ITV

Tag: Hathway

  • Den Networks calls off merger with Hathway, TV18

    Den Networks calls off merger with Hathway, TV18

    KOLKATA: Multi-system operator Den networks has decided not to proceed with the scheme under which TV18 Broadcast, Hathway Cable & Datacom and Den Networks were to merge into Network18 Media & Investments.

    “Considering that more than a year has passed from the time the board considered the scheme, the board of the company has decided not to proceed with the arrangement envisaged in the scheme,” it said in a regulatory filing.

    In February 2020, Reliance Industries announced a consolidation of its media and distribution businesses spread across multiple entities into Network18. It was planned that the broadcasting business would be housed in Network18 and the cable and ISP businesses in two separate wholly owned subsidiaries of Network18. The restructuring would create value-chain integration, and render substantial economies of scale, Reliance said at that time.

    The shareholders are aware that the scheme was filed with both the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange for their no-objection letter, Den Networks stated in the latest filing.

    “The Company had also disclosed in its quarterly financial results for the quarters ended 30 June 2020 and 30 September 2020, that the stock exchanges had returned the scheme stating that the company may apply to the stock exchanges once the Scheme is in compliance with SEBI circulars/ SEBI regulations. This pertained to the compliance by the company and Hathway Cable and Datacom Ltd of the minimum public shareholding requirement,” it said.

  • RIL to sell stakes in Den, Hathway for Rs 1,122 crore

    RIL to sell stakes in Den, Hathway for Rs 1,122 crore

    NEW DELHI: Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) is getting ready to divest its shares in Den Networks and Hathway Cable through offers for sale (OFS) in compliance with the minimum public holding norms laid down by the Securities and Exchanges Board of India (SEBI).

    RIL will sell its stakes in Den and Hathway, acquired through its subsidiaries in 2018, for Rs 853 crore and Rs 269 crore respectively.

    According to a BSE filing, Jio Content Distribution Holdings, Jio Internet Distribution Holdings and Jio Cable and Broadband Holdings, promoters of Hathway Cable & Datacom, will sell 338 million shares, or a 19.1 per cent stake with a floor price of Rs 25.25. The promoters currently hold 94.09 per cent stake in Hathway.

    Jio Futuristic Digital Holdings, Jio Digital Distribution Holdings and Jio Television Distribution Holdings will sell 55.5 million shares, or an 11.63 per cent stake, in Den Networks with a floor price of Rs 48.50

    The OFS will open for non-retail investors on 26 March and for retail buyers on 30 March. In both the offers, 10 per cent of the offered shares are reserved for retail investors.

    It may be recalled that in February 2020, RIL had merged Den Networks and Hathway with Network18 and TV18 to consolidate its media and distribution businesses under one umbrella entity.

    The multinational conglomerate had acquired a majority stake in Hathway and Den in October 2018. At that time, it had invested around $1 billion to acquire 58.92 per cent and 51.34 per cent stake in Den Networks and Hathway Cable, respectively. Prior to this, Hathway was owned by the Raheja Group and Sameer Manchanda held a majority stake in Den.

  • Jio maintains lead in wired broadband subscriber addition

    Jio maintains lead in wired broadband subscriber addition

    KOLKATA: The growth of home broadband users in India continues as it gains 3.8 lakh (0.38 million) subscribers in January 2021 to reach a base of 22.67 million. Among the top players, Mukesh Ambani-led Jio has maintained its lead in subscriber addition with 1.8 lakh new users, according to telecom subscription data published by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).

    Currently, Jio has 2.25 million subscribers overall, narrowing the gap with rival Airtel. Considerably, Jio recently launched seven tariff plans for micro, small, medium enterprises (MSMEs). Its new tariff plans can address 15-20 million customer base among 50 million underserved small enterprises, the Bank of America (BofA) said earlier.

    Airtel has also expanded its subscriber base adding 90,000 (0.09 million) subscribers in the month to reach 2.90 million base.  “Home broadband category is at the cusp in terms of growth. Ever since the Covid2019 crisis and growth of work from home, study from home, there has been an explosion of home broadband. The increased penetration of streaming services has also resulted in acceleration of home broadband,” Bharti Airtel India and South Asia MD & CEO Gopal Vittal said in an earnings discussion.

    State-run BSNL has again lost subscribers, down to 7.69 million subscribers. Two other leading private players – Atria Convergence Limited (ACT) and Hathway – have also gained 20,000 and 10,000 new subscribers respectively.

    The wired broadband segment saw adequate growth in 2020 by adding 31.5 lakh new subscribers to reach an overall 22.29 million subscribers in December 2020.

  • Wired broadband sector adds 3.9 lakh users in October

    Wired broadband sector adds 3.9 lakh users in October

    KOLKATA: As the number of internet users in India is reaching new levels gradually, having crossed 700 million in 2020, the home broadband sector also continues to grow. The sector has reached 21.51 million subscribers in October, albeit accounting for a meagre share of the overall base yet. According to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) report, the wired broadband segment has added 3.9 lakh new users in the month. But overall the  total number of broadband users has gone up from 726.32 million to 734.82 million subscribers in October; with mobile device users totting up  to 712.67 million, registering  1.15 per cent growth.

    The top five wired broadband service providers were BSNL, Bharti Airtel, Atria Convergence Technologies (ACT), Jio , Hathway. The state- run broadband service provider BSNL has lost 5 lakhs users.

    (Source: TRAI) 

    Among other services, Jio has added highest users in the month to reach 1.70 million by adding 1.8 lakh users. Jio Fiber added most wired broadband subscribers in September too. Bharti Airtel’s home broadband service also expanded its market share by adding 70,000 subscribers. While the deep-pocketedplayers keep expanding their footprints, other players like ACT, Hathway have not been able to add significant users in the month. However, ACT has witnessed decent growth in 2020.

    A recent report from Motilal Oswal highlighted that the  home broadband subscriber growth has been modest in the past five years, with annual CAGR of just five per cent. But the financial firm  added that the segment has a minuscule $2 billion market size, accounting for only nine per cent share of the country’s Rs 1.7 trillion wireless market.

    “It has largely been an urban product, with low penetration of seven per cent – due to limited network connectivity with just 80–100m estimated home passes – which has restricted subscriber growth. This has given way to increased wireless consumption in India, which has a far easier and convenient installation/activation,” it added.

  • Pay DTH subscriber base perks up a bit

    Pay DTH subscriber base perks up a bit

    BENGALURU: The latest DTH subscriber numbers released by Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) must bring cheer to the private television direct to home (DTH) industry. TRAI recently published quarterly subscriber data as on 30 June 2020. According to the data, the number of pay DTH subscribers using services provided by private DTH operators had declined from a peak of 72.44 million as on 31 March 2019 to a low of 68.92 million during the very next quarter end date – 30 June 2019 because of a change in the way of reckoning active DTH subscribers. Till March 2019, the subscription figure of the total active subscribers included inactive and temporarily suspended subscribers for not more than the last 120 days. However, as per new regulatory framework of Broadcasting and Cable TV Services, the total active subscribers are now counted to include only those subscribers who are inactive/ temporarily suspended for not more than the last 90 days. 

    Since 30 June 2019, the number of pay DTH subscribers using services provided by private DTH service providers has been increasing slowly until 30 June 2020. As on 30 June 2020, the number of pay DTH subscriber using services provided by private DTH service providers stood at 70.58 million. This is in addition to the subscribers of DD Free Dish (free DTH services of Doordarshan). 

    Please refer to the chart below:

    Further, as on March 2019, the number of private DTH subscribers had fallen to four from five previously. Also, TRAI commenced publication of break up of market share to an accuracy of two decimal percentage places from the quarter ended 30 September 2019 onward. Extrapolating the overall number of pay DTH subscribers using services provided by private DTH operators with the total number of pay DTH subscribers (provided in millions, to two decimal places) and the share percentage of the service providers reveals that except for Dish TV, the other three providers had seen subscriber numbers grow. Besides Dish TV’s slow but steady decline in subscriber numbers during all the four quarters for which data is available, the largest service provider in terms of number of subscribers – Tata Sky witnessed a decline in subscriber numbers in the quarter ended 30 June 2020. Please refer to the figure below:

    Cable TV operators

    TRAI reports state that the country has achieved 100 percent digitization of cable TV network. This is a stupendous achievement making India the only large country where 100 percent digital cable has been achieved through mandatory regulations.

    As on 30 June 2020, there were 1,666 MSOs registered with the ministry of information & broadcasting (MIB) as compared to 1,613 MSO registered as on 31 December 2019. Further, as per the data reported by MSOs/HITS operators, there were 12 MSOs and one HITS operator who had a subscriber base of more than one million. Details of the total active subscribers of these 12 MSOs and one HITS operator are given in the following table. Please refer to chart below:

    In the case of cable TV, the largest player Siti Networks seems to be witnessing a slow but steady loss of subscribers since the quarter ended 31 December 2019. Two other players have also witnessed a subscriber declines – Fastway Transmissions Pvt Ltd and Asianet Digital Network, while most others have gained subscribers during the four quarters in this report.

    Satellite TV Channels

    A total of 909 private satellite TV channels have been permitted by the MIB for uplinking only/ downlinking only/both uplinking and downlinking, as on 30 June 2020. The quarter-wise figures of the total number of TV channels is depicted in the chart given below.

  • Jio overtakes Hathway wired broadband subscriber base in Jun-20

    Jio overtakes Hathway wired broadband subscriber base in Jun-20

    BENGALURU: Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio Infocomm (Jio) has been the largest broadband internet services provider in the country – a major portion of its subscriber base is wireless internet – through the mobile phone. However, the player is also making strides in terms of customer acquisition for its wireline broadband internet services. Per Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) data for the month ended 30 June 2020 (Jun-20), Jio climbed up one spot to fourth place in terms of wireline broadband internet subscribers, pushing down its sister company Hathway Cable & Datacom (Hathway) to fifth rank. Overall, wired broadband internet subscriber base grew 2.29 percent month-on-month (m-o-m) to 1.982 crore (198.2 lakh, 19.82 million) in Jun-20 from 1.938 crore (193.8 lakh, 19.38 crore) in May-19. Jio’s wireline subscriber base grew 9.3 percent m-o-m in Jun-19 to 0.106 crore (10.6 lakh, 1.06 million) from 0.097 crore (9.7 lakh, 0.97 million) in May-20.

    The public sector Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) had the largest wireline internet subscriber base of 0.79 crore (79 lakh, 7.9 million) in Jun-19 as compared to 0.793 crore (79.3 lakh, 7.93 million) in the previous month. Bharati Airtel (Airtel) was ranked second in terms of wireline broadband subscriber base. The telecom major closed June 2020 with 0.247 crore (24.7 lakh, 2.47 million) subscribers, up by around 60,000 as compared to the 0.241 crore (24.1 lakh, 2.41 million) wireline broadband subscribers in May-20. 

    Read more news on Hathway

    At third place was Atria Convergence Technologies (ACT) with 0.168 crore (16.8 lakh, 1.68 million). Subscribers as compared to 0.164 crore (16.4 lakh, 1.64 million).As mentioned above, Jio was ranked fourth followed by Hathway at fifth rank. Hathway subscriber base grew by 70,000 to 0.097 crore (9.7 lakh, 0.97 million) in Jun-20 from 0.09 crore (9 lakh, 0.9 million) in May-20. Please refer to the figure below:

    All Broadband Internet Subscribers

    Subscriber base across All Broadband Internet platforms grew 2.11 percent in Jun-20 to 69.823 crore (6,982.3 lakh, 698.23 million) from 68.377 crore (6,837.7 lakh, 683.77 million) at the end of the previous week. Subscriber base growth was led by Mobile devices users to 67.779 crore (6,777.9 lakh, 677.79 million) at the end of Jun-20 from 66.378 crore (6,637.8 lakh, 663.78 million) in May-30. Fixed wireless subscribers (Wi-I, Wi-Max, Point-to-Point Radio and VSAT) grew by 2.23 percent to 0.063 crore (6.3 lakh, 0.63 million) in Jun-20 from 0.061 crore (6.1 lakh, 0.61 million) above. Data for wireline subscribers have been indicated above.

    Read more news on Jio

    Please refer to the figure below:

    The top five service providers constituted 98.93 percent market share of the total broadband subscribers at the end of June-20. These service providers wereJio with 39.831 crore (3,9831 lakh, 398.31 million), Airtel 15.13 crore (1,513 lakh, 151.30 million), Vodafone Idea with 11.645 crore (1,164.5 lakh, 116.45 million), BSNL 2.3 crore (230 lakh, 23 million) and ACT with 0.168 crore (16.8 lakh, 1.68 million).

    As on 30th June, 2020, the top five Wireless Broadband Service providers were Jio with 38.725 crore (3,972.5 lakh, 397.25 million), Bharti Airtel with 14.884 crore (1,488.4 lakh, 148.84 million), Vodafone Idea with 11.644 crore (1,164.4 lakh, 116.44 million), BSNL with 1.51 crore (151 lakh, 15.10 million) and MTNL with 0.016 crore (1.6 lakh, 0.16 million).

  • MCOF raises questions on Hathway, Den pushing existing STBs under Jio brand

    MCOF raises questions on Hathway, Den pushing existing STBs under Jio brand

    KOLKATA: Maharashtra Cable Operators’ Foundation (MCOF) has flagged off several unethical practices in the television distribution segment. In a letter written to the Telecom regulatory authority of India (TRAI), it has alleged that some multi system operators (MSOs) are violating rules and taking the unethical route of business. 

    MCOF has expressed concern about Den Networks and Hathway for imposing replacement of existing STBs by STBs under Jio brand in the last six months. The federation has claimed that the two MSOs have not replaced the expired standard interconnection agreement (SIA) with the model interconnection agreement (MIA) without offering any explanation for the rebranding.

    “The LCOs who resist the imposition are made to toe the line by disabling their access to the Prepaid Portal resulting in service interruptions ton the subscribers. In addition to the arm-twisting, the MSOs have lined up numerous dummy operators to replace the existing LCOs who usurp their business and assets,” the letter added.

    MCOF stated that Jio is not a registered MSO nor has it signed interconnection agreement (ICA) with LCOs. Moreover, Hathway and DEN continued to rely upon expired SIA overlooking repeated requests to adopt MIA. 

    It has also claimed that BRDS provides signal feed to its network in Kolhapur and connected areas but deploys InCable STBs. InCable has been alleged of providing feed to Sampark Network (Powai Mumbai and Bhiwandi Area) through STBs that the latter has deployed. 

    “We fail to understand as to how auditors have overlooked the mismatch between CAS, STB inventory and conflicting branding, head-ends can be used as pass-through pipes for signals from another MSO, random off-site checks by broadcasters through watermarking have not detected the malpractices,” it added.

    Against this context, MCOF has asked copies of ICA between Jio and Broadcasters and status of MSO License to Den and Hathway. It has also called for clarification on whether a mere share purchase deal allows the buyers to change brands and automatically subrogate the company whose shares it buys. 

    It has also requested the industry watchdog to share the steps it is taking to prevail on MSO to sign up fresh ICA with LCOs by mutual consensus rather than arm-twisting via Prepaid Portal Access denial. MCOF has also asked directions for the course of actions that LCOs should take to safeguard against likely disabling of STBs that are drawing signals from third party head-end or suspension of feed sharing between MSOs. 

  • FTA channel Hare Krsna TV aims to specialise in motivational talks

    FTA channel Hare Krsna TV aims to specialise in motivational talks

    MUMBAI: Mumbai-based surgeon Dr Bimal Shah runs Hare Krsna TV, a free to air (FTA) satellite TV channel. Being a self-funded channel run for social service, several cable operators carry it without a carriage fee. However, the challenge has been with the bigger names in cable and DTH, who are hesitant.

    Shah says, “I believe running a channel is the highest form of social service as it caters to both the rich and poor.  A lot of money is spent on content and broadcasting. Cable operators can also be benefitted by carrying this channel because it is unique in its approach and it is not like other devotional channels. Cable operators will have some good content in their bouquet to offer the viewers and eventually retain their subscribers.”

    The channel sources, curates and processes content from the worldwide centres of The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON). The programming lineup consists of temple darshan from various centres of ISKCON, morning darshan and all the aartis. Besides this, a major portion of the programming includes music and satsang. The footages are acquired from 600 ISKCON centres in the world. Considering the pandemic, the channel has had to install multiple camera setup in various ISKCON centres across India for the live feed. Through this medium Shah wants to highlight the importance of Indian and Indo-western culture.

    He adds, “Our channel doesn’t just talk about Bhagwat Geeta or our Puranas, but it also conducts a lot of motivational talks that connect to the youth. ISKCON is just not synchronised on religion; we all teach about ancient Vedic philosophies. The content is curated in such a way that could interest all sections of society. It is very similar to other motivational speakers like Jay Shetty and Gaur Gopal Das. It has a lot of practical implementation in day to day life.”

    Shah wants to make Hare Krsna TV as a specialised channel which talks about motivational speeches. According to him, unlike in the western world, there is no Indian channel that caters to the need of youth in terms of philosophical topics. He also clarifies that there is no political agenda to start the channel. To provide maximum viewing experience, the channel is also ad-free. It doesn’t even have tele-shoppe or any other kind of promotional shows.

    A major part of the funding is done by Shah and his wife and the rest is done with the help of donations. The couple has been associated with ISKCON for more than 34 years.

    A team of 31 employees, also ISKCON followers, handle the channel. Technical aspects are looked after by a third-party company named Skandha and satellite broadcasting work is handled by Lamhas.

    Launched as a local channel in 2016, Hare Krsna acquired the satellite licence last year. On 11 August 2020 Hare Krsna TV will complete four years since its launch. The channel is currently present in 25 million households.

    NXT DIGITAL, GTPL – KCBPL, ORTEL, APFiber, UCN, Siti Maurya Cable, Siti Siri Digital Network, Siti Cable, Hathway MCN,  Den Satellite, DL GTPL, JPR, Bhima Riddhi Infotainment, Take One JK Media, Inspire Digital, Satellite Cable, DDC, Umbrella Cable Systems, Skynet Digital, BRDS and others.

    The channel is present in Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Goa, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Maharashtra and several other states.

  • Tata Sky had the largest pay DTH subscriber base in CY 2019

    Tata Sky had the largest pay DTH subscriber base in CY 2019

    BENGALURU: Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) The Indian Telecom Services Performance Indicator Report October – December, 2019 says that there were 6.998 crore (69.98 million, 699.8 lakh) direct to home (DTH) subscribers in India as on 31 December 2019 that paid for their subscription. This is in addition to the subscribers of the DD Free Dish (free DTH services of Doordarshan). It is important to note that till March 2019, the subscription figure of the total active subscribers included inactive and temporarily suspended subscribers for not more than the last 120 days. However, as per new regulatory framework of Broadcasting and Cable TV Services, the total active subscribers are now counted to includeonly those subscribers who are inactive/temporarily suspended for not more than the last 90 days.

    This 6.998 crore pay DTH subscriber base was split amongst four players. The TRAI report gave the breakup of pay DTH subscribers as Tata Sky with 31.80 percent, Dish TV with 30.55 percent, Airtel Digital TV Services with 23.31 percent and Sun Direct with 14.35 percent. The numerical break up assuming that the number of subscribers was rounded off to seven crore (70 million, 700 lakh) is Tata Sky 2.23 crore (22.3 million, 223 lakh), Dish TV 2.14 crore (21.4 million, 214 lakh), Airtel Digital TV 1.63 crore (16.3 million, 163 lakh) and Sun Direct one crore (10 million 100 lakh).

    Please refer to the figure below:

    According to the TRAI report, Pay DTH subscriber base in India grew by 0.068 crore (0.6 million or 6 lakh) as on 31 December 2019 to 6.998 crore (69.88 million, 699.8 lakh) when compared to 6.930 crore (69.30 million, 693 lakh) on 30 September 2019. Please refer to the figure below for the quarter-on-quarter change in pay DTH subscriber base.

    Cable TV operators

    The TRAI report says that the country has achieved 100 percent digitisation of Cable TV network. This is a stupendous achievement making India as the only large country where 100 percent digital cable has been achieved through mandatory regulations.

    As on 31st December 2019, there were 1613 MSOs registered with the ministry of information & broadcasting (MIB). Further, as per the data reported by MSOs / HITS operators, there were13 MSOs and one HITS operator who had a subscriber base of more than one million. Details of the total active subscribers of these 13 MSOs and one HITS operator are given in the following table.

    Satellite TV Channels

    A total of 918 private satellite TV channels have been permitted by the MIB for uplinking only/ downlinking only/both uplinking and downlinking, as on 31 January, 2019. The quarter-wise figures of the total number of TV channels is depicted in the chart given below.


    Follow Tellychakkar for the consumer facing news & entertainment

  • Ambani’s Reliance merges media & distribution biz under Network18

    Ambani’s Reliance merges media & distribution biz under Network18

    MUMBAI: When you are Mukesh Ambani, you think size,  you think scale. Even as speculation is running rife whether a deal with Sony Pictures is on, the chairman & managing director of Reliance Industries yesterday announced that the megacorp is consolidating its media and distribution entities under one company Network18 Media & Investments. Under the scheme of arrangement, TV18 Broadcast , Hathway Cable and  Datacom and Den Networks  will merge into Network18 Media.

     

     The appointed date for the merger shall be 1 February, the company said in a statement. It also added that the broadcasting business will be housed in Network18 and the cable and ISP businesses in two separate wholly owned subsidiaries of Network18.

     

    In one of the the biggest takeovers of the Indian media industry, Ambani had announced in 2014 that it would spend big to take complete control of Network18. The acquisition kickstarted the billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s investment in the media and entertainment industry which ballooned over the years .

     

    After the consolidation, Network18 will be an integrated media and distribution company with a revenue of Rs 8,000 crore and net-debt free at a consolidated level. The company also said that the scheme shall also simplify the corporate structure of the group by reducing the number of listed entities.

     

    According to the share exchange ratio approved by the board, shareholders will get 92 shares of Network18 for every 100 shares of TV18; 78 shares of Network18 for every 100 shares of Hathway and 191 shares of Network18 for every 100 shares of Den. Reliance Industries’ holding in Network18 will reduce from 75 per cent to 64 per cent upon the scheme’s implementation.

     

    “The aggregation of a content powerhouse across news and entertainment (both linear and digital) and the country’s largest cable distribution network under the same umbrella shall boost efficiency and exploit synergies, creating value for all stakeholders,” the company stated.

     

    “The media industry is accelerating towards being a B2C play, led both by market factors and through regulation. An integrated media play shall further increase the breadth as well as depth of the group’s consumer touchpoints, and allow for retaining a larger share of the consumer’s spend on content,” it added.

     

    Back in 2018, Reliance Industries through its network of subsidiaries acquired major stakes in Den Networks and  Hathway Cable and Datacom Limited after few days of announcement of its fiber-to-the-home service.

    The company added that the consolidation of the cable businesses of Den and Hathway in one entity will leverage the combined strength of the 27,000 LCO partners who act as the touchpoints to 15 million households in India; delivering localised, people-friendly and ultra-fast customer services. The combined broadband entity will serve 1 million wired line broadband subscribers across the country.