Tag: DTH

VBS 2019: Industry stalwarts discuss NTO second phase issues

MUMBAI: The sixteenth edition of the Video and Broadband Summit (VBS) organised by Indiantelevision.com has brought together industry doyens under one roof to discuss and understand the impact of the new tariff order (NTO) on the television broadcasting and distribution sector. VBS 2019 marked the presence of leaders from DTH, cable and broadband, broadcast, regulatory bodies and technology segments to discuss the state of the industry, key issues and finding solutions.

Indiantelevision.com CEO, founder and editor-in-chief set the tone for the day with his welcome speech. "It is the best time for TV industry today. We are in the midst of uncertain times but uncertain times bring a lot of opportunities to build the business and explore the new way of building the cable-TV industry." He also emphasised on initiating a discussion on best practices, case studies on better execution and way forward towards a healthy television ecosystem.

The one-day conference began with a special address by TRAI advisor Arvind Kumar. He briefed the audience on the reason behind releasing the consultation paper to review NTO within few months of the regulatory framework. He informed that the consultation paper is only to address some infirmities in the NTO and will not bring any fundamental changes to the regulatory framework.

“Broadcasters should rest assured that the new consultation paper will not seek to decide their channel prices. The only objective of the new consultation paper is to open a debate on how the NTO is impacting the industry and to address some of the infirmities in the NTO. The main objective of the industry was transparency and to create a level-playing field for everyone. NTO has empowered the consumer by giving him choice,” he said.

In a fireside chat with Anil Wanvari, JioFiber president Anuj Jain elaborated on the company's plan and partnership. He says, "Cable is a global technology and our intent is not to bring disruption in the market but add value to the industry. We have to see that television and OTT complement each other and the value that we bring is broadband. With broadband, we bring OTT content and voice services. There is enough space for everyone, there is nothing called overlap. "

The session was followed by BARC India’s presentation on ‘TV viewership trends-post NTO era’ by chief operating officer Romil Ramgarhia.

The first panel discussion of VBS 2019 focused on NTO-The future roadmap. The panel was moderated by Elara Capital VP- research analyst (media) Karan Taurani with panellists IndiaCast Media Distribution president Amit Arora, Star India Distribution distribution and international business president and head Gurjeev Singh Kapoor, Metro Cast Network India promoter Nagesh Narayandas Chhabria, The Remediation Company founder & partner Shyamala Venkatachalam ; IndusInd Media & Communications chief executive officer Vynsley Fernandes and GTPL Hathway vice president Yatin Gupta.

The objective of the NTO was to bring transparency, freedom of choice and level playing field in the industry. The panellists shared their perspective on the impact of NTO on the media and entertainment ecosystem, pricing, bouquet and ala carte price, and recently released consultation paper to review NTO. The panellists agreed that the dust of new tariff order has settled down but the NTO 2.0 period might impact pricing again. With the new consultation paper, Gupta expects that there would be price capping on bouquets and ala carte.

The next panel discussion highlighted the advertisers’ take on the dynamic pay-TV landscape and how AdEX is likely to fare going forward with more changes anticipated to NTO. The panel ‘The Advertisers’ View’ was moderated by Anil Wanvari. ITC Ltd head media and PR Jaikishin Chhaproo, Havas Media Group West & South managing partner Kunal Jamuar, Godrej Consumer Products VP and head media services Subha Sreenivasan Iyer and Madison Media vice president Vandana Ramkrishna were the panellists.

After that, Broadpeak business development manager Hervé Creff gave a presentation on ‘Keeping control of HDMI1 with Android TV operator Teir – the ‘super – aggregator’ approach’.

The first half of VBS 2019 successfully ended with a panel discussion on ‘Transforming the sector to fuel growth’. Elara Capital VP research analyst (media) Karan Taurani, Shemaroo Entertainment chief operating officer Kranti Gada, BBC Global News South Asia distribution head Sunil Joshi and PwC India media, entertainment and sports advisory –partner and leader Raman Kalra were the panellists. The session was moderated by SBICAP Securities equity research head Rajiv Sharma.

For more updates from post-lunch sessions stay tuned.

December 11, 2019
Dish TV pays Star India 2nd instalment towards outstanding arrears

MUMBAI: Dish TV has paid the invoice for the month of September to Star India amid the ongoing payment dispute between the leading direct-to-home (DTH) operator and the broadcaster. Along with the current invoice, the second instalment towards the outstanding arrears has been paid as stated in a daily order of the Telecom Disputes Settlements and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) dated 21 November.

Earlier, TDSAT ruled that Dish TV should pay the admitted dues to Star India by the end of November 2019 in three equal instalments by the end of September, October and November 2019.

The latest order says that senior counsel for the DTH platform hinted that the petitioner is entitled to certain incentives in terms of the agreement enunciated and the circular of the respondent dated 27 September. He also submitted that the invoices for the incentives have already been raised and submitted. According to him, an early resolution of the demand for incentive would ease the burden upon them in making further payments.

At the same time, the counsel for Star India submitted that these invoices have been raised simultaneously for several months and, therefore, verification is taking some time. However, he assured that the task shall be completed and a suitable reply will be given to the petitioner informing whatever is found admissible by way of incentives.

Dish TV filed a petition in TDSAT against a disconnection notice issued by star India in July. Star India supplied a chart supplied to the TDSAT explaining Dish TV’s liabilities which mentioned a balance outstanding of Rs 83,70,895 on 22 July in respect of billing till January 2019. The tribunal noted that for the month of February to May 2019, the DTH operator has been billed for a further amount of Rs 284 crore including the earlier outstanding balance. Star India also mentioned that it has not included the interest component.

“Having considered the earlier order and the stand of the parties, we are of the view that in addition to the liability to clear the current invoice as indicated above, the petitioner should liquidate the entire arrears to the extent admitted and already noted by end of November 2019 and for this petitioner shall pay the remaining outstanding dues towards the arrears in three equal instalments by end of September, October and November 2019,” TDSAT had said in its order.

The matter has been posted under the same head to 11 December.

November 25, 2019
TRAI recommends DTH platform services be capped to 3% of carrying capacity

MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has come out with its recommendations on platform services (PS) offered by DTH operators. It suggests capping the total number of permitted PS for a DTH operator to 3 per cent of the total channel carrying capacity of the DTH operator platform and subject to a maximum of 15 platform services channels.

It also has a new definition for platform services as: “Platform services (PS) are programs transmitted by Distribution Platform Operators (DPOs) exclusively to their own subscribers and does not include Doordarshan channels and registered TV channels. PS shall not include foreign TV channels that are not registered in India."

The programme transmitted by the DTH operator as a platform service shall be exclusive and the same shall not be permitted to be shared directly or indirectly with any other DPO. DTH operators shall ensure and provide an undertaking to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) that the programme transmitted is exclusive to their platform and not shared directly or indirectly with any other DPO.

In case the same programme is found available on the PS of any other DPO, MIB/TRAI may issue a direction to immediately stop the transmission of such programme. MIB also reserves the right for cancellation of registration of such PS of the DTH operator.

Programme transmitted by the DTH operator as a platform service shall not directly or indirectly include any registered TV channel or Doordarshan channel or foreign TV channel. Time-shift feed of registered TV channels (such as +1 services) shall not be allowed as a platform service.

A one-time non-refundable registration fee of Rs 10,000 per PS channel shall be charged from a DTH operator.

The platform services channels shall be categorised under the genre 'Platform Services' in the Electronic Programmable Guide (EPG. The respective maximum retail price (MRP) of the platform service shall be displayed In the EPG against each platform service.

A provision for putting a caption as 'Platform Services' may be required to distinguish the platform services from the linear channels. The government may decide the caption in a size which is visually readable by the consumers.

TRAI sought suggestions from stakeholders in a notice on 2 July 2019. After which it issued a consultation paper on 28 August 2019.

November 14, 2019
TRAI comes out with recommendations for KYC of DTH set top boxes

MUMBAI: After issuing a consultation paper and holding open-house discussion on KYC of DTH set top boxes, the Telecom regulatory authority of India (TRAI) has finally come out with a set of recommendations on the issue. The authority has recommended the DTH operators to install DTH connections at the address mentioned in the Customer Application Form(CAF) only and verify the address.

“DTH operator should install the DTH connection at the address mentioned in the Customer Application Form(CAF) only and the address of such installed set top box must be verified by the representative of the DTH operator and record of such installation shall be maintained by the DTH operator,” TRAI said.

The recommendation also stated that the DTH operator should ensure identity of the subscriber by sending the one-time password (OTP) to his registered mobile number. In cases where registered mobile number is not provided by the subscriber/corporate body, DTH operator should collect Proof of Identity or any other similar document which can establish the identity of the user either in physical or electronic form before provisioning of DTH connection.

“There is no need to mandate physical verification at regular intervals as it will incur huge cost burden to the DTH operators and inconvenience to the consumers. However, for existing set top boxes, which are not attached to any mobile number of the subscribers, efforts should be made by the DTH operator to associate such set top boxes issued by them to link with a mobile number within a period of two years,” TRAI added.

However, DTH companies including Dish TV, Tata Sky, Bharti Telemedia were not in favour of changing KYC process for set-top-boxes as they though current process is well-equipped to meet the requirements of the industry, as per their submission on the CP.

October 25, 2019
DishTV’s OTT app Watcho arrives on Amazon Fire TV

MUMBAI: With an aim to offer engaging and differentiated content catering to young audiences across the country, Dish TV India Ltd, the world’s largest single-country DTH company, has expanded distribution of its OTT app Watcho to Amazon Fire TV Stick. Effective immediately, Amazon Fire TV Stick customers can access Watcho app to discover original web shows, short films, more than 100 Live TV channels and various other regional shows and movies.

Watcho provides access to a large VOD content library of originals, movies and popular shows along with linear TV service. It is also the first OTT service to feature user generated content allowing users to create and upload their own content to Watcho. The flexible service was designed to address the large base of over 23 million subscribers of DishTV and d2h and is also open to new users.

“We are excited to bring Watcho to the wide audience base on Amazon Fire TV Stick. Watcho, since launch, has received a good reception and there has been demand to host it across platforms. The OTT market is continuously evolving and the consumption is growing on TV and mobile. We are confident that users will be delighted with the seamless experience of watching new-age and bite-sized video content of Watcho on the Amazon Fire TV Stick,” Dish TV India Ltd executive director and group CEO Anil Dua said.

Watcho offers 1000+ hours of library content including movies and short films and can now be installed directly from the Amazon App Store. At present it has around 20 original shows in Hindi, Telugu and Kannada. As an introductory offer, the service is available free of cost.

October 23, 2019
“Sheikh Chilli & Friendz” are here to rule the world !!

One Take Media Co. is happy to announce the agreement reached with Apsons Entertainment (Mayapuri group,owners of Lotpot – kids comic magazine) for overseas distribution of World famous series “Sheikh Chilli & Friendz” for World Territories (except SAARC). This show has 104 Episodes of 11 minutes each.

The rights are open for broadcast platforms and OTT platforms globally (except SAARC region). In India this show is successfully running on Discovery Kids and has millions of followers.

The stories in this series have been designed keeping in mind today’s children, who are modern and have gadgets. The stories are light and are based in events linked to the children’s lives and have action, drama, and fun.

The main characters of Sheikh Chilli and Friendz are 9-year old Sheikh Chilli, who lives in a town called Jhunjhun Nagariya. He is a sweet and innocent lad and has some good
Friends. He has a friend Bulbul who talks a lot but is dumb-witted. Mallika is Sheikh Chill’s dear friend and very intelligent. Then we have “The One And Only” Khatkoo, who is just 6 inches tall and stays in Sheikh Chilli’s pocket. Noorie Jinn was found by Sheikh Chilli in a bottle. He comes out of the bottle only when Sheikh Chilli recites the magic words and does only what Sheikh Chilli asks him to do. Buri is a sorceress and is out to get the necklace with the blue diamond worn by Noorie Jinn. Another character is Gama, Sheikh Chilli’s class-mate but a bully and always troubling Sheikh Chilli. Lootera is the stupid thief who is always trying to rob everybody but does not succeed because of Sheikh Chilli’s gang.

Mr. Aman Bajaj – Publisher (Owner) – Mayapuri Group – Lotpot magazine, with 30+ years of experience in production and animation.His team is developing multiple IP characters of Lotpot kids magazine like Motu Patlu ,Sheikh Chilli & Neetu.

He has told “Sheikh Chilli & Friendz stories are based on magic and fantasy. The characters are based in the modern world and are well equipped with technology so that kids of this generation can connect to them “. Also, Shekhar Chopra, CEO of Lotpot has said “We are happy to collaborate with One Take Media Co. This association will take Sheikh Chilli & Friendz to global territories.”

OTMC is one of leaders in providing value Added Services to DTH, Telecom ,OTT and Cable industries, services include Hollywood Movies, Hollywood Movies dubbed in Hindi, Kid Animated Movies/shows, Celebrity based Cooking show and Korean TV series.

Mr. Anil Khera , CEO & Founder of One Take Media says “ We are very confident that this acquisition of Sheikh Chilli & Friendz for global distribution would prove to be a successful bet. We are constantly striving towards offering new media and content to our viewers. Watching Sheikh Chilli& Friendz will be a complete delight for our audience’s world over “

October 11, 2019
Supreme Court allows transfer of DTH licence fee petition from Kerala HC

MUMBAI: Moving one step closer to the long-fought battle on licence fees between direct-to-home (DTH) operators and the government of India, the Supreme Court has allowed the transfer of a related case to the apex court from the Kerala High Court.

“Having heard the learned counsel for the parties and gone through these transfer petitions filed under Article 139A of the Constitution of India and considering the facts and circumstances of the case, we deem it fit and proper to transfer the matters mentioned in Prayer (a) of the Transfer Petitions from the High Court of Kerala at Ernakulam to this Court,” Supreme Court said in an order dated on 23 September.

The transfer of the petition will help DTH players to pave the way for the long-pending new DTH licenses.

Last year, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had reiterated most of its recommendations in response to back reference received from the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) on the authority’s recommendations related to the new direct to home (DTH) licence. The authority had issued recommendations on ‘Issues related to New DTH Licenses’ on 23 July 2014.

September 27, 2019
TRAI issues consultation paper discussing target market, placement issues between broadcasters, DPOs

MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory authority of India (TRAI) released a consultation paper on ‘Issues related to Interconnection Regulation 2017'. The objective of the move is to consult all the stakeholders on issues related to target market, placement and other agreements between broadcasters and distributors.

The authority has received representations from quite a few regional broadcasters highlighting their concerns regarding the declaration of the target market by distributors of television channels (DPOs). As the existing regulations provide freedom to DPOs to declare their target market for the purpose of ascertaining the carriage fee, some of the DPOs have declared multiple states (or entire country in some cases) as their target market.

In this context, regional broadcasters are compelled to pay very high carriage fee. This has created a negative economic barrier for regional channels thereby limiting their presence on smaller distribution platforms as proposition to pay carriage fee for national market makes it unviable for such channels.

Not only does this put undesired financial burden on regional broadcasters, it makes them prone to undue arm twisting by the distributors, as their subscription continues to remain lower than the minimum prescribed threshold of five percent (5 per cent ), which is the limit under which a DPO is not mandated to carry any channel.

"Further, the placement agreement, marketing agreements or any other technical or commercial arrangements between broadcasters and distributors (apart from RIO-based agreements) are in forbearance. But now, quite a few complaints have been received from various broadcasters whereby it is being alleged that some DPOs are resorting to pushing for marketing/placement/promotion agreement, by exploiting the available forbearance,” TRAI said in a press release.

Recently, Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) also recommended the authority to examine the issue. According to a TDSAT order dated 29 July, the main challenge appears to be the wisdom of the regulator in giving liberty to DTH operators to declare their target areas.

Adhering to the orders, the authority had several meetings with each group of stakeholders in the industry including news broadcasters, broadcasters, DTH operators, MSOs and regional broadcasters to discuss their viewpoints and come forward with a balanced solution that is in the interest of both the concerned parties (DPOs and regional broadcasters).

According to some of the broadcasters, the decision of declaration of target market should be left upon them as it is their channel and they should have the freedom to decide that which sector of the population will opt for their channels. Almost all the regional broadcasters want that the target market should only be their respective state or city or territory and they should not be asked to pay carriage fee for the entire universe (PAN India).

However, DPOs have a different opinion. According to some of the distributors, the cost of infrastructure associated with running a channel is significant. In case the provision related to target market is altered to states, it will alter their revenue structure. According to them, any reduction in the revenue stream from carriage fee will result in additional subscription cost for the consumers. Moreover, any smaller target market will mean more and more broadcasters will achieve subscription threshold of 20 per cent. As soon as the subscription crosses the threshold, their carriage fee revenue will reduce to zero. As per extent provisions, a broadcaster is exempted from payment of any carriage fee if the monthly subscription of his channel in the target market exceeds 20 per cent.

As per TRAI, MSOs declaring its target market as the area covered under a head end or any smaller area within the total area covered by a head end can be an alternative. Another option which has been highlighted as a possible altenative is linking carriage fee to cost of carrying a channel. In this option the cost of carrying a channel may be worked out and the amount of carriage fee that a broadcaster may be required to pay the distributor may be capped at that level.

The highlighted questions are primary issues for consultation:

1. Do you think that the flexibility of defining the target market is being misused by the distribution platform operators for determining carriage fee? Provide requisite details and facts supported by documents/ data. If yes, please provide your comments on possible solution to address this issue?

2. Should there be a cap on the amount of carriage fee that a broadcaster may be required to pay to a DPO? If yes, what should be the amount of this cap and the basis of arriving at the same?

3. How should cost of carrying a channel may be determined both for DTH platform and MSO platform? Please provide detailed justification and facts supported by documents/ data.

4. Do you think that the right granted to the DPO to decline to carry a channel having a subscriber base less than 5 per cent in the, immediately preceding six months is likely to be misused? If yes, what can be done to prevent such misuse?

September 26, 2019

DishTV strengthens presence in West Bengal with special offers and packages

MUMBAI: In a bid to make the most of the festivities, Dish TV India Ltd, the world’s largest single-country DTH Company, today announced line-up of special offers and packages for its existing customers in West Bengal. The new offers by Dish TV seek to extend maximum benefits to the customers.

Catering to the need of the customers, the new packages offered by DishTV have been designed keeping in mind the diverse choice of content across various segments. As part of the offer, three new attractive combos in SD and HD packs have been introduced starting from Rs 219. The new recharge packs include Family Bangla; comprising all Bangla channels along with popular Hindi entertainment/Infotainment channels, Family Cricket combo; comprising all Bangla channels along with popular entertainment/infotainment channels + India Cricket Service and Family Metro combo; comprising all Bangla channels along with popular Hindi & English entertainment & Other infotainment channels.

“West Bengal has always been a prime market for DishTV and we are committed to growing our presence and reach in this region. Taking forward our vision of providing robust and enhanced entertainment experience, we are thrilled to announce customisable entertainment packs and offerings for our customers. We have always followed a customer-centric approach when it comes to curating the offers and we are confident that the special festive offerings will further add to the fervour of the festivities for our viewers," Dish TV India marketing corporate head Sukhpreet Singh commented.

DishTV has introduced exciting offers for its existing subscribers who have not recharged since 31 July earlier, wherein subscriber will get all Bangla channels along with other popular channels at an unbelievable price of Rs 219 per month. Furthermore, there is an option for annual recharge also, which ensures price protection for one year and one free service visit for alignment at the time of re-activation.

Combo	Content Details	Combo Price
Family Bangla	Bouquets of ALL Bangla channels, Zee, Sony, TV18, Discovery & A-la-carte channels of Star and others	219
Family Cricket	Bouquets of ALL Bangla channels, Zee, Sony, TV18, Discovery, Disney, Turner & A-la-carte channels of Star and others	299
Family Metro	Bouquets of ALL Bangla channels, Zee, Sony, TV18, Discovery, Disney, Turner, TVTN, Times & A-la-carte channels of Star and others	349

Additionally, to further encourage the current subscribers, special long-term scheme has been announced, wherein subscriber can avail one month extra subscription on payment of six months and two months extra subscription on payment for ten months. Also, on recharge of two years, customers can enjoy all Bangla channels along with popular entertainment channels at an effective monthly price of Rs 219.

This special offer will be available till 15 November and will ensure that DishTV’s customers enjoy the best content without any hassle. For any additional content, subscribers will have to recharge with the additional amount as applicable.

September 21, 2019

Sun Direct offers 155 channels for Rs 130 network capacity fee

MUMBAI: DTH operator Sun Direct is now allowing subscribers to select up to 155 channels for a monthly network capacity fee of Rs 130/- plus applicable taxes.

Sun Direct is the first DTH to officially declare NCF allowing more than 100 channels along with the removal of the additional slab. The operator has been offering almost the entire FTA channels bouquet available on its platform on complementary basis with the Rs 130 NCF base pack from the start of the new tariff order.

While most operators have declared Rs 130 as NCF for 100 channels, most of them have been offering hundreds of FTA channels on a complimentary basis with discounted NCF on bundle packs.

The DTH operator had on 24 January declared its network capacity fee days ahead of the switch over to the new tariff order. The network capacity fee payable monthly back then was set at Rs 130/- plus applicable taxes for 100 SD channels. Additional slab NCF was set at Rs 20/- plus applicable taxes for the next 25 SD channels.

September 14, 2019