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Tag: DTH

  • Dish TV granted in-principle approval for 20-year DTH licence

    Dish TV granted in-principle approval for 20-year DTH licence

    KOLKATA: Popular direct-to-home (DTH) operator Dish TV has renewed its DTH license for 20 years, subject to completion of necessary formalities.

    Dish TV informed the stock exchange in a regulatory filing that it has received in-principle approval from the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) for grant of provisional licence to provide DTH broadcasting service in India with effect from 1 April 2021.

    The DTH operator has to enter into an agreement with MIB, containing terms and conditions of the amended DTH guidelines, obtain and provide to the ministry other necessary clearances as envisaged under the guidelines, and provide the bank guarantee.

    Dish TV had first received DTH licence in October 2003.

    After resolving the long standing impasse on the DTH license policy, the government announced in December 2020 that DTH licences will now be issued for a period of 20 years. Under the new rules, licence fee will be collected quarterly instead of annually.

    Changes had been approved for 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the DTH sector which was limited to 49 per cent.

    According to the new guidelines, the licensee will need to pay an annual fee equivalent to eight per cent of its adjusted gross revenue, calculated by excluding GST from gross revenue (GR) as reflected in the audited accounts of the company for that particular financial. 

  • DD Free Dish now in 40 million households

    DD Free Dish now in 40 million households

    NEW DELHI: Public broadcaster Prasar Bharati's free-to-air DTH platform DD Free Dish has continued its strong growth trajectory and the service’s subscriber base has crossed an estimated 40 million, according to the EY FICCI Media Entertainment Report 2021.

    The growth has been attributed to less expensive television sets, economic issues, launch of the DD Retro Channel and return of big broadcasters to the Free Dish platform, said the ministry of information and broadcasting in a statement. DD Free Dish has also become a second set-top box within the home, used when there are no large events on television in some cases. Free Dish distributors have mentioned year-on-year growth in sales as well as the inability to keep up with demand due to a shortage of China-manufactured chipsets.

    The report also estimates that television households will continue to grow at over five per cent till 2025, driven by connected TVs which could cross 40 million by 2025 and DD Free Dish could cross 50 million.

    The multi-channel free-to-air Direct to Home (DTH) service of Prasar Bharati, presently hosts 161 TV channels including 91 Doordarshan channels (comprising 51 co-branded educational channels), 70 private channels and 48 radio channels. With effect from 1 April, DD Free Dish private TV channel bouquet would comprise of 10 Hindi GEC, 15 Hindi movies, six music, 20 news, eight Bhojpuri, three devotional and two foreign channels.

    It is presently under upgradation and is expected to add another few channels in its bouquet by May 2021. Recently, an online web app was released that aids consumers in finding DD Free Dish set-top box dealers based on their nearest location.

    The recent e-auctions for both MPEG2 and MPEG4 slots on DD Free Dish also saw robust bidding. Prasar Bharati earned nearly Rs 10 crore through the 53rd e-auction of MPEG-4 slots of DD Free Dish and 11 channels were successfully allocated MPEG-4 slots post the auction. "The new highs in individual bids breaching earlier levels in a sign of optimism in the broadcast sector overcoming Covid2019 shock," Prasar Bharti CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati had said, post the results.

  • New DTH guidelines will make the sector competitive: Javadekar

    New DTH guidelines will make the sector competitive: Javadekar

    KOLKATA: At the end of last year, the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) announced revised guidelines for direct-to-home (DTH) operators in India. The new DTH policy will make the sector competitive and will have a positive impact on consumers, I&B minister Prakash Javadekar informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

    The minister mentioned that the guidelines with enhanced period of license with provisions of renewal beyond the initial licence period will ensure continuity and a rationalised licence fee regime. Moreover, the rules will have a positive impact on qualitative and competitive services being extended to the consumers in the long term.

    “The changes will facilitate ease of doing business, offer employment opportunities, make the sector competitive with likelihood of new players coming forward to provide DTH services and also provide a rationalised licensing fee regime and enhanced period of licence,” he detailed.

    After resolving the long standing impasse on the DTH licence policy, the government announced DTH licences will now be issued for a period of 20 years. Under the new rules, licence fee will be collected quarterly instead of annually.

    Changes had been approved for 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in the DTH sector which was earlier limited to 49 per cent. The decision had already been taken by the ministry of commerce and industry but the sector could not avail the benefits due to past MIB guidelines.

    The cabinet also approved the sharing of infrastructure between DTH operators. Distributors of TV channels will be permitted to share common hardware for their subscriber management system (SMS) and conditional access system (CAS) applications. Javadekar said at the time of announcement that the decision had been taken to create a level playing field.

  • DD Free Dish sees robust bidding for MPEG-4 e-auction, 11 channels allocated slots

    DD Free Dish sees robust bidding for MPEG-4 e-auction, 11 channels allocated slots

    KOLKATA: Prasar Bharati has earned nearly Rs 10 crore through the 53rd e-auction of MPEG-4 slots of DD Free Dish. 11 channels were successfully allocated MPEG-4 slots post the auction.

    The 53rd round of e-auctions was dominated by news channels, with 10 out of the 11 slot up for grabs being won by news outlets. The channels that earned the FTA tag this time are: Chardikla Time TV, I Love Pen Studios, India News, India News UP/UK, Jantantra TV, News 18 UP/UK, News 24 Think First, News India 24X7, News State UP/UK, Samay, Sudarshan News.

    The bid values of these channels were in the range of Rs 76 lakh and Rs 1.12 crore.

    “Thankful to all broadcasters who have reposed faith in DD Free Dish platform. The e-auctions for both MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 slots have seen robust bidding and new highs in individual bids breaching earlier levels in a sign of optimism in the broadcast sector overcoming Covid2019 shock,” Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati said.

    The pubcaster recently amended the policy guidelines for DD Free Dish slots. According to new guidelines, the reserve price for MPEG-4 slots have been fixed at Rs 50 lakh per annum. Earlier, the reserve price was Rs 5 lakh per annum.

    The amended rules termed ‘Policy guidelines for allotment of slots of DD Free Dish Direct-to-Home Platform to satellite TV channels (Third amendment) 2021’ came into force from 22 February.

    Under the old rules, the participation fee was at Rs 1.25 lakh which has been revised to Rs 10 lakh. The incremental amount in the auction bids of MPEG-4 slots stands at a minimum of Rs 2 lakh, compared to Rs 10,000 under the old guidelines.

  • Tata Sky leverages influencers’ clout for ‘Har Ghar Ki Khidki’

    Tata Sky leverages influencers’ clout for ‘Har Ghar Ki Khidki’

    KOLKATA: Tata Sky has launched its new social media campaign Har Ghar Ki Khidki, in tandem with the unveil of its new brand purpose statement — ‘Tata Sky exists to make tomorrow better than today for family and home.’

    The social media campaign designed and executed by its digital marketing agency Chimp&z Inc highlights the candid and unfiltered emotions of the viewers from the perspective of Tata Sky being the khidki, or window, of entertainment in every house. The campaign is aimed at creating awareness about the new TVC as well as to engage with the brand's young audience on social media.

    The campaign has been carried out leveraging the Reels feature on Instagram. Featuring popular internet sensations including Awez Darbar, Anushka Sen, Siddharth Nigam, Just Neel, Sameeksha Sud, Arsh, Tanzeel Khan and Funcho among others, saw participation pouring in from several followers. The average views on the influencers’ Reels has been over 7.83 million, resulting in engagement of 9.02 million on influencer videos and Tata Sky handles across social media. The essence of the campaign was brought alive with the help of the very melodious tune of the TVC and snippets of daily life that unfolds in a household captured by the influencers. Tata Sky will also collate the best entries to put together a Khidki Anthem.

    Tata Sky chief communications officer Anurag Kumar said, “The idea behind the Har Ghar Ki Khidki campaign was to capture the diverse unfiltered emotions of our audience while they are watching Tata Sky. This is a figurative portrayal of how an individual or family experiences varied emotions while they get informed, entertained or educated through the khidki that is Tata Sky.”

    Chimp&z Inc  co-founder & CEO Angad Singh Manchanda said, “Instagram Reels is where the internet audience is these days and we wanted to leverage this medium for Tata Sky’s Har Ghar Ki Khidki campaign. In order to build an emotional connect between the brand and the consumer, we thought of utilising the hummable tune of the film and make the entire activity interactive by capturing the daily life moments that people experience while watching TV. We are very happy with the engagement we’ve seen so far on this campaign.”

  • Pay-per-view takes off in India, but has a long way to go

    Pay-per-view takes off in India, but has a long way to go

    KOLKATA: While the last year has seen the entry of new over-the-top (OTT) players, it has witnessed the burgeoning of new business models as well, pay-per-view being one of the most noticeable trends. A number of new entrants, along with some of the existing over-the-top players, launched this transactional model. Very recently, online ticketing player BookMyShow and telecom player Vi introduced their own on-demand services under the TVoD category.

    Despite it being the latest bandwagon, experts are sceptical about pay-per-view’s success in the market. For the value-conscious Indian viewers, who are much more inclined to pay for bundled catalogues, this model will tempt only a minuscule set of audiences. But with effective pricing and marquee content, pay-per-view may increase its attractiveness.

    Vi announced the launch of its pay-per-view streaming service, available on Vi Movies and TV app, in collaboration with Hungama Digital Media. Vi customers will be able to rent premium Hollywood movies at Rs 120 and others at Rs 60 for a period of 48 hours.

    Media expert Rajiv Sharma thinks content under this model should not disappear so soon. According to him, the model can work better if the library is phenomenal, and moreover, whatever is being picked up should be available for long term, at least for six months.

    While movie theatres being shut for a long time led to a line-up of movies pending releases, there is a huge backlog that will not hit theatres right now for multiple reasons. Hence, some of the pay-per-view platforms feel that consumers might shell out for watching movies at home, Elara Capital VP research analyst (media) Karan Taurani said. But he also pointed out that most Indians pay for cinemas considering it as an outing and for the overall experience. So, it can be challenging to get consumers to just pay for one content.  He also mentioned that the model has been tried and tested by DTH players but they have not been able to scale it up.

    ShemarooMe was one of the first players to launch a pay-per-view service ShemarooMe Box Office during lockdown. Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd rolled out Zee Plex in October. In early February, BookMyShow’s streaming service debuted under the TVoD model, offering 600 movie titles and 72,000 hours of content. Notably, BookMyShow Stream allows users to either buy or rent a movie and the price point ranges between Rs 40 to Rs 700. Some smaller regional players are also testing the waters with this model.

    Kuarte Digital’s Uday Sodhi noted that the pay-per-view model is not new in India. Earlier, telecom operators had tested this model or other aggregators like Apple also went for this pricing model, albeit OTT platforms have been trying it for the first time in the wake of Covid2019.

    “This model is still at a very nascent stage. Also, if you look at BookMyShow streaming service, this is more of an evolved ticketing system for movies. TVoD is a good proposition for live events, sports coupled with effective pricing. It is very unlikely for major OTT platforms to choose TVoD for mainstream entertainment content,” Sodhi added.

    However, according to Sharma, if pay-per-view is strategised properly, it will give users more flexibility and control over payout. An average user sometimes watches only one-two content in a month paying for the library. With a proper price gap, it might attract that part of the user base. Even so, every piece of content cannot be a marquee property, “killer content” is very rare, which is one of the biggest gaps for this model.

    Among the top players, SonyLIV is dipping its toe in the pay-per-view pool by introducing WWE to its viewers with the WWE Network pack curated specially for fans of pro wrestling. Most experts are of the view that the chances of major platforms exploring this model are very rare. Instead, they will look at innovative comprehensive pricing like Netflix did with its mobile only plan, Taurani stated. To reach critical mass, the subscription should be the focus area for bigger players as of now, experts believe. 

  • New DTH guidelines to have potential effect on top operators

    New DTH guidelines to have potential effect on top operators

    KOLKATA: The new DTH guidelines issued by the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) can have far-reaching impact on the sector, such as increasing the potential liabilities of incumbents when renewing their licenses. The top four DTH operators are liable to pay Rs 7,700-8,000 crore, credit rating agency Crisil said. Their Ebitda for the current fiscal is estimated at Rs 7,000-7,500 crore.

    Few days after releasing the amended guidelines, the ministry said that the issue of fresh license to the existing licensees will be subject to their clearing all dues. “New licensing guidelines issued by the MIB on 30 December 2020, for providing direct-to-home (DTH) broadcasting service could significantly increase the potential liabilities of incumbents when renewing their licenses,” Crisil said.

    It also added the matter has been discussed at various legal fora over the past decade and continues to be sub judice. Clarity with respect to the final dues, timelines for payment and the debt-equity funding mix to pay up the liability will be crucial to ascertain the cash-flow impact on the DTH operators.

    “DTH operators supported by strong sponsors will be able to sustain their credit profiles notwithstanding the expected potential liability. Their credit profiles are also supported by healthy cash accrual, strong balance sheets and high financial flexibility,” the credit rating agency added.

    Crisil said it would continue to monitor the developments on this and take appropriate action as and when required.

  • 2020: An eventful year for DTH

    2020: An eventful year for DTH

    KOLKATA: Over the past year all the direct-to-home (DTH) operators in India have embraced the change in the ecosystem. The industry has started reinventing its offerings in a big way to combat the threat posed by OTT players. Throughout 2020, leading DTH operators struck partnerships with OTTs big and small, expanded value-added service portfolio, rolled out several offers to keep consumers hooked.

    The sector currently has 70.58 million subscribers as of 30 June 2020, according to the latest data shared by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). While the industry lost two million subscribers in 2019, it has added around six lakh subscribers in the first half of the year. In addition to that, a Crisil report has projected four-six per cent revenue growth for FY21 reaching Rs 22,000 crore.

    After the first quarter, the progress of the industry has been murkier. Although traditional TV consumption surged due to Covid2019, with some benefit for distribution platforms, lack of fresh content, migration post-lockdown, closure of commercial establishments led to churn later. Many consumers also degraded their subscription packages due to the absence of new episodes of daily soaps and live sports.  

    “DTH subscribers surged initially in lockdown but over time consumers started optimising channel subscriptions due to limited fresh content. Subscribers expected to increase by six to seven per cent as fresh content has returned to TV and cable TV subscribers move to DTH,” a CII-BCG report said. According to industry estimates, the operators’ consumer acquisition started coming back to normal since late July.

    Expanding content portfolio to retain, acquire subscribers:

    As a response to the unprecedented crisis, the DTH companies not only took steps like incentive bundles, new free platform services, but kept innovating. Hybrid set top boxes turned out to the buzzword for DTH sector this year as all the players have upped their efforts in this segment. Then the pandemic gave a pronounced nudge to the demand for hybrid boxes. Market leader Tata Sky aggressively promoted its new box Tata Sky Binge+ throughout the year. The company has even brought down the price to Rs 2,999 from Rs 5,999 – at a time when fixed broadband and smart TV segment are seeing rapid growth in India.

    Its rival Airtel has also been pushing cross-platform content strategy since the launch of Airtel Xstream in late 2019. The surge in video consumption has boosted its uptake massively, leading to 50 per cent viewership increase in the early part of lockdown. On the other hand, Dish TV is going big not only on Android box connected devices Dish SMRT Hub and d2h Stream, but also its OTT platform Watcho for Dish TV and d2h users. Watcho crossed five million subscribers during the lockdown. However, the player causing major disruption is Reliance’s Jio TV+ for JioFiber set-top box users. Along with aggregating content from 12 leading OTT players, it offers a single sign-in support.

    Hybrid set-top boxes were introduced a few years ago but did not get much traction. With consumption going up both on linear TV and OTT, the demand for these devices has been on the upswing. But the demand is till now limited to the top 15 cities, the top tier of the market.

    In 2020, DTH operators focused on further bolstering their value added services. One of the major areas has been educational content, perhaps in reaction to classes being conducted online in India. Apart from that, fitness services and cinematic experiences were also expanded by these players, especially Dish TV and Tata Sky.

    Manufacturing moves to India:

    To streamline set top box manufacturing and delivery, DTH players have decided to shift a significant portion to the country. Tata Sky partnered with Technicolor to develop STBs for the Indian market that will be manufactured and distributed locally. Dish TV, too, intends to shift its production to India by the first quarter of 2021. Additionally, it plans to start manufacturing major components of the STB as well as its accessories in India. Both players claimed that it would push the government’s Make in India vision. For long, local STB manufacturers have complained that Chinese companies have taken away their business. The move has shone a ray of optimism for them.

    Regulations impacting the sector:

    As the industry woke up to the amended new tariff order (NTO 2.0) at the beginning of 2020, the DTH players had to adjust network capacity fee, multi-TV connection charges. During the Covid2019 crisis, TRAI recommended that all DTH and cable STBs provided to customers must support interoperability and urged the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) to make it mandatory by introducing the requisite provisions. In response to TRAI’s consultation paper, industry leaders such as TataSky, Dish and Reliance Jio opposed it. The viability of the move was questioned and stakeholders warned that it would be a very high-cost operation.

    The cloud over license fee lifts:

    But the year has ended on a positive note, with the MIB issuing a much-awaited clarification on the matter of licence fee. DTH license will be issued for 20 years and license fee will be collected quarterly. Further, the period of license may be renewed by 10 years at a time. The annual fee has been revised from 10 per cent of GR to eight per cent of AGR. Sharing of infrastructure between DTH operators and 100 per cent FDI have also been approved by the cabinet, among other amendments. 

    The industry believes clarity over license fee will bring certainty in terms of planning and investment. In a very recent communication, the MIB has stated that the existing licensees are required to clear pending dues before applying afresh for a license to provide DTH services,.

    DD Free Dish’s revival:

    Prasar Barati-run free-to-air DTH platform DD Free Dish also had its moments this past year. All the four major broadcasters that had pulled out of DD Free Dish in 2019 after the new tariff order was implemented returned to the platform in 2020. Star Utsav, Sony Pal, Zee Anmol, Colors Rishtey and Zee Anmol Cinema had successfully bid on the 45th e-auction for placement. Many new channels have come on board, including three movie channels in the recent auction.

  • MIB amends DTH guidelines, directs players to clear dues for fresh licenses

    MIB amends DTH guidelines, directs players to clear dues for fresh licenses

    NEW DELHI: The ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB) has made amendments to the existing DTH guidelines that will have a wide-ranging impact on the industry. The circular issued by the ministry mentioned that the existing licensees are required to apply afresh to get a license for providing DTH services. Further, the issue of fresh license to the existing licensees will be subject to their clearing all dues and fulfilling all obligations under the terms and conditions of existing license as well as those arising out of legal cases pending before various courts of law.

    The license will be valid for a period of 20 years from the date of issue of wireless operational license by wireless planning and coordination wing of the ministry of communications. License may be renewed by 10 years at a time. However, the license can be cancelled/suspended by the licensor at any time in the interest of the Union of India.

    A vertically integrated entity will not reserve more than 15 per cent of the operational channel capacity for its vertically integrated operator. The rest of the capacity is to be offered to the other broadcasters on a non-discriminatory basis.

    No entry fee will be charged from the DTH operators holding license on the date of notification of these guidelines.

    The licensee will have to submit a bank guarantee from any scheduled bank to the MIB for an amount of five crore rupees for the first two quarters, and, thereafter for an amount equivalent to the estimated sum payable, equivalent to the license fee for two quarters and other dues not otherwise securitised. For existing DTH operators, bank guarantee from any scheduled bank for an amount equivalent to the estimated sum payable, equivalent to the license fee for two quarters and other dues not otherwise securitised. Further, the bank guarantee shall be valid for a year which should be renewed on year-on-year basis in such a manner that the bank guarantee remains valid during the entire license period.

    The amended guidelines will come into effect immediately, following the Union cabinet's approval of these amendments last week after a long period of uncertainty over DTH license fee.

    Now, the licensee shall pay an annual fee equivalent to eight per cent of its adjusted gross revenue, calculated by excluding GST from gross revenue (GR) as reflected in the audited accounts of the company for that particular financial year. The minimum annual license fee shall be subject to 10 per cent of the entry fee. The license fee is to be paid on a quarterly basis, the quantum thereof to be equal to the actual license fee payable for the preceding quarter. The annual settlement of the license fee shall be done at the end of the financial year. The licensor will have the right to modify the license fee as a fixed percentage of AGR during the validity of license period.

    The DTH operator would be permitted to operate platform services (PS) channels i.e. DTH operators' own channels exclusively available to its subscribers, to a maximum of five per cent of its total channel carrying capacity. A one-time non-refundable registration fee of Rs 10,000 per PS channel shall be charged from the DTH operator.

    DTH operators willing to share DTH platforms and transport stream of TV channels, on a voluntary basis, would be allowed to do so, wherever technically feasible. The common hardware for their subscriber management system (SMS) and conditional access system (CAS) applications can also be voluntarily shared.

    Set-top boxes offered by a DTH Service Provider shall have such specifications as laid down by the bureau of lndian standards (BlS) from time to time.

  • Tata Sky adds new platform service Astro Duniya

    Tata Sky adds new platform service Astro Duniya

    KOLKATA: Tata Sky, India’s leading content distribution and payTV platform has added a new platform service, Tata Sky Astro Duniya, to its vast bouquet of interactive services. Joining hands with Dominiche Productions Pvt. Ltd., Tata Sky Astro Duniya offers curated content created by celebrity astrologers making the service a one-stop destination into the world of astrology, numerology, vastu and many more.

    Tata Sky Astro Duniya will bring non-stop and ad-free access to astrology content for subscribers, featuring a wide range of services from numerology to horoscope, tarot reading to reiki, vastu to fengshui, vedic astrology to palmistry and face reading on a single platform. The service boasts of a line-up of celebrity experts like Munisha Khatwani, Sundeep Kochar, Biindu Khuraana, Rasesh Shah, Jai Madaan, Jyoti Jhangiani, Greenstone Lobo, Dimple Luniya and many more. Additionally, the service allows subscribers to get personalised predictions wherein they can ask a question to an expert anytime between Monday to Friday by emailing their queries. Around five to 10 questions will be answered by renowned celebrity astrologer, Narendra Bunde.

    Subscribers can get access at no additional cost to kundali making, daily horoscope and features like ask a genie by accessing the service through the Tata Sky Mobile App. Additionally, all subscribers of the service can press the red button on their remote and get daily predictions and fortune cookies. Famous astrologers on the platform can be contacted easily via call/chat. All this and more makes Tata Sky Astro Duniya an ideal window into the world of astrology.

    Tata Sky chief commercial and content officer Pallavi Puri said, “At Tata Sky we have a diverse portfolio of platform services and believe in constantly strengthening them. With Tata Sky Astro Duniya we aim to provide our subscribers with information on various aspects of life and home using astrology, numerology, vastu from credible astrology experts, including personalized consultations. We thank Dominiche Productions for helping us develop this property and are confident that our promotional campaign featuring actor Vinay Pathak will create great buzz for the service.”

    Dominiche Productions director Utpal Vaishnav said, "When me and my co-founding partner Adarsh Gupta started our journey with Dominiche, we had set out a very clear objective for our company, to dominate scalable genres of the future. Astrology, given its generic appeal in India came up as a great opportunity to go after as a pioneering initiative. We are honoured to join hands with Tata Sky to bring to the audiences a credible Astrology offering that would make for a compelling watch.”

    The service is now available to all subscribers on #512 at an optimised cost of Rs.2 per day after the first 10 days at no additional cost.  As part of their platform service offerings, Tata Sky has a robust and vast range of offerings – including Tata Sky Fitness, Tata Sky Cooking, Tata Sky Theatre, Tata Sky Beauty to name a few.