV Networks India executive said, “At this point of time, we don’t want to comment on this matter.”

It is worth noting that when contacted earlier by Indiantelevision.com, MTV Networks India Sr VP network development and licensing and merchandising Sanjeev Hiremath had stated that the Set-Discovery One alliance (of which the two channels are a part) is already in talks with ASC Enterprises (Dish TV’s holding company) in regards to the matter.

When asked if his DTH network and the One Alliance were anywhere near agreement, a senior Dish executive said, “We did have a few rounds of talks. However, nothing has been finalized as of now.”

Dish TV, last year, had moved the disputes tribunal seeking legal redressal against, what it says, is MTV’s unwillingness to come onto its DTH platform.

MTV India operates three channels in the country — MTV and Nick, distributed by the One Alliance and Vh1, distributed by Zee-Turner.

March 11, 2006