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Tag: Freedish

  • 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.

  • FreeDish creates record, sells 11 slots for Rs 851 million

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan’s FreeDish earned a record Rs 851 million in the 36th e-auction, auctioning eleven slots including three news channels.

    For the first time, the reserve price for general entertainment channels was Rs 80 million but the reserve price for news and current affairs channels was reduced to Rs 65 million.

    Doordarshan netted Rs 67 million as the highest for one of the news channels through the auction of the news channels, DD Director-General Supriya Sahu informed indiantelevision.com.

    Among the eight general entertainment channels, the highest bid received was for Rs 84 million.

    The channels that have successfully bid for a slot on FreeDish this time round include News18 India, Zee Hindustan, Zee News, Star Utsav, Zee Anmol, Rishtey, B4U Music, Housefull Movies and Bhojpuri Cinema.

    With the completion of MPEG4 trials, the total strength of the platform will go up to 104, expectedly the end of July. Earlier this year, Parliament was informed FreeDish had got approval to increase this capacity to 250 channels and DD sources had told indiantelevision.co that will happen in the third quarter of 2018.

    In line with the ‘Digital India’ and ‘Make in India’, DD has implemented Indian CAS (iCAS) on DD FreeDish Platform. iCAS (which is an initiative of the central government) was introduced in the auction held last month. The introduction of iCAS will provide enhanced viewing experience.

    DD officials said the existing viewers will continue to get 80 SDTV channels and 32 radio channels, but will have to obtain iCAS-enabled authorized set-top boxes for accessing all new channels.

    Although Free Dish will remain free-to-air with no monthly or periodic fee, the viewers will be required to register with DD FreeDish on getting the new STB from Doordarshan authorized STB dealers.

    DD officials said implementation of iCAS and authorisation of STB original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) by Doordarshan will give a major thrust to ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’. At present, a majority of STBs are imported. However, the introduction of iCAS will help in standardization of STBs and encourage quality STB manufacturing in India.

    Also read

    FreeDish: English news channel among two come aboard (Updated)

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

     

     

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

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan’s FreeDish is all set for its 36th e-auction on 4 July 2017, after an auction on 25 May turned out to be a damp squib though two TV channels came on a pro rata basis.

    In a major change of policy, the reserve price for general entertainment channels will be Rs 80 million but the reserve price for news and current affairs channels will be Rs 65 million.

    With the completion of MPEG4 trials, the total strength of the platform will go up to 104 by the end of July as expected. Earlier this year, the Parliament was informed that FreeDish had got approval to increase this capacity to 250 channels and DD sources had told Indiantelevision.com that it will happen in the third quarter of 2018.

    The e-Auction will be conducted by M/s. C1 India Pvt. Ltd., Noida which also conducted the FM Radio Phase III auctions on behalf of Prasar Bharati.   

    Meanwhile, changes have also been made in the modes of payment with regard to GEC and news channels. The participation amount (EMD) in the e-Auction for GEC channels is Rs.28 million while it is Rs 22.8 million for news channels. This has to be deposited in advance before or by 12 noon on the date of auction along with processing fee of Rs.25,000 (non-refundable).

    Incremental amount for the auction will be Rs one million and the time for every slot e-auction will be of fifteen minutes duration. This may be extended by five minutes if a bid is received before the closing time.

    Unsuccessful bidders will get back the participation amount within three weeks of the results while that of successful bidders will be adjusted against the third and final instalment of the carriage fee. If the successful bidder fails to put his channel on the allotted slot within a month, the allotment will be cancelled and the participation fee forfeited. Successful bidders have to sign and return an agreement within fifteen days of allotment.

    However, Doordarshan has changed its payment regimen and made it stricter.

    The first installment of 25 per cent of the bid price with the applicable service tax will have to be paid within one month from date of placement of channel. The second installment of 25 per cent of the total bid price along with the applicable service tax will have to be paid within four months of placement of channel. The third installment of remaining amount after adjusting the participation fee and previous installments but adding the applicable service tax will be deposited within seven months of placement of channel.

    If any of the installments is not paid in time, a penal interest of 14.5 per cent per annum will be levied.

    If there is failure in depositing an installment for two months, the deposited participation amount along with any installment paid will be forfeited and the channel discontinued after a 21-day discontinuation notice.

    The two channels that were brought on board on pro rata basis are RT Movies and NewsX –  which is FreeDish’s first English news channel – have been taken on a special pro rata basis till the next auction. Explaining the concept of pro rata, he said these channels are paying at a daily rate basis calculated against the reserve price of Rs 80 million for the period when they came on air till the next auction. This works out to Rs 2,19,178 per day.

    In line with the ‘Digital India’ and ‘Make in India’, DD has implemented Indian CAS (iCAS) on DD FreeDish Platform. iCAS (which is an initiative of the central government) was introduced in the auction held last month. The introduction of iCAS will provide enhanced viewing experience.

    DD officials said the existing viewers will continue to get 80 SDTV channels and 32 radio channels, but will have to obtain iCAS-enabled authorized set-top boxes for accessing all new channels.

    Although FreeDish will remain free-to-air with no monthly or periodic fee, the viewers will be required to register with DD FreeDish on getting the new STB from Doordarshan authorized STB dealers.

    DD officials said implementation of iCAS and authorisation of STB original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) by Doordarshan will give a major thrust to ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’. At present, a majority of STBs are imported. However, the introduction of iCAS will help in standardization of STBs and encourage quality STB manufacturing in India.

    With analogue having been switched off, the Parliament had been told that many stakeholders feel that FreeDish is the best option in Phase IV which covers rural India.

    FreeDish was launched with a modest bouquet of 33 channels in December 2004, and now carries eighty TV channels and 32 radio channels. This includes 22 Doordarshan channels and two parliamentary channels, seven general entertainment channels, 18 movie channels, 13 news channels, seven music channels, three religious channels and eight channels of other genres. The All-India Radio stations also piggy-back on the platform.

    Also read:

    MIB favours switching to DTH if consumers have problems with MSOs or LCOs

    FreeDish: English news channel among two come aboard (Updated)

    FreeDish’s May auction a damp squib with no bidder in sight

  • FreeDish’s May auction a damp squib with no bidder in sight

    NEW DELHI: For the second time this year, Doordarshan could not hold its scheduled e-auction for FreeDish on 25 May 2017 because it had no bidder.

    Even as the public service broadcaster was prepared to set a record by holding a second e-auction in May, this turned out to be damper. The earlier e-auction which had been called off was on 11 April 2017.

    Although there was no official confirmation, indiantelevision.com learnt from DD sources that the auction could not be held because there was no applicant.

    In many ways, this is a repetition for the pubcaster in the sense that the e-auctions for the primary channels of DD National were postponed twice last year. A DD official refused to comment on whether this was because of the sharp increase in the reserve price.

    However, FreeDish bagged three new general entertainment channels in the 34th e-auction earlier this month.

    The e-auction was confined to only non-news and current affairs channels with a reserve price of Rs 80 million as in the e-auction held on 9 May when Sony Wah, Zee Anmol Cinema, and 9X Jalwa successfully bid to come on the platform.

    The Indian Parliament was informed earlier last month that Doordarshan’s DTH platform was soon getting approval to increase this capacity to 250 channels over the next two years.

    After final trials of MPEG4 and the success of the 32nd auction in February, the reserve price had been raised to Rs 80 million from Rs 48 million per slot.

    DD had also upped its payment structure. The participation amount (EMD) in the e-Auction was Rs.28 million – up from Rs 15 million along with processing fee of Rs.25,000 (non-refundable, up from Rs 10,000).

    Even the payment structure for successful bidders had been made stricter. The first installment of 25 per cent of the bid price with the applicable service tax had to be paid within one month from date of placement of channel. The second installment of 25 per cent of the total bid price along with the applicable service tax had to be paid within four months of placement of channel.

    The third installment of remaining amount after adjusting the participation fee and previous installments but adding the applicable service tax was to be deposited within seven months of placement of channel.

    If any of the installments is not paid in time, a penal interest of 14.5 per cent per annum will be levied. And if there is failure in depositing an installment for two months, the deposited participation amount along with any installment paid will be forfeited and the channel discontinued after a 21-day discontinuation notice.

    Although Free Dish will remain free-to-air with no monthly or periodic fee, the viewers will be required to register with DD FreeDish on getting the new STB from Doordarshan authorized STB dealers.

    FreeDish was launched with a modest bouquet of 33 channels in December 2004, and now carries eighty TV channels and 32 radio channels. This includes 22 Doordarshan channels and two parliamentary channels, seven general entertainment channels, 18 movie channels, 13 news channels, seven music channels, three religious channels and eight channels of other genres. The All-India Radio stations also piggy-back on the platform.

  • DD FreeDish poised to increase channel capacity to 250

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan DTH platform FreeDish, which already has a capacity of 124 channels including HD channels, will soon getting approval to increase this capacity to 250 channels over the next two years. The minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore told the Parliament that Doordarshan’s DD National Channel has been uplinked in the High Definition (HD) format since 1 January this year.

    With analogue having been largely switched off, many stakeholders feel that FreeDish is the best option in Phase IV which covers rural India. The Ministry had itself said  in the Parliament last month that HITS (Head-end In The Sky), private DTH and DD FreeDish are the options in remote rural areas while discussing the issue of the concerns expressed by operators that over 20 per cent of rural and remote areas were not financially and technically viable.

    The only free-to-air DTH platform in the country, FreeDish – which conducted its 33rd auction this week – earned Rs 2.8665 billion through auction of 54 slots in six auctions from 30 March 2016 to 14 February 2017. In comparison, DD had earned Rs 1.8034 billion in 2015-16. The last e-auction – the 32nd e-Auction – on 14 February 2017 fetched Rs. 655 million.

    Despite the reserve price of Rs 48 million, the highest bid for a slot was Rs 73 million for Sony Pal. The reserve price in the first five auctions was Rs 43 million and was raised to Rs 48 million in the 32nd auction. The reserve price for the 33rd auction was Rs 80 million.

    A new era begun with the adoption of MPEG4 helping FreeDish take the first major step to mark towards its target of 104 television channels by March end with its 32nd e-auction which helped it cross the capacity of eighty channels. FreeDish touched the figure of 104 with its 32nd Auction.

    In line with the ‘Digital India’ and ‘Make in India’, DD has decided to implement Indian CAS (iCAS) on DD Free Dish Platform. iCAS (which is an initiative of the central government) is being introduced in 24 MPEG-4 channels. The introduction of iCAS will provide enhanced viewing experience.

    DD officials said these additional 24 MPEG-4 SDTV channels will be available to viewers in FTA mode. The existing viewers will continue to get 80 SDTV channels, but will have to obtain iCAS-enabled authorised set-top boxes for accessing all 104 channels.

    Although FreeDish will remain free to air with no monthly or periodic fee, the viewers will be required to register with DD FreeDish on getting the new STB from Doordarshan authorised STB dealers.

    DD earned Rs 980 million in 2014-15, Rs 1800 million in 2015-16, and Rs 1040 million till September in 2016-17.

    FreeDish was launched with a modest bouquet of 33 channels in December 2004, and now carries eighty TV channels and 32 radio channels. This includes 22 Doordarshan channels and two parliamentary channels, seven general entertainment channels, 18 movie channels, 13 news channels, seven music channels, three religious channels and eight channels of other genres. All All India Radio stations also piggy-back on the platform.

    Also read

    MIB favours switching to DTH if consumers have problems with MSOs or LCOs

    FreeDish aims to reach 150 channels, earned Rs 3 bn in a year

  • Active DTH subscriber growth subdued in Oct-Dec’16 quarter

    BENGALURU: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) numbers for the quarter ended 31 December 2016 (current quarter, Q3-17) reveal that active DTH subscriber growth in India was lowest since the quarter ended June 2015 (Q2-16) at just 1.2 percent or just 7.5 lakh (0.75 million). In the previous quarter the platform had added 14 lakh (1.4 million) active DTH subscribers and 25.5 lakh active DTH subscribers in Q1-17.

    TRAI reports revealed that the active subscriber base in the country grew to 626.5 lakh (62.65 million) in Q3-17 from 619 lakh (61.9 million) in the immediate trailing quarter (Q2-17). Further, the industry has witnessed a higher growth of registered subscribers at 3 percent as compared to active subscribers in Q2-17 which was at 2.9 percent. In Q2-17 TRAI had reported 941.6 lakh or 94.16 million registered subscribers, which grew to 970.05 crore or 97.005 million in the current quarter.It may be noted that TRAI has been reporting the net active subscriber base including temporarily suspended subscribers that have been inactive for not more than 120 days since Q3-16 (quarter ended 31 December 2015).

    Of the six private players in the Indian DTH ecosystem, three are publically listed and their numbers are available in the public domain – They are in alphabetical order: Airtel Digital TV Services or Airtel DTH which is a small segment/division of Indian telecom major Bharti Airtel Limited; Dish TV, the largest DTH player in the country in terms of number of subscribers; and Videocon d2h.
    public://F1_3.jpg
    Airtel DTH, Dish TV and Videocon d2h have about two thirds (65 percent) of market share of the DTH universe by private players in India. Of the other three players, according to a TRAI report TataSky has a market share of 23 percent, while Sun Direct and Reliance have a market share or 10 percent and 2 percent respectively. It may be noted that at present probably the largest DTH player in India could be the government’s FreeDish, but since it is a free service, no subscriber data is available even with PrasarBharati. Please refer to the chart below:
    public://F2_2.jpg
    For Q3-17, the subscriber growth of the three major players – Airtel DTH, Dish TV and Videocon d2h was more than the industry growth– their combined subscriber base grew 1.6 percent quarter-over-quarter (q-o-q) by 6.33 lakh (0.633 million) to 406.58 lakh (40.658 million) from 400.25 lakh (40.025 million) in the immediate trailing quarter. This means that the major contribution to growth of overall active subscribers – 84.4 percent was by these three players.

    Among the three, Videocon d2h had the highest growth at 2 percent – its subscriber base grew 2.5 lakh (0.25 million) from 125.2 lakh (12.52 million) in Q2-17 to 127.7 lakh (12.77 million) in Q3-17. Airtel DTH subscriber base grew by 1.83 lakh (0.183 million) or 1.5 percent quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) in Q3-17 to 125.88 lakh (12.588 million) from 124.05 lakh (12.405 million) in Q2-17. Dish TV, the largest private DTH player subscriber base grew by 2 lakh (0.2 million) or 1.3 percent q-o-q to 153 lakh (15.3 million) from 151 lakh (15.1 million).

    Let us see how these three players performed in Q3-17

    Airtel DTH

    Airtel’s Digital TV Services segment (DTH segment) reported 17.7 percent year-on-year (y-o-y) increase in operating revenues for the quarter ended 31 December 2016 (Q3-17, current quarter). Also, Operating Profit (Earnings Before interest and Tax – EBIT) of the DTH segment in the current quarter increased 27.1 percent year-over-year (y-o-y).
    Airtel DTH reported revenues of Rs 873.5 crore in Q3-17 and Rs 742.2 crore in Q3-16. EBIT for the corresponding periods was Rs 68.4 crore (7.8 percent margin of the segment’s operating revenue) and Rs 53.8 crore (7.2 percent margin of the segment’s operating revenue) respectively.
    EBIDTA in Q3-17 also increased y-o-y – by 22.3 percent to Rs 302.6 crore (34.6 percent margin of the segment’s operating revenue) in the current quarter from Rs 247.4 crore (33.3 percent margin of the segment’s operating revenue).
    Airtel’s DTH segment added 14.82 lakh subscribers between Q3-16 and Q3-17, or a 17.3 percent y-o-y increase. It had 125.88 lakh subscribers as on 31 December 2016. Q-o-q, the segment witnessed a 1.5 percent growth (1.83 lakh adds) in subscribers from 124.05 lakh in Q2-17.
    ARPU in Q3-17 increased to Rs 232 from Rs 229 in the corresponding year ago quarter, but remained flat q-o-q as compared to the immediate trailing quarter.

    Dish TV

    Subscription revenue in the current quarter increased 3.3 percent y-o-y to Rs 692.10 crore from Rs 669.90 crore. TIO declined 3 percent to Rs 747.98 crore from Rs 771.48 crore.

    Profit after tax (PAT) declined to almost a third (declined 61.0 Percent) y-o-y to Rs 26.68 crore (3.6 percent margin – of TIO) in Q3-17 from Rs 68.49 crore (8.9 percent margin) in Q3-16. EBIDTA in the current quarter declined 6 percent y-o-y to Rs 249.51 crore (33.4 percent margin) from Rs 265.45 crore (34.4 percent margin).

    Videocon d2h

    Videocon d2h computed subscription and activation revenue in the current quarter wasRs711.2 crore as compared to Rs 710.7 crore in the immediate trailing quarter.

    Continuing the trend is has set in the previous two quarters, Videocon d2h reported a profit after tax (PAT) for Q3-17. The DTH major reported PAT of Rs 21.77 crore (2.8 percent margin) for the current quarter. It had reported PAT of Rs 6.32 crore (0.8 percent margin) for Q2-17, and Rs 2.66 crore (0.3 percent margin) for Q1-16. For the corresponding year ago quarter (Q3-17), the company had reported a loss of Rs 22.05 crore.Adjusted EBIDTA grew 33.2 percent y-o-y to Rs267 crore (35.4 percent margin) in Q3-17.

    The DTH major also reported 13.3 percent y-o-y growth in net subscriber numbers at 127.7 lakh for Q3-17 as compared to 112.70 lakh and a 2 percent quarter-over-quarter (q-o-q) growth from125.2 lakh. Monthly Average revenue per user (ARPU) in the current quarter came in lower at Rs 205as compared to Rs 209 in the immediate trailing quarter.

    Demonetisation impacts DTH industry

    The Media and Entertainment industry has been hit by the recent demonetisation initiatives, and more so the carriage industry. The largest DTH player in terms on subscribers – Dish TV said in its earnings release Q3-17 that it’s could collect subscription revenue from just 30 percent of its subscribers post the demonetisation date of 8 November 2016. Demonetisation was also mentioned by Videocon d2h in its earnings papers. However, the players stepped forward to do their bit for the government’s demonetisation initiatives.

    Dish TV CMDJawaharGoel said,“Subscribers as well as trade partners were extended temporary credit facilities basis their pasttransactions pattern. Subscriber awareness drives to promote alternate methods of paymentwere run both on the ground and on screen in addition to various other initiatives. Looking at the brighter side of it, demonetisation does promise an eventual less-cash dependentpopulation that should use online payment interfaces over cash for DTH recharges. That’s goingto be a boon for the DTH business.”

    Goel is optimistic about the future. He said, “Though demonetisation has led to an initial distress, it also will result in certain structuralchanges that are going to benefit the economy in the long run. As far as our business isconcerned, the effect has already started coming in. As online payment transactions, creditcards and a less-cash society become buzz words today, we are happy to note an increase in ouronline transacting subscriber base from 30 percent to around 38 percent with around 22 digital wallets and thelike being integrated with the company. Every online recharge transaction vis-à-vis EPRS basedtransaction implies savings on recharge commissions paid by us.”

     

  • FreeDish aims to reach 150 channels, earned Rs 3 bn in a year

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan earned revenue of Rs 2.5356 billion during 2016-17 from e-auctions of television slots on its free to air Free Dish direct-to-home platform. In comparison, DD had earned Rs 1.8034 billion in 2015-16, the minister of state for information and broadcasting Rajyavardhan Rathore told the Parliament.

    Rathore said the last e-auction – the 32nd e-Auction – on 14 February 2017 fetched Rs. 655 million. Despite the reserve price of Rs 48 million, the highest bid for a slot was Rs 73 million for Sony Pal.

    Meanwhile, Doordarshan sources told indiantelevision.com that FreeDish earned Rs 2.8665 billion through auction of 54 slots in six auctions from 30 March 2016 to 14 February 2017.

    Explaining the differential between the figure given by the Minister and that given by DD, these sources said as money was paid in installments within six months of the e-auction, the figure given in the Parliament was the money actually received.

    The reserve price in the first five auctions was Rs 43 million and was raised to Rs 48 million in the 32nd auction.

    A new era begun with the adoption of MPEG4 helping FreeDish take the first major step to mark towards its target of 104 television channels by March end with its 32nd e-auction which helped it cross the capacity of eighty channels. Having touched the figure of 104 with its 32nd Auction, DD is now holding another auction on 11 April in as part of its aim to reach the figure of 150 by the middle of the year.

    With this new leap, DD had also raised its reserve price to Rs 48 million per slot from the hitherto Rs 43 million for the mid-February auction. The reserve price had been Rs 37 million till 2015 but was raised to Rs 43 million for the 25th e-auction in January 2016.

    The e-Auctions are conducted by M/s. C1 India Pvt. Ltd., Noida which also conducted the FM Radio Phase III auctions on behalf of Prasar Bharati.

    Doordarshan had in October last year formally announced that FreeDish was capable of carrying 104 television channels and 24 channels would be added to the existing 80 channels after the launch of MPEG4 technology.

    In line with the ‘Digital India’ and ‘Make in India’, DD has decided to implement Indian CAS (iCAS) on DD FreeDish Platform. iCAS (which is an initiative of the central government) is being introduced in 24 MPEG-4 channels. The introduction of iCAS will provide enhanced viewing experience.

    DD officials said these additional 24 MPEG-4 SDTV channels will be available to viewers in FTA mode. The existing viewers will continue to get 80 SDTV channels, but will have to obtain iCAS-enabled authorised set-top boxes for accessing all 104 channels.

    Although FreeDish will remain free to air with no monthly or periodic fee, the viewers will be required to register with DD FreeDish on getting the new STB from Doordarshan authorised STB dealers. DD earned Rs 980 million in 2014-15, Rs 1800 million in 2015-16, and Rs 1040 million till September in 2016-17.

    FreeDish was launched with a modest bouquet of 33 channels in December 2004, and now carries eighty TV channels and 32 radio channels. This includes 22 Doordarshan channels and two parliamentary channels, seven general entertainment channels, 18 movie channels, 13 news channels, seven music channels, three religious channels and eight channels of other genres. All All India Radio stations also piggy-back on the platform.

  • DD to hold second e-auction in April for upgraded FreeDish

    NEW DELHI: Doordarshan’s free-to-air direct to home platform FreeDish will hold its second auction on 11 April 2017 after its decision to cross the 100-mark from the capacity of 80 channels as on mid-February. 

    After final trials of MPEG4 and the success of the 32nd auction last month, the reserve price for the next auction has been raised to Rs 80 million from Rs 48 million per slot. Until last year, the reserve price was Rs 43 million but one channel fetched the bid of Rs 70 million in the auction held on 14 February 2017. Earlier last year, the price for one channel went up to Rs 53 million and gave DD the confidence to raise the price which had been Rs 37 million till 2015 but was raised to Rs 43 million for the 25th e-auction in January 2016.

    The e-Auction will be conducted by M/s. C1 India Pvt. Ltd., Noida which also conducted the FM Radio Phase III auctions on behalf of Prasar Bharati.  DD refused to disclose the number of slots being put up for e-auction as officials claim this leads to unhealthy practices.

    Doordarshan had in October last year formally announced that Free Dish was capable of carrying 104 television channels and 24 channels would be added to the existing 80 channels after the launch of MPEG4 technology.

    DD officials also confirmed to indiantelevision.com that FreeDish will soon be capable of carrying up to 250 channels.

    In line with the ‘Digital India’ and ‘Make in India’, DD has implemented Indian CAS (iCAS) on DD Free Dish Platform. iCAS (which is an initiative of the central government) was introduced in the auction held last month. The introduction of iCAS will provide enhanced viewing experience.

    DD officials said the existing viewers will continue to get 80 SDTV channels, but will have to obtain iCAS-enabled authorized set-top boxes for accessing all new channels.

    Although FreeDish will remain free to air with no monthly or periodic fee, the viewers will be required to register with DD Free Dish on getting the new STB from Doordarshan authorized STB dealers.

    FreeDish was launched with a modest bouquet of 33 channels in December 2004, and now carries eighty TV channels and 32 radio channels. This includes 22 Doordarshan channels and two parliamentary channels, seven general entertainment channels, 18 movie channels, 13 news channels, seven music channels, three religious channels and eight channels of other genres. All All India Radio stations also piggy-back on the platform.

    The participation amount (EMD) in the e-Auction is Rs.15 million which has to be deposited in advance before or by 12 noon on the date of auction along with processing fee of Rs.10,000 (non-refundable) in favour of PB (BCI) Doordarshan Commercial Service, New Delhi.

    Incremental amount for the auction will be Rs one million and the time for every slot e-auction will be of fifteen minutes duration. This may be extended by five minutes if a bid is received before the closing time.

    Of the reserve price, Rs 11 million will be deposited within one month of placement and another Rs 11 million within two months along with service tax of 15 per cent on the bid amount. The balance bid amount will be deposited within six months, failing which the deposited amount will be forfeited and the channel discontinued after a 21-day discontinuation notice.

    DD officials said implementation of iCAS and authorisation of STB original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) by Doordarshan will give a major thrust to ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’. At present, a majority of STBs are imported. However, the introduction of iCAS will help in standardisation of STBs and encourage quality STB manufacturing in India.

    Also read:   

    Three new TV channels join DD FreeDish bouquet; 24 get extension

    Next FreeDish auction after MPEG4 operationalisation

    FreeDish’s first e-auction after upgradation in Mar

  • FreeDish iCAS STB: Modern Comm, Velankani, BGM, KMTS & Millennium OEMs shortlisted

    NEW DELHI: Five companies including two from Delhi have been shortlisted as original equipment manufacturers for set-top boxes for Doordarshan’s FreeDish on the Indian Conditional Addressable System (iCAS).

    This follows the opening of e-tenders on 9 December 2016 after which these OEMs were found suitable for the job.

    The manufacturers are: Modern Communications and Broadcast Systems Pvt Ltd of Gandhinagar in Gujarat; Velankani Electronics Private Ltd of Bangalore; BGM Holding Company of Ghaziabad; and KMTS Engineering Pvt Ltd and Millennium Technology who are both from Delhi.

    The technology of iCAS has been designed by ByDesign of Bangalore.

    Certain terms and conditions have been laid for the five OEMs which were authorised for manufacturing different make and model of STBs for FreeDish. All STB OEMs shall integrate their STBs with the iCAS and DD approved Firmware/Middleware.

    The STB OEM shall provide the duly certified integration testing report from the iCAS OEM and the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification. Five such STBs will be tested by Doordarshan.

    On successful integration and testing of the STBs, Doordarshan will issue a letter of intent to the STB OEM.

    The STB OEM shall be required to submit the requisite Performance Bank Guarantee (PBG) amount to Doordarshan within 15 days of issues of letter of Intent.

    After receipt of the PBG amount, Doordarshan shall enter into an agreement with the STB OEM authorizing it to sell iCAS and DD approved firmware/middleware enabled STBs in India for reception of DD Free Dish DTH Service.

    STB OEMs have been advised to contact M /s ByDesignin Bangalore for all STB integration and certification related to iCAS platform.

    Also Read:

    Freedish to upgrade on 30 Sept; seek out STB makers shortly

    DD notifies tenders for FreeDish MPEG4 STBs

    DD to offer 104 channels & MPEG-4 STBs by Mar-end

  • DD’s kids channel could partner private players, launch this year

    MUMBAI: Building its channel bouquet. That’s what pubcaster Doordarshan which operates more than 37 channels is doing. Come later this year, and DD will launch a free to air channel (FTA) targeted at toddlers. This was confirmed to indiantelevision.com by its director general Supriya Sahu.

    After GEC, kids is the third most expansive genre in terms of viewership and market potential, hence. Amongst the kids players in the space include: Disney and its clutch of channels, Viacom18, Zee Network, Cartoon Network, Sun TV etc.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision, Sahu says: “There is a gap in our FTA bouquet on FreeDish of kids and we are working with the ministry of information and broadcasting and Prasar Bharati to plug it. As a public service broadcaster we would we doing injustice to children we don’t come out with a kids specific channel. Soon, this year we should be finalizing its launch. The idea is that we should keep in place a very lean and efficient structure so we don’t pump in a lot of money. Perhaps we should share resources with the private sector which is already having the content. Perhaps share the revenue appears to me to be the best way to go about it.”

    What’s making Sahu even more bullish is the way Indian kids are taking to hand held devices like tablets and smart phones. And DD is riding this wave with its DVB-T2 dongles which allow the reception of DD’s TV channels on phones and tablets without any data costs. Says she: “We have already done this in 19 places, digitized our analog transmitter. There is a huge opportunity that kids content will also be available on any smart phone and its is free of data charge and there will be downloading as well. By 2018, we will be making it available in 44 places. So simultaneously when we are working on the kids content, will work on its distribution also.”

    Sahu is clearly not kidding.