NEW DELHI: Indian pubcaster Doordarshan is now confident that it will acquire the capacity of carrying 112 channels on its free-to-air (FTA) direct to home (DTH) service FreeDish by March-end.
DD director general C Lalrosanga told Indiantelevision.com that a meeting had been held recently by the engineering team in FreeDish and Doordarshan with experts from the Bangalore based ByDesign India.
DD is acquiring ByDesign’s conditional access system (CAS) so as to increase its channel offerings from the current 64 by the end of March 2016.
The meeting was primarily aimed at assessing the requirement of CAS-enabled set top boxes (STBs) that will be needed to cover all regions of the country.
Lalrosanga said the DTH player will switch over to MPEG4 from the current MPEG2 in two phases. “The first phase may begin this month,” he informed.
Late last year, the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) approved a proposal by ByDesign India to develop an Indian conditional access system. ByDesign was to receive a support amount of Rs 19.79 crore from DeitY to develop the new system in association with Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC).
The ByDesign model is totally indigenous and built for DVB-C setup. This CAS solution will enable broadcasters to control access to their services by viewers, and thereby enabling them to extend their business models to subscription based schemes.
This will mean that the FreeDish will become encrypted but will remain FTA. In addition to helping increase the number of channels on the platform, this will enable FreeDish to gauge the exact number of households relying on FreeDish as encrypted STBs will only be available with authorised dealers.
Lalrosanga went on to add that many homes were gradually switching over to FreeDish as they could then get their entire entertainment for a one-time fee of purchasing a dish, which costs as low as Rs 700 to Rs 1200.
Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar had said early last year that FreeDish’s aim was to reach 112 channels within a year or so.
At present, there is no vacant slot on Freedish since all channels that were on the platform and whose licences had expired have come back through the 24 e-auctions conducted over the past year.
Interestingly, two new entrants on the platform – Aaj Tak and Big Magic – are pay channels, which are being run as FTA on FreeDish.
DD sources said that the reference interconnect agreement signed by these two channels no longer carries any non-discriminatory clause as it refers to FreeDish.
Tag: FTA
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DD confident of achieving 112-channel target on FreeDish by March-end
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Rishtey refreshes content line-up; extends early prime-time slots
MUMBAI: In light of free to air (FTA) channels claiming a chunk of ratings according to the all India data by the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India, Viacom18’s FTA channel Rishtey is all set to ride the wave by launching a volley of fiction offering covering seven days a week as well as by extending its early prime time slot. Additionally, the channel will be sprucing up its weekend programming by introducing kids-friendly content and airing blockbuster movies.
What’s more, along with the introduction of new shows, Rishtey will also be refreshing its channel packaging.
With festivities kicking off in style, Rishtey’s first major outing in 2016 will be the launch of a romantic drama Salaam-E-Ishq, a love-hate story of Zain and Aliya set against the Muslim milieu. The show is set to launch on 11 January and will be aired from Monday t0 Saturday at 9 pm. Pertinent to note here is that this is the same show that previously had its run on Rishtey’s sister channel Colors as Beintehaa.
Aiming to cater to audiences across age-groups and demographics, the channel will also be extending its early prime time slot, starting from 5 pm with the introduction of shows like Pammi Pyarelal at 5pm , Hamari Saas Leela at 5.30 pm, Kitni Mohabbat Hai at 6pm and Yeh Pyaar Na Hoga Kam at 6.30pm.
In 2016, Rishtey will also be giving prominence to kids’ entertainment and focus on interesting content that will cater to the young audience as part of its Sunday morning programming.
The fun filled animated series Chhoti Anandi will capture adventures of an eight year old brave and righteous kid Anandi as she explores innumerable escapades in the company of her friends. Additionally the enchanting tales of Vikram and Betal in Kahaani Vikram Betal Ki will further strengthen the entertainment quotient on Sundays. Chhoti Anandi will air from 17 January at 10 am and will be followed by Kahaani Vikram Betal Ki at 11 am.
What’s more, the channel will also be showcasing the Sansui Colors Stardust Awards, which will be aired on 10 January at 7 pm.
Some of the movie premieres lined up on the channel include movies of 2015 like Manjhi and Pyaar Ka Punchnama 2.
Along with the content line up, Rishtey will engage viewers with a series of marketing activities, which includes daily as well as weekly on air contests.
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Sun TV stays undisputed; Hindi GECs fare poorly across genres: BARC week 51
MUMBAI: With a rise in ratings, Sun TV continues to lead across genres and becomes the highest gainer in the list while all Hindi general entertainment channel (GECs) including Colors, Star Plus, Zee TV and Life OK witnessed a fall in ratings in week 51 of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India ratings.
Sun TV garnered the first spot with 1089988 (000Sums) followed by Colors, which saw a drop in ratings but secured the second position with 766353 (000Sums) as against 768239 (000Sums) in week 50.
Star Plus in the third place also witnessed a drop and received 732209 (000Sums) against 759484 (000Sums) in the previous week.
Though Zee TV saw a decline in ratings, it managed to grab the fourth place with 720437 (000Sums) as against 733866 (000Sums) followed by Zee Network’s FTA channel Zee Anmol, which slipped down at number five with 713998 (000Sums).
Star India’s FTA channel Star Ustav stood at number six with 516870 (000Sums) followed by Life OK in the seventh spot with 450765 (000Sums) against 509538 (000Sums) in week 50.
From the tenth spot, Maa TV managed to climb up at number eight with 409981 (000Sums) followed by Sony Max in the ninth berth with 409006 (000Sums) and ETV Telugu fell down to the tenth slot from the eighth position with 406176 (000Sums).
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Colors topples Star Plus to claim second slot: BARC week 50
MUMBAI: Free to air (FTA) channel Zee Anmol was perched firmly at the top of the Hindi general entertainment channels (GEC) genre after securing 752782 (Rat 000s) in week 50 as per Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India analysis.
In a major Christmas cheer for Viacom18, its Hindi GEC Colors climbed up to the second slot, toppling Star Plus. While Colors was with 725713 (Rat 000s), Star Plus garnered 707219 (Rat 000s).
Zee TV, placed fourth, witnessed a drop in ratings with 677089 (000Sums) as against 718536 (000 Sum) in week 49.
On the other hand, Star Ustav bagged the fifth place with 506990 (000Sums) followed by Life OK with 438496 (000Sums) in the sixth slot. Sony Entertainment Television came in seventh with 365546 (000Sums).
Sab TV with 328664 (000Sums) stood at number eight, while Rishtey and Sony Pal saw a downfall in ratings as compared to the previous week. Rishtey stood in the ninth spot with 272506 (000Sums) as against 305570 (000Sums) in week 49, whereas Sony Pal held on to the tenth spot with 238738 (000Sums) as against 302045 (000Sums) in the previous week.
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MIB warns broadcasters against giving FTA signals to unauthorised operators
NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has warned broadcasters against giving signals of free to air (FTA) channels to unauthorised operators.
The government said that it should be ensured that satellite TV channels do not provide their signal reception decoders or access to their signals to any cable or multi system operators (MSO), DTH operators, IPTV service provider and headend in the sky (HITS) operator, which is not registered or permitted by the MIB.
The Ministry said that non-adherence to the laid down stipulation is “liable for stern action from this Ministry in case corrective action by broadcasters is not taken immediately.”
It was pointed out that there should be strict adherence to clause 5.6 of the Article 5 of Downlinking Guidelines in this regard.
The clause stipulates that all the broadcasters “shall provide satellite TV channel signal reception decoders only to MSOs/Cable Operators registered under the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995 or to a DTH operator registered under the DTH guidelines issued by Government of Indian or to an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) Service Provider duly permitted under their existing Telecom License or authorised by Department of Telecommunications or to a HITS operator duly permitted under the policy guidelines for HITS operators issued by the I&B Ministry to provide such service.”
The MIB said that it had come to its notice that certain DTH operators were beaming into India FTA channels without obtaining due license or registration authorisation in any manner from the Ministry. “These FTA TV channels, it is learnt, are permitted TV channels. However, broadcasters appear to have allowed their signals to be used by such unauthorised operators,” the Ministry said.
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BARC week 47: Star Plus continues to dominate Hindi GECs; Comedy Central is no.1 in English GECs
MUMBAI: Star Plus continues to lead the Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs) genre and secured leadership position, while Comedy Central emerged as the number one channel in English GECs in week 47 of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India, all India (U+R) data.
Hindi GECs
Star Plus grabbed the pole position in the genre with a hike in ratings with 813084 (000Sums) in week 47 against 795810 (000Sums) in previous week. Zee’s Free to Air (FTA) channel Zee Anmol maintained its second position with 754786 (000Sums) followed by Colors in the third spot with 713600 (000Sums) and Zee TV in the fourth position with 632511 (000Sums).
With a rise in ratings, Star India’s FTA channel Star Utsav stood at the fifth spot with 544176 (000Sums) against 518725 (000Sums) in week 46. Life OK held the sixth position with 457560 (000Sums) followed by Sony Entertainment Television in the seventh position with 396968 (000Sums). Sab TV jumped one step ahead with 372333 (000Sums) and grabbed the eighth spot.
Sony Pal with 315559 (000Sums) and Rishtey with 284013 (000Sums) stood at ninth and tenth slot respectively.
English GECs
In week 47, Comedy Central led the English entertainment genre and garnered the pole position with 177 (000Sums) followed by AXN, which was the leader of English GECs in week 46 on second spot with 143 (000Sums). Zee Café with 117 (000Sums) grabbed the third spot in the genre.
Star World with 71 (000Sums) and Colors Infinity SD with 64 (000Sums) stood at the fourth and fifth position respectively.
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BARC week 43: Zee Anmol maintains second spot; DD National drops
MUMBAI: Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd’s (Zeel) free to air (FTA) channel Zee Anmol has continued to maintain its position at second number, even as Star Plus maintained its leadership position in week 43 of Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India all India (U + R) data in Hindi general entertainment channel (GEC).
Star Plus led the Hindi GEC genre with 786132 (000Sums), while Zee Anmol bagged the second position with 722316 (000Sums). Colors secured third spot with 652023 (000Sums).
Zee TV maintained its position at the fourth spot with an increase in ratings with 647114 (000Sums) as against 595088 (000Sums) against last week.
Life OK climbed jumped to the number five position from number six last week, replacing DD National with 509186 (000Sums).
Star India’s FTA channel Star Ustav stood at the sixth spot with 496899 (000Sums), whereas Sab TV was spotted in the seventh position with 374070 (000Sums). DD National, which was at fifth place last week, dropped down to the eighth slot with 365853 (000Sums), while Sony Entertainment Television grabbed the ninth position in the segment with 333260 (000Sums) followed by Rishtey in the tenth slot with 313555 (000Sums).
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BARC week 42: DD National, Max, Asianet enter Top 10 channels list across genres
MUMBAI: Even as Tamil general entertainment channel (GEC) Sun TV continues to maintain its number one position across genres in India, there have been three new entrants in the list of Top 10 channels across genres. DD National, Sony Max and Malayalam GEC Asianet entered the top 10 list this week, according to Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) all India basis (U+R) data of week 42.
Sun TV was the most watched channel in India in week 42 and grabbed pole position with 1151458 (000Sums) followed by Hindi GEC leader Star Plus in the second spot with 804448 (000Sums) and Colors in the third spot with 682422 (000Sums).
Zee Network’s free to air (FTA) channel Zee Anmol grabbed fourth position with 652737 (000Sums) while Zee TV ranked fifth with 649798 (000Sums).
DD National made its entry in the Top 10 list across genres at the sixth position with 567433(000Sums) followed by Hindi movies and events channel Sony Max, which made its debut in the seventh spot with 525073 (000Sums). Life OK was eighth on the list with 513149 (000Sums).
Star India’s FTA channel Star Ustav bagged the ninth spot with 475386 (000Sums), while Asianet took hold of the tenth spot with 448820 (000Sums).
Channels, which featured in the Top 10 list across genres in week 41 and failed to hold on to their positions in week 42 are Star Gold (sixth), Zee Cinema (tenth) and ETV Telugu (ninth).
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Revamp the Dominant News Pattern through India 24X7 Kya Khabar Hai!
MUMBAI: India 24×7 ushers in a breadth of fresh air, revamping the dominant pattern of Indian News channel and bringing Hope amidst apparently gloomy happening. India 24X7 a national Hindi ‘Free To Air (FTA)’ news Channel is going to start operations in Indian domain from October 24, 2015.
To cut the morass of market, the channel aims to serve family entertainment, healthy viewing and distinctive news to upgrade its viewers to make informed choices rather than only news. To draw fringe audience on to the channel, anchors will play a key role. Their personality, styling and reliability will determine which audiences find resonance with the brand.
While the news genre is traditionally seen as largely an individual viewing space, India 24×7 wishes to create a family appointment viewing experience. It will attract different age groups and different gender skews. It will also address viewers who are young in terms of mindset and shared value.
Channel Editor Vasindra Mishra said, “India 24X7 will choose clarity over aggression, Jankari over sensationalism. It endeavours to offer ‘distinctive news’ as opposed to breaking news, or sensational news. With our family viewing objective, the flavour of coverage will focus on the positive side of every story and also enliven us through its entertainment quotient.”
Mishra went on to add, “If you look at existing news programmes, you will find that majority of the news channels are busy proliferating negativity in the society as if there is no hope available for them. But, India 24X7 believes in hope. We will try to fish out hope even from the tragic incidents.”
Traditionally, news genre targets male 35+ audiences, but India 24×7 is young at heart through the presentation of its content. The channel will work on inventory of 12 mins per hour giving more content and news to the viewers that brings knowledge and empowers them.
The channel is available on major DTH platforms and local cable networks like Dish TV, Airtel, Tata Sky, DD Free Dish, Siti Cable, Fastway, Digi Cable, DEN, Hathway, In Cable, GTPL and other local cable networks.
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TRAI issues separate tariff for commercial subscribers under DAS & non-DAS areas
NEW DELHI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) today issued separate tariff orders for commercial subscribers under digital addressable systems (DAS) and non-DAS areas.
TRAI described a “commercial subscriber” as one “who causes the signals of TV channels to be heard or seen by any person for a specific sum of money to be paid by such person.”
The definition is contained in two Tariff Amendment Orders (TAO) relating to TV services for commercial subscribers, one applicable for TV services being provided through analogue cable TV systems (Non-CAS areas) and the other one applicable for TV services being provided through Digital Addressable cable TV systems were notified today.
The amendments are to the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services (Second) tariff (Twelfth Amendment) order & the Telecommunication (Broadcasting and Cable) Services (Fourth) (Addressable Systems) Tariff (Fourth Amendment) order.
For definition of ordinary subscriber, the notification simply says anyone who is not a commercial subscriber under its definition is an ordinary subscriber.
Total forbearance has been prescribed both at the wholesale and retail level with respect to tariffs for commercial subscribers and broadcasters have the option to enter into tripartite agreements with the Distribution Platform Operators (DPOs) and the commercial subscribers, if so desired.
The order says that a broadcaster will offer all its pay channels, for commercial subscribers on a-la-carte basis to distributors of TV channels, and may specify separate a-la-carte rate for each pay channel.
This is provided the broadcaster may also offer all its pay channels as part of bouquet consisting of pay channels or both pay and free to air (FTA) channels and specify the rate for each such bouquet of channels offered by it; and a broadcaster may enter into a tripartite agreement with the distributors of TV channels and the commercial subscribers for supply of signals of TV channels to the commercial subscribers.
Broadcasters have been mandated to offer their channels or bouquet of channels for commercial subscribers on non-discriminatory terms and conditions.
Broadcasters have also been mandated to file their tripartite agreements, if such agreement is done with commercial subscribers, with TRAI within 30 days of entering into such agreement.
TV signals to commercial subscribers have to be provided by DPOs only in accordance with policy guidelines for up-linking and down-linking of television channels.
Following directions by the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Arbitration Tribunal (TDSAT) on 9 March that there was need for a fresh look at tariff orders, TRAI had issued a new paper on “Tariff issues related to Commercial Subscribers.” Stakeholders had been asked to give their comments by 31 July and counter-comments by 7 August and had then held an Open House on 18 August.
The case in TDSAT had been filed by Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) and others last year. The tariff orders challenged by IBF were issued on 16 July last year following the Supreme Court’s order of 16 April, 2014.
TRAI said in a press release that it “expected that with the coming into force of these changes in the regulatory framework for commercial subscribers, distribution of TV services to commercial subscribers would be streamlined and would be available to them at competitive rates. It is also envisaged that it would balance the interests of all the stakeholders in the value chain and bring in complete transparency in the business transactions.”
In the consultation paper, TRAI had asked commercial subscribers whether there is need to define and differentiate between domestic and commercial subscribers for provision of TV signals and the basis for such classification. TRAI wanted to know how it can be ensured that TV signal feed is not misused for commercial purposes wherein the signal has been provided for non-commercial purpose.
It had also asked if there is a need to have a different tariff framework for commercial subscribers (both at wholesale and retail levels) and what should be the suggested tariff framework for commercial subscribers (both at wholesale and retail levels).