ITV

Tag: indiantelevision.com

  • ‘We are targeting a 50% growth in 2006-07 on the back of the Fifa World Cup’ : Sricharan Iyengar – ESPN Software India Ltd vice president sales and marketing

    ‘We are targeting a 50% growth in 2006-07 on the back of the Fifa World Cup’ : Sricharan Iyengar – ESPN Software India Ltd vice president sales and marketing

    ESPN Star Sports (ESS), a monopoly in satellite sports broadcasting for years, has found challengers like Ten Sports, Max and Zee Sports with cricket content being fragmented. The latest thorn in the playing field is Harish Thawani who walked away with the coveted four-year India cricket rights from BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) for a humungous $612 million.

     

    For ESPN and Star Sports, the running in the current fiscal has been particularly tough. India-Zimbabwe series was the only India-playing cricket property ESS had. Market observers say subscription revenues from cable TV have seen a substantial dip, with various estimates putting the fall in the region between Rs 1.3 billion to Rs 1.7 billion.

     

    But ESPN Software India Pvt Ltd vice-president, sales and marketing Sricharan Iyengar has strongly dismissed these as “baseless rumours” in the market. According to him, the two sports channels have become strong brands which consumers want because of their all-round sports content. The company has managed to sustain its subscription revenues from cable TV operators, he says. Besides, direct-to-home (DTH) has thrown up an added opportunity even as Dish TV has managed to gather close to one million subscribers.

     

    In an interview with Indiantelevision.com’s Sibabrata Das, Iyengar talks about the important properties that ESS has for the next two years including the Fifa football World Cup. Responsible for overseeing the marketing and distribution functions of ESPN and Star Sports across South Asia, he says ESS has a target of 50 per cent growth in revenues for the 2006-07 fiscal. He also elaborates on how ESS has created a wholesome sports network while pursuing with aggressive buying of cricket rights.

     

    Excerpts.

    Having lost sizeable amount of India-playing cricket, has ESPN Star Sports (ESS) entered into a phase of de-growth in subscription revenues?

     

    We have been able to sustain our revenues in the current fiscal (ended June, 2006) on the back of other sports like football and hockey. We have achieved this despite the absence of key driver programming. The only India-playing cricket property we had was the India-Zimbabwe series, but we had to share it with Doordarshan. This shows that the ESS brand stands for delivering all-round sports. And it is this that makes us optimistic about the future.

    Does this mean that you will return to the growth path in the coming year?

     

    There is no reason for us to feel that the business is unhealthy. We are, in fact, targeting a 50 per cent growth next year on the back of the Fifa World Cup and two India-playing cricket series. Actually, for the next two years, we have 9-10 driver events one behind the other (including India-South Africa, India-England, Natwest, Asia Cup, India-Australia, VB series and Euro Cup). We see healthy growth from the hotel business as well which we started two years ago. The peripheral markets like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are also expected to grow. Significant contributions will come from direct-to-home (DTH) with the new operator, Tata Sky, preparing for launch by the middle of the year.

    But isn’t it hurting to be off several cable networks like ICC in Pune?

     

    The de-activation rate is just 7-8 per cent. The fact is that the viewer wants our channels because we have a spread of content across sports. Which is why in DTH, we are charging Rs 40 per month on a 100 per cent declaration. That is the power of the brand. As for our contract with ICC, we had certain commercial demands which were not agreed upon. We have consciously sold DTH in Pune. There are 20,000 people who have bought DTH in that market. For all the hoopla about we not having cricket content, all this seems to be negotiating talk. There are short term bottlenecks, but these are taken care of by total market economics.

    So what are the goals you have set to achieve with the World Cup?

     

    We expect the strong content will provide us the handle to get our channels back on some of the cable networks where we were off and drive in higher revenues. Besides, it will help us reduce the average credit period in the market. With the World Cup, we will also start focusing in rural markets. We have packages for these operators – starting from Rs 3,000 per month. What we need to do now is sell them.

    How will you use the World Cup to drive your other football properties?

     

    We plan to make the World Cup bigger than India cricket. That, at least, is what we will strive for. The frenzy has to flow into the rest of the football properties that we have and drive in more viewership for the English Premier League (EPL) and Spanish League. The World Cup will create a bunch of new superstars who audiences will follow even after the event is over. Undoubtedly, the two leagues where these superstars will play are the EPL and the Spanish League. We hope to improve the stickiness for that kind of football as well. The big challenge for us is to exploit the World Cup in driving a new spike for football in future.
    ‘We should have marketed EPL and PHL five years back when we dominated cricket content. As market leaders, we should have used the opportunity to popularise multiple sports as drivers’

    How are you promoting and marketing the World Cup?

    Consumer interest levels are high and the World Cup offers us a brilliant marketing opportunity. On the content front, we have designed special line of programming as a build up to the event. We have already started from 13 April a 13-episode series that will bring alive the magical moments from World Cup performances of Pele, Maradona, Platini and others. Starting from 22 April, we have Fifa Marathon which profiles the past and the present stars, the teams who have and will make a difference at the World Cup.

     

    And from 3rd-24 May, we will show Fifa Preview, a series that will profile stars, coaches and also analyse each nation’s prospects against teams within their groups. Then there is a series of six half-hour programmes that will feature stories on the most surprising and shocking results in the World Cup. (Fifa Stories from 25 May-1 June).

     

    We are also doing contests around the World Cup. We have a tie up with Adidas for identifying nine kids who will be sent from India to carry the Fifa flag. We will invest heavily in hyping up the World Cup – even in pubs and public screenings. It is a big bang product for us and we will do extensive marketing around it.

    Is ESS’s entire focus now on shifting from a cricket-led to a wholesome sports network?

    A very large part of our focus is on how to develop alternative sports and generate viewership for properties like football and Premier Hockey League (PHL). The challenge is to diversify into more driver sports. Like in the US which has a love for baseball, basketball, American football and ice hockey. As our content has a wide spread of leading sports events, we have to create value for the entire network. While we are broadbasing our channels in other sports as well, we recognise the value India-playing cricket has in this country. We will continue to follow an aggressive policy of buying this cricket so that we can drive our channels to greater growth in future.

    Does that explain why ESS made a desperate bid to grab the India cricket rights from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)?

    There was no desperate bid from us. We are not in investment mode. We made our calculations and believed we would have made a profit on the amount that we bid had we bought it at that price. Perhaps, startups like Zee Sports have their own strategies and feel that they need to be in investment phase.

    Why then did you revise your bid from $230 million (global rights including India) to $308 million and subsequently to $400 million (just for India territory)?

    Since our first bid, the rates have gone up and new revenue streams of DTH have emerged which was not there two years back when we made our estimate. Even IPTV is emerging on the horizon.

    How big is DTH today?

    With Tata Sky coming in, we will see quicker absorption of new technologies. This will expand the market size for addressability. Already, we have Dish TV claiming close to one million DTH subscribers.

    Have you concluded deals with any IPTV players?

    We are in talks with Reliance Infocomm, Bharti, MTNL and BSNL. We expect some form of IPTV to launch by the year-end.
    ‘The Chennai experiment has killed the market with just five per cent of TV homes watching pay channels. Given our Pune experience, it is ridiculous to believe that such a small TV viewing population is wanting to watch sports’

    Why do you think no headway is being made on the conditional access system (CAS) front which will speed up the rollout of digital cable TV?

    The CAS meetings have become shouting matches with the main aim being to paint the other side black. All are bothered about their own selfish interests. Nobody has a genuine industry perspective.

    What is the perspective you have?

    Unless each value chain works, the system will crumble. There is no joint interest in pushing the technology. As long as the transition is seamless, we do not have a problem. But it should not become a fiasco like in Chennai. DTH is not mandated. So why have a mandated CAS? The way we see it is that a vast majority of consumers in these CAS cities are happy in paying their cable bills for the services that they currently enjoy. There is only a small minority who want to buy less channels and reduce their cable bills. Let these customers be given a choice of migrating to CAS and buying set-top boxes to pay for the channels they want to watch. Why disturb the entire city and create blackouts?

    Aren’t broadcasters unnecessarily worried about the lack of infrastructure for the smooth rollout of CAS?

    The Chennai experiment has killed the pay-TV market. I don’t want to get into who is responsible but the fact is that we have just five per cent of TV homes watching pay channels. And given our Pune experience, it is ridiculous to believe that such a small TV viewing population is wanting to watch sports.

    Aren’t the cable operators better prepared this time for CAS rollout than in 2003?

    Well, the last mile operators are certainly more open about CAS this time because of impending threat from new technologies like DTH and IPTV. But there are other issues and the entire industry has to get together.

    Are you in support of the downlink policy?

    It is the government of India who decides the policy for the country. All we are saying is that we should know in advance what events are going to be shared with the national broadcaster so that we can work out our business model accordingly.

    Wouldn’t you prefer exclusive content which you needn’t share with Doordarshan?

    Yes, exclusivity would help drive our affiliate revenues better.

    But doesn’t it compensate with the advantage that you would have by selling advertisements for DD as well?

    The incremental ad revenue from DD may not be enough to offset the subscription revenue downside that we would have to suffer throughout the year if we are to lose exclusivity. Yes, downlinking policy is going to limit my business. But we are willing to live with it, no issue on that. All that we want is more clarity and we don’t want it with retrospective but prospective effect.

    Have you worked on minimum guarantee (MG) as a model to ramp up subscribers from cable operators?

    We have not used it as a business model across the country except in a few markets like Bihar.

    Would you support cable networks in markets where your signals have been de-activated or is this weapon blunted by the truce on the ground among the operators?

    We will definitely do all that is possible to remain the most widely distributed channel. This includes supporting new technologies, providing decoder boxes to new operators wherever we can, and funding free-to-air (FTA) headends.

    Is ESPN Plus ready for a commercial launch?

    We are toying with the idea of a third channel but have put it on experimental mode. We are yet to decide on what final shape it should take.

    What are the lessons ESS has learnt over the last few years which has seen the fragmentation of sports properties like cricket?

    We feel that we should have marketed EPL and PHL five years back when we dominated cricket content. As market leaders, we should have used the opportunity to popularise multiple sports as drivers.
  • Sinha moves to Percept Picture Co Motion Pics; Sand to head PPC TV

    Sinha moves to Percept Picture Co Motion Pics; Sand to head PPC TV

    MUMBAI: Percept Picture Company (PPC) business head – television Akhauri Sinha has moved to the company’s Motion Pictures division and will be jointly heading it as business head with current PPC Motion Pictures business head Chitra S.

    Confirming the same to Indiantelevision.com, Sinha said, “I will now be heading the feature films’ division of PPC with Chitra. It was a great experience working in the television area but now I am quite excited about the new journey.”

    The change in portfolio came about last week.
    According to reliable industry sources, Salil Sand will be stepping into Sinha’s shoes as the business head of PPC’s television division. Sand is currently involved with Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahi as its creative head.

    When queried on the reason for having two business heads for one division, Sinha said, “We have many projects lined up in 2006 – 2007 and hence it made sense to divide the responsibilities.”

    In the pipeline from PPC Motion Pictures this year are Jai Santoshi Maa and Madhur Bhandarkar’s Corporate. “It is a bit too early to talk about the other projects,” he added.

    Prior to joining PPC, Sinha was general manager television at UTV and also has been associated with UTV’s animation division.

  • Zoom Glam Awards 2006 recognises stylish stalwarts on 30 April

    Zoom Glam Awards 2006 recognises stylish stalwarts on 30 April

    MUMBAI: In an era where award shows are a dime a dozen, glamour and lifestyle channel Zoom announces a unique event – The Zoom Glam Awards 2006 for the stylish stalwarts in society. Today, styles are changing with dizzying velocity, evolving as rapidly as the insatiable media has expanded to chronicle the individuals who epitomize sophisticated style.

    These awards are a logical extension of the Zoom brand identity of being a ‘Glamour & Lifestyle Television’ channel. Speaking to Indiantelevision.com the channel’s national sales head MK Anand said, “Our awards celebrate India’s current finest individuals from different walks of life who contribute to the glamour quotient in society. This event will emphasize the fact that Zoom is reaching new standards of excellence in the television industry.”

    The Awards will recognise individuals in areas of fashion, music, business and politics amongst other categories. Going beyond an individual’s work, in his or her functional area the channel will focus on the individual’s style and attitude. Anand explains, “We aim to establish the Zoom Glam Awards as an aspirational property for the Indian glam circuit – they’ll be the final word on the who’s hot and who’s not / what’s in and what’ out. The Awards is a celebration of individuality. This is a step to recognize glam which is such an important quotient in our society today. It is going to be a real annual event, not episodic as our earlier initiatives as far as programming is concerned.”

    A group of experts are currently deliberating a list of nominees. Finally, it will be the channel that decides the winners from the names thrown up. The awards will maintain an exceedingly premium and aspirational look to them in all ground executions and marketing communications. The promos will start airing from 17 April and it will be written about in all publications and channels that belong to the parent group. The campaign designed will definitely have high curiosity value among those who matter in every field.

    The award ceremony is scheduled for 30 April at the Hilton Towers in Mumbai and is expected to be attended by the country’s glitterati. “We hope to create the glamour and excitement of a first class event for a select audience of 250 people complete with red carpet and press interviews of arriving guests. To some glitz and glamour, add a few sequences performed to international standards, then sprinkle this concoction with some industry stalwarts getting felicitated and you have the recipe for a perfect evening of mind-blasting niche entertainment, ” says Anand.

    On the sponsors, Anand says, “We welcome Tuscan Verve, with its inimitable brand, reputation and all-round glamour as the main sponsor to the event. The other sponsors are National Institute of Fashion and Design, Reliance, D’Dmas and L’Oreal. Anand said that he expected many more high end brands to sign in once the promos start airing. We guarantee the highest degree of visibility and exclusivity in being associated with the event.”

    On what the channel hopes to achieve with this event, Anand says, “It is our personality on display and we are gearing to make it the most envied property in the industry. We are taking a step forward from two of our successful shows, Page 3 and Popkorn. It is an extension of Page 3. It is a channel positioning statement as the stress is on the action itself. It is different in the fact that it steers away from any public activity, in keeping with our efforts to reach a niche audience.”

    Few of the categories for the Zoom Glam Awards are :

    – Politician with panache- Male/Female
    – Glam Fashion Designer – Male /Female
    – Glam Party Host
    – Stylish Businessman
    – Most Glamorous Personality of the year
    – Flamboyant Actor – Male/Female
    – Most talked about debutante – Male/Female
    – Glam Sports Star
    –Image makers.

    WOW Entertainment is the event management company that is working behind the scenes for the event. Zoom will shortly telecast a curtain raiser to the event.

  • FM radio players protest WorldSpace terrestrial foray

    FM radio players protest WorldSpace terrestrial foray

    NEW DELHI: It is not only the television broadcasters that are grappling with the issue of distribution and competition. Private radio broadcasters too have started sampling irritants in this regard.

    The private sector FM radio players has complained against satellite radio provider WorldSpace’s attempt to get certain licences that would help it distribute the services terrestrially also.

    According to information available with Indiantelevision.com, WorldSpace, India’s only satellite radio service, is trying to get a license for L-band terrestrial repeater from the information and broadcasting ministry, which, if obtained, will help it to transmit its services on moving vehicles terrestrially — the primary target audience of FM radio.

    “Repeaters are basically targeted at subscribers-on-move like in a car, etc. A satellite radio cannot enter into terrestrial segment by any means,” a letter to the government from the Association of radio Operators in India (AROI) states.

    Raising the emotional quotient, AROI seems to be appealing to the conscience of the government by saying, “We fail to understand why the Government of India is working on the WorldSpace application even when a proper guideline on satellite radio in India is still not available.”

    The letter goes on to add that considering FM radio in India is in a nascent stage and the FM radio broadcasters have paid “an exorbitant OTEF (one-time entry fee)”. the government should “protect FM radio industry for at least next 10 years.”

    “Before even waiting for the commissioning of the new stations, the ministry is already making plans to welcome new players into the terrestrial radio arena, directly threatening the existence of the FM Radio licensees. This is not acceptable at all,” the high-pitched AROI letter states.

    The AROI letter has been marked to prime minister Manmohan Singh, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, defence minister Pranab Mukharjee, home minister Shivraj Patil and telecommunication minister Dayanidhi Maran and I&B ministry secretary SK Arora.

    The move of AROI comes at a time when the government is working on putting in place a policy for satellite radio services, including caps on foreign investments, which would force the likes of WordSpace to restructure themselves and find majority Indian partners.

    The AROI letter is also likely to put pressure on the government to bring about stringent regulations relating to satellite radio services. The Sector regulator has already submitted a set of recommendations to the I&B ministry.

  • Entertainment networks off air as Bangalore mourns Rajkumar’s death

    Entertainment networks off air as Bangalore mourns Rajkumar’s death

    BANGALORE / MUMBAI: India’s I-T hub of Bangalore shut down today as increasingly violent mourners gathered from around the state for Karnataka cinema’s legendary icon Rajkumar’s funeral.

    As a mark of respect (and also fearing possible attacks) cable networks in the city switched off all their entertainment channels. Only news channels were beaming ahead of Rajkumar’s cremation this evening, which will be conducted with full state honours.

    “The Kannada Sanga has requested us to switch off all entertainment channels in Bangalore today, as a mark of respect to Dr Rajkumar,” said the head of an MSO, while speaking to indiantelevision.com.

    Only the news channels are being telecast. Local Kannada channels Udaya and ETV are running on the cable networks as they have taken serials off air and are only showing programmes related to Dr Rajkumar. The entire Star, Zee and Sony-Discovery’s One Alliance channels are off.

    “Cable operators in Bangalore decided to switch off all entertainment channels from midnight. We expect to put the channels on from tomorrow once Rajkumar’s body is cremated,” said Hathway Cable & Datacom head of digital in Bangalore Mathur Nath.

    Cable operators were also contacted by the Kannada activists yesterday. Popular Tamil channels including Sun TV and Jaya TV were pulled off air.

    The entertainment channel blackout seems restricted to Bangalore alone, since enquiries from Mysore reveal that entertainment channels are on there, as has also been confirmed by a Bangalore MSO who has a network in Mysore too, though shops and businesses have remained closed there too.

    As per reports, policemen have been a target of the public ire and TV news channels showed scenes of unruly mobs chasing and beating up policemen.

    Rajkumar, known to fans as “Aannavru” or elder brother, died yesterday aged 77, following a cardiac arrest. The thespian, winner of the Dadasaheb Phalke and Padma Bhushan awards along with a host of other citations, has encouraged the use of Kannada language in the state. His 45-year career in cinema included more than 200 Kannada-language films.

  • Jabil completes $ 185 million acquisition of Celetronix

    Jabil completes $ 185 million acquisition of Celetronix

    MUMBAI: Jabil Circuit, Inc. has acquired Celetronix, a leading electronic manufacturing services (EMS) company in India, for around $185 million, including debt.

    The purchase price consists of around $155 million in cash plus the assumption of $30 million in debt. The acquisition process was completed on 31 March, a source said.

    Celetronix offers services from design and prototyping and is the strategic partner used by many of the world’s recognised brands in set-top satellite decoders, computers, home electronics, networking and server appliances. The company, for instance, does work for direct-to-home (DTH) service provider EchoStar in the US.

    Jabil, a premier EMS company in the world, will be able to get access to low-cost manufacturing from India while targeting new markets and customers. Also, its manufacturing footprint will expand in India. Jabil currently manufactures in 176,000 square feet in Ranjangaon, India. Celetronix has manufacturing facilities in Mumbai, Chennai and Pondicherry.

    Indiantelevision.com e-mailed a set of questions to the company on the acquisition details and its expansion plans. But Celetronix officials in Mumbai declined to comment.

    Celetronix, founded by the Tandon family, has low-cost manufacturing facilities in India and delivers through its worldwide locations including India, US, Malaysia, Singapore and Sri Lanka.

  • Zee bucks the trend as Sensex crashes

    Zee bucks the trend as Sensex crashes

    MUMBAI: The Sensex underwent a dramatic “corrective” drop of 157 points on 7 April but Zee Telefilms Ltd (ZTL), was among the few stocks that bucked the trend.

    ZTL, which closed the previous day’s trade at Rs 246.60 on the BSE, had opened the day on a strong note. Zee’s acquiring the telecast rights for one day international matches to be played by India on neutral venues over the next five years yesterday seems to have made the market hungry and it was just waiting for the next day’s trading to open to pounce on the stock. The buying spree even saw the stock price touching its 52-week high of Rs 270 (Rs 291 at NSE) before falling prey to the negative sentiment that gripped the market, around afternoon.

    The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) ended the session at 11,589.44, lower by 1.34 per cent than its previous closing mark, while the National Stock Exchange’s (NSE) 50 stock Nifty index settled at 3454.80, recording a 56.10 points or 1.6 per cent loss.

    During the early day trade, the Sensex had surged past the 11,900 mark to a new lifetime high of 11,930.66. Just when it seemed that the12,000 mark was within reach, the Sensex took a beating amid rumours that the regulator had banned eleven foreign institutional investors from participating in the market. Consequently, ZTL also took a plunge from its day’s best Rs 270 to a rather poor score of Rs. 244.60.

    Then, after SEBI came out with a denial of that report, the stock made a timely recovery along with a few blue chip stocks which also regained some lost ground. ZTL finally saw it closing for the day at Rs 250.10 at the BSE, up by 1.42 per cent or Rs 3.50 higher than its previous closing mark. At the NSE, it closed at Rs 250.45, up by 1.42 per cent or Rs 3.50 than the previous closing mark.

    A total of 2 million ZTL shares were traded during the day, while the average number of shares traded per day during the last two weeks period is 1.5 million.

    According to broking analysts indiantelevision.com spoke to, the positive performance ZTL has been displaying in the recent times shows that the stock is on its way to reach a value that is more in conformity with the levels that the Sensex has reached. “ZTL is yet to reach its real value and speaking about the overall performance of the stock in the recent times, we can assume that it is in the process of realising its actual price at the Sensex,” says an analyst.

    “Acquiring the neutral venue International cricket rights might have helped the stock to buck the negative trend at the Sensex today. But, there are more significant factors that have been boosting the stock overall. The four-way demerger, the remarkable improvement on the programming front, the advertising rates consequently going up, all have been helping the stock to attract buyers,” he adds.

  • Zee Sports can break even in 18 months time: channel head

    Zee Sports can break even in 18 months time: channel head

    NEW DELHI: Zee Sports, the youngest of the sports channel beaming into Indian cable homes, could breakeven within 12 to 18 months time, according to a senior channel executive.

    “These are early days, but the channel can possibly breakeven in 12 to 18 months time as its revenues increase. Especially now that cricket will be aired,” Zee Sports business head Himanshu Mody told Indiantelevision.com today.

    Part of the Subhash Chandra-promoted Zee Telefilms, Zee Sports believes it has struck gold after bagging the telecast rights of one-day cricket that India will play against Pakistan, Australia, England and West Indies over the next five years on neutral venues.

    Zee has invested approximately Rs 300 million in its sports channel started over a year back.

    Zee Telefilms bagged the telecast rights for approximately $ 219 million, beating the likes of ESPN Star Sports, Sahara One Media & Entertainment and Nimbus.

    According to Mody, a cricket property like this is definitely going to drive up the subscription revenues and could be leveraged in different ways on various platforms over the five year contract period till 2011.

    “In the months to come by, Zee Sports will be a power to reckon with,” Mody said with glee after this victory, having failed twice earlier to bag big ticket cricket properties, which included the domestic Indian rights for four years that was snared by Nimbus for $ 612 million.

    Asked whether the investments could be recovered as there’s an overdose of cricket all round on television, Mody said the present rights for 25 one-day matches were different from other rights and had its advantages.

    “What we have bagged is one-day cricket, which has more value (in terms of viewership) than five-day Test cricket. Moreover, India-Pakistan clashes mostly go down very well with viewers and advertisers alike,” Mody explained.

    Zee Sports is also keen to share the terrestrial telecast with the Indian pubcaster Doordarshan and doesn’t think such simulcast would hit its revenues — advertising or subscription.

    “We are keen to share cricket with DD and will offer the best deal possible,” Mody said.

  • CAS: IBF to push for level playing field

    CAS: IBF to push for level playing field

    NEW DELHI: The Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF) has decided to exhort the government to mandate all other addressable systems in the country like DTH and IPTV, for example, as was being done with CAS or conditional access system.

    This suggestion was one of the many that were discussed today by the board of IBF, an apex body of broadcasting companies operating in India, during a debate to help formulate a stand on the issue of CAS, which can be taken to the government by 7 April.
    Another issue that the IBF would note down in a communication to the information and broadcasting ministry, which is holding meetings with industry stakeholders to finalise a rollout plan for CAS, is the pricing of such addressable services.

    Though the exact words are still to be formalized, IBF sources told Indiantelevision.com it was suggested that the government should be petitioned to follow a recommendation of the sector regulator on the pricing mechanism of addressable systems like CAS, DTH and IPTV with an aim to provide a level playing field to broadcasters vis-à-vis the cable fraternity.
    In a set of recommendations on addressable systems made in 2004, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had suggested that since addressable services depend on offering a choice to consumers, unlike non-addressable system like present-day cable TV services, pricing should be allowed to be formulated by market forces and not mandated.

    Another issue that is likely to find its way in the letter for the government involves the free-to-air bouquet of channels and its pricing.

    The IBF board feels that since the scenario has undergone a change from the time CAS was mooted in 2003 when the free-to-air (FTA )bouquet was to comprise 30 channels and priced at Rs. 72 (exclusive of taxes), more channels should now be added to the FTA package for consumers in a CAS-enabled regime.

    The argument in favour of increasing the number of channels to at least 50 is backed by the fact that the subscription-free DTH service of Doordarshan will also carry more than 50 FTA channels from May. This was announced by DD today at a press conference.

    The IBF board is also likely to express its reservation against providing a la carte pricing of channels as it might be against consumer interest.

    Though such a line of thought had been forwarded by the broadcasting industry in the US to the American regulator, the Federal Communications Commission recently put out a statement saying that the earlier report on a la carte pricing was lopsided and individual pricing of TV channels actually works to the benefit of consumers. This too is being contested by broadcasters in the US.

  • Star News to enter Japan via SKY PerfecTV

    Star News to enter Japan via SKY PerfecTV

    NEW DELHI: Star News is all set to storm the Japan market by launching its services there later this month.

    Confirming the development, Star News CEO Uday Shankar told Indiantelevision.com, “The news channel will be available in Japan from this month and would be on a pay platform.”

    According to Shankar, international distribution of the channel is being handled by News Corp, one of the shareholders in MCCS that is the managing company for Star News and its present Bengali sibling Star Ananda.

    News Corp feels that the Hindi news channel would have viewership in Japan, though limited. Star News, one of the most widely distributed Indian news channel, has international footprints in South East Asia, Central Asia,
    Middle East, the UK, the USA and Australia.

    In Japan, Star News is likely to be on SKY PerfecTV, a leading multi-channel digital satellite television platform.

    Meanwhile MCCS, a 74:26 joint venture between Kolkata-based ABP TV and Hong Kong-headquartered Star Group, continues to explore the possibilities of expanding its portfolio base in India.

    Pointing out that talks on launching new products is an “ongoing process” between the two shareholders of the company, Shankar said, “Both ABP and Star are committed to make the requisite investment as and when the needs arise.”

    Asked whether MCCS would make more Indian language forays in 2006, Shankar did not rule out the possibility. “Some projects are being actively discussed and such ventures take time to materialise. But I am also not saying we would not launch any channel (in 2006).”

    A few days ago, Star News completed three years of operation under a new regime after the divorce from its long-standing content partner, NDTV, which has gone ahead since then to launch its own news channels.

    In February this year, Shankar completed two years at MCCS. Prior to this assignment, he was news director of Aaj Tak, the country’s most successful Hindi news channel in terms of market share.