ITV

Tag: Jagjit Kohli

  • WWIL plans to raise up to $250 million

    WWIL plans to raise up to $250 million

    MUMBAI: Wire & Wireless India Ltd (WWIL), Zee Group’s demerged cable entity, plans to raise up to $250 million (approximately Rs 11250 million) for funding its expansion programme including digitalisation and acquisition of operators.

    The board which met on Monday considered all the fund raising options including issue of ADR (American depository receipt), GDR (global depository receipt), equity, debt, debentures, FCCB (foreign currency convertible bond), QIP (qualified institutional placement) and convertible warrants. The board has decided to convene a general meeting of the shareholders.

    “This is is just an enabling resolution and we plan to decide on the amount we are going to raise and how within 15 days,” says WWIL managing director Jagjit Kohli.

  • WWIL announces Rs 1800 package for Cas

    WWIL announces Rs 1800 package for Cas

    NEW DELHI: Wire & Wireless India Ltd has come out with a price package that it believes will lure consumers to digital cable under Cas (conditional access system).

    The multi-system operator (MSO) is offering an own-your-own set-top box (STB) plus a year long access to at least 100 channels, a minimum of 25 of them being pay channels, for just Rs 1800. This scheme will be available only for those who are subscribing within 31 January, says WWIL CEO Jagjit Kohli.

    For those willing to settle for just the service of 100 channels, but not own the boxes, the option is to go for the Rs 600 per annum (Rs 50 per month) scheme. Rental on the boxes will be an additional cost.

    Consumers in both the schemes will have to pay taxes and Rs 77 for the free-to-air (FTA) channels.

    The bouquet, however, does not have any of the sports channels. For access to any additional pay channel the subscribers would have to pay the Trai-fixed charge of Rs 5. WWIL executive vice president Arvind Mohan of Siticable told indiantelevision.com that not even Ten Sports would shown as part of the Rs 600 bouquet.

    Asked how many of Star, Set and Zee channels respectively would form the bouquet, Mohan said that the details were being worked out.

    WWIL is also immediately launching its Cas-enabled GalaxZee boxes in non-Cas cities.

    “There is a feeling that the analogue will stay for a long time in India. The popular perception is that India being a poor country and technologically backward, so digital would take a long time to take off. But even we are surprised to see at what massive pace digital is taking off in the country,” Kohli said.

    Bangalore, Hyderabad and other cities are witnessing the highest demand for digital services, he added. In these cities, physical headends would be set up for the box operations even before HITS arrives.

    The special GalaxZee STBs have on offer various facilities, apart from the normal TV services, and updated boxes with facilities matching those offered by any DTH service provider. The updated boxes would cost Rs 1,499, but the customer can exchange the old boxes for the new paying the additional cost of Rs 299.

    GalaxZee is using digital technology of Scopus for its digital headends, encryption technology from Conax and STB from Handan.

    “We are aware that the average Indian user is not tech-savvy, so we told the architects of the boxes to make them user-friendly,” Kohli said.

    It is much cheaper than the DTH boxes, he stressed and added: “Whatever channels DTH operators offer are fixed for across the country. We, however, have the option of adding whatever channels we want to depending on which city we are operating in, especially the popular regional language channels and also the local cable channels. And even the local channels would be digital.”

    Besides, for multiple TV sets in one household, GalaxZee is offering FTA in all the additional sets at no extra cost, “but in DTH system you would have to pay for every additional TV set”.

    The value added boxes, which are likely to come after a few months, will have internet, online games and phone on demand. GalaxZee will also offer DVR (digital video recording).

  • WWIL acquires 51 per cent in Delhi MSO for CAS

    WWIL acquires 51 per cent in Delhi MSO for CAS

    MUMBAI: Wire & Wireless India Ltd (WWIL) is expanding its footprint in Delhi. The demerged cable company of Zee Group has acquired a 51 per cent stake in Satellite Channels, a multi-system operator (MSO) who was operating in the Cas (conditional access system) notified area of Delhi, for an undisclosed amount.

    WWIL has also signed up with Spectranet and Sanjay Cable Network. All these MSOs were disqualified for Cas as they were found not ready by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) for making the switchover to addressable system by 31 December.

    “We have bought 51 per cent in Satellite Channels and have signed up with Spectranet and Sanjay Cable Network,” WWIL CEO Jagjit Kohli tells Indiantelevision.com.

    Earlier, WWIL had acquired control over 5 Star which operates in Andheri, a western suburb of Mumbai. Kohli claims to have added 250,000 subscribers in recent months through aggressive acquisitions. WWIL is offering to cable operators a valuation of Rs 2,000-3,000 per subscriber where it will hold 51 per cent stake.

    “However, our focus now is to roll out the digital boxes. We will be soon introducing various packages,” Kohli says.

    WWIL will introduce a combo package where consumers who buy STBs on outright purchase and take annual subscription will be offered an attractive subsidy, Kohli says. This scheme will make available 100 TV channels. “We will be offering under this at least 20 pay channels. We will be subsiding the boxes,” he adds, while declining to spell out the pricing structure of the package.

    WWIL’s initial fund requirement is Rs 5 billion and the company plans to invest Rs 7.14 billion over two years. “We have already lined up a debt of Rs 2.15 billion,” Kohli says.

    WWIL is likely to list by mid-January or early February, he adds.

  • WWIL in drive to acquire LMOs

    WWIL in drive to acquire LMOs

    MUMBAI: Wire & Wireless India Ltd (WWIL), the cable outfit of Zee Network, is on a drive to acquire last mile operators. The company is offering to cable operators a valuation of Rs 2,000-3,000 per subscriber. While WWIL will be a 51 per cent partner, the balance 49 per cent will be with the operators.

    “We want to expand the size of our network. We are making proposals to operators with decent size where we become partners with 51 per cent,” says WWIL CEO Jagjit Kohli.

    WWIL has acquired control over 5 Star which operates in Andheri, a western suburb of Mumbai, adds Kolhi. “We have also poached a few operators from Incablenet in Andheri East and others from multi-system operators (MSOs) are going to join us.”

    WWIL, which doesn’t have a presence in South Mumbai, is also targeting operators in that area. The MSO has linked up optic fibre and is keen to start operations in this lucrative part of the Mumbai market. The government has notified south Mumbai as the area where CAS (conditional access system) will kick off on 1 January.

    WWIL is also planning to launch a headend-in-the-sky (HitS) platform and has expressed its intent to broadcasters. “We are going to do HITS. This will provide us a wider footprint and hasten the pace for digitisation in the country,” says Kohli.

    The buzz in the market is that WWIL is booking seven transponders on Thaicom 5 for the HITS operations. When queried on this, Kohli declined to comment.

    The problem with HITS, however, is that broadcasters are reluctant to get into agreement with MSOs for providing their channels due to fear of piracy.

    Even as WWIL sweetens its proposals to rope in last mile operators, it remains to be seen how big the impact will be in the cable TV industry. If migration from rival networks take place, it will set the pace for a fresh bout of price and dirty wars on the ground. As Hathway Cable & Datacom managing director and CEO K Jayaraman had told Indiantelevision.com earlier in an interview: “As far as poaching of operators go, it is an open ground. Cable companies who focus on good service and have capital to create capacity will turn out winners. Competition is not a one-way street.”

  • Mumbai cable TV shut as operators protest police clampdown

    Mumbai cable TV shut as operators protest police clampdown

    MUMBAI: Cable operators across India’s entertainment capital Mumbai blacked out all channels on their networks on 21 August late evening. The reason: they were protesting against the move by the authorities to stop them from transmitting English and Hindi movie channels to their viewers.

    Earlier in the day, the Mumbai police had swooped down on cable TV control rooms and sealed decoder boxes of nine channels for showing adult content. Among these were Hindi and English movie channels (Zee Cinema, Star Movies, HBO, Filmy, Star Gold, AXN and Max), and Hindi entertainment channels Star One and Sahara One.

    At the time of writing, unconfirmed reports were that other cities across the western Indian state of Maharashtra had also been affected with cable TV services partially or completely shut down. For instance a major cable operator in Pune revealed that decoders of the above nine channels and also those of MTV and Channel V had been sealed.

    Additionally, certain cable TV networks had started scrolling that the agitation had spread through the rest of Maharashtra with services being shut down every where.

    “Police have sealed the decoder boxes of nine channels. We had to sign a bond that we wouldn’t be telecasting these channels till the High Court ruling,” says a senior executive of a leading multi system operator (MSO).

    The Bombay High Court had last week pulled up the Maharashtra police chief for not acting against cable operators who were violating its earlier order banning adult movies on TV. In December 2005, the High Court had ordered the police to take action against cable operators and cable service providers who beamed movies with ‘A’ or ‘U/A’ certificates. This was in response to a public interest litigation filed by social activist Pratibha Nathani.

    In Mumbai, cable operators have blacked out their service. “There was too much confusion and we didn’t receive a definite list of which channels to block. Movie channels like Pix and Zee Studio, for instance, are spared. It is only late in the day that the police has come to our control rooms and sealed the decoders of nine channels. To avoid all this chaos, the three control rooms of Siticable in Mumbai have switched off their service,” says Ravi Singh, a distributor of Siticable.

    Adds a cable operator, “They should have told us early in the day which channels we are not to telecast. There would have been no need for the police to visit all the control rooms in Mumbai as we would have blocked these channels. We are not broadcasters and we can’t be expected to act as the censors of content.”

    The Bombay High court had on 16 August directed Director General of Police Dr P S Pasricha to file an additional affidavit within a week to explain whether any action has been taken against erring cable operators.

    MSOs are deciding what course of action they should take. “We may move the court,” says Wire and Wireless India Ltd. (WWIL) CEO Jagjit Kohli.

    When contacted, a Star India spokesperson did not wish to comment on the issue.

  • HC sets 1 Jan ’07 deadline for CAS implementation

    HC sets 1 Jan ’07 deadline for CAS implementation

    NEW DELHI / MUMBAI: The many meanderings the CAS (conditional access system) story, which began in 2003 with a government notification, could well have reached its final denouement.

    The Delhi High Court today passed an order that makes it imperative on the government to ensure that the three metros of Mumbai, Kolkata and the Capital itself be fully “CAS delivered” on or before 1 January 2007.

    And making clear its resolve that there be no further delays in the matter, the court declared that all pending and any new issues related to CAS raised by the government would be taken up only after the CAS’ implementation deadline of 31 December 2006. It therefore set the next date of hearing on the matter for 10 January 2007.

    The court also recorded a commitment by the joint secretary broadcasting Baijendra Kumar in this regard. The government official’s commitments were taken on record by the court as part of an order passed on 10 March 2006, which had directed the government to implement CAS in Kolkata, Delhi and Mumbai within a month’s time.

    The government also assured the court today that a new notification on CAS would be issued by 31 July 2006.

    The government’s stand on the issue means that from 1 January 2007 all pay channels will have to pass through a set-top box (STB) on a mandatory basis or else they stand to be blacked out of all cable homes in the metros.

    Multi-system operators (MSOs) have welcomed the court’s decision as addressability would make the industry transparent on subscriber numbers. “Addressability will benefit the entire industry as well as the subscribers,” said Wire and Wireless India Ltd (WWIL) CEO Jagjit Kohli.

    Hathway Cable & Datacom CEO K Jayaraman feels this time round there is a lot of clarity on pricing, STBs and choice with a regulatory framework in place. The fear among consumers that CAS pricing would be the same or even more than what is prevailing on analogue cable is unfounded.

    “Addressable pricing is set in motion by the recent TDSAT (Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal) ruling in the DTH (direct-to-home) case. If that is the trendsetter, broadcasters will have to make their content available on digital cable at half the price of what they are quoting on analogue systems. The customers, thus, do not have to worry about paying more for all the channels that they are getting now. And in any case, in a CAS regime they are select the channels they want to watch,” he said.

    Besides, MSOs are making available the STBs on rental scheme. “Customers will not be locked to the boxes and can move to other services. The regulatory framework is setting things in place,” he added.

    Commenting on the development, MSO Alliance chief Ashok Mansukhani said, “We are delighted by the outcome. CAS will enable the cable industry to deliver more choice to consumers at competitive prices.”

    The industry also feels that a five-month breathing period is a practical implementation schedule. But how ready are the MSOs? “WWIL is fully prepared to roll-out STBs not only in the notified areas but throughout the country,” Kohli said. It will be using Headend in the Sky (HITS) technology which will enable it to cover the entire country with a single Digital Headend. “Our value-added boxes will enable subscribers to browse internet, chat, send & receive e-mails, on their existing TV sets without the necessity of having a personal computer. STBs will also have full triple play features including facility for VOIP digital telephone lines using their existing telephone instruments,” he added.

    Among the other features being introduced by WWIL are movie on demand (MOD) /video on demand (VOD), pay per view (PPV), interactive games, smart card based real time payment solution and e-banking, the company said in an official release.

    MSOs and independent cable operators will have to work out commercial agreements with broadcasters including fixing of channel rates. Said SET Discovery Ltd president Anuj Gandhi, “Now the focus will be on MSOs to show their preparedness for CAS. We hope to be ready with our rates in the next three months. By setting 1 January as the deadline, we will have to compress the time frame a bit.”

    A clutch of MSOs had filed a petition in the Delhi HC in 2004 alleging that the government’s stand on CAS and keeping it in abeyance has resulted in heavy financial losses to the cable industry.

  • Three big MSOs work towards common pricing

    Three big MSOs work towards common pricing

    MUMBAI: The three big multi-system operators (MSOs) – Siticable, Hathway Cable & Datacom and Incablenet – are working on a common pricing on their digital cable TV service to make their offerings consumer friendly.

    On the digital set-top boxes (STBs), they are planning to offer a rental scheme of Re 1 a day at a refundable security deposit of Rs 999 once conditional access system (CAS) comes into place. Even without buying STBs, consumers can, thus, shift to digital cable by paying a nominal monthly rent.

    “The understanding among the three MSOs is to offer a common pricing to our subscribers so that there is no confusion in the market. We will be offering a rental plan of Re 1 a day. We also plan to extend this to our service packages as well,” says IndusInd Media & Communications Ltd (IMCL) director Ravi Mansukhani.

    Admits Hathway Cable & Datacom CEO K Jayaraman, “We have decided to work together. Unless we cooperate, the roll out of CAS won’t be smooth as there are forces working against it.”

    The three MSOs will focus on servicing their respective customers rather than be engaged in competition amongst themselves. Though Hathway and Siticable operators are in fight over certain territories in Delhi, these issues are expected to be sorted out.

    The MSOs will also try to unite their distributors and last mile operators (LMOs), but margins across the value chain will be decided only after broadcasters work out commercial agreements with them. They have already written to broadcasters and are awaiting their responses.

    The MSOs are making concerted efforts to clear out certain common perceptions on CAS like it not being consumer friendly. “The Bill was not enacted for the MSOs but for the consumers. The boxes will be available on rental schemes and the monthly subscription fees will fall as consumers can select the channels they want to pay for. Under the current system, the prices are artificially controlled and the consumer is subsidised,” Siticable CEO Jagjit Kohli said, while addressing a press conference today in Mumbai.

    Commenting on the competition from direct-to-home (DTH), Kohli said cable had the advantage of packaging channels according to local demand. “DTH has the constraint of transponder space while cable can offer more channels,” he said.

    Meanwhile, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) has called for a meeting at Delhi on Monday with the MSOs and the distributors to discuss on issues over CAS.