ITV

Tag: DTH

  • Bhojpuri GEC Dishum launched, targets 65 mln C&S homes

    MUMBAI: It’s hoping to make a big impact on Indians love for everything Bhojpuri. Mumbai-based Dishum Broadcasting flagged off the free-to-air Bhojpuri TV GEC  Dishum just as India entered its seventy-first year of becoming independent.

    Branded Bhojpuri Dhamaka- Dishum, it is expected to have the majority of its audience in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and Jharkand, apart from the millions of Biharis/Jharkandis spread all over India and the world.

    The company’s management is working on making Dishum available on major Indian DTH and cable TV platforms such  as Tata Sky, Airtel, Den UP, Siti Maurya, Dash Digital and other local MSOs.  The goal: to reach a cumulative  65 million C&S homes. The international rollout will follow later.

    The channel has a slate of programmes covering both, fiction and non-fiction at different  time slots covering devotional, bhakti, mythological, drama, movies and music.

    Dishum has launched in a cluttered Bhojpuri TV space crowded with the likes of BIG Magic (now owned by Zee), Dabangg, Dhamaal, and movie channels like Oscar Movies Bhojpuri,  Bhojpuri Cinema TV, apart from other DD channels and news services.

    However, the company’s director Vishal Gurnani is undaunted by the competition and is quite focused on pole-vaulting the new launch into the second position amongst Bhojpuri channels in the next six months.

    Says he: “We are here to bridge the void left behind by Mahuaa, and are looking forward to bringing world class content, packaging and production values to the large Bhojpuri audience spread across UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and the migrant Bhojpuri audience across India and the world. We are working with the best production houses and the research agencies to understand the audience better.”

    Observers are of the view that Dishum will have its task cut out. Recently, the Bhojpuri cinema ecosystem saw investments being upped in production of movies.

    “However, the challenge has been in collection at the box office; the theatres simply refuse to pay up for a successful movie,” says a media observer. “While this does not directly affect Dishum, it shows the lack of transparency in that ecosystem. Dishum, being free to air, will have to depend on advertising. And, advertising spends from local brands; not just the national FMCG brands from the likes of Levers, P&G, Patanjali, Dabur etc. The latter will give it loose change in terms of ad spends. However, if it does manage to nurture and collect from local advertisers, it could have a good future.”

    ALSO READ :

    Dishum plans to break even in 3 yrs & a network soon, says Vishal Gurnani

    Dishum Awards hoist Bhojpuri flag in London, to be telecast on 27 Aug

  • Local language content a major challenge, says Prasar CEO Vempati

    NEW DELHI: Prasar Bharati chief executive officer Shashi Shekhar Vempati has stressed that India was very rich in content and with so many platforms it is important to capitalise on this.

    Vempati said: “While native technology and artificial intelligence effectively guarantees impact, it is imperative to supplement it with creative minds, which exist in India and gives it an edge over the others. India possess a demographic uniqueness which places us ahead on the global map. What is lacking is an ecosystem to incentivise creators and insulate consumer experience.”

    Thus the situation is right for good and meaningful content. But, unfortunately, he felt that more funds were being put into automation and distribution than on content.

    Addressing the Create4India meet organised by Digital India Foundation, he said India had a major advantage in not only being the youngest but the largest democracy, and had an advantage over China as it had freedom of speech. The country was also a rich source of content with its ancient heritage.

    Referring to Doordarshan, he said even BARC had shown that DD had a larger reach than any other channel, particularly taking rural viewers into account.

    Describing Its DTH platform FreeDish as a “democratic tool”, he said it reached the far corners of the country. But, he said the time had come when DD makes programmes not just for India, but the world. He stressed the need for more content in local languages to reach out to the people.

    Vempati also referred to outsourcing and in this context he said the new DD logo contest had brought back many new viewers to DD. But, marketing was as important and FreeDish was doing that for DD.

    With convergence coming in, the emphasis on variety in content had become even more relevant.

    Telecom Regulatory Authority of India chairman R S Sharma brought the regulators perspective, sharing his belief in a transparent mechanism of open consultation with the industry and the stakeholders, with accountability to the people at large.

    He said the basic layer of connectivity is ‘robust’ but the layer of software has to be built. He complimented the start-ups which were producing rich content.

    Foundation founder Arvind Gupta said though there were around 400 million viewers in the country, 86 per cent were watching content which was not in their local language.

    He said the country had a net addition of 25 million smartphones per year and that emphasized the need for more content. There are around 30 GB of downloads per month.

    Content creation was a very small portion of the $100 billion industry, he regretted. Gupta said, “The current digital disruption and technological change has redefined the limits of human ingenuity and innovation, a phenomenon accelerated with ‘convergence’ in technologies and modes of content delivery. This convergence necessitates an ecosystem approach towards the creative economy’s growth and future regulation.”

    Bringing perspective to the content consumption trends in India, he reiterated the need for creating new content that is, affordable, understandable and socially relevant for the India market.

    The panel discussions featuring industry stalwarts as Arun Thapar (EVP & Head of Content, AETN18 Media) and Vijay Nair (CEO, Only Much Louder) focussed on building a qualitative content driven framework, backed by digital disruption. Creating significant digital presence in today’s era is not a luxury of choice, but a ‘must have’, to unleash the creative potential. Addressing the key ingredients of a robust creative economy, the panel necessitated the need for ‘humanising’ content, to make consumption more compelling and generation defining.

    The second panel, led by Pushpendra Rai (former director World Intellectual Property Organization), felt progressive policies backed by the right legislative intent is quintessential to contribute to the success of this sector, not just to foster creativity, but to help in sustenance and growth of the creative economy.

    Author and entrepreneur Barkha Dutt brought forth the content creator’s perspective stating that advertising dependence in media will always play to the lowest common denominator – the masses. What needs to be addressed is, how India’s creative class will emerge with a revenue model and an audience willing to pay for content.

    She wondered why Indians did not want to pay for news which enabled creative disruption without monetisation. She said she was open to the tyranny of the market if she was given a level-playing field. She also wondered why Indians were shy of personalising and marketing individual brands.

    In 2016, the National IPR Policy brought the administration of copyright under the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and highlighted the intrinsic linkages between commercialization, consumer choice and creativity. The relative contribution of India’s creative economy to the GDP (0.9%), is less than most emerging market counterparts, she said.

  • Rs 200 mn allocated for free DTH in border areas

    NEW DELHI: An allocation of Rs 200 million has been made for setting up direct-to-home receiver sets of Doordarshan’s FreeDish in tribal, remote and border areas, the Parliament has been told.

    Minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathre said 30,000 DTH receiver sets would be distributed in consultation with state governments. He said that DTH receiver sets had been distributed in the past by Doordarshan in selected areas.

    The question in the Parliament related to distributing free DTH connections in Naxal-hit areas.

    An earlier separate report stated that Prasar Bharati may be distributing for free around a million direct- to-home (DTH) set-top boxes in Naxal-hit areas of India.

    Besides a dedicated DD channel for Chhattisgarh, then union minister of information and broadcasting M Venkaiah Naidu had stated that a high-power transmitter would be commissioned in Jagdalpur (Bastar district headquarter) which would beam signal of AIR Jagdalpur to a radius of 200 km.

    ALSO READ :

    Prasar to distribute 1 mn free STBs, Chhattisgarh channel plan reiterated

    32 free DTH educational channels on Dish TV & FreeDish start functioning

     

     

  • TRAI seeks conclusive views on ease of doing broadcast biz

    NEW DELHI: Noting that a business-friendly environment is a pre-requisite for the growth of a nation and makes a country a favorite business destination particularly with the fast changing regulatory framework for the media and entertainment sector,the Telecom Regulatory Authority has issued a consultation paper on the ease of doing business in broadcasting based on views received by it on a pre-consultation paper issued on 19 April this year.

    Responses to the paper, which poses around 18 questions to stakeholders, have to be sent by 28 August with counter-comments if any by 11 September 2017.

    Noting that the M and E sector in India is one of the fastest growing sectors, TRAI has noted that It not only leads to employment generation but also helps in the growth and development of an economy.

    The economic liberalisation measures initiated in the early 1990s had focused on reduction of regulatory burden on enterprises as an underlying objective of the reform process. The Government has launched an ambitious programme of regulatory reforms aimed at making it easier to do business in India. The programme aims to pinpoint the bottlenecks and ease them to create a more business-friendly environment. The efforts have yielded some results with India ranked at 130 according to the World Banks’ Doing Business report. But, there is still huge scope for further improvements.

    TRAI notes that the IMF has branded India as the brightest spot in the Global Economy. Several Global Institutions have projected India as the leading destination for FDI in the World and a number of recent global reports and assessments, show that India has considerably improved its policies, practices and economic profile. It is expected that enabling policies and determination to continue with economic reforms, various initiatives taken by the Government such as Make in India, Smart City Mission, Skill India Mission, Digital India, etc. would further spur the growth of the economy.

    The pre-consultation paper on the ease of doing business in broadcasting which covered all media came just a few months after a similar paper on telecom. In the new era of convergence, the two sectors are expected to complement each other.

    The aim is also to remove entry barriers by laying down well defined and transparent procedures and processes thereby creating level playing field and competition in the sector and to facilitate innovation and technology adoption for providing better quality of services to the consumers to steer further growth of the sector by attracting investment through investor friendly policies

    Subjects to be covered are related to processes and procedures for obtaining permission/license/registration for the following broadcasting services and subsequent compliance connected with these
    permissions.

    The fields include:

    (a)Uplinking of TV channels
    (b) Downlinking of TV channels
    (c) Teleport services
    (d) Direct-to-home services
    (e) Private FM services
    (f) Headend-in-the sky services
    (g) Local Cable Operators
    (h) Multi System Operators
    (i) Community Radio Stations

    The questions raised are:

    1. Is there a need for simplification of policy framework to boost growth of satellite TV industry? If yes, what changes do you suggest in present policy framework relating to satellite TV channels and why?
    2.  Is there a need in present policy framework relating to seeking permission for making changes in the name, logo, language, format, etc. related to an operational satellite TV channel? If so, what changes do you suggest and why?  Is there a need for simplification of policy framework to boost growth of satellite TV industry? If yes, what changes do you suggest in present policy framework relating to satellite TV channels and why?
    3. Do you agree witb some of the stakeholders comments at the pre-consultation stage that Annual Renewal Process of TV channels needs simplification?
    4. Do you agree with stakeholders’ comments that coordination with multiple agencies/ Government departments related to starting and operating of a TV channel can be simplified? If so, what should be the mechanism and framework for such single window system?
    5. Is present framework of seeking permission for temporary uplinking of live coverage of events of national importance including sports events is complicated and restrictive? If yes, what changes do you suggest and why?
    6. Do you feel the need to simplify policy framework for seeking permission/license for starting and running of following services:  
    (iii) Teleport services
    (iv) DTH service
    7. As per your understanding, why open sky policy for Ku band has not been adopted when it is permitted for ‘C’ band? What changes do you suggest to simplify hiring of Ku band transponders for provision of DTH/HITS services?
    8. What are the operational issues and bottlenecks in the current policy framework related to:
    (iii) Teleport services
    (iv) DTH service
    How these issues can be simplified and expedited?  
    9. What are the specific issues affecting ease of doing business in cable TV sector? What modifications are required to be made in the extant framework to address these issues?
    10. Is there a need to increase validity of LCO registration from one year? In your view, what should be the validity of LCO registration?  
    11. What are the issues in the extant policy guidelines that are affecting the ease of doing business in FM sector? What changes and modifications are required to address these issues?
    12. Is there a need to streamline the process of assignment of frequency by WPC and clearances from NOCC to enhance ease of doing business? What changes do you suggest and why?
    13. What are the reasons for delay for allocation of frequencies by WPC? What changes do you suggest to streamline the process?
    14. What are the key issues affecting the indigenous manufacturing of various broadcasting equipment and systems. How these issues can be addressed?
    15. Is there any other issue which will be relevant to ease of doing business in broadcasting sector? .
    16. Are there any issues in conducting trial projects to assess suitability of a new technology in broadcasting sector?  
    17. What should the policy framework and process for consideration and approval of such trial projects?

    ALSO READ :

    Ease of doing b’cast biz date extended to 19 May

    TRAI seeks ideas on ease of doing b’cast business

    New portal to help ease of broadcast business

     

  • Airtel Digital TV sub base expands, even as ARPUs dip

    MUMBAI: Q1 2018 ended 30 June 2017 has been a bit of a mixed bag for the Sunil Mittal headed Bharati Airtel’s DTH biz – Airtel Digital TV. Its subscriber base expanded by nine per cent to 13.3 million as compared to 12.14 million in Q1 FY 2017 ended 30 June 2016. Net customer additions were hence around 499,000. The average revenue for the quarter however dropped to Rs 228 as compared to Rs 233 in the corresponding quarter last year.

    Revenues from the DTH segment grew at a slower pace of seven per cent in Q1 FY 2018 to touch Rs 897.4 crore (Rs 836.9 crore in Q1 FY 2017). EBIDTA in the latest quarter grew 10 per cent over the previous corresponding period to Rs 330 crore, even as its capex went up 31 per cent to Rs 266.1 crore (Rs 203 crore). Its operating free cash flow was down 35 per cent from Rs 98.1 crore to Rs 63.9 crore.

    Bharati Airtel’s cumulative investment to date in Airtel Digital TV has spurted to Rs 7225.3 crore as compared to Rs 6693.6 crore in the previous corresponding quarter.

    Cumulatively, the DTH service is contributing five per cent revenues to the telecom behemoth’s top line even as investments in the segment are at three per cent.

    Says an industry observer: “Airtel Digital TV is among the three to four players who are offering a world class service at very reasonable prices to consumers. The quality of customers who may have signed on in the last quarter could be coming in from Phase III and phase IV areas of cable TV digitization (where customers have a lower propensity to pay for the premium services) or it could be that the competition is forcing it to cut its prices. But overall it has done reasonably well in a difficult year. “

    Airtel Digital TV offers both standard and high definition (HD) digital TV services with 3D capabilities and Dolby surround sound. It offers a total of 590 channels including 67 HD channels, five international channels and four interactive services.

  • Dishum plans to break even in 3 yrs & a network soon, says Vishal Gurnani

    MUMBAI: Vishal Gurnani-owned Dishum Broadcasting has announced the launch of its first Bhojpuri general entertainment channel Dishum. The channel will go live on 15 August.

    “To cater to 220 million population in India which understands and speaks Bhojpuri, there is only one GEC channel, that is Big Ganga. Other channels are not considered as GEC channels as they mostly air movies,” Gurnani said.

    “There is a clear need gap for great content to be delivered to this large audience base. Hence, there was an opportunity to have a GEC channel in that market,” said Dishum Broadcasting director Vishal Gurnani.

    Dishum will be a free-to-air channel. “We don’t believe that audience should pay for content,” said Gurnani.

    The channel will have a mix of fiction and non- fiction content which will have programmes across genres such as mythology, horror, drama, kids shows, etc. catering to all members of a family.  “We plan to have a 150 hours per month of original content. Focused primarily on reality and non-fiction shows, we will also telecast blockbuster Bhojpuri movies seven days a week,” informed Gurnani.

    The channel has acquired exclusive telecast rights of the Yashi Films property IBFA which is scheduled to take place in London on 30 July, 2017. The channel is also working with Keylight Production for shows although it is also looking to produce shows in-house.

    Although the channel’s prime time will be 6pm – 10pm, it will also be airing shows in the morning time band of 6.30am- 10am — which will include mythological shows.

    The channel will be available across platforms including DTH and major MSOs. “We will be targeting 65 million households from the first day,” Gurnani said.

    About the response from advertisers, he said, without disclosing names, “The response has been great.  All the major and marquee FMCG, healthcare brands, telecom and pan masala brands are keen to associate with us.”

    Industry estimates that Dishum Broadcasting would be investing around Rs 100 crore over the next two years towards programming and distribution costs. A 10-sec ad rate slot for prime time is be put at Rs 600-1000.

    “Generally, every channel takes three years to break even, and we too are looking at a similar plan. At present, our focus will be on the Bhojpuri channel, but, going forward, we are planning to have a network of channels across genres,” asserted Gurnani.

    Also Read :

    Bhojpuri Cinema now available on Tata Sky and Den Network

    Big Ganga shows now available on ZEEL’s OZee

    “Our aim is to get into the Top 5 this year”: Tarun Katial

  • Prasar to distribute 1 mn free STBs, Chhattisgarh channel plan reiterated

    MUMBAI: Pubcaster Prasar Bharati, in an attempt to reach out to people in the “media dark” region, may be distributing for free around a million direct- to-home (DTH) set-top boxes in Naxal-hit areas of India an official has said.

    Besides a dedicated DD channel for Chhattisgarh, union minister of information and broadcasting M Venkaiah Naidu stated that a high-power transmitter would be commissioned in Jagdalpur (Bastar district headquarter) which would beam signal of AIR Jagdalpur to a radius of 200 km.

    A proposal by the public broadcaster stated that 5-10 lakh units of DTH STBs will be given away for free to people in areas suffering due to left-wing extremism, PTI reported. A senior information and broadcasting ministry confirmed that they would distribute the STBs in naxal-infested areas.

    Addressing an event in Raipur recently, Naidu had said that such an initiative would help people in tribal and remote areas of naxal-hit states to connect with government’s various development schemes. Naidu also said that the government would distribute 10,000 free DTH STBs in tribal and remote areas of Chhattisgarh.

    The measure would help people in Naxal-hit areas to watch about 100 television channels for free.

    Also Read :

    Star to focus on school-level games via FTA sports channel

    IIS overhaul & DD RNUs to focus on regional infra & local content

    FreeDish auction on 4 July, different reserve prices for GEC and news

    58% watched DD English news as per 4-wk average, pubcasters’ overhaul under way

  • Cable TV, DTH and OTT distribution

    MUMBAI: Having an OTT service is not enough; you’ve got to get it out on every outlet possible, is something we all know. But are traditional TV distributors like DTH and cable TV open to giving them carriage? That was the topic of discussion on one of the panels at Indiantelevision.com’s second VIDNET – Content on the Go powered by Viu conference in Mumbai’s Hotel Westin.

    On stage were Shemaroo CEO Jai Maroo, DEN CEO SN. Sharma and outgoing Videocond2h COO Himanshu Patil.

    Maroo said Shemaroo was interested in getting its content on every service – DTH, cable TV, OTT, traditional linear channels, or even YouTube.

    “We have done content supply deals with all the four major DTH operators and are about to do some with cable TV as well,” said Maroo. “Our content has to be on every screen.”

    He added that the company is constantly mulling over the idea of setting up its own OTT but has not gone ahead on it. “Every six months we visit the thought of doing our own app,” he shared. “But I see what’s going on with our other VOD partners and we drop it. We may do it when we think the time is right. Currently, we are curating and packaging our large content catalogue to them”

    Patil stated that the DTH provider had partnered with Shemaroo for several VAS services that Videocon d2H was offering to its subscribers. “And mind you they are willing to pay as much as Rs 30-40 for the service like Darshan, And its not only high end HD or 4K customers who are at the premium pack end who are willing to subscriber to our BAS service. Even the basic pack customers are” disclosed Patil. “So OTT players should take heart from our experiences – the willingness to pay is there as long as you provide her with the content she wants.”

    He added that Videocon2h is ready to embed any OTT app into an user interface on the DTH service. “We are currently integrating Netflix with our connected box, and are talking to almost every OTT player in India to do the same,” he said.” I’d rather have my customer stay with me for my DTH service and offer him the entire bouquet so he can move out into VOD when he wants and come back into linear television when he wants. We will be working on voice activated search and discovery which will enable to him find every piece of content related to that search.”

    He revealed that the operator had dropped the idea of serving an on-the-go app to its subscribers. “All the broadcasters are coming up with their own apps. It did not make sense for us to have our own,” he explained.

    DEN’s Sharma disclosed that the MSO had, on the other hand, unveiled its own OTT on which it was offering traditional linear channels as subscribers had expressed the need to watch these on their hand held devices or on the go. “But it’s early days for us and we are learning along the way,” he said. “We know we have to aggregate content, apart from our normal linear fare. We have 2,500 movie titles, and other video on demand fare. ”

    He highlighted that he was open to integrating any app or OTT service into the DEN network. “Yes, we are willing to partner, possibly, initially to provide customer service and get the apps or OTT players traction, but we would like to see revenue coming our way at some stage,” he elaborated.

    The fact that this would benefit his Boomband broadband services was not lost on him. “It will be a win-win for all of us,” he expressed.

    He said DEN was working on getting boxes into homes which would enable regular TVs to become smart. “Very soon,” he said.

    He was not worried about the impending launch of Jio Fibre or Jio DTH wherein rumours are that it will disrupt the wired broadband market just as it did in the wireless space.

    “If it goes the free way like it went for its 4G mobile service, I am sure no one will be able to stand up against it,” he stated. “But the fact is that it is going to take time to be available nationally. So lets’s wait and watch.”

  • 32 free DTH educational channels on Dish TV & FreeDish start functioning

    NEW DELHI: Thirty-two direct-to-home educational channels under the name Swayam Prabha were formally launched during the weekend to telecast high-quality educational content free of charge.

    Launching the channels which will be beamed via the GSAT-15 satellite transponders and will shortly be available both on Dish TV as well as Doordarshan’s FreeDish, President Pranab Mukherjee said the use of satellite technology to reach the unreached is time-tested. He was happy to note that the scale and reach of this technology has been raised manifold through the 32 Swayam Prabha DTH channels. These channels will help students in the rural areas and in the remote areas where IT infrastructure have not penetrated so well.

    These channels transmit four hours of fresh content every day, and contain lectures from the best teachers in the country. There is no monthly charge for viewing these channels. These channels include the IIT-PAL channels which were intended to help students taking the prestigious JEE examination, taught by the IIT faculty.

    In a function organised on the eve of the Guru Poornima, a day for salutation to teachers, the President also launched the Swayam portal that has become fully functional.

    The portal enables one to take courses offered by the best teachers, remaining where they are. Swayam should be a call to the pioneers amongst teachers to put new courses in the upcoming areas on this platform in the MOOCs format. It is also a call to the other teachers to use this material and improve their own teaching capacity. Ultimately, it should lead to better attainment levels in the students.

    With the launch of Swayam, India has become one of the few countries in the world which has its own online interactive learning platform that provides not only video lectures and reading material, but also assignments/quizzes that could end up in securing credits after completing the assessment system. More than 400 Courses are available on Swayam covering all the engineering and non-engineering subjects at undergraduate and post-graduate levels. The University Grants Commission has already issued Regulation that allows transfer of credits earned through the courses done through Swayam into the academic record of the students. It is now possible for the students and others to take courses of the prestigious IITs or IIMs without formally studying there. The platform has been constructed by Microsoft with totally indigenous efforts.

    Mukherjee also launched the National Academic Depository at the National Convention on Digital Initiatives organized by Ministry of Human Resource Development in New Delhi.

    Speaking on the occasion, the president said the spread of technology, telecom penetration and internet has offered an opportunity to quell the divide in terms of access and quality. Digital technology enables good teachers to directly teach large number of students who are not physically present in classes. ICT solutions offer an interactive learning experience through which students in remote parts of the country can benefit from lectures of the top teachers. The digital modes are cheaper, more easily accessible, interactive, and offer flexibility for people to learn at their own pace. We need to work together to ensure that they are widely adopted for teaching.

    The president said that the National Academic Depository would help in easy authentication of the credentials issued by the institutions. This would also help in increasing transparency and ease of operation. The several other digital initiatives taken up under the National Mission on Education through ICT (NMEICT) being showcased today should help all in going the digital way in order to improve the quality of teaching.

    He said during the last five years, he had been emphasizing on improving the quality of education whenever he met Vice Chancellors of central universities, Directors of IITs, NITs and IISc/ IISERs. The conferences at Rashtrapati Bhavan have also acted as platforms for nurturing ideas. Many initiatives and ideas like the GIAN, IMPRINT and GRIN have taken root here. He called upon participants present there to ensure that these initiatives are taken to their logical conclusion for the benefit of the nation.

    Human resource development minister Prakash Javadekar and MoS Mahendra Nath Pandey were also present on the occasion.

    The president has expressed hope that these digital initiatives would help in producing the highly qualified youth required for the Make in India campaign. He exhorted all the higher educational institution to march on the path of educational excellence consisting of creation of new knowledge and dissemination of the same for the benefit of the nation. It was an emotional moment for the president since many of these initiatives have taken shape under his guidance as visitor of these institutions.

  • Smuggled STBs & Indian DTH may be used, IBF advises Nepal to defer Clean Feed

    MUMBAI: Nepal had recently issued a clean feed policy. However, owing to unviable business proposition, it is felt that distribution channels may face discontinuation leading to rampant piracy all over Nepal. It was highlighted that in-cable operators may resort to using Indian DTH connections to re-distribute the signals. Viewers too may start buying Set-Top Boxes (STBs) and Viewing Cards of Indian DTH operators without knowing that the same may have been smuggled into Nepal. IBF has appealed that “the Government of Nepal ought to defer implementation of a “Clean Feed” policy until implementation of digitization so as to evaluate best ways to take advantage of the same as is being done by other countries.

    In the recent past, Government of Nepal issued clean feed policy pursuant to which downlinking licenses of foreign broadcasters is sought to be permitted only if foreign channels being distributed in Nepal do not contain any advertisements (“Clean Feed Policy”). The Clean Feed Policy is sought to be implemented by Government of Nepal from 16 July, 2017.

    To apprise the Government of Nepal on the possible fallouts of the proposed policy and its likely impact on the economic development of Nepal – particularly from the point of view of loss in revenue and employment in the Country, Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) has had a series of discussions with Nepal Government officials. During the discussions, broadcast fraternity of India conveyed the technical and economic unviability of the proposed Clean Feed Policy in Nepal. Broadcasters also conveyed that consumers and various distribution platforms in Nepal would be adversely effected in case the proposed policy is implemented on the designated date.

    (a) It was highlighted to the Government of Nepal that any such policy ought to be framed only after holding transparent and holistic consultations involving all stakeholders in an environment where digitalization of distribution networks in Nepal has been completed and issues relating to implementation of anti-piracy laws have been put in place, as is not the case presently.

    (b) Launch of clean feed would inter-alia entail separate playout, uplink and downlink costs. Nepal being an emerging market with very low ‘Average Revenue Per User’ (“ARPU”), such exorbitant costs to create clean feeds are not justifiable from a business viability point of view.

    (c) Due to unviable business proposition, it is felt that distribution channels may face discontinuation leading into rampant piracy all over Nepal. It was highlighted that in cable operators may resort to using Indian DTH connections to re-distribute the signals. Further, in such a situation, viewers too may start buying Set-Top Boxes (STBs) and Viewing Cards of Indian DTH operators without knowing that the same may have been smuggled into Nepal.

    (d) The demand for ‘clean feed’ is at variance with and may be counter-productive to Government of Nepal’s laudable initiative for implementation of digitalization of distribution networks. This is so because digitization is a cost intensive exercise and any discontinuation of channels on account of implementation of Clean Feed Policy ought to have an adverse impact on revenues of cable operators (thereby affecting their ability to invest monies for digitization). It was submitted that such impact can have a cascading effect on survival of distribution platforms thereby, as a chain reaction affecting employment locally and also distribution / reach of local Nepalese channels.

    (e) Government of Nepal should first allow implementation of digitization before proceeding to evaluate need for introduction of a Clean Feed Policy. It was highlighted that digitization with addressability is a potent tool to keep in check on unaccounted cash transactions, which may not only cause losses to distribution platforms and broadcasters but, also to the Government exchequer in the form of lost taxes.

    (f) Proper and effective implementation of digitization will give an insight to broadcasters on type of content being consumed, and as a consequence, they will be able to evaluate consumer choice better. From Government’s point of view, digitization will also afford a line of sight on content being distributed in Nepal, revenues being generated by distribution platforms and consequential license fees / taxes that they are paying. Such license fees / taxes can be utilized by the Government inter-alia towards cross-subsidizing expenses of Nepalese broadcasters or other initiatives.

    Girish Srivastava, Secretary General of IBF, appealed that “the Government of Nepal ought to defer implementation of a “Clean Feed” policy until implementation of digitization so as to evaluate best ways to take advantage of the same as is being done by other countries. Meanwhile, with the renewal of channel licenses due on 15 July 2017 – we would request the Ministry of Information and Communication (MOIC) to allow existing/new channels to be distributed without the Clean feed condition – with the understanding that the license shall not be withdrawn for at least till the next term is due”. Adding further to his request, Srivastava stated that “entire Indian broadcasting fraternity attaches a great degree of significance to the existing deep cultural, linguistic, social, economic ties between the two nations and its commitment to further the same in times to come”.