ITV

Tag: InCable

  • InSync appoints Aidem Ventures as media sales partner

    InSync appoints Aidem Ventures as media sales partner

    MUMBAI: InSync, the country‘s first heritage music channel which was launched on 15 August, has assigned the mandate of advertising sales representation to the independent advertising sales and media consulting company, Aidem Ventures.

    The channel is a brainchild of renowned violinist and MD of Perfect Octave Media, Ratish Tagde and covers an array of music genres from Indian classical music to Sufi, Ghazals, Folk, Fusion and many more. The opening programming line-up also includes interviews, talk shows, documentaries, genre based reality shows and youth-based fusion shows.

    Aidem Ventures director Vikas Khanchandani

    Speaking of the association, Aidem Ventures director Vikas Khanchandani said, “InSync has the potential to set the standard for excellence and innovation in the Indian Television industry while forging deep connections with diverse and passionate audiences. We‘re looking forward to working together with the InSync team to represent and deliver legendary musical experiences that endure for generations.”

    Ratish and the Perfect Octave team have been in the musical events management business for over a decade. As a part of the launch marketing strategy, the channel plans to connect to and to build awareness amongst its local targeted audience by organising 40 to 50 musical concerts across India over the next one year while simultaneously covering them on the channel.

    Also a part of the launch strategy is the show ‘I Can‘. This flagship property that will predominantly focus on discovering and nurturing young talent from across India and for this InSync will reach out to various parts of India. The talent thus discovered, will be promoted on the show and will be offered concerts in India and overseas. If need be, maestros will train the talent to reach expertise.

    Perfect Octave Media MD Ratish Tagde

    The channel has roped in Manish Rach to take responsibility of the distribution of the channel. “InSync is a pay channel already available on major MSOs including Hathway, InCable, DEN, GTPL, Fastway, Star and DIGI Cable. Talks are currently on with the major DTH platforms in India and a few international distribution players as well,” said Manish.

    “As the only heritage music channel available, InSync has the first-mover advantage. It has been gaining tremendous response from the market. The channel offers a much higher level of engagement with a range of branding opportunities beyond just FCT therefore attracting cross-industry advertisers. Currently, there are a host of events in the pipeline. We are also going to be offering customisable, branded event solutions to keen advertisers,” added business head, Hindi entertainment & niche channels Nikhil Sheth

    “We have music maestros like Pt. Shivkumar Sharma, Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, Ustad Rashid Khan, Shankar Mahadevan, Ustad Zakir Hussain, Sivamani and Hariharan contributing to the channel‘s content. We already possess 300 hours of original, HD quality, video content. By the end of the year, we will have 700 hours more. We consider it our responsibility to help nurture and encourage India‘s interest in classical music. While we continue doing so, we‘re certain that Team Aidem will help achieve the channel‘s optimal revenue potential,” said Ratish Tagde.

  • TRAI gets tough on MSOs on DAS customer forms

    TRAI gets tough on MSOs on DAS customer forms

    MUMBAI: That TRAI boss Rahul Khullar means business; that he does not mince any words; that he can make you squirm when he wants to is something all – who have been at the receiving end at one time or the other – know. But the heads of India‘s leading MSOs got another taste of that just yesterday, if sources are to be believed.

    Khullar had summoned the heads of Siti Cable, Incable, Hathway, DEN and Digicable to the TRAI headquarter in Delhi. Four of them landed up; Digicable‘s Jagjit Singh Kohli requested to be excused. Hathway‘s Jagdeesh Kumar; Incable‘s Ravi Mansukhani; Siticable‘s Wadhwa and Anil Malhotra, and DEN‘s SN Sharma Sameer and Manchanda landed up in his chamber. They had earlier been pulled up similarly in end-March and had been warned that strict action against them would be taken under the TRAI act.

    But this time it seemed as if Khullar had apparently reached the end of his patience. He did not let them get a word in – even edgewise.

    “I have only 10-15 minutes to talk to you,” he thundered. “Where is the cable TV customer data that I have been demanding from you? It‘s been months since I should have got it; your deadline has long past. Now let me make it very clear to you: I will prosecute each one of you if I don‘t get it.”

    Khullar went on to blast the MSOs further and set the deadline for collection of the DAS Phase I customer forms for Mumbai and Delhi. “You have till 30 June to submit those forms; failing which you can be sure you will be prosecuted under the required laws. DAS and SMS billing have to move ahead,” he urged.

    Khullar apparently has also permitted the MSOs to disconnect local cable TV operators and subscribers who are continuing to play truant in the submission of the KYC (know your customer) forms.

    The government mandated phase I of cable TV digitisation – with the switch-off of analogue TV signals and installation of set top boxes – which covered the cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata was to be completed by 31 October. As part of that process MSOs and cable TV operators were instructed to collect information from their customers and submit the forms to the authorities.

    However, sources indicate that MSOs have been rather tardy in the submission of these forms as local cable TV operators have not been complying with their continuous and repeated requests.

  • HBO, Star Movies start to feel blackout pinch

    HBO, Star Movies start to feel blackout pinch

    MUMBAI: It has been two weeks since English film channels HBO and Star Movies have been off air in Mumbai. While the Hindi film channels have returned with the undertaking not to air ‘A’ rated films, the problem with the above mentioned two channels is that they do not have enough films rated U and U/A to put on air for 24 hours.

    In Mumbai, Hathway and InCable, which control 55 per cent of the cable homes in Mumbai, have not resumed telecast of these two channels. Even some other areas of Mumbai that have other service providers are not getting them. The first problem is that a significant percentage of the viewership for English movie channels (around 15 per cent) each week, comes from Mumbai.

    The second difficulty is that the channels have to get their films cleared by the Censor Board. A Star official says that the channel is in the process of submitting the films. He was non committal when asked as to when the channel was expected to be back on air.

    HBO too, has a significant backlog to be cleared. While attempts to contact HBO proved unsuccessful, a Zee Turner official says that it is looking to help HBO in the process. The repercussions of the blackout are already starting to show however.

    On the ad revenue front, information available with Indiantelevision.com indicates that agencies will ask for some kind of compensation if the problem is not resolved soon. The amount of course will depend on the delay in getting the channels back on the air.

    On the distribution front though, the Zee Turner official says that the cable fraternity has been cooperative and understanding of the situation. Of course subscribers in Mumbai will continue to pay for HBO. So there is no loss there in the absence of addressability.

    The longer this drags on the better it is for the likes of Zee Studio and Pix. While the ratings are not yet out they would have benefitted to some extent as some viewers who would normally watch HBO and Star Movies tune in to them.

    What is interesting though is that Zee spokesperson Ashish Kaul says that the blackout is too restrictive to be a reason for the channel to do anything drastic like push forward its planned marketing campaign. “Had it been a nationwide blackout, the situation would have been different. While more people in Mumbai will tune in to us we need to push ourselves more for them to stay with the channel once HBO and Star Movies come back on. We will be launching new properties and a campaign in around three weeks time. If the blackout is still on (which looks likely) then we will certainly see more visibility.

    “However we recognise that the blackout is temporary and to get viewership in the long term we need to create better visibility for ourselves. It is important that our brand position of being a channel for the movie connoisseur be clear.”

    Another beneficiary from the blackout would be DVD libraries. A spokesperson from a library says that more English movie DVDs are being rented on the weekends. The blackout does not affect rentals the weekdays as people in any case do not have the time, he says. On weekends though the number of English film DVDs being rented is up by around 15 per cent over the past couple of weeks.

  • MSO says Cable TV amendments not enough

    MSO says Cable TV amendments not enough

    The changes approved by the Cabinet in the Cable TV Act, 1995 are welcome said Ashok Mansukhani, who once headed MSO InCable. “The focus is on the provider of the content, not on cable TV operators as being culpable for any questionable content,” says Mansukhani. “Earlier, a couple of cases had been filed against Star Movies where we were also named as infringers of the law. The amendment forcing broadcasters to adhere to the programming and ad code puts the onus on them.”

    According to him, the amendments, serve to bring even pay TV channels under the DD programming code. “There is an equalisation between pay TV and free to air TV channels. Earlier on, programmers used to take refuge under the statement that they were pay channels.”

    He, however, expressed doubt about the fact that the government had left policing of the amendments in the hands of local authorities. “What is all right in Mumbai may be repulsive in Agra. Hence making local designated authorities responsible for content can be a potential landmine field. A central broadcasting standards council should have been set up which will monitor content nationally. This is something the industry has been demanding.”

    Additionally, what has got Mansukhani’s goose is the fact that the government (read: DD) is forcibly blocking up three channels to prop up the inefficencies of the state owned broacaster through the amendments.

    “Almost 40 per cent of TV sets in India are not cable TV ready,” he says. “They can receive only 10-12 channels. By blocking three channels in the prime band the government- in partnership with DD – is limiting the industry from placing the channels of their and the consumers’ choice. DD has consistently been losing revenue to private channels and this amendment is a blatant effort by the broadcaster to improve its position, reduce competition through a government mandate.”

  • Murdoch dips into fibre-optic network: Alliances on the card

    Murdoch dips into fibre-optic network: Alliances on the card

    Murdoch mania still is hot in town as speculation about what he really intends to do in the Indian market rising to a fever pitch. He had a rash of meetings on 14 March with top brass industrialists and other prominent political personalities.

    Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh and he discussed the possibilities of investment in the Infotech and telecom area. Ministerial sources disclosed his intentions to set up a state-of-the-art fibre optic telecom carrier network in Mumbai. A possible partner for this project is InCable which has been laying a fibre optic network in the city. Star TV does not have any investments in cable TV distribution, having sold out its holdings in Siticable to Zee TV. The fibre optic project will l cater to Murdoch’s Infotech dreams in India and facilitate e-commerce and e-education and create tremendous job opportunities, ministerial sources said.

    Murdoch also met up with MTNL and VSNL executives at the Ministerial meeting. MTNL, the state telecom provider MTNL which has a strong optic-fibre backbone and Hughes Ispat which also is rolling out its network over the city.

    The Chief Minister, wanting investments in the state, also assured Murdoch that News Corp’s proposal to set up an entertainment programming studio will be cleared within a month’s time. News Corp plans to invest around $100 million in this area alone. The commercial capital of India seems to have impressed Murdoch as he identified the tremendous potential in this city.

    It is now the time of Delhi for big announcements where Murdoch will hold high-profile meetings.