ITV

Tag: DTH

  • French channel TV5Monde Asie ties up with Tata Sky to enter Indian market

    French channel TV5Monde Asie ties up with Tata Sky to enter Indian market

    MUMBAI: French language channel TV5Monde Asie is now available in India on Tata Sky. 
    The French-language network is accessible  to Tata Sky subscribers through its English news pack on channel No. 537.

    With this move, the channel has aimed to extend its reach to additional 15 million homes in India. The network’s current reach is over 75 million subscribers in Asia-Pacific and 300 million homes worldwide.

    TV5Monde APAC MD Alexandre Muller said, “Thanks to Tata Sky, we are not only strengthening the availability of TV5Monde Asie all over India, but also providing more options to viewers in the country. This new partnership will entitle French language ‘’addicts’’ and Francophiles to benefit from our exclusive content. “

    The deal was completed by TV5Monde’s India representative, Catvision Ltd, who has been representing the French-speaking channel since 1998.

    The channel offers a wide variety of exclusive subtitled prime time films, world-class sports events, high-quality documentaries, kids’ programs, cooking and design lessons, as well as exciting game shows and in-depth coverage of international news.

  • Neo Sports soon available on Tata Sky

    Neo Sports soon available on Tata Sky

    MUMBAI: Neo Sports inked a deal with Tata Sky, the channel will now be available on Tata Sky.

    This mutual and resurgent association will see a major value addition to the sports viewers in India.

    Neo Sports distribution platforms EVP Dilip Sharan said, “Having had a great working relationship with Tata Sky in the past, we are extremely delighted to have Tata Sky as our strong business partner! We look forward to engaging with them in creating much greater value for the industry as a whole. We now propose to flash fabulous sports content that shall be covered by Tata Sky. This will indeed mean tremendous value addition to the viewer”

    Neo Sports with its extensive coverage of both popular as well as premium sports offerings and Tata Sky with its deep penetrative reach in every part of the country shall fulfill the appetite of the avid sports enthusiast.

    With this formidable combination of Neo Sports and Tata Sky, there should be exciting times in the sports broadcast arena. It is a win-win for Tata Sky subscribers & avid fans following their sport on Neo Sports network to watch some fantastic events like the evergreen grand slam tennis tournament – French Open; top notch football championships like Copa Italia, French Cup and the biggest of all FIFA Club World Cup along with the weekends Dutch league Eredivisie would now have a wider reach.

    Cricket’s new excitement BPL (Bangladesh Premier League), the Afghanistan & Zimbabwe cricket series and premium Gold PGA tours add to the world class tourneys.

    This entire development will add another dimension to Neo Sports & Tata Sky which will be whole heartedly welcomed by the viewers.

     

  • Neo Sports soon available on Tata Sky

    Neo Sports soon available on Tata Sky

    MUMBAI: Neo Sports inked a deal with Tata Sky, the channel will now be available on Tata Sky.

    This mutual and resurgent association will see a major value addition to the sports viewers in India.

    Neo Sports distribution platforms EVP Dilip Sharan said, “Having had a great working relationship with Tata Sky in the past, we are extremely delighted to have Tata Sky as our strong business partner! We look forward to engaging with them in creating much greater value for the industry as a whole. We now propose to flash fabulous sports content that shall be covered by Tata Sky. This will indeed mean tremendous value addition to the viewer”

    Neo Sports with its extensive coverage of both popular as well as premium sports offerings and Tata Sky with its deep penetrative reach in every part of the country shall fulfill the appetite of the avid sports enthusiast.

    With this formidable combination of Neo Sports and Tata Sky, there should be exciting times in the sports broadcast arena. It is a win-win for Tata Sky subscribers & avid fans following their sport on Neo Sports network to watch some fantastic events like the evergreen grand slam tennis tournament – French Open; top notch football championships like Copa Italia, French Cup and the biggest of all FIFA Club World Cup along with the weekends Dutch league Eredivisie would now have a wider reach.

    Cricket’s new excitement BPL (Bangladesh Premier League), the Afghanistan & Zimbabwe cricket series and premium Gold PGA tours add to the world class tourneys.

    This entire development will add another dimension to Neo Sports & Tata Sky which will be whole heartedly welcomed by the viewers.

     

  • APOS 2016: Decoding APAC’s digital video and TV future

    APOS 2016: Decoding APAC’s digital video and TV future

    BALI: The stage is set for a crackling APOS 2016 in Bali. The annual do organized by Vivek Couto’s Media Partners Asia got off to a flying start this evening with the opening and welcome reception hosted by Disney.

    It was held on the lawns of the Ayana Resort in the Jimbaran district of Bali. The mood was perfect: the skies perfectly clear and the breeze gentle, unlike one of the years earlier when rain disrupted the proceedings. The beer, fruit juices and cocktails flowed freely as Asia Pacific’s TV and digital industry professionals hobnobbed with each other.

    The attendance was stellar: distribution executives, owners & promoters, CEOs, APAC heads,  from the broadcast, cable, satellite sides of the business were all there. HBO Asia head Jonathan Spinks, the new Netflix vice president business development Asia Tony Zameczkwoski, Vice’s iconoclast co-founder & CEO Shane Smith, Walt Disney Co SEVP and chief strategy officer Kevin Mayer, Fox Networks Group Asia President Zubin Gandevia, SES Asia senior VP commercial Deepak Mathur, TV5 Asia director Alexandre Muller,  were among the familiar faces from the APAC region. and elsewhere.

    Among the Indian big names who showed up included: Zee Entertainment international head Amit Goenka was seen with his international team of Rajeev Kheror and Mukund Cairae. Videocon d2h deputy CEO Rohit Jain, COO Himanshu Patil were seen chatting with partners. Indiacast’s Anuj Gandhi was seen hobnobbing with executives from the region. Times Network was represented by international business head Naveen Chandra. For some the festivities continued late into the night as they headed to various restaurants and warungs  across Bali for some of the delicious Balinese food.

    APOS 2016 is markedly different this time because of the focus on different countries. Australia, China, India, Korea and Japan have special sessions that will look at unraveling the opportunity in each of these markets.  

    Global media leaders have sessions on their own. Whether it is Shine Endemol’s Sophie Turner Laing, or Netflix’s Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos, Disney’s Kevin Mayer or A&E Networks EVP & CFO David Granville-Smith or Kudelski Group chairman & CEO Andre Kudelski or Viacom International Media Networks President & CEO Bob Bakish, or Emerald Media CEO Paul Aiello – they have all turned up to attend, hear, network and speak. One noteworthy absence is Dreamworks’ Jeffery Katzenberg who has not been able to make it for personal reasons.

    Of course, as most of MPA’s gigs are vaunt to be, APOS 2016 has oodles of investment banks, private equity firm executives all lined up to give their perspective on video distribution opportunities in the Asia Pacific market and in which territories and businesses they are willing to invest in. Among the notable names here: Evolution Media Capital’s founder & co managing partner Rick Hess, CAA head of global client strategy Brian Weinstein, CMC Capital Partners chairman & founding partner Li Ruigang and MD Alex Chen, Providence Equity Partners Head of Asia Bis Subramanian, and senior advisor Tony Ball, Jungle Ventures managing partner David Gowdey, Paul Aiello, iflix group advisor David Goldstein, and Raine Ventures managing partner Godron Rubenstein.

    Several operational heads from the US, Europe and Asia who have their teeth in the business are also speaking. Among these: Discovery Networks Asia Pacific president & CEO Arthur Bastings, PCCW Media group MD Janice Lee, A+E Networks president international & digital media Sean Cohan, Optus CEO Allen Lew, Cartoon Network president & general manager Christina Miller, Taiwan Broadband executive vice-chairman Thomas EE, CJ E&M media content business president DJ Lee,

    Additionally,  the two days of the conference are peppered with digital video discussions considering that OTT and digital VOD services are exploding in the region, including in India.

    The India session looks appealing especially considering the rollout of digitization in India cable and satellite TV. Star India managing director Sanjay Gupta, Reliance Industries’ independent director o the board Adil Zainulbhai, Tata Sky MD Harit Nagpal and Viacom18 Media Group CEO Sudhanshu Vats slated to give their perspectives.

    Indiantelevision.com will be reporting from Bali to give you updates that are relevant to the Indian distribution ecosystem – right from cable TV to DTH to OTT platforms to content creation. So stay tuned

  • APOS 2016: Decoding APAC’s digital video and TV future

    APOS 2016: Decoding APAC’s digital video and TV future

    BALI: The stage is set for a crackling APOS 2016 in Bali. The annual do organized by Vivek Couto’s Media Partners Asia got off to a flying start this evening with the opening and welcome reception hosted by Disney.

    It was held on the lawns of the Ayana Resort in the Jimbaran district of Bali. The mood was perfect: the skies perfectly clear and the breeze gentle, unlike one of the years earlier when rain disrupted the proceedings. The beer, fruit juices and cocktails flowed freely as Asia Pacific’s TV and digital industry professionals hobnobbed with each other.

    The attendance was stellar: distribution executives, owners & promoters, CEOs, APAC heads,  from the broadcast, cable, satellite sides of the business were all there. HBO Asia head Jonathan Spinks, the new Netflix vice president business development Asia Tony Zameczkwoski, Vice’s iconoclast co-founder & CEO Shane Smith, Walt Disney Co SEVP and chief strategy officer Kevin Mayer, Fox Networks Group Asia President Zubin Gandevia, SES Asia senior VP commercial Deepak Mathur, TV5 Asia director Alexandre Muller,  were among the familiar faces from the APAC region. and elsewhere.

    Among the Indian big names who showed up included: Zee Entertainment international head Amit Goenka was seen with his international team of Rajeev Kheror and Mukund Cairae. Videocon d2h deputy CEO Rohit Jain, COO Himanshu Patil were seen chatting with partners. Indiacast’s Anuj Gandhi was seen hobnobbing with executives from the region. Times Network was represented by international business head Naveen Chandra. For some the festivities continued late into the night as they headed to various restaurants and warungs  across Bali for some of the delicious Balinese food.

    APOS 2016 is markedly different this time because of the focus on different countries. Australia, China, India, Korea and Japan have special sessions that will look at unraveling the opportunity in each of these markets.  

    Global media leaders have sessions on their own. Whether it is Shine Endemol’s Sophie Turner Laing, or Netflix’s Reed Hastings and Ted Sarandos, Disney’s Kevin Mayer or A&E Networks EVP & CFO David Granville-Smith or Kudelski Group chairman & CEO Andre Kudelski or Viacom International Media Networks President & CEO Bob Bakish, or Emerald Media CEO Paul Aiello – they have all turned up to attend, hear, network and speak. One noteworthy absence is Dreamworks’ Jeffery Katzenberg who has not been able to make it for personal reasons.

    Of course, as most of MPA’s gigs are vaunt to be, APOS 2016 has oodles of investment banks, private equity firm executives all lined up to give their perspective on video distribution opportunities in the Asia Pacific market and in which territories and businesses they are willing to invest in. Among the notable names here: Evolution Media Capital’s founder & co managing partner Rick Hess, CAA head of global client strategy Brian Weinstein, CMC Capital Partners chairman & founding partner Li Ruigang and MD Alex Chen, Providence Equity Partners Head of Asia Bis Subramanian, and senior advisor Tony Ball, Jungle Ventures managing partner David Gowdey, Paul Aiello, iflix group advisor David Goldstein, and Raine Ventures managing partner Godron Rubenstein.

    Several operational heads from the US, Europe and Asia who have their teeth in the business are also speaking. Among these: Discovery Networks Asia Pacific president & CEO Arthur Bastings, PCCW Media group MD Janice Lee, A+E Networks president international & digital media Sean Cohan, Optus CEO Allen Lew, Cartoon Network president & general manager Christina Miller, Taiwan Broadband executive vice-chairman Thomas EE, CJ E&M media content business president DJ Lee,

    Additionally,  the two days of the conference are peppered with digital video discussions considering that OTT and digital VOD services are exploding in the region, including in India.

    The India session looks appealing especially considering the rollout of digitization in India cable and satellite TV. Star India managing director Sanjay Gupta, Reliance Industries’ independent director o the board Adil Zainulbhai, Tata Sky MD Harit Nagpal and Viacom18 Media Group CEO Sudhanshu Vats slated to give their perspectives.

    Indiantelevision.com will be reporting from Bali to give you updates that are relevant to the Indian distribution ecosystem – right from cable TV to DTH to OTT platforms to content creation. So stay tuned

  • Nickelodeon sees a 40 per cent jump in ad sales in a year

    Nickelodeon sees a 40 per cent jump in ad sales in a year

    MUMBAI: The market size for the kids entertainment genre has been growing by leaps and bounds with a  possible target audience of 400 million (40 crore). That’s about a third of the population of the country! The genre commands 6 per cent of the total viewership share on television on an all India basis. In the case of urban areas, the share goes up to 8 per cent. Though the genre’s share of the total television ad sales pie is still 3 percent, the category is definitely on a growth trajectory.

    Nickelodeon, as a network and a franchise, has more than just keep pace with this rapid growth by registering revenue growth of 34 per cent with 10 to 15 percent subscription growth and an increase in ad sales revenue by 40 percent in the last one year. Nickelodeon’s ad sales revenue contributes 10 per cent of the network’s yearly earnings. Increases in viewership and market share in the genre has been the driving forces for this growth, as Nick bagged the number one spot in the genre’s viewership for 20 months in a row according to data furnished by the network. This includes the channel’s consistent top position on the ratings chart since the BARC data roll out.

    As per BARC data shared by the network, between week 41 of 2015 and week 13 of 2016, Nick and Sonic have a 28 per cent of the viewership pie, while Nick alone leads the genre with 23 per cent share. Sonic, which is mainly on the DTH platforms of major operators, has also added to this growth story, more so in the last couple of months.

    It is the network’s strength in content and storytelling that attracts advertisers to its channels, says Viacom18’s Kids Cluster EVP and business head Nina Elavia Jaipuria. Between 2014 and 2015 there has been a considerable growth in number of advertisers. “While kids contribute to 3 per cent of the ad sales pie, I am happy to share that several advertisers even from the non- kids sectors are coming through more and more to be part of the Nick and Sonic growth journey,” informs Jaipuria with a smile.

    This growth in advertisers is aided by the wholesome advertising solutions that the network can provide. These solutions range from Free Commercial Time (FCT), merchandising offers, non-FCT, on ground amplification of campaigns and licensing and in film branding. The network says that it can tailor such solutions for brands based on their requirements.

    “Most of the significant growth has come from yield and ER growth, signifying that it’s the rates that are doing well for us. Having said that, we have also made great inroads in the non-FCT part of the ad sales pitch, because of the flexibility we have with the number of characters. We offer licensing deals to our advertisers as part of the package which allows them to use our resources more flexibly,” Jaipuria shares, while laying stress on the need to optimally monetise IPs. She also cites example of the several branded integrations and in film placements that channel has carried out for brands like Horlicks, Britannia, Boost, etc.

    While Non FCT alone won’t sustain the channels ad revenue wise, it will definitely supplement their revenue growth and offerings for the advertisers while engaging kids at the same time.

    Nickelodeon has also seen a jump of 60 per cent in its merchandising business going from 20 categories to 40 categories, out of which the ‘Back To School’ range of products will soon hit the markets this summer.

    A combined growth in ER, ancillary revenue,  subscription revenue and ad sales revenue has pushed up  the topline for the network, which in turn has helped the network push up its bottom line as well i e,  EBITDA tripled three years in a row.  “I am happy to say that it has grown by three times in two years in row. We are now a significant profit contributor to Viacom 18,” states a jubilant Jaipuria before signing off.

     

  • Nickelodeon sees a 40 per cent jump in ad sales in a year

    Nickelodeon sees a 40 per cent jump in ad sales in a year

    MUMBAI: The market size for the kids entertainment genre has been growing by leaps and bounds with a  possible target audience of 400 million (40 crore). That’s about a third of the population of the country! The genre commands 6 per cent of the total viewership share on television on an all India basis. In the case of urban areas, the share goes up to 8 per cent. Though the genre’s share of the total television ad sales pie is still 3 percent, the category is definitely on a growth trajectory.

    Nickelodeon, as a network and a franchise, has more than just keep pace with this rapid growth by registering revenue growth of 34 per cent with 10 to 15 percent subscription growth and an increase in ad sales revenue by 40 percent in the last one year. Nickelodeon’s ad sales revenue contributes 10 per cent of the network’s yearly earnings. Increases in viewership and market share in the genre has been the driving forces for this growth, as Nick bagged the number one spot in the genre’s viewership for 20 months in a row according to data furnished by the network. This includes the channel’s consistent top position on the ratings chart since the BARC data roll out.

    As per BARC data shared by the network, between week 41 of 2015 and week 13 of 2016, Nick and Sonic have a 28 per cent of the viewership pie, while Nick alone leads the genre with 23 per cent share. Sonic, which is mainly on the DTH platforms of major operators, has also added to this growth story, more so in the last couple of months.

    It is the network’s strength in content and storytelling that attracts advertisers to its channels, says Viacom18’s Kids Cluster EVP and business head Nina Elavia Jaipuria. Between 2014 and 2015 there has been a considerable growth in number of advertisers. “While kids contribute to 3 per cent of the ad sales pie, I am happy to share that several advertisers even from the non- kids sectors are coming through more and more to be part of the Nick and Sonic growth journey,” informs Jaipuria with a smile.

    This growth in advertisers is aided by the wholesome advertising solutions that the network can provide. These solutions range from Free Commercial Time (FCT), merchandising offers, non-FCT, on ground amplification of campaigns and licensing and in film branding. The network says that it can tailor such solutions for brands based on their requirements.

    “Most of the significant growth has come from yield and ER growth, signifying that it’s the rates that are doing well for us. Having said that, we have also made great inroads in the non-FCT part of the ad sales pitch, because of the flexibility we have with the number of characters. We offer licensing deals to our advertisers as part of the package which allows them to use our resources more flexibly,” Jaipuria shares, while laying stress on the need to optimally monetise IPs. She also cites example of the several branded integrations and in film placements that channel has carried out for brands like Horlicks, Britannia, Boost, etc.

    While Non FCT alone won’t sustain the channels ad revenue wise, it will definitely supplement their revenue growth and offerings for the advertisers while engaging kids at the same time.

    Nickelodeon has also seen a jump of 60 per cent in its merchandising business going from 20 categories to 40 categories, out of which the ‘Back To School’ range of products will soon hit the markets this summer.

    A combined growth in ER, ancillary revenue,  subscription revenue and ad sales revenue has pushed up  the topline for the network, which in turn has helped the network push up its bottom line as well i e,  EBITDA tripled three years in a row.  “I am happy to say that it has grown by three times in two years in row. We are now a significant profit contributor to Viacom 18,” states a jubilant Jaipuria before signing off.

     

  • TRAI commences exercise at inter-operaability of STBs, isses pre-Consultation Paper

    TRAI commences exercise at inter-operaability of STBs, isses pre-Consultation Paper

    New Delhi: Noting the need for inter-operability of set top boxes as the country races towards completion of the final phase of digital addressable systems, the Telecom Regulatory Authority asked stakeholders for their opinion on the best methods for such inter-operability.

    In a scenario where the government itself admits that Indian-made STBs are a mere ten per cent, it is even more imperative to find ways of smoother inter-operability since most of the STBs will be of foreign make.

    In a pre-consultation paper on set top box interoperability issued today, TRAI has related the methods of inter-operability followed in Europe, Asia and the United States and asked the stakeholders to give their views by 29 April. Views have been invited from various organizations, industry bodies, standardization bodies,
    STB manufacturers, chip vendors, conditional access system providers, software providers, stakeholders, experts, individuals etc

    Answers have been sought to just three questions: what are the concerns that should be takencare of at the time of development of framework of interoperable of STBs; what are the techno-commercial reasons for non-interoperability of STBs; and the plausible solutions for technical interoperability of STBs and their impact on the sector’s growth.

    After giving examples from around the world, the paper said there can be various possible solutions. But the views of stakeholders are necessary before starting any discussion on the possible solutions and to arrive at a common minimum agreement ofadoption of any specific standards and the way forward.

    The paper also says stakeholders are free to give any relevant feedback for thedevelopment of technical inter-operability both within specific segment (cable TV and DTH) and across the segments (among cable TV and DTH operators).

    The paper also lists the steps already taken by TRAI.

    Based on the recommendations of TRAI for technical interoperability of STBs, theGovernment has mandated the provision of CI slot in the STBs deployed by DTH serviceproviders. The CI slot exists in the already deployed DTH STBs.

    However TRAI said this effort has not been fruitful in meeting the objective of interoperabilityin India due to various reasons. These are: the availability of CI slot alone is not sufficient toachieve effective technical interoperability as other modules of STB like tuner, middleware, operating system; EPG etc. also require updation on change of service provider; DTHoperators are following different versions of standards for compression, and transmission; most of the DTH operators have not offered to customers the option of CAM card in place ofSTB; and the cost of CAM card is more or less equal to the new STB. It may be due to non-availability of economies of scale.

    TRAI said it has notified tariff order prescribing standard tariff package for STBs, which provide an easy exit option to the consumers, who want to change their service providers due to one reason or the other. But the tariff order applicable for DTH is sub-judice as it is pending adjudication.

    The paper says broadcasting of TV signals over distribution networks involves various steps like compression, encryption, transmission etc. For each purpose, different technologies andtheir versions have evolved over a period of time. The rules and regulations prescribed bythe government and the regulator provide freedom of choosing technology to serviceproviders. Accordingly, according to their business plans, individual service provider havechosen and implemented different technologies and their versions. The adoption of different versions of technical standards by service providers is one of the reasons for non–interoperability of STBs.

    The issue relating to technical interoperability mainly hover around the question ofinteroperability of STBs, between two platforms viz DTH and cable; and question of inter-operability of STBs within the same platform i.e. with in cable or DTH systems. Further, withina platform, there could be a question of inter-operability of STBs across the different serviceproviders using the same make of CAS. Presently, STB inter-operability is not functional atany level.

    The main technical reasons of STB non inter-operability are: different methods of EMM andECM encryption: ECM and EMM messages are carried in an encrypted form. Whereas DVBhas standardized the scrambling algorithm for scrambling of a channel (DVB-CSA), algorithms used for ECM/ EMM encryption are not standardized.

    Different Modulation standards: using DVB-C standard whereas the signal is modulatedusing DVB-S standard in DTH. For a STB to be able to receive signal both from DTH andcable, there will be a requirement of switchable demodulator unit. Further, efficient versions namely DVB-C2 and DVB-S2 have been deployed by the operators. While the later versionsare backward compatible, earlier versions are not forward compatible. Therefore, it restrictsthe STB interoperability across the platforms as well as within the same platform using differentversions of standards.

    In digital TV transmission, compression plays a very important role. There are two prominent compression standards in use today. In India, most of the operators have used, either MPEG2or MPEG4 standard for compression. In cable TV sector, due to cost advantage andavailability of sufficient bandwidth in the network, most of the STBs deployed till now are ofMPEG2 standard. While the MPEG4 standard is backward compatible, MPEG2 standard is not forward compatible. Therefore, MPEG2 compliant STBs cannot work in the MPEG4 networks.

    Operating system/ middleware and EPG (Electronic Program Guide) boot loaders are specificto chip vendors and it allows the updating of STB software by specific operators afterproper verification. There is no standard operating system for STBs. DVB hasdeveloped multimedia home platform (MHP) as a standard for middleware. However the sameis not popular. Proprietary middleware, with non-standard APIs, are in use. It ensures that, theapplication software can be updated by specific operators only. Special end user applicationslike EPG installed over middleware are also unique for each operator.

    The pay TV service providers are concerned about the piracy of content. They have expressedtheir apprehension about fake STBs that may be used to capture information from a validsmart card and that information may be misused to produce fake/clone smart cards. Further,the stakeholders have raised their concern about the common scrambling algorithm (DVB-CSA) which is a 48 bit scrambling mechanism, and can be broken with the help of highcapacity processors.

    Therefore, the service providers are reluctant to use DVB-CSA. Operators due to theconcerns of piracy make the STB tightly coupled by integrating the Conditional Access Sub System into the chip.

    All these become an impediment when a subscriber wishes to migrate to a different serviceprovider while attempting to use the same STB, and leads to concerns relating to technical inter operability.

  • TRAI commences exercise at inter-operaability of STBs, isses pre-Consultation Paper

    TRAI commences exercise at inter-operaability of STBs, isses pre-Consultation Paper

    New Delhi: Noting the need for inter-operability of set top boxes as the country races towards completion of the final phase of digital addressable systems, the Telecom Regulatory Authority asked stakeholders for their opinion on the best methods for such inter-operability.

    In a scenario where the government itself admits that Indian-made STBs are a mere ten per cent, it is even more imperative to find ways of smoother inter-operability since most of the STBs will be of foreign make.

    In a pre-consultation paper on set top box interoperability issued today, TRAI has related the methods of inter-operability followed in Europe, Asia and the United States and asked the stakeholders to give their views by 29 April. Views have been invited from various organizations, industry bodies, standardization bodies,
    STB manufacturers, chip vendors, conditional access system providers, software providers, stakeholders, experts, individuals etc

    Answers have been sought to just three questions: what are the concerns that should be takencare of at the time of development of framework of interoperable of STBs; what are the techno-commercial reasons for non-interoperability of STBs; and the plausible solutions for technical interoperability of STBs and their impact on the sector’s growth.

    After giving examples from around the world, the paper said there can be various possible solutions. But the views of stakeholders are necessary before starting any discussion on the possible solutions and to arrive at a common minimum agreement ofadoption of any specific standards and the way forward.

    The paper also says stakeholders are free to give any relevant feedback for thedevelopment of technical inter-operability both within specific segment (cable TV and DTH) and across the segments (among cable TV and DTH operators).

    The paper also lists the steps already taken by TRAI.

    Based on the recommendations of TRAI for technical interoperability of STBs, theGovernment has mandated the provision of CI slot in the STBs deployed by DTH serviceproviders. The CI slot exists in the already deployed DTH STBs.

    However TRAI said this effort has not been fruitful in meeting the objective of interoperabilityin India due to various reasons. These are: the availability of CI slot alone is not sufficient toachieve effective technical interoperability as other modules of STB like tuner, middleware, operating system; EPG etc. also require updation on change of service provider; DTHoperators are following different versions of standards for compression, and transmission; most of the DTH operators have not offered to customers the option of CAM card in place ofSTB; and the cost of CAM card is more or less equal to the new STB. It may be due to non-availability of economies of scale.

    TRAI said it has notified tariff order prescribing standard tariff package for STBs, which provide an easy exit option to the consumers, who want to change their service providers due to one reason or the other. But the tariff order applicable for DTH is sub-judice as it is pending adjudication.

    The paper says broadcasting of TV signals over distribution networks involves various steps like compression, encryption, transmission etc. For each purpose, different technologies andtheir versions have evolved over a period of time. The rules and regulations prescribed bythe government and the regulator provide freedom of choosing technology to serviceproviders. Accordingly, according to their business plans, individual service provider havechosen and implemented different technologies and their versions. The adoption of different versions of technical standards by service providers is one of the reasons for non–interoperability of STBs.

    The issue relating to technical interoperability mainly hover around the question ofinteroperability of STBs, between two platforms viz DTH and cable; and question of inter-operability of STBs within the same platform i.e. with in cable or DTH systems. Further, withina platform, there could be a question of inter-operability of STBs across the different serviceproviders using the same make of CAS. Presently, STB inter-operability is not functional atany level.

    The main technical reasons of STB non inter-operability are: different methods of EMM andECM encryption: ECM and EMM messages are carried in an encrypted form. Whereas DVBhas standardized the scrambling algorithm for scrambling of a channel (DVB-CSA), algorithms used for ECM/ EMM encryption are not standardized.

    Different Modulation standards: using DVB-C standard whereas the signal is modulatedusing DVB-S standard in DTH. For a STB to be able to receive signal both from DTH andcable, there will be a requirement of switchable demodulator unit. Further, efficient versions namely DVB-C2 and DVB-S2 have been deployed by the operators. While the later versionsare backward compatible, earlier versions are not forward compatible. Therefore, it restrictsthe STB interoperability across the platforms as well as within the same platform using differentversions of standards.

    In digital TV transmission, compression plays a very important role. There are two prominent compression standards in use today. In India, most of the operators have used, either MPEG2or MPEG4 standard for compression. In cable TV sector, due to cost advantage andavailability of sufficient bandwidth in the network, most of the STBs deployed till now are ofMPEG2 standard. While the MPEG4 standard is backward compatible, MPEG2 standard is not forward compatible. Therefore, MPEG2 compliant STBs cannot work in the MPEG4 networks.

    Operating system/ middleware and EPG (Electronic Program Guide) boot loaders are specificto chip vendors and it allows the updating of STB software by specific operators afterproper verification. There is no standard operating system for STBs. DVB hasdeveloped multimedia home platform (MHP) as a standard for middleware. However the sameis not popular. Proprietary middleware, with non-standard APIs, are in use. It ensures that, theapplication software can be updated by specific operators only. Special end user applicationslike EPG installed over middleware are also unique for each operator.

    The pay TV service providers are concerned about the piracy of content. They have expressedtheir apprehension about fake STBs that may be used to capture information from a validsmart card and that information may be misused to produce fake/clone smart cards. Further,the stakeholders have raised their concern about the common scrambling algorithm (DVB-CSA) which is a 48 bit scrambling mechanism, and can be broken with the help of highcapacity processors.

    Therefore, the service providers are reluctant to use DVB-CSA. Operators due to theconcerns of piracy make the STB tightly coupled by integrating the Conditional Access Sub System into the chip.

    All these become an impediment when a subscriber wishes to migrate to a different serviceprovider while attempting to use the same STB, and leads to concerns relating to technical inter operability.

  • FICCI Frames 2016: Digitization is a boon, but subject to how it is utilized by all stakeholders

    FICCI Frames 2016: Digitization is a boon, but subject to how it is utilized by all stakeholders

    MUMBAI: Even as a general consensus emerged on digitization being a boon, questions were raised at the ongoing FICCI FRAMES meet on whether the concept and advantages of the concept have been fully understood.

    Even as the TV industry has leapfrogged to more than 800 channels, and Indian Pay TV made the leap from analogue to digital and travelled from single to multi-platforms, the session on ‘Future Proofing Broadcast Distribution’ showed there are still some apprehensions on how the new technology can be used.

    The panelist included Times Network MD& CEO MK Anand, Ortel Communication CEO Bibhu Prasad Rath, Indusind Media and Communication MD & CEO Tony D Silva and Microsoft Corporation India Microsoft Azure and server business country head Srikanth Karnakota. The session was moderated by Zee Network president (Legal & Regulatory) Avnindra Mohan.

    Mohan set the ball rolling with a perplexing question on whether the industry had fully understood the implications of ditigization and convergence and whether stakeholders realized that they can use the same network for delivering different content through different modes of mediums. Thus, he said it shows a paradigm shift in the entire gambit of the distribution system.

    “Digitization has been a boon for the broadcast industry. From the broadcaster point of view, digitization started when the Direct to Home (DTH) system launched in 2003 in India. English news and other English general entertainment channels were being treated as the outsiders for the broadcast business. We had 65 million viewers in English from 2000 to 2005 whereas the total number of television viewers was 400 million. The number of English viewers has grown to 200 million now and that happened because of digitization,” says Anand.

    Anand added that in the next five to ten years, the English entertainment viewership should cross 300 million which is almost close to Hindi general entertainment channels viewership due to digitization.  “Times Now has a very strong and loyal audience in a month we cross the viewership of two and half crores but people don’t know that we have 13 crores of viewers on New Media platform,” informs Anand.

    Being a multi-system operator sharing views on the kind of business opportunities Ortel Communication can have in such a scenario, Rath felt India has grown in a unique fashion for the last two decades but the quality of the networks has been compromised. “The Set Top Box is not a solution to a network and we need to handle Phase III and IV in a different manner and not as Phase I and II”, he added.

    Noting that “we in India do not have one definition for Digitisation.It has been portrayed differently by others”, D’silva asked what the country wanted to achieve through digitization. “I believe there should a national objective about what they want to achieve from digitization. In most the industry today including DTH, 50 per cent of revenue goes in tax”. He felt progress was difficult unless the tax was supportive, but this was not going to happen. “It is the MSOs who are putting up the money and buying the STBs. So there has to be a logical regime of taxation. The STB is the only starting point of digitization. There should be an environment where technology and digitization should go hand in hand,” he felt.