ITV

Tag: indiantelevision.com

  • Dish moves TDSAT against Star

    Dish moves TDSAT against Star

    NEW DELHI: Court cases are buzzing all over the place in the media sector as deadlines for various guidelines, including adhering to downlink norms, near.

    In its first direct salvo against the Hong Kong-based Star Group, the Subhash Chandra-promoted ASC Enterprises, owners of the Dish TV DTH service in India, has moved the disputes tribunal against the former’s reluctance to make available Star channels to its platform.

    “It is respectfully submitted that the present petition has been filed due to the refusal on the part of the respondent (Star Group through Star India) to supply its bouquet one channels to the petitioner on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms,” the petition states.

    Filed today at the Telecom Disputes Redressal and Settlement Tribunal (TDSAT), the ASC petition adds, “The unreasonableness on the part of the respondent is evident from the fact that the respondent has laid down impracticable and unreasonable terms and conditions for supply of its bouquet one channels.”

    Contacted by indiantelevision.com, a Star India spokesperson said, “Negotiations are on with Dish TV. Beyond that we cannot comment as we have not heard from TDSAT yet.”

    The petition has been filed as Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) in an order has mandated that all content should be made available to all delivery platforms on a non-discriminatory basis.

    Justifying its action of approaching the TDSAT, the petition seeks “appropriate directions against the acts of omission and commission” of Star, including its failure to provide on request the signals of the channels of its first bouquet “on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms.”

    Bouquet one of Star consists of channels like Star Plus, Star Movies, Star News, Star World, Star Gold, Channel [V], National Geographic Channel, The History Channel and Vijay TV.

    The second bouquet — the formation of which was necessitated owing to certain directions from the sector regulator in an effort to control cable TV prices — comprises Star One, Hungama, The Disney Channel and Toon Disney.

    What is interesting is that the Chandra company has decided to take on one time ally-turned-competitor with a vengeance.

    The petition not only states that discussions with Star were initiated by Dish TV in December 2005, but also insinuates that the delay in concluding a commercial agreement is deliberate as the respondent is a joint venture partner in another DTH service, Tata Sky, proposing to start operations later this year.

    Interestingly, Dish TV has won a favourable direction from TDSAT in a similar case involving MTV.

    Discovery-Sony distribution joint venture One Alliance, which comprises MTV and sibling channel Nick, is said to be close to striking a deal with Dish TV for its channels that include the likes of SET, MAX, Discovery and AXN.

  • Sahara, DD ad sales revenues for England series gross Rs 2 billion

    Sahara, DD ad sales revenues for England series gross Rs 2 billion

    MUMBAI: The first chapter of Nimbus’ boss Harish Thawani’s audacious gamble with the India cricket story is over with a battered English side glad to be back in the cooler climes of Old Blighty and the Indians getting some well deserved rest before they head out to the Caribbean.

    For Thawani however, the rollercoaster he’s been on since his Nimbus Communications swung the telecast rights to India cricket for the next four years with a bank-breaking $ 612.18 million composite bid has barely begun. The India-England tour — the first of ten international series (and four domestic cricket seasons) that constitutes the deal — is over and the calculators are out tallying the revenue numbers.

    Indiantelevision.com’s discussions on the matter with media buyers indicate that the series, which involved three Tests and six ODIs (one was washed out), has generated about Rs 2003 million in ad sales from national broadcaster Doordarshan and Sahara One. Going by these calculations, DD accounted for Rs 987 million while Sahara One mopped up Rs 1016 million.

    But what is of critical importance to Nimbus is really how much it is able to net from this series. Indiantelevision.com estimates show the ad sales revenue picture for this series looking something like this: Nimbus’ Net income from DD is Rs 630 million (deducting 25% share to DD and 15% agency commission) and for Sahara it is Rs 864 million. That makes a total of just under Rs 1500 million ($ 35 million).

    Considering that Nimbus’ bid for the India territory rights was a whopping $ 504.09 million, there’s a huge mountain still that Thawani’s privately held Mumbai sports management company has left to climb to clear the profit threshold.

    THAWANI’S GAMEPLAN

    Having said that, and going by a recent report in Forbes, Thawani is already in the clear on the international territory rights (Nimbus’ bid here broke down as $ 108.09 million). The report says that Nimbus has sold BCCI’s telecast rights internationally for $130 million. The jury’s still out on that one though, with some industry observers calculating that Nimbus could not have made more than $ 89 million from the sale of international rights.

    As for the India part, everything points to Nimbus launching its own sports channel before the end of the year and for this the market expectation is that Thawani will soon be announcing another round of funding for this purpose.

    Thawani claims that investors are currently valuing Nimbus at $400 million to $500 million, which would mean that Nimbus has tripled in valuation terms in less than a year. It was last August that UK-based private equity and venture fund 3i acquired around 33 per cent stake in Nimbus for $45.50 million (approx Rs 1.97 billion).

    In conclusion, what is the downside in this gamble (for Thawani and any investor who wants to buy into his vision) and what could be the upside. That is really what will have guided Thawani in making what still remains a hugely difficult play to pull off. As the head of a broadcast concern told Indiantelevision.com, the current thinking is that there is just no way anyone can make more than $ 550 million from this deal. So at the outset itself, Nimbus is looking at a $ 62 million hit on its investment, or $ 15.5 million per year spread over four years.

    But there is the upside as well, which is that with all the new broadcast delivery platforms that are opening (DTH, IPTV, mobile TV) and if all the constellations of a booming economy, a brilliantly performing team and the kind of possibilities that a young on-the-go populace provide are in consonance, then $ 800 million might well be within reach.

    Before jumping to conclusions either way, it might be worth remembering a certain Kunal Dasgupta and his now well documented masterstroke of a gamble on the ICC cricket rights in 2002 for a then unheard of $ 208 million. There is no one who today does not see the SET India CEO’s bid as a really inspired play.

    A potential loss of $ 62 million versus a best case gain of $ 200 million. Which way the dice falls by the time 2010 comes around will determine whether Thawani is ultimately acknowledged as a visionary or someone whose go for broke gamble went bust. Unsurprisingly, there are many a respected industry stalwart who believe that if anyone can pull this off, it is the fashionably bald head honcho of Nimbus.

  • ‘We expect our involvement with cricket to improve our market impact by 25-30 per cent’ : Sandeep Tiwari – LG Electronics India marketing head

    ‘We expect our involvement with cricket to improve our market impact by 25-30 per cent’ : Sandeep Tiwari – LG Electronics India marketing head

    Having been in the country for nine years now LG Electornics is for the first time using a Bollywood star as its brand ambassador. It has signed on bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan to endorse its line of consumer durables like refrigerators, air conditioners. The aim is to connect better with women. This year the company is targeting a turnover of Rs 90 billion.

     

    Indiantelevision.com‘s Ashwin Pinto caught up with LG Electronics India marketing head Sandeep Tiwari on the sidelines of a media briefing.

     

    Excerpts:

    With the signing of Abhishek, LG is changing its strategy by moving away from relying only on cricket. What prompted this?

    I won’t say that our strategy has changed. It has been enhanced. Quite a few people expect us to exit cricket. That is not the case. We realise though that two growth engines as far as the advertising fraternity is concerned will work. One is all around cricket and the stars. The other will revolve around entertainment.

     

    We are going with a double engine effect. Cricket delivers numbers and reaches masses. It however alienates women. It does not address that gender with the same amount of passion. Cricket is better for a consumer electronics television oriented effort for the male audience. It also partially delivers in the air conditioner category as men to some extent make decisions for this product. But when it comes to pushing mobile phones, washing machines, microwave ovens, refrigerators it does not deliver the full impact.

     

    We will be launching a mobile phone campaign later on. That TG is very young from the late teens. Our brand has to become younger, their generation brand. We do not want to become a brand that is for an older generation just because we have been around for several years. We have learnt from what Coke, Pepsi have done over the years to remain young. This will helps us address all sections of consumers. We want to become a consolidated consumer driven brand that also encompasses mobile and IT.

    Could you talk about LG’s brand positioning in the market and how it allows for differentiation?

    We are differentiated from the Indian and foreign brands. LG does not get classified as either. It is easy for Indians to relate to it. The brand has a multinational lineage while delivering what Indians require. We don’t show any foreign ads.

     

    Our communication language is not that of a foreigner. Emotions work a lot in India. The warmth and affection that a brand showers upon its target audience will be reciprocated. A brand may be ranked higher but if it is not relatable then it will not do well.

    Has this positioning been tweaked in any way recently?

    I would not say so. In 1997 we were represented in high end markets. We were niche. Today we sell different TV sets, refrigerators. We don’t just have SEC A+ 35+. Our target is total. So our communication must address everybody. You cannot have one for the higher end and another for the lower end.

     

    That is what we are looking to achieve with a celebrity. The sheer rub off of that celebrity will draw in masses for a high end product. It connects mind to mind. This is where a Saurav Ganguly works.

     

    This is also what Abhishek Bachchan will do for us. Even in Allahabad, Benares it will work. At the same time we do not use a celebrity for everything. For television sets our positioning has been around the eyes. We used an average child.

     

    Conventional wisdom says that television watching is bad as it causes strain. Our communication showed that with LG’s eye technology it is not harmful. The position was very different in that we showed that it will give the child a world of knowledge. The child plays a crucial role in terms of buying a TV set. We looked at the TV as being an infotainment medium and not entertainment.

    Speaking of television what are the plans in the television manufacturing area and how challenging are price points as in consumers waiting for prices to fall and then buying TV sets?

    In this area we are targeting a 100 per cent growth for flat panel displays year on year in terms of the number of units sold.

     

    It is going to be interesting to see how we fare with little penetration of plasma sets and high acceptability of that category. People want a TV that can be hung from the ceiling or mounted on a wall. The big size experience at home is an aspirational product.

     

    As far as pricing points are concerned I will give the example of mobile phones. Though prices will fall nobody waits. People cannot wait to upgrade and change. People accept that gadgets will not last a lifetime. They want what is the best option as long as the brand is delivering what it promises.

     

    The consumer has become more experimental in nature. 35-37 per cent of revenue comes from television. Electronics along with IT contribute around 48 per cent of our revenues. Appliances contribute around 36 per cent.

     

    In 1997 when we started our group turnover was Rs 125 crores (Rs 1.25 billion). In 1999 we crossed Rs 1000 crores. Last year it was Rs 7500 crores. We are looking to touch Rs 9000 crores this year.

    What is a more powerful platform – Bollywood or cricket?

    They complement each other. No brand in our position can afford to ignore one or the other. The cricketing calendar is limited. We take the time for which they are played. For a lot of the months we cannot device our season vis-a-vis the cricket calendar.

     

    But with a film star we can plan better. A cricketer is only relevant when a game is being played. His performance affects how a brand that uses him is perceived to an extent.

     

    Brands go through highs and lows. When a cricketer fails the public reacts badly to the ad featuring the cricketer. A Bollywood campaign though cannot only be attributed to the star involved. Actors do not always play themselves. They show more versatility in negative, positive roles. It offers a wider spectrum.
    ‘The 1999 World Cup in England was our first mass awareness programme right from our carton boxes to communication. It became known to everyone‘

    In what way has the brand communication for home appliances evolved and why choose Abhishek?

    Till now the home appliances communication platform had the health message. Today that platform is being adopted by a lot of me too brands.

     

    We felt that we therefore needed to break way from that by graduating to a Health Plus objective. From here came the idea of Intello. This means that the products are technologically intelligent and futuristic.

     

    We want to position the brand as being young, vibrant and premium. So we picked Abhishek as he portrays Indian values. He also exudes an aura of aristocracy.

     

    The signing of Abhishek marks the start of the second phase of our marketing strategy in India. It is the marketing of a leader phase.

    Which are your key products that will be given a marketing thrust this year?

    Mobile phones are key for us this year. Flat panel displays are also important. Laptops will be third in importance but from the long term point of view as in 2010 laptops will be second.

     

    ACs have experienced good growth and the market shares are high. The aim is to sustain AC growth.

    To what extent is the marketing budget going to rise this year? How much of this will go towards television?

    The marketing budget will increase marginally compared to last year apart from cricket due to the Champions Trophy.

     

    We expect our involvement with cricket to improve our market impact by 25-30 per cent. Media advertising constitutes 40 per cent of the marketing spend. Out of that 40 per cent is spent on television and print.

    Does LG feel that there is scope for using television in a more interactive manner to reach consumers? By interactive I mean engaging the audiences in a more active manner.

    This is going to be very important. Using a celebrity is a classical way to approach that. If you could increase market share by simply putting ads then there would be no need for marketing professionals.

     

    Wittiness and innovation play a crucial role in breaking the clutter. It is not money versus money. It is not a question of Rs 250 crores versus Rs 280 crores. The content of communication and synergies created are what the focus should be on.

    LG is one of the ICC’s official partners. How has this benefited the brand over the years?

    When we associated with them in 1999 it was a big transitional phase. This was because it was our first attempt at national penetration and visibility. From 1997 till 1999 we did not have any television commercials. We were not represented among the masses in a true sense. We were just represented in towns through hoardings, newspapers.

     

    The 1999 World Cup in England was our first mass awareness programme right from our carton boxes to communication. It became known to everyone. Subsequently the two Champions Trophies and the 2003 World Cup became a mainstay in our efforts to build the brand.

     

    The ICC association has given us the stature of a mammoth brand. This would not have been possible through regular communication. The ICC association is more to do with the LG logo as a whole rather than with simply different parts of the company like a fridge or an AC. No other medium would have given us that.
    ‘The pre purchase and post purchase experience are important towards enhancing brand value. In the long term word of mouth publicity is key‘

    How is LG looking to leverage the Champions Trophy which will be held in India?

    What is interesting is that it is coinciding with Diwali. It will be from the second week of October to the second week of November. Diwali falls somewhere in between. We have to figure out how the two communications of Diwali and cricket can work together.

     

    There will be two objectives to be achieved simultaneously. Can they be jelled to leverage the best out of the two? This is one of our biggest marketing challenges of the year.

    LG and the other ICC partners met recently. What transpired?

    There are two huge events coming up. It certainly required some getting together to figure how to leverage that.

     

    LG, Hutch, Hero Honda and Pepsi met with the ICC to discuss how we can work together to maximise opportunities.

     

    These are four large brands that do not compete or fight with each other. We discussed avenues that can be worked on together. How successful this is time will tell.

    Are below the line activities and promotions growing in importance for the brand?

    Significantly. 60 per cent of our budget is spent on these kinds of activities. It is crucial because no technology will work well until it is explained to the customer. At the ground level the product must be on display. The experience that a customer goes through on ground is equally important as using mass media.

     

    The pre purchase and post purchase experience are important towards enhancing brand value. In the long term word of mouth publicity is key. We have around 1,150 in shop demonstrators and 1,000 counters across the country. This is a force and manpower that no other competing brand has. Exhibitions play a significant role across the country. The portfolio that we have cannot be addressed with just one showroom.

     

    One showroom can only accommodate 30 per cent of our product line. Exhibitions give us the opportunity to display more products and do something meaningful. We concentrate on training our sales people and upgrading their sales skills.

     

    Mobile vans and road shows will play a crucial role going forward. We are also using malls as a place for display as a lot of people visit them. In-house demonstrations of products after purchase are another area of focus. Cookery classes for our microwave ovens tells the customer that LG does not just sell microwaves. It is also teaching him how to cook.

     

    Ladies come to learn cooking and they also learn about the other products available from the range. This activity will be strengthened over the years as India cannot be addressed by only going to 10 or 20 towns. The major growth will have in those middle markets.

    As a marketing tool what potential do you feel the mobile has?

    All our portfolio except for laptops and mobiles are in house. You can only see someone else’s Airconditioner by going to their living room. They remain inside. A mobile phone is flashed around as a personality trait. If you sell a LG phone to a school or college student you are preparing him/her to be a future LG television, washing machine, refrigerator customer.

     

    So we are catching them young. The mobile phone in the future will be the first entry product into the customers home. After that will come television sets and washing machines.

     

    It becomes a brand that a person is proud of. However we are staying away from SMS and MMS communication activities on ethical grounds.

    Are you happy with how global sports organisers have combated the threat of ambush marketing?

    I do not think that it is a very big issue. There are enough marketing opportunities for everyone.

     

    I do not think that media alienation for a certain period of time makes a big difference.

    There are lots of major sporting events this year. So how is LG splitting up its ad spend?

    We are staying away from cricket apart from the Champions Trophy.

     

    Every brand has limited resources and cricket is no longer an inexpensive proposition. Conserving of resources for better utilisation is what optimisation is all about. We will be doing activities around the Fifa World Cup though.

     

    We are yet to roll out ideas at the storyboard level. This activity will be in select markets like Goa, West Bengal.

    How do you work with your creative agencies?

    It is a partnership right from the concept generation level to how it shapes out to seeing it delivered to the marketplace. We even address the media together.

     

    The competitive business environment leaves little room for chance. It has to be a team effort.
  • Adlabs to buy out Mukta stake in JV, pump in Rs 2 billion in twin-screen theatres

    Adlabs to buy out Mukta stake in JV, pump in Rs 2 billion in twin-screen theatres

    MUMBAI: Anil Ambani-controlled Adlabs Films Ltd is buying out Mukta Arts’ 50 per cent stake in the joint venture company, Mukta Adlabs Digital Exhibition.

    As a step up in the plan, Adlabs is earmarking an investment of Rs two billion towards acquisition of 50 old cinema theatres for conversion into “twin screens.” Part of this investment will include the installation of digital projectors in these theatres.

    “We are acquiring the entire stake of Mukta Arts. We will be investing Rs two billion to upgrade 50 cinema theatres and install digital delivery systems in them,” Adlabs Films chairman and managing director Manmohan Shetty tells Indiantelevision.com.

    Adlabs and Subhash Ghai-promoted Mukta Arts had floated a joint venture company in 2003 for digital delivery of movies. Mukta Adlabs Digital Exhibition had invested around Rs 100 million but the company had been unable to make much headway with its technology which required a server and projectors to be installed in the theatres.

    For buying out the stake, Adlabs has not paid any premium. “We have paid a little less than Rs 50 million which is the actual investments made by Mukta Arts. We didn’t want any partners as we were planning to integrate the twin-screen converted cinema threatres with the installation of digital projectors. We plan to have the 50 twin screen theatres in B-class stations over 3-4 years,” says Shetty.

    Mukta Arts, however, is not abandoning the digital delivery of movies project. “We decided to part ways with Adlabs as our plans were different. Digital distribution of movies will be very much part of our plans as we are committed to technologies of the future,” says Mukta Arts CEO Ravi Gupta.

    The new technology of digital projection through hard discs avoids the use of film prints, which costs between Rs 50,000 and Rs 60,000 to the distributor. It also enables audiences of “B” and “C” class centres to watch their favourite films on the first day itself, thereby making simultaneous worldwide release a possibility. The technology also combats against piracy.

    Anil Ambani has big plans to deliver movies to cinema theatres through Reliance Infocomm’s fibre optic network. Having designs on launching a direct-to-home (DTH) service, he may also take the satellite delivery route for distribution of movies. “Even if the current delivery sytems are changed, digital projectors will be required in the fibre or the satellite system. Our plan is to aggressively install these projectors in the theatres which we are taking up for converting into twin screens,” says Shetty.

  • ESPN moves TDSAT against Pune cable op ICC for recovery of dues

    ESPN moves TDSAT against Pune cable op ICC for recovery of dues

    MUMBAI: ESPN Software India has approached the Telecom Dispute Settlement Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) for recovery of dues from Pune’s biggest cable operator Intermedia Cable Communication.

    ESPN, in its petition to TDSAT, claims that the amount pending from the ICC for the signal provided between December 2004 and June 2005 is approximately Rs 7.7 million plus 12 per cent interest.

    However, ICC in its response filed today before TDSAT, claims to have orally communicated to the broadcaster that ESPN was free to discontinue its signals, and has argued that it is therefore not liable to pay any amount.

    ESPN has filed the case at TDSAT ahead of Fifa World Cup 2006, which will kick off from 9 June.ESPN had entered into an agreement with ICC to distribute signals for the period December 2003 up to December 2004. Following the expiry of the agreement, the two did not sign any fresh deal and ICC continued to distribute the ESPN signals till June 2005.

    ICC, in its reply today, states that it had orally communicated to ESPN not to distribute the signals anymore. And thus ICC is not liable to pay any amount for the period December 2004 to June 2005.

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com, an ICC spokesperson said, “The case will be heard at Tdsat soon and thus it will be known if there is any amount due.”

    But, according to ESPN officials, “We have filed for recovery of money for services render.”

    It is worth noting here that in December 2004, broadcast regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had allowed for a 7 per cent increase (basic tariff excluding taxes) in cable rates. The change in tariff was effective from 1 January, 2005.

    According to sources close to the developments, ESPN has to prove before TDSAT that the signals distributed to ICC have been passed to consumers and that the latter has collected money for the same. The ICC has declared a subscriber base of approximately 39,750 in Pune.

    TDSAT will be hearing the matter on 9 May — Petition No. 91(C) of 2006 ESPN Software India Pvt Ltd vs Intermedia Cable Communication Pvt Ltd.

  • ‘With all the new delivery platforms, we are at the doorstep of a very interesting phase’ : Pradeep Hejmadi – Tam Media Research vice president

    ‘With all the new delivery platforms, we are at the doorstep of a very interesting phase’ : Pradeep Hejmadi – Tam Media Research vice president

    He has been associated with a wide variety of assignments in the domain of media planning and broadcast management. Now he’s buried into hardcore research.

     

    It’s been just over six months since Tam Media Research vice president Pradeep Hejmadi joined the company and when we mention that to him, he seems shocked at how time has flown.

     

    His last assignment was with the kids’ channel Nick. His experience traverses through various media organisations like Turner International, Discovery India, HTA and The Times of India.

     

    Speaking to Indiantelevision.com’s Hetal Adesara Hejmadi dwells on the various issues that concern the television industry today and also on the exciting phase that it entering.

     

    Excerpts:

    It’s been just over six months since you joined Tam, how has the journey been so far and what was the mandate given to you when you joined?

    The journey has obviously only begun but it’s been good fun. Being on the broadcast side, you see one view of the world. There I was doing a whole host of stuff that is quite different from what I’m doing here. So from that point of view it is a refreshing change to come to audience research and to help people to converse with data.

     

    In terms of mandate, the idea was simply to focus on two areas: one is on the needs of the broadcasters and to keep the system abreast in terms of the areas that are emerging as interest areas for the industry per se.

     

    The other mandate is to get people to make decisions on the basis of the information that they have. Some people tend to have a biased approach towards numbers as research sounds like such a difficult animal to manage and tame. Our focus has been to try and make sure that people are able to read audience behaviour and act on it. And hopefully start seeing some response on the basis of what they are doing so that they can get far more structured in the way they go about their businesses.

     

    The environment is pretty crazy as we are operating in a very heterogeneous market and it is not easy to use any information and just act on it. Many a times the devil is in the details so our focus is really to find that devil and help people tame it.

    Can you throw light on the new initiatives that Tam is or will be undertaking and in which areas?

    Not too much of what we do is an industry secret, so I’m sure that you know pretty much everything. The Elite panel is something that is going to be launched and the current panel expansion is also underway. The panel expansion is a nine month process that we started in the beginning of this year. By the fourth quarter of this financial year, we should be ready. We have consulted the industry and many people have told us not to make a mid-year change in the measurement science. So after consensus from the industry, we are looking at January 2007 to switch to the new universe.

    What about the launch of the Elite panel and what according to you will be the data thrown by it in terms of viewership patterns? How much of importance will it hold in the coming days in terms of tracking viewership?

    The Elite panel will be up by July this year.

     

    The way that we have crafted the panel has not been to bring out any nuance but to focus on a segment. Everyone wanted to have an audience profile, which is the top end of our entire market structure. So in Mumbai and Delhi, we are now going to have a panel, which will represent the behaviour of the top three or four per cent of the population.

     

    Our focus has been to use all the quantitative data that we can get and construct that profile in such a manner that it robustly segments the elite from the national panel. Again we have a whole set of variables through which we have been successful in bringing that point out.

     

    In terms of behaviour, once the panel is up people will see what happens. There are a lot of myths and that is a constant in any industry. But once the panel is up people will be able to see the reality as it is.

     

    Obviously, given that the elite are the top three or four per cent of the population will have a different lifestyle and it will reflect in their media consumption as well. Right now we don’t have the panel up so I can’t even force a guess as to what the panel will throw up. But it should be very interesting and the industry is very keen on getting that kind of information.

    Which are the broadcasters who are specifically interested in the elite panel?

    Surprisingly, all the broadcasters are interested. For the Hindi general entertainment channels, the aim is to talk to everybody and they don’t want to exclude the elite. English entertainment channels are also very keen because they feel that the core component of their viewership is the elite. But a lot of these feelings and aspirations that broadcasters have at present are driven by perception. But as the data comes out we will be able to find out the reality.

     

    A few of the things that we have seen is that for the elite the segmenting elements in terms of defining them differ by market. For example, in Delhi, the definition for elite was a much trickier one than it was for Mumbai. But now for both the markets we have been able to arrive at variables that describe that segment very well.

    ‘In the digital age, numbers will keep rapidly changing so we needed to find ways of being able to pull out from a large sample a very robust estimate of DTH penetration as it stands’

    So the elite panel will be only in Delhi and Mumbai?

    Currently we are looking at only these two cities for the elite panel.

    With new delivery platforms like IPTV and mobile TV coming in this year and also keeping in mind the new DTH platforms launching, is Tam undertaking any research in these areas?

    We have just done a penetration study, which has brought out estimates of what the DTH number is for households, the small number of the addressable conditional access boxes that are there and also what the current incumbent players have in terms of market share.

     

    Those numbers are already in place. The fact is that in the digital age, numbers will keep rapidly changing so we needed to find ways of being able to pull out from a large sample a very robust estimate of DTH penetration as it stands. The large sample needs to be touched, collected and reported in a very short period of time. We were able crack that by using the IMRB household panel, which has shown very interesting numbers. As things pan out, we will be working towards getting the universe estimates updated more frequently. We will also be able to understand the rollout of this phenomenon in different markets in a very different manner.

    Is this a difference of viewership of people watching DTH and those watching C&S?

    At the moment we don’t know because we are not measuring DTH. To us the mandate from the industry was to measure any phenomenon which had a market share of five per cent and above. If any phenomenon was below five per cent of a market then there is no point in measuring that.

     

    So from our point of view we have been doing establishment surveys to measure a phenomenon. So if CAS or DTH becomes five per cent of the market then we will have to report on it.

    So are you saying that DD Direct and Dish TV DTH subscribers do not add up to five per cent of the market?

    No it is not five per cent of an individual market.

    Once Tata Sky and Reliance launch their DTH, will Tam begin measuring viewership on DTH?

    Once DTH arrives and reaches a five per cent critical mass, we will begin measuring it. Now whether it is pre or post the launch of Tata Sky DTH is immaterial.

    ‘If you get 300 channels as against 100, will you watch three times the TV? It will be interesting to find out‘

    What will be the difference in the backend infrastructure for measuring DTH?

    There will be a difference because these signals are digital. Currently, primarily because the market is analog is nature, we had meters which worked on analog. Now we’ve brought in state-of-the-art TVM5 meters which can measure DTH and any digital and IPTV signals. These are the meters that we will be deploying for measuring viewership on DTH.

     

    So the elite panel will be on TVM5 meters and also all the metros will be moving to TVM5 meters.

    What according to you is going to be the impact on programming content after the launch of these new platforms?

    This is a very interesting question you raised. There is one aspect of what DTH providers will do to justify a person to shift from cable to DTH. And there is another part of the picture, which is what the consumer will do once the new DTH platforms are launched.

     

    DTH platform players have already realized that to drive people to take a box or dish and to go through the motion of having a one on one relationship with the service provider, they will have to add some value over the basic tier. So from their point of view, they are trying to build and aggregate as much content and provide as much variety as possible. Whether consumers will watch or not, we will know once we know what content has been aggregated.

     

    It will be a game of wait and watch to find out whether tastes will change. But the fact is that tastes changed when we shifted from terrestrial to cable and satellite. So going by that, tastes should change with DTH coming in but how much and by what measure will have to be seen.

     

    Obviously some rules of the game will change. For instance, currently distribution does play a very critical role. At that time, the kind of TV sets will not matter because all these households will be remote households by default because they will switch channels off the set top box (STB). All of these households will get all the channels on the STBs provided they pay for them. So it will become television neutral and also cable bandwidth neutral.

     

    In one sense it becomes a level playing field across consumers. Now if you get 300 channels as against 100, will you watch three times the TV? It will be interesting to find out. I have a feeling that over a period of time people and their tastes change. So you will see a change in behaviour but over what period of time and will it be an easy or painful switch-over will be ascertained by various constituents.

     

    From our perspective, we need to have measurement that is representative and precise. We need to have people understanding what is coming out of this system so that they can then funnel it back.

     

    We are actually at the doorstep of a very interesting phase. In six to eight months’ time we will start seeing some things changing.

    What are your views on conditional access system (CAS)? How is it going to impact the industry if and when it comes into place?

    From a long term perspective it is obviously good for the industry. Nothing happens very easily. We know the resistance to change that we as human being have. On CAS it has got into a kind of a mess and has had a bad history. It also got much politicized and hence because of that and a whole host of things, it has made life difficult for CAS.

     

    But I think once DTH rolls out and channels announce their pricing for DTH, it will help CAS. It is very good that we have a body like the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai), which has put in certain norms to help platforms iron themselves out. So in their regulation the ‘must provide’ clause has been put in and pricing parity has been brought in so that channels can’t have different pricing for different platforms. This will help CAS and DTH.

     

    Intrinsically there are some issues with CAS. One of them is inter-operatibility. As far as CAS is concerned, if you stay in Chembur and then move to Churchgate, you might not be able to use the same box. Whereas this problem does not arise in DTH.

     

    In Chennai, for example CAS did not fly because the tastes of that market is very different. Also the popular regional channels are all free to air. So the number of people who were ready to pay for that box was very small. But in a lot of other markets, most of the Hindi entertainment channels are all pay. As long as they don’t buckle because of advertising revenue pressures and stay pay, they could fuel growth of CAS.

    Tam has been tracking viewership in Chennai, where CAS has been implemented. What have been the learnings from there?

    CAS penetration is very low in Chennai. The pricing is very exorbitant. For instance, initially, the channels that were on STBs and were of interest to the mass population were kids channels and English entertainment channels. If you added up all those channels on an a la carte rate, the cost of the box was four times the cost of annual subscription for these channels. Now that’s prohibitively expensive.

     

    In that market, it was a first launch, so it is understandable if Sumangali might have adopted the strategy of not wanting to price it down that much. But obviously the value proposition was not that compelling. This is not the case with a lot of northern and western markets. In these markets a lot of Hindi content is pay, which has appeal. Therefore it might drive the box much faster than it did in Chennai. So Chennai is really an exception.

    Going forward, what according to you are the issues that broadcasters will face in the coming years with new technologies launching? Do you have any words of caution for them?

    I don’t have any word of caution for them mainly because of one reason – I don’t see any threat, I only see an opportunity in the way things are happening. Consumers have consumed channels for a while and they like the programming they watch. The positive thing that is happening now is that a broadcaster is seeing an opportunity in a disguised form of various distribution routes.

     

    If broadcasters see that as an opportunity and seize it, it might be a lot more good news for them than what it seems to be, with certain reservations. If you get your pricing right; if you make sure that as a broadcaster you are not biased towards a distribution platform, it is only going to be better because there are issues with the kind of TVs in a household and in what kind of analog frequency band is there with cable. Plus there are issues with the number of people you can serve with one cable system. All of these will cease to exist with DTH.

     

    A consumer will start making a choice and give their preferences, whereas broadcasters will be able to solidify the product over a period of time. So that revenue line will become a far more solid line.

     

    Obviously, there will be a painful and uncertain phase but that is there everywhere. People will have to learn to deal with it but it will take a slightly longer time. Consultation can work much better than confrontation in many a situation. At this stage people in the industry need to communicate more effectively… forget strategy and that’s what will help them.

    Do you see any other major event impacting the television industry this year?

    If I say yes, I might be wrong. If I say no, I might be wrong too. I really don’t know. I think the days ahead are going to be fun as all the different genres are reinventing themselves in order to get a lion’s share, whether it is music, kids, regional or Hindi general entertainment channels, all of them are rethinking their approach.

     

    I don’t know what else will be big this year, but religious channels are catching up big time. Sports is going through the roof in terms of the number of events. With so much of cricket, I’m not sure whether it will have that novelty value. It will have mass appeal but whether all masses will run for it will be worth watching.

    What are the genres that will work this year? Will reality shows still rule the roost?

    Reality is a very broad term, it’s like saying – serials, which brings everything under one category. But within reality we have seen only a few things happening. Reality has its pluses and minuses, you can’t overdo reality and start running it like a soap as it tends to become boring. It needs to have that ‘Wow’ factor.

     

    Also notable is the fact that unfortunately all the sequels of reality have not done that well. So it also tells you something about such programming. But there is a growing appetite for it from the consumers’ side. So from that point of view it will stay… in what form and format, we will have to see.

     

    If you see the number of people going to Mipcom from India, you know that reality is not going anywhere. Over a period of time things will start ironing out in the reality genre.

     

    In reality a unique concept, which is executed well gets you walk-ins faster than a soap. For anybody who wants a shot in the arm, reality is the quick fix solution. But then, they need to have a solid strategy to retain that new audience and capitalise on it.
  • AXN goes Bollywood in attempt to boost viewer connect

    AXN goes Bollywood in attempt to boost viewer connect

    MUMBAI: If there is one medium that travels really well across the country other than cricket, it is Bollywood. The action oriented AXN which over the past few years has done on ground events to connect closer with viewers will do a Bollywood themed event over the summer season.

    The channel is organising the AXN Action Awards in June. This is a show that seeks to reward action stars and films in Bollywood. Speaking to Indiantelevision.com on this initiative AXN South Asia director Rohit Bhandari says, “We have five competitive categories and one open category for the awards. The five categories are Best Actor, Best Actor in a Negative Role, Best Director, Best Picture, Best Stunt Sequence with Life Time Achievement being the open category.

    “We will be short listing nominees for each of the competitive categories and viewers will have to vote in for their favourites. The voting can be done through sms, online and though a paper ballot. The voting process is on from 1 to 31 May 2006. Later a show will be held, which will be hosted by Dino Morea,” he added.

    Bhandari points out that action has always been integral part of Hindi cinema which is popularly referred to as Bollywood. “Almost every movie has some scene that depicts action in some form and over the last two decades, there have been movies which have been categorised as purely as action movies. Also, in most of the awards given out to movies, action is always a sub category or is part of the technical category.”

    “Given AXN’s association with action and adventure, we have created India’s first award that will honour the action genre of Bollywood, through the AXN Action Awards. Thums Up is the presenting sponsor given the great brand fit that it has with action as a genre for the first ever AXN Action Awards. Scorpio is the associate sponsor,” he said.

    When asked about marketing activities that will be done to create awareness, Bhandari says that given the synergies that both AXN and Thums Up have with action and adventure, the two parties will be taking the concept to the ground in the form of road shows in nine markets across India. The aim is to give consumers a first hand experience of both the brands AXN and Thums Up. People will also have an opportunity to cast their votes for the above categories, through a paper ballot.

    When asked whether this effort would be start of an association between Bollywood and AXN Bhandari says that given the fact that most of the viewers in India connect with Bollywood, the channel made it a Bollywood based award concept. “Since this is the first year, we will be taking our learnings from the same and working towards improving the concept and who knows, next year, we may also include a section for Hollywood movies. We think the concept is robust enough to embrace both the film industries and hence, scaling the awards accordingly.”

    On ideas for other local shows Bhandari says, “There are quite a few ideas on the table, but they are still in the concept stage. We have aggressive plans over the next few months with both acquired and local content.

    “The Man’s World show was our first show in the Mens Lifestyle space and we are very happy with the results that we had for season one, which ended on 19 April. We will be resting the show for a while, as we would like to refresh the concept and come back later in the year with some improvements to the original concept.”

  • Adlabs board to meet on FM radio demerger on 22 April

    Adlabs board to meet on FM radio demerger on 22 April

    MUMBAI: Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Enterprises (ADAE) controlled Adlabs Films is holding a board meeting on 22 April to discuss the demerger of its FM radio business.

    As reported last month by Indiantelevision.com, ADAE has sought government clearance for bringing all the radio business under a division — Adlabs Radio Pvt Ltd.

    The company has informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that the board will “consider the proposal for the reorganisation of the Company and demerger of its FM Radio business pro-rata to all the shareholders, pursuant to a scheme of arrangement under sections 391-394 of Companies Act, 1956.”
    According to a recent PTI report, ADAE had further increased its stake in Adlabs Films to 54.91 per cent after the acquisition of an additional 3.8 million shares.

    Reliance Land Private Limited, along with Reliance Capital Limited acquired these shares on 12 April, Adlabs Films has informed the stock exchanges.
    The mode of acquisition has been preferential allotment (conversion of warrants to equity), it said. With this latest acquisition, Reliance Land and Reliance Capital now own 21,855,000 shares aggregating to 54.91 per cent of the total paid up capital of the company.

    Reliance Land, a part of the Reliance Capital Group, last year had acquired 51 per cent controlling stake in Manmohan Shetty’s Adlabs Films, a leading motion picture processing laboratory which also runs a chain of multiplexes.

  • Tata Sky targets 1 July for DTH launch

    Tata Sky targets 1 July for DTH launch

    MUMBAI: Rumours of delays may be rife in the market but Tata Sky – the 80:20 joint venture between the Tata Group and Star India – is targeting a 1 July commercial launch of its direct-to-home (DTH) service, informed industry sources aver.

    Tata Sky CEO Vikram Kaushik, while speaking to Indiantelevision.com, was however quite categorical that any talk of a date of launch was premature at this stage and therefore purely speculative. Kaushik would only confirm that his company was on target for a mid-year launch for its DTH service.

    Tata Sky will begin the “test run” of India’s third DTH service after Zee Group’s DishTV and Prasar Bharati’s DD direct from 15 May, the sources say. It has marked out a 45-day window period till 30 June during which time all technical and channel and programme related issues will have been ironed out.

    According to the sources, the preparatory work for the launch has been ratcheted up several gears in the last three weeks after the company collected from the information and broadcasting ministry the final licence clearing the way for the $500-million DTH service to take off.

    It was in December last that the telecommunication ministry gave its green signal for the vexed matter of setting up an uplinking base in Delhi by Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd, an issue that was under government scanner on technical grounds of land use by VSNL of its Chattarpur facility. The telecom ministry nod was seen as crucial for obtaining the final licence from the I&B ministry.

    Tata Sky has three operational centres in the country. Its technical set-up is headquartered in the capital, its complete back-up systems, including call centre operations, is out of Bangalore while its commercial activities are managed from Mumbai.

    One big priority of course is getting all popular channels onto its platform, a matter that rival DishTV has still to resolve with the Star network and the Sony-Discovery One Alliance. Here, like in the case of the Subhash Chandra-promoted DTH service, ESPN Star Sports has already worked out a carriage deal with Tata Sky.

    Queried about this, Kaushik would only say, “We are in ongoing discussions with all major broadcasters. More than this I cannot comment at this stage.”

    Speaking of channels, a key function of all addressable systems is the electronic programme guide (EPG). Tata Sky has exchanged letters with all broadcasters on use of logos and such in regards to how the programming highlights in its EPG will be displayed. The operator has reportedly requested all channels to provide these details ahead of the 15 May week.

    Another aspect that Tata Sky has to confront is of how to get around the last mile roadblock. One strategy that it is going with is to introduce pre-paid cards, which Kaushik believes would make subscription payment easier for the consumer. This differs from the DishTV strategy, which offers new customers its services for Rs 3,990 that includes one year’s subscription. After a year, DishTV subscribers pay a monthly subscription fee.

    Secondly, Tata Sky plans to take the responsibility of directly installing the hardware in every subscriber’s home and servicing it whenever needed. This again differs from DishTV which has a distribution network of about 5,000 dealers / distributors across the country.

    On the hardware side, Tata Sky, like DishTV has done, will be offering its boxes through consumer durable outlets.

    As regards subscriber acquisition, Tata Sky is following a two-pronged strategy of targeting individual consumers as well as institutions, for which there is a separate head of institutional sales.

    Industrial townships, hospitals, hotels, etc. are where the operator is directly negotiating to set up a central dish antenna through which it can connect individual installations.

    Where it has come into direct confrontation with last mile operators has been when it approached housing societies in various cities with the institutional model to offer its services.

    In fact, one of the reasons for a majority of cable networks in Kolkata blacking out the Star group of channels has been this issue. The protest against carriage of the Star channels in Kolkata is being led by the Forum of Cable Operators and Cable Operators Sanjukta, two association bodies of the last mile operators in the city. “Star was asking for a hike, which we couldn’t have passed on to the consumers. Besides, Tata Sky, where Star is a partner, is wanting to grab subscribers by offering housing societies free cabling from a single central antenna,” Cable Operators Sanjukta spokesperson Papi Banerjee told Indiantelevision.com recently.

    Be that as it may, Tata Sky has set itself some ambitious goals. The major one reportedly being to acquire around one million subscriptions by this year.

    Tata Sky CEO Vikram Kaushik, while speaking to Indiantelevision.com, was however quite categorical that any talk of a date of launch was premature at this stage and therefore purely speculative. Kaushik would only confirm that his company was on target for a mid-year launch for its DTH service.

    Tata Sky will begin the “test run” of India’s third DTH service after Zee Group’s DishTV and Prasar Bharati’s DD direct from 15 May, the sources say. It has marked out a 45-day window period till 30 June during which time all technical and channel and programme related issues will have been ironed out.

    According to the sources, the preparatory work for the launch has been ratcheted up several gears in the last three weeks after the company collected from the information and broadcasting ministry the final licence clearing the way for the $500-million DTH service to take off.

    It was in December last that the telecommunication ministry gave its green signal for the vexed matter of setting up an uplinking base in Delhi by Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd, an issue that was under government scanner on technical grounds of land use by VSNL of its Chattarpur facility. The telecom ministry nod was seen as crucial for obtaining the final licence from the I&B ministry.

    Tata Sky has three operational centres in the country. Its technical set-up is headquartered in the capital, its complete back-up systems, including call centre operations, is out of Bangalore while its commercial activities are managed from Mumbai.

    One big priority of course is getting all popular channels onto its platform, a matter that rival DishTV has still to resolve with the Star network and the Sony-Discovery One Alliance. Here, like in the case of the Subhash Chandra-promoted DTH service, ESPN Star Sports has already worked out a carriage deal with Tata Sky.

    Queried about this, Kaushik would only say, “We are in ongoing discussions with all major broadcasters. More than this I cannot comment at this stage.”

    Speaking of channels, a key function of all addressable systems is the electronic programme guide (EPG). Tata Sky has exchanged letters with all broadcasters on use of logos and such in regards to how the programming highlights in its EPG will be displayed. The operator has reportedly requested all channels to provide these details ahead of the 15 May week.

    Another aspect that Tata Sky has to confront is of how to get around the last mile roadblock. One strategy that it is going with is to introduce pre-paid cards, which Kaushik believes would make subscription payment easier for the consumer. This differs from the DishTV strategy, which offers new customers its services for Rs 3,990 that includes one year’s subscription. After a year, DishTV subscribers pay a monthly subscription fee.

    Secondly, Tata Sky plans to take the responsibility of directly installing the hardware in every subscriber’s home and servicing it whenever needed. This again differs from DishTV which has a distribution network of about 5,000 dealers / distributors across the country.

    On the hardware side, Tata Sky, like DishTV has done, will be offering its boxes through consumer durable outlets.

    As regards subscriber acquisition, Tata Sky is following a two-pronged strategy of targeting individual consumers as well as institutions, for which there is a separate head of institutional sales.

    Industrial townships, hospitals, hotels, etc. are where the operator is directly negotiating to set up a central dish antenna through which it can connect individual installations.

    Where it has come into direct confrontation with last mile operators has been when it approached housing societies in various cities with the institutional model to offer its services.

    In fact, one of the reasons for a majority of cable networks in Kolkata blacking out the Star group of channels has been this issue. The protest against carriage of the Star channels in Kolkata is being led by the Forum of Cable Operators and Cable Operators Sanjukta, two association bodies of the last mile operators in the city. “Star was asking for a hike, which we couldn’t have passed on to the consumers. Besides, Tata Sky, where Star is a partner, is wanting to grab subscribers by offering housing societies free cabling from a single central antenna,” Cable Operators Sanjukta spokesperson Papi Banerjee told Indiantelevision.com recently.

    Be that as it may, Tata Sky has set itself some ambitious goals. The major one reportedly being to acquire around one million subscriptions by this year.

  • Isro unveils Satellite Integration and Testing Establishment

    Isro unveils Satellite Integration and Testing Establishment

    BANGALORE: Finding the current facility too small and congested, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has come up with a brand new facility spread over 100 acres of land on the outskirts of Bangalore. The facility is christened ISRO Satellite Integration and Testing Establishment (ISITE).

    So far, Isro had to carry the satellite from one part of the complex to the other for various tests. The new facility at Marthahalli offers world class Assembly Integration and Test (AIT) complex bringing all spacecraft integration under one roof. A tested satellite comes out of the same door through which its knocked down parts go into.

    ISITE is equipped with world class facilities and will enable Isro to assemble, and carry out various tests and then pack the assembled satellite for dispatch to the launch site. Some of the state of art facilities and equipment include:

    (1) Assembly Integration & Test (AIT) Clean room – this is a huge room of size 54.6mts (about 179 feet) x 34.6m (about 113.5 feet) x 16.7m (about 55 feet) height which is maintained at a temperature of about 22 deg C (72 deg F) with a relative humidity of around 55, a cleanliness level of 1,000,000 class maintained at a positive pressure of 20 mbar.

    The bare structure of Insat 4B, which is scheduled for launch in January 2007, was under assembly when Indiantelevision.com visited the site. This room can integrate up to six satellites in various stages of assembly simultaneously of Insat 4B class and is equipped to integrate around 800 elements in the bare structure of the spacecraft. This area has an Electro Static Discharge (ESD) floor to dissipate the micro electric charges from human bodies which could effect some sensitive equipment in the room.

    (2) Comprehensive Assemble and Test Vacuum Chamber (CATVC) is capable of testing satellites under vacuum conditions and at temperatures as low as 173 deg K {(-)100 deg C or (-)343 deg F }. Satellites up to 4.5m diameter (about 14.75 feet) and 6 meters length (about 20 feet) having a weight of 3 metric tons can be tested in this Chamber which has Ariane-5 adapter interfaces.

    (3) Comprehensive Assembly and Test Vibration Facility: This test facility has a peak sine force of around 29 ton-force and a maximum bare table acceleration capacity of 75 gm.

    (4) Compact Antenna Test Facility (CATF): This is a 30 meter long (100 feet), 20 meter wide (67 feet) and 16m high (52 feet) chamber for testing of antenna in space simulated conditions. ISRO officials claim that no other facility in the world has a similar arrangement.

    The facility was officially thrown open by national security advisor M K Naraynan. Other dignitaries who were present to witness the inauguration included former Isro chairmen U R Rao and K Kasturirangan, secretary Department of Ocean Development P S Goel (formerly from Isro and one of the persons who conceived the idea for the Integration and Testing facility) and ISAC director K Shankara. On completion, the project is estimated to cost around Rs 4 billion.