Tag: Hathway

FY-16: Hathway revenue up 13.7 percent, EBIDTA up 51.7 percent

BENGALURU: Indian multi system operator (MSO) Hathway Cable and Datacom Limited (Hathway) reported 13.7 per cent growth in Total Income from operations (TIO) and 51.7 percent growth in operating profits (EBIDTA) for the fiscal ended 31 March 2016 (FY-16, current year). The company reported TIO of Rs 2,081.63 crore in FY-16 as compared to Rs 1,831.60 crore in the previous year. The company’s EBDITA in the current year was Rs 388.69 crore (18.7 percent EBIDTA margin) and was Rs 256.16 crore (14 percent EBIDTA margin) in the previous year. The company narrowed its loss in the current year to Rs 163.13 crore in FY-16 from a loss of Rs 180.45 crore in FY-16.

High growth in Activation fees and Broadband revenue are chiefly responsible for the improved performance.

Note: The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR).The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:
(a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.
(b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

The company’s broadband segment has been performing very well, as a matter of fact, among the national level MSOs’ Hathway has the highest subscription and revenue numbers among all of them. Hathway says that it has invested Rs 206 crore into its Broadband business in FY-16.

Hathway’s consolidated broadband subscribers increased 38 percent in FY16 to 6.272 lakh from 4.558 lakh in FY-15. Consolidated broadband revenue in the current year increased 61 percent to Rs 399.3 crore from Rs 247.5 crore in the previous year. Broadband ARPU in the current year increased to Rs 670 from Rs 530 in the previous year.

Consolidated reported CATV subscription revenue in the current year declined 3.3 percent to Rs 812.7 crore from Rs 840.3 crore in FY-15.

The company says that it deployed 22 lakh set top boxes in FY-16, 10 lakh of them in the last quarter of FY-16, and it has 1.06 crore CATV digital subscriber’s (87 percent of its subscriber base of 1.23 crore). Its DAS phase I area standalone Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) in the quarter ended 31 March 2016 (Q4-16, current quarter) increased to Rs 105 from Rs 100 in Q4-15. Its standalone DAS phase II area ARPU in Q4-16 increased to Rs 86 from Rs 67 in the corresponding year ago quarter.

Placement revenue in the current year declined 4 percent to Rs 598.8 crore from Rs 626.9 crore in the previous year.

Activation revenue almost tripled (2.8 times) in FY-16 to Rs 227.9 crore from Rs 82.4 crore in FY-15.

Other revenue increased 24 percent in FY-15 to Rs 42.9 crore from Rs 34.6 in the previous year.

Hathway’s Total Expenditure in FY-16 increased 8.9 percent to Rs 2,072.56 crore (99.6 percent of TIO) from Rs 1,903.38 crore (103.9 percent of TIO) in the previous year.

Pay channel cost in the current year increased 1 percent to Rs 821.65 crore (39.5 percent of TIO) from Rs 813.13 crore (44.4 percent of TIO) in FY-15.

May 27, 2016
FY-16: Hathway revenue up 13.7 percent, EBIDTA up 51.7 percent

BENGALURU: Indian multi system operator (MSO) Hathway Cable and Datacom Limited (Hathway) reported 13.7 per cent growth in Total Income from operations (TIO) and 51.7 percent growth in operating profits (EBIDTA) for the fiscal ended 31 March 2016 (FY-16, current year). The company reported TIO of Rs 2,081.63 crore in FY-16 as compared to Rs 1,831.60 crore in the previous year. The company’s EBDITA in the current year was Rs 388.69 crore (18.7 percent EBIDTA margin) and was Rs 256.16 crore (14 percent EBIDTA margin) in the previous year. The company narrowed its loss in the current year to Rs 163.13 crore in FY-16 from a loss of Rs 180.45 crore in FY-16.

High growth in Activation fees and Broadband revenue are chiefly responsible for the improved performance.

Note: The unit of currency in this report is the Indian rupee – Rs (also conventionally represented by INR).The Indian numbering system or the Vedic numbering system has been used to denote money values. The basic conversion to the international norm would be:
(a) 100,00,000 = 100 lakh = 10,000,000 = 10 million = 1 crore.
(b) 10,000 lakh = 100 crore = 1 arab = 1 billion.

The company’s broadband segment has been performing very well, as a matter of fact, among the national level MSOs’ Hathway has the highest subscription and revenue numbers among all of them. Hathway says that it has invested Rs 206 crore into its Broadband business in FY-16.

Hathway’s consolidated broadband subscribers increased 38 percent in FY16 to 6.272 lakh from 4.558 lakh in FY-15. Consolidated broadband revenue in the current year increased 61 percent to Rs 399.3 crore from Rs 247.5 crore in the previous year. Broadband ARPU in the current year increased to Rs 670 from Rs 530 in the previous year.

Consolidated reported CATV subscription revenue in the current year declined 3.3 percent to Rs 812.7 crore from Rs 840.3 crore in FY-15.

The company says that it deployed 22 lakh set top boxes in FY-16, 10 lakh of them in the last quarter of FY-16, and it has 1.06 crore CATV digital subscriber’s (87 percent of its subscriber base of 1.23 crore). Its DAS phase I area standalone Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) in the quarter ended 31 March 2016 (Q4-16, current quarter) increased to Rs 105 from Rs 100 in Q4-15. Its standalone DAS phase II area ARPU in Q4-16 increased to Rs 86 from Rs 67 in the corresponding year ago quarter.

Placement revenue in the current year declined 4 percent to Rs 598.8 crore from Rs 626.9 crore in the previous year.

Activation revenue almost tripled (2.8 times) in FY-16 to Rs 227.9 crore from Rs 82.4 crore in FY-15.

Other revenue increased 24 percent in FY-15 to Rs 42.9 crore from Rs 34.6 in the previous year.

Hathway’s Total Expenditure in FY-16 increased 8.9 percent to Rs 2,072.56 crore (99.6 percent of TIO) from Rs 1,903.38 crore (103.9 percent of TIO) in the previous year.

Pay channel cost in the current year increased 1 percent to Rs 821.65 crore (39.5 percent of TIO) from Rs 813.13 crore (44.4 percent of TIO) in FY-15.

May 27, 2016
Unravelling Housefull Action’s strategy

MUMBAI: One of the most loved film genres across geographies was action was the thought that prompted the launch of a new movie channel – Housefull Action. Launched on 21 February this year, the channel specifically caters to the action hungry audience that is constantly looking for more. The channel says that it will be showcasing the best of content from Hollywood, Bollywood and Tollywood.

Housefull Action is marketed by White Pixel in association with Swami Films and is broadcast by Triumph Media Vision Pvt Ltd (Triumph MVPL).

Speaking with Indiantelevision.com, Swami Films founder and director Ajit Joshi said, “With the launch of Housefull Action, our aim is to cater and entertain the action movies lover. Primarily, our focus will be on South Indian movies but we will also be airing Bollywood and Hollywood action films.”

To ensure that even the interiors of the country could view its offerings, the channel first launched on DD Freedish. Currently, Housefull Action is available on Dish TV’s DTH platform, as also on Den, Hathway and major MSOs’. Further, the channel is in talks with other MSOs’ as well, hence in the coming couple of months the distribution of the channel will become more robust.

Marketing strategy

Being just two months old, the channel is yet to have advertisers on board. In the meanwhile the channel has sold time slots to several brands for teleshopping. On an average, sources within Housefull Action said that the channel earns revenues of between Rs 60,000 to Rs 70,000 for half an hour from teleshopping. On a given day, the channel airs teleshopping for four to five hours.

Unravelling Housefull Action’s strategy, Joshi said, “There are two ways for the business – teleshopping or commercial advertisements. We will go with the both the ways in future.”

With digitization happening across metros the channel will be generating revenue through ad sales, Joshi said, “White Pixel clearly feels that it has been getting good response from the market and that people are keen to add more channels in the plans to build frequency”.

Joshi revealed, “We are waiting for our BARC ratings to stabilize so that we can pitch to our advertisers. Keeping our competitors in mind, we will freeze the 10 sec ad rates. We have good financiers working with us, therefore we hope for the best.”

Triumph MVPL director Sudhir Singh said, “There is a huge market available for the action genre and we want to capitalize on it. We have done our primary research work and the results show us that this market still wants more action movie channels”. While sources within the channel revealed that it is looking to garner around 15 to 20 GRPs’ in the first year of launch Singh explained, “We are not in the numbers game here. We clearly want to sustain ourselves and be there.”

White Pixel director Abdul Aziz Khan said, “Within the Hindi movie genre, ours is a niche genre. For the action movie genre, the core audience is male (age group 15 +). Since there are not many players who cater to this niche genre, we will be targeting those brands that are looking to cater to the male TG as their primary audience.” Reiterating, Aziz said, “We have a very clear definition of catering to the hard core action lover who is primarily male and taking to that audience to the advertisers who want to target the male TG.”

To garner eyeballs, Housefull Action currently spends around Rs 20 to Rs 25 lakh towards marketing with plans to up that figure to about Rs one crore. There are also plans for on-ground activations and other marketing activities lined up for the coming months.

Joshi further revealed that apart from the movie channel, his group is planning to launch a website Housefultv.com very soon. “For the first time a movie channel will go live. Audiences can watch movies of their own choice. They can easily log in. Initially it will be free of cost.

Sources within the channel say that it has movies like Border, Sarfarosh, Shehenshah, Deewar, Tridev, Deva, Rakshak and Kalavaram in its library. According to industry sources, the acquisition prices of the movies that the channel has in its kitty so far have ranged between of Rs 5- 50 lakhs.

The management says that it will be pumping in money to strengthen its distribution as it wants visibility across all platforms. It also wants to build its visibility by targeting the trade fraternity and customers directly by giving them regular updates on the developments at its end. It has plans to acquire other interesting properties on a regular basis.

The group managing Housefull Action has firm plans to make its venture a profitable one. It is left for time to determine how successful its efforts will be.

May 2, 2016
Unravelling Housefull Action’s strategy

MUMBAI: One of the most loved film genres across geographies was action was the thought that prompted the launch of a new movie channel – Housefull Action. Launched on 21 February this year, the channel specifically caters to the action hungry audience that is constantly looking for more. The channel says that it will be showcasing the best of content from Hollywood, Bollywood and Tollywood.

Housefull Action is marketed by White Pixel in association with Swami Films and is broadcast by Triumph Media Vision Pvt Ltd (Triumph MVPL).

Speaking with Indiantelevision.com, Swami Films founder and director Ajit Joshi said, “With the launch of Housefull Action, our aim is to cater and entertain the action movies lover. Primarily, our focus will be on South Indian movies but we will also be airing Bollywood and Hollywood action films.”

To ensure that even the interiors of the country could view its offerings, the channel first launched on DD Freedish. Currently, Housefull Action is available on Dish TV’s DTH platform, as also on Den, Hathway and major MSOs’. Further, the channel is in talks with other MSOs’ as well, hence in the coming couple of months the distribution of the channel will become more robust.

Marketing strategy

Being just two months old, the channel is yet to have advertisers on board. In the meanwhile the channel has sold time slots to several brands for teleshopping. On an average, sources within Housefull Action said that the channel earns revenues of between Rs 60,000 to Rs 70,000 for half an hour from teleshopping. On a given day, the channel airs teleshopping for four to five hours.

Unravelling Housefull Action’s strategy, Joshi said, “There are two ways for the business – teleshopping or commercial advertisements. We will go with the both the ways in future.”

With digitization happening across metros the channel will be generating revenue through ad sales, Joshi said, “White Pixel clearly feels that it has been getting good response from the market and that people are keen to add more channels in the plans to build frequency”.

Joshi revealed, “We are waiting for our BARC ratings to stabilize so that we can pitch to our advertisers. Keeping our competitors in mind, we will freeze the 10 sec ad rates. We have good financiers working with us, therefore we hope for the best.”

Triumph MVPL director Sudhir Singh said, “There is a huge market available for the action genre and we want to capitalize on it. We have done our primary research work and the results show us that this market still wants more action movie channels”. While sources within the channel revealed that it is looking to garner around 15 to 20 GRPs’ in the first year of launch Singh explained, “We are not in the numbers game here. We clearly want to sustain ourselves and be there.”

White Pixel director Abdul Aziz Khan said, “Within the Hindi movie genre, ours is a niche genre. For the action movie genre, the core audience is male (age group 15 +). Since there are not many players who cater to this niche genre, we will be targeting those brands that are looking to cater to the male TG as their primary audience.” Reiterating, Aziz said, “We have a very clear definition of catering to the hard core action lover who is primarily male and taking to that audience to the advertisers who want to target the male TG.”

To garner eyeballs, Housefull Action currently spends around Rs 20 to Rs 25 lakh towards marketing with plans to up that figure to about Rs one crore. There are also plans for on-ground activations and other marketing activities lined up for the coming months.

Joshi further revealed that apart from the movie channel, his group is planning to launch a website Housefultv.com very soon. “For the first time a movie channel will go live. Audiences can watch movies of their own choice. They can easily log in. Initially it will be free of cost.

Sources within the channel say that it has movies like Border, Sarfarosh, Shehenshah, Deewar, Tridev, Deva, Rakshak and Kalavaram in its library. According to industry sources, the acquisition prices of the movies that the channel has in its kitty so far have ranged between of Rs 5- 50 lakhs.

The management says that it will be pumping in money to strengthen its distribution as it wants visibility across all platforms. It also wants to build its visibility by targeting the trade fraternity and customers directly by giving them regular updates on the developments at its end. It has plans to acquire other interesting properties on a regular basis.

The group managing Housefull Action has firm plans to make its venture a profitable one. It is left for time to determine how successful its efforts will be.

May 2, 2016
ACT leads in wired broadband subscriber additions in 2016

BENGALURU: Atria Convergence Technologies Private Limited (ACT, ACT Broadband) lead in net wired broadband subscriber additions in calendar year 2016 with 50,000 subscribers added during the first two months of calendar year 2016 (CY-2016). As per data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), ACT’s broadband subscriber base as on 29 February 2016 (Feb-16) was 9.1 lakh as compared to the 8.6 lakh subscribers as on 31 December 2015 (Dec-15).

Until 30 October 2015 (Oct-15), ACT Broadband was leading in wireline broadband internet subscriber additions in India during calendar year 2015. Both ACT and Bharti Airtel had added 230,000 subscribers in CY-2015 until Nov-15. In December 2015 numbers released by TRAI indicated that as on 31 December 2015 (Dec-15), Bharti Airtel had added 2.6 lakh subscribers (subject to a granularity of 10,000) as compared to the 2.5 lakh subscribers added by ACT in the period between 31 December 2014 (hence 1 January 2015, Dec-14) and Dec-15. In terms of wireline internet subscription numbers, Airtel had 16.7 lakh subscribers while ACT had 8.6 lakh subscribers at the end of CY-2015.

As per TRAI data, the top five players in India in the wireline broadband internet space in pecking order are the public sector Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Bharti Airtel Limited (Airtel), public sector Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), Atria Convergence Technologies Private Limited (ACT, ACT Broadband) and You Broadband (You BB). Among these 5, only BSNL and Airtel could be termed national players at present. BSNL, Airtel and MTNL also provide wireline and mobile services while Airtel also has a direct to home (DTH) segment. ACT started off as an MSO with operations concentrated in a few major cities and towns located mainly in South India. It started internet services (ACT Broadband) a little later and has grown its broadband internet subscriber base over time, to the extent that it is quite likely the biggest private wireline broadband player in South India. You BB offers broadband operations in a few cities in Maharashtra, Gujarat the NCR region Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

While the public sector players BSNL and MTNL have been losing subscribers and/or market share, the three private players have been growing on both these parameters as Fig 1 below indicates. In CY-2016, until Feb-16, both BSNL and MTNL have lost 10,000 wired broadband subscribers each, while You BB has added 10,000 subscribers. BSNL’s wired broadband subscriber base as on 29 February 2016 was 99.1 lakh, while MTNL had 11.1 lakh subscribers. You BB had 5.2 lakh subscribers for Feb-15.

Note: (1) 100,00,000 = 100 Lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

(2) TRAI reports indicate data in millions of numbers up to 2 decimal places. Hence it is assumed in this report that a figure of 0.47 million (4.7 lakh) subscribers for You BB for July-2015 would be granular to the nearest 10,000. While percentages have been mentioned up to two decimal places, the accuracy may vary, depending upon the exact number.

(3) Industry sources say that TRAI numbers in the case of ACT for May-2015 are incorrect at 0.66 million and the correct number would be 0.693 million. This paper considers the number as 6.93 lakh or 0.693 million.

(4) MSOs’ have a number of subsidiaries and alliances, hence broadband numbers are split as applicable. The consolidated subscription numbers of these entities could be larger. Hathway is a case in point.

At the same time, the subscriber numbers share of the top five wired broadband players in the country has reduced from 88.45 percent from Dec-14 to 84.54 percent as on Feb-16. During the same period the all India wireline internet subscriber base has grown 9.33 per cent from 153.2 lakh to 167.5 lakh. The combined numbers of the top five players have increased by less than half of that in percentage terms – by 4.5 per cent from 136.3 lakh to 141.6 lakh. The top five players have added 5.3 lakh subscribers during these 14 months, with ACT and Bharti Airtel contributing to the major bulk of the growth. Please refer to Fig 2 below.

MSOs’ in India have started providing internet services on the back of their cable networks using Docsis technology. In general, they have started reporting double digit YoY increase in internet subscribers and revenue. Three of the major MSOs and a regional MSO – Hathway, Siti Cable, Den Networks, Ortel Communications whose results are available in the public domain for the quarter ended 31 December 2016 (Q3-2016 current quarter) have been showing steady growth in their broadband segment over the past few quarters.

April 26, 2016
ACT leads in wired broadband subscriber additions in 2016

BENGALURU: Atria Convergence Technologies Private Limited (ACT, ACT Broadband) lead in net wired broadband subscriber additions in calendar year 2016 with 50,000 subscribers added during the first two months of calendar year 2016 (CY-2016). As per data released by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), ACT’s broadband subscriber base as on 29 February 2016 (Feb-16) was 9.1 lakh as compared to the 8.6 lakh subscribers as on 31 December 2015 (Dec-15).

Until 30 October 2015 (Oct-15), ACT Broadband was leading in wireline broadband internet subscriber additions in India during calendar year 2015. Both ACT and Bharti Airtel had added 230,000 subscribers in CY-2015 until Nov-15. In December 2015 numbers released by TRAI indicated that as on 31 December 2015 (Dec-15), Bharti Airtel had added 2.6 lakh subscribers (subject to a granularity of 10,000) as compared to the 2.5 lakh subscribers added by ACT in the period between 31 December 2014 (hence 1 January 2015, Dec-14) and Dec-15. In terms of wireline internet subscription numbers, Airtel had 16.7 lakh subscribers while ACT had 8.6 lakh subscribers at the end of CY-2015.

As per TRAI data, the top five players in India in the wireline broadband internet space in pecking order are the public sector Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), Bharti Airtel Limited (Airtel), public sector Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL), Atria Convergence Technologies Private Limited (ACT, ACT Broadband) and You Broadband (You BB). Among these 5, only BSNL and Airtel could be termed national players at present. BSNL, Airtel and MTNL also provide wireline and mobile services while Airtel also has a direct to home (DTH) segment. ACT started off as an MSO with operations concentrated in a few major cities and towns located mainly in South India. It started internet services (ACT Broadband) a little later and has grown its broadband internet subscriber base over time, to the extent that it is quite likely the biggest private wireline broadband player in South India. You BB offers broadband operations in a few cities in Maharashtra, Gujarat the NCR region Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

While the public sector players BSNL and MTNL have been losing subscribers and/or market share, the three private players have been growing on both these parameters as Fig 1 below indicates. In CY-2016, until Feb-16, both BSNL and MTNL have lost 10,000 wired broadband subscribers each, while You BB has added 10,000 subscribers. BSNL’s wired broadband subscriber base as on 29 February 2016 was 99.1 lakh, while MTNL had 11.1 lakh subscribers. You BB had 5.2 lakh subscribers for Feb-15.

Note: (1) 100,00,000 = 100 Lakh = 10 million = 1 crore

(2) TRAI reports indicate data in millions of numbers up to 2 decimal places. Hence it is assumed in this report that a figure of 0.47 million (4.7 lakh) subscribers for You BB for July-2015 would be granular to the nearest 10,000. While percentages have been mentioned up to two decimal places, the accuracy may vary, depending upon the exact number.

(3) Industry sources say that TRAI numbers in the case of ACT for May-2015 are incorrect at 0.66 million and the correct number would be 0.693 million. This paper considers the number as 6.93 lakh or 0.693 million.

(4) MSOs’ have a number of subsidiaries and alliances, hence broadband numbers are split as applicable. The consolidated subscription numbers of these entities could be larger. Hathway is a case in point.

At the same time, the subscriber numbers share of the top five wired broadband players in the country has reduced from 88.45 percent from Dec-14 to 84.54 percent as on Feb-16. During the same period the all India wireline internet subscriber base has grown 9.33 per cent from 153.2 lakh to 167.5 lakh. The combined numbers of the top five players have increased by less than half of that in percentage terms – by 4.5 per cent from 136.3 lakh to 141.6 lakh. The top five players have added 5.3 lakh subscribers during these 14 months, with ACT and Bharti Airtel contributing to the major bulk of the growth. Please refer to Fig 2 below.

MSOs’ in India have started providing internet services on the back of their cable networks using Docsis technology. In general, they have started reporting double digit YoY increase in internet subscribers and revenue. Three of the major MSOs and a regional MSO – Hathway, Siti Cable, Den Networks, Ortel Communications whose results are available in the public domain for the quarter ended 31 December 2016 (Q3-2016 current quarter) have been showing steady growth in their broadband segment over the past few quarters.

April 26, 2016
Hathway launches new music and movie channels

MUMBAI: Hathway has launched a series of four new channels in the music & movie genres as they set on an ambitious roadmap to create a robust bouquet of channels which will offer Hathway subscribers, the best of entertainment package exclusively.

The four new channels- Djay, Lamhe, Home Theatre and Marathi Talkies have been designed and packaged in a new vibrant, dynamic and cutting-edge look providing a sophisticated, satellite-like experience to Hathway subscribers, thus, offering them wide array of content with a fresh appeal.

In the present day & age where consumer demands are growing and content is becoming accessible across multiple platforms, several broadcasters have been launching channels in different genres to cater to varied audiences and increasing reach. It is very rare for a TV platform, especially, a digital Cable platform to come out with contemporary channels which offer the best, customised content in a way which appeals to mass segments of consumers. Hathway is one of the only large MSOs that consist of a series of in-house channels, both pan-India as well as regionally. The launch of these 4 new channels adds to the strong existing line-up and with its distinctive approach& innovation in design, content & technology, Hathway is changing the way cable channels are perceived by giving it a contemporary, modern look which can match & compete with any of the satellite channels.

DJAY-Music Redefined and Lamhe-Music Forever are the music channels from the Hathway stable which will bring the best of new and old melodies to music-lovers. While DJAY is Infinite, Young & Energetic bringing latest Bollywood tracks from the 2000 era which will appeal to the Gen-X,LAMHE brings back the old melodious flavour in a new-age persona by reliving the golden era of 50’s to 80’s.Moving on from the music genre, the 2 new movies channels- HOME THEATRE-Entertainment Recharged & MARATHI TALKIES-Cinema Aaplapacks the best blockbusters from Hindi & Marathi cinema, respectively. With its slick and youthful packaging, HOME THEATRE will provide the best &latest moviesfrom multiple genres like action, romance, thriller, comedy, family etc. The new entrant, MARATHI TALKIESinspired by the warm, rustic, earthy yet colourful Marathi flavour will offer the best of old & new Marathi movies.

Commenting on the launch of the new channels, Hathway Cable & Datacom managing director & CEO Jagdish Kumar said, “As we move ahead to build the Hathway brand and achieve our business objectives, we have set another big milestone to launch a dedicated bouquet of channels which will redefine the way consumers look at Digital Cable channels. These 4 new channels are a start to our endeavor of creating a strong bouquet in multiple genres which will add a new dimension to Hathway and offer varied content to our loyal subscribers.”

With the digitization era moving ahead towards its sunset and fast-changing trends, consumers are looking at new avenues to consume entertainment content. Some of the best international channels in the entertainment, movies, kids, sports and other domains are built on insights of how a consumer associates with the channels as a personal tool for entertainment, in terms of its style, quality and efficacy of content. Hathways’ new channels have been designed on this very insight that content packaged in the right way and with technology upgrade is the new mantra to bringing consumers closer to entertainment. To build hype and buzz about the channels, Hathway has launched teasers campaigns both offline and online and will be doing a series of marketing activities in the coming days across Print, TV (internal and cross), Digital, PR and OOH to create consumer and trade awareness.

Hathway Cable & Datacom Video business president T.S. Panesar said, “With DJAY, LAMHE, HOME THEATRE, MARATHI TALKIES, we have started on an aggressive journey to create a potent line-up which will match the best of satellite channels and offer similar experience to our consumers. We are changing the face of cable channels in India by investing in content, technology, design, aesthetics, packagingwhich is young & dynamic and appeals to younger audiences. These channels will add a new dimension to our business, giving us an edge over competition and help us grow to the next level. Very soon, we will reposition & rebrand the entire existing stable of channels to have a strong family. ”

From today, 25th April, DJAY, LAMHE and HOME THEATRE will be available across the country for Hathway subscribers while MARATHI TALKIES can be enjoyed only by audiences in Maharashtra. The channels will be available on FTA basis for now and part of the BST and Prime packs. The company is also working aggressively to build strong revenue from advertising sales and subscription in days to come.

April 25, 2016
Hathway launches new music and movie channels

MUMBAI: Hathway has launched a series of four new channels in the music & movie genres as they set on an ambitious roadmap to create a robust bouquet of channels which will offer Hathway subscribers, the best of entertainment package exclusively.

The four new channels- Djay, Lamhe, Home Theatre and Marathi Talkies have been designed and packaged in a new vibrant, dynamic and cutting-edge look providing a sophisticated, satellite-like experience to Hathway subscribers, thus, offering them wide array of content with a fresh appeal.

In the present day & age where consumer demands are growing and content is becoming accessible across multiple platforms, several broadcasters have been launching channels in different genres to cater to varied audiences and increasing reach. It is very rare for a TV platform, especially, a digital Cable platform to come out with contemporary channels which offer the best, customised content in a way which appeals to mass segments of consumers. Hathway is one of the only large MSOs that consist of a series of in-house channels, both pan-India as well as regionally. The launch of these 4 new channels adds to the strong existing line-up and with its distinctive approach& innovation in design, content & technology, Hathway is changing the way cable channels are perceived by giving it a contemporary, modern look which can match & compete with any of the satellite channels.

DJAY-Music Redefined and Lamhe-Music Forever are the music channels from the Hathway stable which will bring the best of new and old melodies to music-lovers. While DJAY is Infinite, Young & Energetic bringing latest Bollywood tracks from the 2000 era which will appeal to the Gen-X,LAMHE brings back the old melodious flavour in a new-age persona by reliving the golden era of 50’s to 80’s.Moving on from the music genre, the 2 new movies channels- HOME THEATRE-Entertainment Recharged & MARATHI TALKIES-Cinema Aaplapacks the best blockbusters from Hindi & Marathi cinema, respectively. With its slick and youthful packaging, HOME THEATRE will provide the best &latest moviesfrom multiple genres like action, romance, thriller, comedy, family etc. The new entrant, MARATHI TALKIESinspired by the warm, rustic, earthy yet colourful Marathi flavour will offer the best of old & new Marathi movies.

Commenting on the launch of the new channels, Hathway Cable & Datacom managing director & CEO Jagdish Kumar said, “As we move ahead to build the Hathway brand and achieve our business objectives, we have set another big milestone to launch a dedicated bouquet of channels which will redefine the way consumers look at Digital Cable channels. These 4 new channels are a start to our endeavor of creating a strong bouquet in multiple genres which will add a new dimension to Hathway and offer varied content to our loyal subscribers.”

With the digitization era moving ahead towards its sunset and fast-changing trends, consumers are looking at new avenues to consume entertainment content. Some of the best international channels in the entertainment, movies, kids, sports and other domains are built on insights of how a consumer associates with the channels as a personal tool for entertainment, in terms of its style, quality and efficacy of content. Hathways’ new channels have been designed on this very insight that content packaged in the right way and with technology upgrade is the new mantra to bringing consumers closer to entertainment. To build hype and buzz about the channels, Hathway has launched teasers campaigns both offline and online and will be doing a series of marketing activities in the coming days across Print, TV (internal and cross), Digital, PR and OOH to create consumer and trade awareness.

Hathway Cable & Datacom Video business president T.S. Panesar said, “With DJAY, LAMHE, HOME THEATRE, MARATHI TALKIES, we have started on an aggressive journey to create a potent line-up which will match the best of satellite channels and offer similar experience to our consumers. We are changing the face of cable channels in India by investing in content, technology, design, aesthetics, packagingwhich is young & dynamic and appeals to younger audiences. These channels will add a new dimension to our business, giving us an edge over competition and help us grow to the next level. Very soon, we will reposition & rebrand the entire existing stable of channels to have a strong family. ”

From today, 25th April, DJAY, LAMHE and HOME THEATRE will be available across the country for Hathway subscribers while MARATHI TALKIES can be enjoyed only by audiences in Maharashtra. The channels will be available on FTA basis for now and part of the BST and Prime packs. The company is also working aggressively to build strong revenue from advertising sales and subscription in days to come.

April 25, 2016
TDSAT to hear LCO cases against Siti Cable and Hathway afresh in light of new TRAI regulations

NEW DELHI: Local cable operators who are members of Karnataka State Digital Cable TV Operators Welfare Association and the Cable Operators Sangram Association of Kolkata have told the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal that they will not migrate to any other distributor without seeking prior permission from the tribunal.

This assurance was given in three cases – one filed by the Karnataka Association against Siti Cable Networks, and the other two by the Kolkata body against Hathway Cable and Datacom. Counsel Nittin Bhatia made the statement on behalf of the members of these association who were involved in the petitions.

The tribunal was informed by Siti Cable counsel Tejveer Singh Bhatia and Hathway counsel Jayant K. Mehta about the notifications issued by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on 7 January and 15 March this year which ‘make some fundamental changes in the DAS Interconnection Regulations and have a direct bearing upon the controversies in these cases.’

Chairman Justice Aftab Alam and member B B Srivastava listed the matter for 27 April for hearing the parties further in the light of the amendments introduced in the DAS Interconnect Regulations.

The tribunal said that “In the meanwhile, the respondents may apprise the respective petitioners separately and also through their counsel Mr Nittin Bhatia regarding the rates and the terms and conditions including the respective rights and obligations of the parties under clause 10 of Schedule IV of the notification dated 15 March 2016, that the respondents might have executed with any other LCO operating in that area.”

The Tribunal also made it clear that if any of the LCOs being represented through these petitions were willing to execute the agreement with the respondents on those terms, they were free to do so.

April 8, 2016
TDSAT to hear LCO cases against Siti Cable and Hathway afresh in light of new TRAI regulations

NEW DELHI: Local cable operators who are members of Karnataka State Digital Cable TV Operators Welfare Association and the Cable Operators Sangram Association of Kolkata have told the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal that they will not migrate to any other distributor without seeking prior permission from the tribunal.

This assurance was given in three cases – one filed by the Karnataka Association against Siti Cable Networks, and the other two by the Kolkata body against Hathway Cable and Datacom. Counsel Nittin Bhatia made the statement on behalf of the members of these association who were involved in the petitions.

The tribunal was informed by Siti Cable counsel Tejveer Singh Bhatia and Hathway counsel Jayant K. Mehta about the notifications issued by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India on 7 January and 15 March this year which ‘make some fundamental changes in the DAS Interconnection Regulations and have a direct bearing upon the controversies in these cases.’

Chairman Justice Aftab Alam and member B B Srivastava listed the matter for 27 April for hearing the parties further in the light of the amendments introduced in the DAS Interconnect Regulations.

The tribunal said that “In the meanwhile, the respondents may apprise the respective petitioners separately and also through their counsel Mr Nittin Bhatia regarding the rates and the terms and conditions including the respective rights and obligations of the parties under clause 10 of Schedule IV of the notification dated 15 March 2016, that the respondents might have executed with any other LCO operating in that area.”

The Tribunal also made it clear that if any of the LCOs being represented through these petitions were willing to execute the agreement with the respondents on those terms, they were free to do so.

April 8, 2016