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Tag: DTH venture

  • Reliance Bluemagic is new name of Anil Ambani’s DTH venture

    MUMBAI: Anil Ambani has changed the name of his direct-to-home (DTH) venture to Reliance Bluemagic, following objections by the Rupert Murdoch-owned News Corp to the word ‘Sky.’

    Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Enterprise (ADAE) had applied for a DTH licence under the name ‘Reliance Skymagic.’ News Corp had issued a caution notice, claiming ‘Sky’ was its registered trademark. News Corp runs its DTH operations in UK under the name of BSkyB. Besides, it has Sky News, Sky Sports and Sky Radio. The trademark Sky was also registered in India.

    “We have renamed the venture as Reliance Bluemagic. We wanted to have a different identity from T-Sky, the brand name of Tata Sky,” ADAE business head for DTH project Arvind Kumar Narang tells Indiantelevision.com. Tata Sky is the 80:20 joint venture between Tatas and the Star Group.

    Reliance has indicated to Isro that it wants to start by mid-2006 with six transponders on Insat-4 series, which it plans to ramp up over a period of time. “We are progressing with our plans and have a schedule in mind,” says Narang.

    Meanwhile, the introduction of T-Sky DTH services will get further delayed with Insat-4A now scheduled to launch only in December. The first launch was planned in August-end which was later pushed to November.

    The DTH market will get crowded with four players – the Subhash Chandra-promoted Dish TV, Prasar Bharati’s DD Direct, Sun Direct and T-Sky – already in the fray. With Reliance and BPCL also interested in the business, India would be a unique market with several operators. Internationally, this is restricted to just one or two players depending on the size of the market.

  • I&B ministry clears Space TV bid for DTH licence

    NEW DELHI / MUMBAI: A little over a month after the information and broadcasting (I&B) ministry issued a letter of intent (LoI) relating to the DTH licence sought by the Subhash Chandra-promoted ASC Enterprises, Space TV – backed by the Rupert Murdoch-controlled Star India – also had its file cleared.
    As the first step towards okaying a DTH venture, the I&B ministry has to issue an LoI to the applicant, subsequent to which other parameters would have to be fulfilled. With the LoI in hand, Space TV can now officially go ahead with the work of putting together a DTH platform.
    The LoI directs Space TV to deposit Rs 100 million, after which the other technical clearances would have to be obtained.
    Before the final issuance of the DTH licence, it would have to be ensured that Star India’s holding in the company is not more than 20 per cent. As per government regulations, total foreign equity cap in a DTH venture in India is 49 per cent. According to industry estimates, a typical DTH venture would need investments worth between $ 400-500 million.
    While there has been much speculation over who the Indian partner in Star’s DTH project will be, current indications are that it will be the blue-chip Tata Group.

    Also read:

    I&B ministry clears Chandra’s bid for DTH licence

    Zee looking at July launch for DTH services?

  • DD may offer 30-35% stake in DTH venture

    NEW DELHI: India’s pubcaster Prasar Bharati Corporation, which has said that Doordarshan is planning a KU-band direct-to-home (DTH) television service foray, will form a consortium with other semi-government organisations, with the latter holding between 30-35 per cent equity stake in the proposed DTH venture.
    Bringing in more than one outside partner has been necessitated because as per the DTH policy guidelines a broadcaster (in this case Prasar Bharati /Doordarshan) and/or a cable company shall not be eligible to collectively own more than 20 per cent of the total equity in a DTH venture.
    A source in the Prasar Bharati told indiantelevision.com today,”The exact quantum of the stakeholding would be decided by the Prasar Bharati board, but it has been mooted that outside organisations may hold between 30-35 per cent stake in the proposed DTH venture.”
    A clearer picture on the quantum of equity stake and the organisations that will participate in the DTH venture is likely to emerge after the Prasar Bharati board, slated to meet later this week, discusses the issue.
    Though India’s Planning Commission, which advises the government on funds allocation on various sectors and to various government-aided organisations, has approved a sum of five billion for Prasar Bharati’s DTH foray to be spent over five years, the Corporation, modelled on the lines of British Broadcasting Corporation, cannot invest in more than 20 per cent shareholding in a DTH venture.
    The Prasar Bharati source also confirmed that talks have been initiated with the likes of Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd. (MTNL), Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (BSNL) and the Tatas-controlled Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd. (VSNL)— all telecom service providers — to participate in the DTH consortium.
    India’s information and broadcasting minister Ravi Shankar Prasad recently told a panel of policy makers attached to his ministry that pubcaster Doordarshan was opting for a KU-band DTH scheme at an estimated cost of Rs 6,380 million as terrestrial expansion to cover the whole population would have been much more costly.
    As compared to Rs 6,380 million on KU band project, the coverage through the terrestrial method would have required capital investment of Rs 34,560 million and recurring expenditure of Rs 5,190 million annually. Doordarshan is hiring four satellite transponders for the purpose.
    The KU-band transmission project is aimed covering the remaining 10 per cent of the population, which at present is unable to get DD transmission due to the lack of reach of the terrestrial system.
    To begin with, the KU- band DTH project would have 20 channels uplinked from Delhi. In a year’s time this is likely to be extended to 60 channels. All the channels would be free to air. DD’s director-general S Y Quraishi had earlier told journalists that in future DD’s DTH platform may also include private satellite channels.
    According to government estimates, about 200,000 homes in rural, remote, inaccessible mountainous regions and border areas would be covered by DD by providing cable headends and set top boxes.