Tag: indiantelevision.com

Whether BARC action can stop unethical practices?

MUMBAI: Can businesses and industries practise their art of selling fairly although they have ‘Fair Practices’ training during academic courses, workshops and several ISO and other certifications? There seems to be the fear of the lawman, and not the law in India. If the traffic cop is watching, nobody would jump a signal on the highway, if the competition or the monopolies regulator is watching closely, none would dare to contravene rules. The case in point is of two television broadcast channels which had been caught trying to influence the sample of a rating agency in order to get higher viewership numbers, which in turn would help them get higher advertising revenue.

Close on the heels of Tamil Nadu-based Raj TV having been issued a legal notice by audience measurement body Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India, another similar contravention of law has been caught by it.

The Tamil Nadu-based satellite television network Raj TV was, in March 2016, issued a legal notice by BARC which, as reported by indiantelevision.com, alleged that certain ‘sample’ homes with viewership meters “have been approached and have been asked to watch your channel ‘Raj TV’ in exchange for some financial consideration.”

And now, BARC India and Kerala TV Federation (KTF) have filed a police complaint with the director-general of Kerala police after the former’s vigilance team received complaints regarding attempts to retrieve addresses of BARC India panel homes and influencing them.

KTF is a trade body representing Malayalam channels in Kerala. Speaking to indiantelevision.com, Asianet MD and KTF president K Madhavan said that it had facilitated BARC’s police complaint against certain unidentified individuals who are trying to influence sample homes. “More the number of panels, more is the likelihood of such problems,” Madhavan said.

Thiruvananthapuram-based Federation secretary and Kairali TV MD John Brittas could not be reached for comment on the possible way forward, and concrete action on the ground. But, the fact remains how effective will a mere complaint be, or how efficiently will the local police in the distant state of Kerala act against local unlawful persons on the basis of a complaint from a ratings body based in Mumbai or Delhi.

The complaint was filed after the BARC India vigilance team’s gathered conclusive evidence of more than one effort to tamper with its TV viewership measurement system in favour of a couple of channels. Preliminary scrutiny by the on-ground vigilance team has confirmed that attempts had been made by some individuals to not only find out addresses of the TV panel homes, but also to incentivise them and influence their viewership.

These acts of the suspects are a cause for concern for BARC India and the broadcasting community in Kerala, and are allegedly causing financial losses to other channels. Kerala Police are reportedly investigating the matter further.

As per its established standard operating procedure, BARC India immediately quarantined the impacted panel homes from its TV viewership measurement system to ensure efforts at infiltration don’t impact the ratings of channels operating in the region.

In the case of Raj TV too, it seemed like a one-off case. “The network, in order to garner higher ratings, was perusing households with the meter boxes to tune in to its channels. BARC found this as a criminal offense and hence have issued a legal notice to the broadcaster,” a source close to the development had said.

However M Ragunathan, director of marketing at Raj Television Network, had termed the allegations as ‘baseless.’

It seems BARC is trying its best to send out a strong message to channels and broadcasters that such unethical means of influencing their respective ratings are not going to be taken lightly. BARC is attempting to project that it is not a toothless body. It is the first time that it has filed an FIR after meeting the Kerala director-general of police against these “criminal activities.”

In the fresh case, Dasgupta, in a statement earlier, said, “TV industry trades on the currency released by BARC India and we understand how important every rating point is to the broadcaster. We have evidence of a couple of broadcasters trying to tamper with our panel homes to improve ratings. We have taken steps to quarantine the affected panel homes. While we have filed a complaint this time, we want the industry to be aware that, going forward, BARC India will stop publishing ratings for those channels found involved in such activities,” he said.

“Well done, BARC, for taking strong action against those tampering with the system. Must name and shame offenders,” Dentsu Aegis Network South Asia Chairman and CEO Ashish Bhasin has tweeted.

It remains to be seen whether BARC is going to name or shame the broadcasters in question. It’s over to team BARC.

October 21, 2016
Whether BARC action can stop unethical practices?

MUMBAI: Can businesses and industries practise their art of selling fairly although they have ‘Fair Practices’ training during academic courses, workshops and several ISO and other certifications? There seems to be the fear of the lawman, and not the law in India. If the traffic cop is watching, nobody would jump a signal on the highway, if the competition or the monopolies regulator is watching closely, none would dare to contravene rules. The case in point is of two television broadcast channels which had been caught trying to influence the sample of a rating agency in order to get higher viewership numbers, which in turn would help them get higher advertising revenue.

Close on the heels of Tamil Nadu-based Raj TV having been issued a legal notice by audience measurement body Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) India, another similar contravention of law has been caught by it.

The Tamil Nadu-based satellite television network Raj TV was, in March 2016, issued a legal notice by BARC which, as reported by indiantelevision.com, alleged that certain ‘sample’ homes with viewership meters “have been approached and have been asked to watch your channel ‘Raj TV’ in exchange for some financial consideration.”

And now, BARC India and Kerala TV Federation (KTF) have filed a police complaint with the director-general of Kerala police after the former’s vigilance team received complaints regarding attempts to retrieve addresses of BARC India panel homes and influencing them.

KTF is a trade body representing Malayalam channels in Kerala. Speaking to indiantelevision.com, Asianet MD and KTF president K Madhavan said that it had facilitated BARC’s police complaint against certain unidentified individuals who are trying to influence sample homes. “More the number of panels, more is the likelihood of such problems,” Madhavan said.

Thiruvananthapuram-based Federation secretary and Kairali TV MD John Brittas could not be reached for comment on the possible way forward, and concrete action on the ground. But, the fact remains how effective will a mere complaint be, or how efficiently will the local police in the distant state of Kerala act against local unlawful persons on the basis of a complaint from a ratings body based in Mumbai or Delhi.

The complaint was filed after the BARC India vigilance team’s gathered conclusive evidence of more than one effort to tamper with its TV viewership measurement system in favour of a couple of channels. Preliminary scrutiny by the on-ground vigilance team has confirmed that attempts had been made by some individuals to not only find out addresses of the TV panel homes, but also to incentivise them and influence their viewership.

These acts of the suspects are a cause for concern for BARC India and the broadcasting community in Kerala, and are allegedly causing financial losses to other channels. Kerala Police are reportedly investigating the matter further.

As per its established standard operating procedure, BARC India immediately quarantined the impacted panel homes from its TV viewership measurement system to ensure efforts at infiltration don’t impact the ratings of channels operating in the region.

In the case of Raj TV too, it seemed like a one-off case. “The network, in order to garner higher ratings, was perusing households with the meter boxes to tune in to its channels. BARC found this as a criminal offense and hence have issued a legal notice to the broadcaster,” a source close to the development had said.

However M Ragunathan, director of marketing at Raj Television Network, had termed the allegations as ‘baseless.’

It seems BARC is trying its best to send out a strong message to channels and broadcasters that such unethical means of influencing their respective ratings are not going to be taken lightly. BARC is attempting to project that it is not a toothless body. It is the first time that it has filed an FIR after meeting the Kerala director-general of police against these “criminal activities.”

In the fresh case, Dasgupta, in a statement earlier, said, “TV industry trades on the currency released by BARC India and we understand how important every rating point is to the broadcaster. We have evidence of a couple of broadcasters trying to tamper with our panel homes to improve ratings. We have taken steps to quarantine the affected panel homes. While we have filed a complaint this time, we want the industry to be aware that, going forward, BARC India will stop publishing ratings for those channels found involved in such activities,” he said.

“Well done, BARC, for taking strong action against those tampering with the system. Must name and shame offenders,” Dentsu Aegis Network South Asia Chairman and CEO Ashish Bhasin has tweeted.

It remains to be seen whether BARC is going to name or shame the broadcasters in question. It’s over to team BARC.

October 21, 2016
MIPJunior: Can Indian animation make its mark?

CANNES: As the MIPJunior Lab got filled with an inquisitive audience, “The Passage to India” session began with the moderator, Indiantelevision.com founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari, giving facts and figures about the kids broadcasting space in India.

Wanvari started off by mentioning the humungous size of the 0-14 year population group – at 350 million at last count, which is expected to touch 375 million or so by 2020. Which is why the Indian market is attractive, he pointed out for kids programming and animation. Highlighting statistics from 2015 data, he stated that localization is helping the 20-plus kids channels operating in India up the local-international ratio from 10:90 to 80:20. With that wide a ratio and language dubs of each channel, content from the US dominates the television market with about 44 per cent, Japan 17 per cent, India 16 per cent, the UK and France four per cent, Canada one per cent; and if compared to statistics of 2014, it was 42 per cent, 17 per cent, 13 per cent, seven per cent and four per cent, three per cent, respectively.

These statistics clearly paint the picture of how locally produced shows are being favoured not just by the audience but also the broadcasters. The top six to eight spots of the kids genre are occupied by locally produced programmes such as Motu-Patlu and Chotta Bheem, among others.

Wanvari pointed out that kids genre accounts for six minutes per cent of total viewership and most of the kids content is in animation format the production cost of which per 30 minutes is between Rs 1.5 to six million.

After introducing the panelists – Green Gold Animation founder and CEO, Rajiv Chilaka, Viacom18 Digital Ventures COO Gaurav Gandhi, Cosmos-Maya founder, Anish Mehta, and Graphiti Multimedia director and COO Munjal Shroff, Wanvari threw the question to the panelists asking what makes the prospects of the Indian animation sector so bright this time around; earlier attempts have failed.

He also queried them about how the Indian animation space has changed over the years, in which areas are the opportunities available for international players, and what content works for broadcasters and digital platform for kids.

Chilaka mentioned, “Back in 2001, there was only one channel catering to kids segment and now, there are 25-plus channels which showcase content produced locally as well. Over the years, the quality of animation, the technology, the services provided all have improved, and to support that, are the increased budgets.”

Speaking about the international market, Shroff commented, “Through our show ‘Kulveera’, we did a case study with Cartoon Network UK wherein we produced a pilot episode and gauged the response of the audience and it was interesting to see that kids loved the show.” So, as long as one’s series has a strong storytelling going on, the place from where the content originates hardly matters.

Mehta’s animation studio Cosmos-Maya has been doing wonders and, at present, has three co-production deals going on. “Our co-production deals are with Italian, French and German companies. We will be launching the French co-produced show ‘Captain Cactus’ which was made in association with Euope’s well-known film maker Olivier Jean-Marie,” expounded Mehta.

“Over the period of 20 years, our work has evolved from being a service company to IP production, and finally we are at a stage where we can co-produce.”

With the advent of digital platform, and Voot being probably the biggest kids SVOD service, Gandhi added, “It’s said that, in next three years, more homes will be have the streaming device than television sets. We are an open market, and ready to buy any good content.”

Mehta also stated that, for co-productions to work, it’s necessary that one needs to understand the demographics. “Personally, after doing research, we follow a mixed model which blends well with both the countries.

Since ‘Captain Cactus’ is a co-production between India and Europe, the animation style and narrative is set according to the tastes of audience of both the countries.”

The session was wrapped up with Q&A round wherein many people were interested in learning more about how can they work with not just Indian animation studios but also on how their content can work across the various platforms.

October 18, 2016
MIPJunior: Can Indian animation make its mark?

CANNES: As the MIPJunior Lab got filled with an inquisitive audience, “The Passage to India” session began with the moderator, Indiantelevision.com founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari, giving facts and figures about the kids broadcasting space in India.

Wanvari started off by mentioning the humungous size of the 0-14 year population group – at 350 million at last count, which is expected to touch 375 million or so by 2020. Which is why the Indian market is attractive, he pointed out for kids programming and animation. Highlighting statistics from 2015 data, he stated that localization is helping the 20-plus kids channels operating in India up the local-international ratio from 10:90 to 80:20. With that wide a ratio and language dubs of each channel, content from the US dominates the television market with about 44 per cent, Japan 17 per cent, India 16 per cent, the UK and France four per cent, Canada one per cent; and if compared to statistics of 2014, it was 42 per cent, 17 per cent, 13 per cent, seven per cent and four per cent, three per cent, respectively.

These statistics clearly paint the picture of how locally produced shows are being favoured not just by the audience but also the broadcasters. The top six to eight spots of the kids genre are occupied by locally produced programmes such as Motu-Patlu and Chotta Bheem, among others.

Wanvari pointed out that kids genre accounts for six minutes per cent of total viewership and most of the kids content is in animation format the production cost of which per 30 minutes is between Rs 1.5 to six million.

After introducing the panelists – Green Gold Animation founder and CEO, Rajiv Chilaka, Viacom18 Digital Ventures COO Gaurav Gandhi, Cosmos-Maya founder, Anish Mehta, and Graphiti Multimedia director and COO Munjal Shroff, Wanvari threw the question to the panelists asking what makes the prospects of the Indian animation sector so bright this time around; earlier attempts have failed.

He also queried them about how the Indian animation space has changed over the years, in which areas are the opportunities available for international players, and what content works for broadcasters and digital platform for kids.

Chilaka mentioned, “Back in 2001, there was only one channel catering to kids segment and now, there are 25-plus channels which showcase content produced locally as well. Over the years, the quality of animation, the technology, the services provided all have improved, and to support that, are the increased budgets.”

Speaking about the international market, Shroff commented, “Through our show ‘Kulveera’, we did a case study with Cartoon Network UK wherein we produced a pilot episode and gauged the response of the audience and it was interesting to see that kids loved the show.” So, as long as one’s series has a strong storytelling going on, the place from where the content originates hardly matters.

Mehta’s animation studio Cosmos-Maya has been doing wonders and, at present, has three co-production deals going on. “Our co-production deals are with Italian, French and German companies. We will be launching the French co-produced show ‘Captain Cactus’ which was made in association with Euope’s well-known film maker Olivier Jean-Marie,” expounded Mehta.

“Over the period of 20 years, our work has evolved from being a service company to IP production, and finally we are at a stage where we can co-produce.”

With the advent of digital platform, and Voot being probably the biggest kids SVOD service, Gandhi added, “It’s said that, in next three years, more homes will be have the streaming device than television sets. We are an open market, and ready to buy any good content.”

Mehta also stated that, for co-productions to work, it’s necessary that one needs to understand the demographics. “Personally, after doing research, we follow a mixed model which blends well with both the countries.

Since ‘Captain Cactus’ is a co-production between India and Europe, the animation style and narrative is set according to the tastes of audience of both the countries.”

The session was wrapped up with Q&A round wherein many people were interested in learning more about how can they work with not just Indian animation studios but also on how their content can work across the various platforms.

October 18, 2016
Unique mobile UC Browser-Colors TV integration; Bigg Boss participants revealed

MUMBAI: A leading mobile internet browser seems to have helped the hugely popular television show in India on Colors to pick up the trending common man. Bigg Boss’s official Trending Partner UC Browser, with a substantial number of monthly active users, yesterday unveiled the celebrities and the shortlisted participants’ names that are set to enter the Bigg Boss house on its flagship product.

“We have 80 million monthly active users of mobile UC Browser in India,” a company official told indiantelevision.com. Apart from Bigg Boss, other UC Browser-Colors partnership worked wonders for programes such as Comedy Nights, 24, and Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, the official added.

A part of Alibaba Mobile Business Group UCWeb Inc. revealed Bigg Boss Season 10’s participants on UC Browser, a company press release stated.

UC Browser, which has had a special section to choose and vote for probable common man who could possibly appear on Bigg Boss, competes with several other mobile browsers. The highly-anticipated Bigg Boss drama will include, for the first time ever, participants from the public shortlisted by the UC Browser popularity poll, the release stated.

The celebrities who are set to be a part of Bigg Boss are — Karan Mehra, Rohan Mehra, Mona Lisa, Gaurav Chopra, Bani J, Lopamudra Raut and Rahul Dev Kaushal. The ‘Common Man’ contestants are Nitibha Kaul, Manoj Punjabi, Manveer Gurjar, Lokesh Kumari Sharma, Priyanka Jagga, Akansha Sharma and Om Swami.

UCWeb has evolved from a mobile browser to a mobile media asset, offering mobile search and news feeds to over 420 million monthly active users (MAUs) globally. Today, UC Browser is the No. 1 independent browser in India and Indonesia, and is one of the world’s top three mobile browsers, according to StatCounter.

Bigg Boss previews and behind-the-scenes footage is also available to users of UC Browser which, according to StatCounter, has a 55% market share in India.

Bringing celebrities face to face with the ‘Aam Aadmi’ contestants, Bigg Boss assures to be bigger than ever with new drama and controversies. Keeping this in mind, UC Browser is ensuring its users to stay in touch with the full daily action by providing a special section on UC Browser as well as UC News. The section to include unseen footage, behind the scenes videos and promos of upcoming episodes. As a part of the We Media program, famous astrologist Bejan Daruwalla will be analyzing the drama happening in the show for the users and give his predictions in the form of exclusive blog post on UC Browser & UC News.

Talking about the integration with Bigg Boss, UCWeb India general manager Robert Bu said, “Reality TV shows are massively popular in India and Indians not just love watching them but also discuss them at home and at work. We have always seen entertainment related content as the best way to interact and engage with our users. The integration with Bigg Boss gives us the opportunity to give the public what they want: Their daily dose of entertainment on their favourite mobile browser.”

UCWeb Inc is a leading provider of mobile internet software and services. The international product portfolio of UCWeb includes UC Browser (mobile browsing service), UC News (content distributor), 9Apps (Android app store), UC Union (mobile traffic and monetization platform), etc.

‘Colors’, Viacom18’s flagship brand in the entertainment space in India, offers an entire spectrum of emotions to its viewers. From fiction shows to format shows to reality shows to blockbuster movies – the basket contains all ‘Jazbaat Ke Rang’.

October 17, 2016
Unique mobile UC Browser-Colors TV integration; Bigg Boss participants revealed

MUMBAI: A leading mobile internet browser seems to have helped the hugely popular television show in India on Colors to pick up the trending common man. Bigg Boss’s official Trending Partner UC Browser, with a substantial number of monthly active users, yesterday unveiled the celebrities and the shortlisted participants’ names that are set to enter the Bigg Boss house on its flagship product.

“We have 80 million monthly active users of mobile UC Browser in India,” a company official told indiantelevision.com. Apart from Bigg Boss, other UC Browser-Colors partnership worked wonders for programes such as Comedy Nights, 24, and Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, the official added.

A part of Alibaba Mobile Business Group UCWeb Inc. revealed Bigg Boss Season 10’s participants on UC Browser, a company press release stated.

UC Browser, which has had a special section to choose and vote for probable common man who could possibly appear on Bigg Boss, competes with several other mobile browsers. The highly-anticipated Bigg Boss drama will include, for the first time ever, participants from the public shortlisted by the UC Browser popularity poll, the release stated.

The celebrities who are set to be a part of Bigg Boss are — Karan Mehra, Rohan Mehra, Mona Lisa, Gaurav Chopra, Bani J, Lopamudra Raut and Rahul Dev Kaushal. The ‘Common Man’ contestants are Nitibha Kaul, Manoj Punjabi, Manveer Gurjar, Lokesh Kumari Sharma, Priyanka Jagga, Akansha Sharma and Om Swami.

UCWeb has evolved from a mobile browser to a mobile media asset, offering mobile search and news feeds to over 420 million monthly active users (MAUs) globally. Today, UC Browser is the No. 1 independent browser in India and Indonesia, and is one of the world’s top three mobile browsers, according to StatCounter.

Bigg Boss previews and behind-the-scenes footage is also available to users of UC Browser which, according to StatCounter, has a 55% market share in India.

Bringing celebrities face to face with the ‘Aam Aadmi’ contestants, Bigg Boss assures to be bigger than ever with new drama and controversies. Keeping this in mind, UC Browser is ensuring its users to stay in touch with the full daily action by providing a special section on UC Browser as well as UC News. The section to include unseen footage, behind the scenes videos and promos of upcoming episodes. As a part of the We Media program, famous astrologist Bejan Daruwalla will be analyzing the drama happening in the show for the users and give his predictions in the form of exclusive blog post on UC Browser & UC News.

Talking about the integration with Bigg Boss, UCWeb India general manager Robert Bu said, “Reality TV shows are massively popular in India and Indians not just love watching them but also discuss them at home and at work. We have always seen entertainment related content as the best way to interact and engage with our users. The integration with Bigg Boss gives us the opportunity to give the public what they want: Their daily dose of entertainment on their favourite mobile browser.”

UCWeb Inc is a leading provider of mobile internet software and services. The international product portfolio of UCWeb includes UC Browser (mobile browsing service), UC News (content distributor), 9Apps (Android app store), UC Union (mobile traffic and monetization platform), etc.

‘Colors’, Viacom18’s flagship brand in the entertainment space in India, offers an entire spectrum of emotions to its viewers. From fiction shows to format shows to reality shows to blockbuster movies – the basket contains all ‘Jazbaat Ke Rang’.

October 17, 2016
Quo Vadis ZEEL-RBNL

MUMBAI: It was hardly a month or so ago that ZEEL MD Punit Goenka had issued a denial, saying that it was not interested in acquiring the radio and TV business of the Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Broadcast Networks Ltd (RBNL) because radio regulations do not permit FDI equity beyond 49 per cent.

But, the media was awash once again with the news that it had restarted negotiations with RBNL just two days ago. When Indiantelevision.com got in touch with the ZEEL corporate spokesperson whether this was true, this is the response, we got: “From time to time, we keep exploring strategic opportunities for entering new businesses or in our existing businesses. However, as a matter of policy, we do not comment on media speculations,” the response said.

To us, this sounds ominously familiar. This is the exact response ZEEL and Essel had issued when news reports appeared about the sale of its TEN Sports business to Sony Pictures Networks India. When speculation about Siticable buying DEN Networks gathered steam, a similar line was thrown.

Ditto was the response with Dish TV’s ongoing discussions to acquire Videocon d2h from the debt-laden-and struggling Videocon group. Dish TV is a part of the Essel group as well.

And, we all know what happened with Ten Networks. After denying it for a few months, SPNI bought it over for a cool Rs 2,600 crore.

The DEN Networks talks turned out to be just talks. Now, the Sameer Manchanda-promoted cable company has got an infusion of cash and the rumour mills state that it will be acquired by Star India at some stage.

As far as Dish TV is concerned, the company recently moved its registered corporate office from Noida to a Mumbai address of Marathon Futurex, which also houses other Essel group ventures. Observers believe this move could help facilitate its Videocon d2h acquisition. The two groups will have to approach only one court – the Bombay High Court — for approvals. Whether this is true or not, only time will tell.

Overall, the media industry is ripe for consolidation. And, the hungry to grow, Zee (Essel) group is scouting around for opportunities, chatting with almost everyone who could be a potential good addition to its portfolio. Analysts feel the prospective RBNL deal will be a win-win for Ambani as well as for the Essel group, of which ZEEL is a part.

The Essel group is present in television, films, print, music, events and live, and digital. What’s missing is radio. The acquisition, when and if that does happen, will herald the group’s entry into that segment as well. It recently announced its diversification into that segment in the UAE by leasing the frequency, which was operated by the radio channel Hum. The lease becomes active cum January 2017.

RBNL will also add a Bhojpuri regional channel BIG Ganga and a comedy-centric national channel Big Magic to the Zee TV bouquet. Both these genres are strikingly absent in the ZEEL bouquet. In July 2015, ZEEL gobbled up Odia channel Sarthak TV for Rs 115 crore.

Anil Ambani has been attempting to find buyers for his media and entertainment assets for some time now. Lured by the sector, he rushed into it in the previous decade setting up a DTH venture, poured investments in DreamWorks, in his Bollywood studio, in a VFX studio and in shooting floors, a TV production company, and in radio and TV broadcasting.

The oodles of cash he kept on pumping into the sector have not got the return he expected. One bright spark has been his radio and TV venture, especially the FM station and the regional channels. Recently, the group announced that it was carving out its DTH venture Reliance Digital TV into a separate company from Reliance Communications.

Observers say that the Zee group and RBNL are examining ways of slicing and dicing the RBNL business to facilitate a buyout. Among the options being considered is ingesting FM radio into Zee Media, and incorporating the Big Magic channels into ZEEL. According to BSE filings, Zee Media does not have any significant foreign holding. Hence, the foreign investment cap will not come in its way of digesting Big FM. And ZEEL’s acquisition of the Big channels is but a shoo-in.

Of course, pricing has to be agreed between the two parties. Figures of Rs 2,000 crore-Rs 2,500 crore that are being bandied about seem far too inflated considering the scale of RBNL’s radio and TV business. The acquisition tag could more likely be at half of that. Or, if one stretches ones pockets, at a discount of Rs 500 crore to that.

We, as media observers, can only wait and watch to see which way the pendulum swings.

October 5, 2016
Quo Vadis ZEEL-RBNL

MUMBAI: It was hardly a month or so ago that ZEEL MD Punit Goenka had issued a denial, saying that it was not interested in acquiring the radio and TV business of the Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Broadcast Networks Ltd (RBNL) because radio regulations do not permit FDI equity beyond 49 per cent.

But, the media was awash once again with the news that it had restarted negotiations with RBNL just two days ago. When Indiantelevision.com got in touch with the ZEEL corporate spokesperson whether this was true, this is the response, we got: “From time to time, we keep exploring strategic opportunities for entering new businesses or in our existing businesses. However, as a matter of policy, we do not comment on media speculations,” the response said.

To us, this sounds ominously familiar. This is the exact response ZEEL and Essel had issued when news reports appeared about the sale of its TEN Sports business to Sony Pictures Networks India. When speculation about Siticable buying DEN Networks gathered steam, a similar line was thrown.

Ditto was the response with Dish TV’s ongoing discussions to acquire Videocon d2h from the debt-laden-and struggling Videocon group. Dish TV is a part of the Essel group as well.

And, we all know what happened with Ten Networks. After denying it for a few months, SPNI bought it over for a cool Rs 2,600 crore.

The DEN Networks talks turned out to be just talks. Now, the Sameer Manchanda-promoted cable company has got an infusion of cash and the rumour mills state that it will be acquired by Star India at some stage.

As far as Dish TV is concerned, the company recently moved its registered corporate office from Noida to a Mumbai address of Marathon Futurex, which also houses other Essel group ventures. Observers believe this move could help facilitate its Videocon d2h acquisition. The two groups will have to approach only one court – the Bombay High Court — for approvals. Whether this is true or not, only time will tell.

Overall, the media industry is ripe for consolidation. And, the hungry to grow, Zee (Essel) group is scouting around for opportunities, chatting with almost everyone who could be a potential good addition to its portfolio. Analysts feel the prospective RBNL deal will be a win-win for Ambani as well as for the Essel group, of which ZEEL is a part.

The Essel group is present in television, films, print, music, events and live, and digital. What’s missing is radio. The acquisition, when and if that does happen, will herald the group’s entry into that segment as well. It recently announced its diversification into that segment in the UAE by leasing the frequency, which was operated by the radio channel Hum. The lease becomes active cum January 2017.

RBNL will also add a Bhojpuri regional channel BIG Ganga and a comedy-centric national channel Big Magic to the Zee TV bouquet. Both these genres are strikingly absent in the ZEEL bouquet. In July 2015, ZEEL gobbled up Odia channel Sarthak TV for Rs 115 crore.

Anil Ambani has been attempting to find buyers for his media and entertainment assets for some time now. Lured by the sector, he rushed into it in the previous decade setting up a DTH venture, poured investments in DreamWorks, in his Bollywood studio, in a VFX studio and in shooting floors, a TV production company, and in radio and TV broadcasting.

The oodles of cash he kept on pumping into the sector have not got the return he expected. One bright spark has been his radio and TV venture, especially the FM station and the regional channels. Recently, the group announced that it was carving out its DTH venture Reliance Digital TV into a separate company from Reliance Communications.

Observers say that the Zee group and RBNL are examining ways of slicing and dicing the RBNL business to facilitate a buyout. Among the options being considered is ingesting FM radio into Zee Media, and incorporating the Big Magic channels into ZEEL. According to BSE filings, Zee Media does not have any significant foreign holding. Hence, the foreign investment cap will not come in its way of digesting Big FM. And ZEEL’s acquisition of the Big channels is but a shoo-in.

Of course, pricing has to be agreed between the two parties. Figures of Rs 2,000 crore-Rs 2,500 crore that are being bandied about seem far too inflated considering the scale of RBNL’s radio and TV business. The acquisition tag could more likely be at half of that. Or, if one stretches ones pockets, at a discount of Rs 500 crore to that.

We, as media observers, can only wait and watch to see which way the pendulum swings.

October 5, 2016
IDOS 2016: TRAI tariff framework coming next fortnight

GOA: The draft tariff framework of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is set to be released in a fortnight. This was declared by TRAI principal advisor (telecom services) Sunil Kumar Gupta in a Skype video conference with indiantelevision.com’s founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari at IDOS 2016 here on Friday evening.

“We have taken the views of all the stakeholders while drawing up the framework. It is based on the following four major planks — non-discriminatory pricing, transparency, consumer protection and overall growth of the industry,” he said.

Gupta was clear that the sunset date for Phase IV was unshiftable. “Both MIB and we are very committed to this,” he said. “31 December 2016 is the sunset date for DAS Phase IV.”

He cautioned that no one should take shelter around the fear that someone may try and scuttle phase IV by approaching the court. “There are enough set top boxes in the country today,” he said. “There is no shortage. Hence there can be no delay.”

He reiterated that progress on digitisation and DAS has been good. “Revenues from the ground are going up in phase I and phase II,” he said. “According to MIB, 93 per cent of phase III has been digitised and in phase IV, there has been some good seeding too.”

Gupta also warned that unless interconnection agreements are signed between MSOs and LCOs, the parties would not get any recourse from TDSAT as that is the direction that has been given. “It is important that the agreements are signed,” he said. “We have gone around the country and spoken to LCOs around the country. Often times they have been apprehensive about some of the agreements. But when we have explained to them, many of them have not read them properly, and hence the apprehension. When they have been explained and read it, they have gone ahead and done the shining.”

He also expected a decisive verdict from the Delhi High Court in the first week of October around the Phase III litigation. Gupta urged the cable community to focus and keep the consumer aware of what was happening through their own networks and encourage him/her about DAS. “It is in the industry’s own interest,” he stated.

On being asked whether TRAI would intervene and hasten the process on the infrastructure consultation paper, Gupta said there are some people who want to share infrastructure and some who don’t. On being prodded if the regulator would intervene if those who don’t want it to go through outweigh the ones who want it to, Gupta said, the consultation process would follow its due course. “Infrastructure sharing is between two private players, they can go ahead and do it. I don’t see why we need to intervene and mandate infrastructure sharing.”

He also insisted that the entire industry – including the cable operators – need to tweak business models and the cable ops need to look at broadband seriously. “There is a lot of upside to broadband,” he said. “ARPUs are good over there, they can offer value to the consumer. Change is upon the industry and it needs to embrace this change and drive themselves forward. No telco can offer the kind of services, cable TV can offer, say 40 GB at a price of Rs 700-800 a month. The entire cable TV sector holds a lot of potential. Now the industry needs to realise it.”

October 1, 2016
IDOS 2016: TRAI tariff framework coming next fortnight

GOA: The draft tariff framework of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) is set to be released in a fortnight. This was declared by TRAI principal advisor (telecom services) Sunil Kumar Gupta in a Skype video conference with indiantelevision.com’s founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari at IDOS 2016 here on Friday evening.

“We have taken the views of all the stakeholders while drawing up the framework. It is based on the following four major planks — non-discriminatory pricing, transparency, consumer protection and overall growth of the industry,” he said.

Gupta was clear that the sunset date for Phase IV was unshiftable. “Both MIB and we are very committed to this,” he said. “31 December 2016 is the sunset date for DAS Phase IV.”

He cautioned that no one should take shelter around the fear that someone may try and scuttle phase IV by approaching the court. “There are enough set top boxes in the country today,” he said. “There is no shortage. Hence there can be no delay.”

He reiterated that progress on digitisation and DAS has been good. “Revenues from the ground are going up in phase I and phase II,” he said. “According to MIB, 93 per cent of phase III has been digitised and in phase IV, there has been some good seeding too.”

Gupta also warned that unless interconnection agreements are signed between MSOs and LCOs, the parties would not get any recourse from TDSAT as that is the direction that has been given. “It is important that the agreements are signed,” he said. “We have gone around the country and spoken to LCOs around the country. Often times they have been apprehensive about some of the agreements. But when we have explained to them, many of them have not read them properly, and hence the apprehension. When they have been explained and read it, they have gone ahead and done the shining.”

He also expected a decisive verdict from the Delhi High Court in the first week of October around the Phase III litigation. Gupta urged the cable community to focus and keep the consumer aware of what was happening through their own networks and encourage him/her about DAS. “It is in the industry’s own interest,” he stated.

On being asked whether TRAI would intervene and hasten the process on the infrastructure consultation paper, Gupta said there are some people who want to share infrastructure and some who don’t. On being prodded if the regulator would intervene if those who don’t want it to go through outweigh the ones who want it to, Gupta said, the consultation process would follow its due course. “Infrastructure sharing is between two private players, they can go ahead and do it. I don’t see why we need to intervene and mandate infrastructure sharing.”

He also insisted that the entire industry – including the cable operators – need to tweak business models and the cable ops need to look at broadband seriously. “There is a lot of upside to broadband,” he said. “ARPUs are good over there, they can offer value to the consumer. Change is upon the industry and it needs to embrace this change and drive themselves forward. No telco can offer the kind of services, cable TV can offer, say 40 GB at a price of Rs 700-800 a month. The entire cable TV sector holds a lot of potential. Now the industry needs to realise it.”

October 1, 2016