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Tag: LCO

  • A year when OTT onward march & TRAI tariff issue hogged limelight

    A year when OTT onward march & TRAI tariff issue hogged limelight

    MUMBAI: 2018 could have been easily dubbed as the Indian year digital or OTT, with its chaotic growth continuing and multi-million dollars being poured into programming by global and local players, however, the new tariff and regulatory regime for the broadcast and cable sector occupied as much mind space.

    Though these are early days for a sure shot business model for digital space emerging as players continue to experiment with AVOD, SVOD and combination of several other models, there’s no denying OTT has more than a foot inside the door in India.  

    According to a report by market research firm Media Partners Asia, online video revenue, comprising net ad spend and subscription fees, will grow at an 18 per cent CAGR across Asia Pacific between 2018 and 2023, climbing from $21 billion 2018 to $48 billion by 2023. While China will account for the lion’s share of industry value, with more than 60 per cent of Asia Pacific online video revenue and more than 75 per cent of direct-to-consumer SVOD subs by 2023, other big markets by revenue would include India, Japan, Australia, Korea and Taiwan.

    So, though traditional pay TV is not dead yet and will continue to grow in India as the saturation point is still far from over (BARC India estimates there are about 197 million TV homes in India over 100 million still to be covered), traditional media players have realised OTT and other forms of digital delivery of video — professional or user generated — will continue to grow and put pressures on ARPUs and other numbers as more Indians take to smartphones and devises with broadband infrastructure slowly improving and cost of data plummeting in the short term.

    The inroads into India in 2018 made by Chinese mobile companies have been impressive while raising fears of tracking and data misuse too.

    “With 160 million shipments of smartphones in 2019, apart from being the only market to grow in this sector, India will also be the most potential market for global content creators,” Zeel MD Punit Goenka tweeted last week. This observation is testimony to traditional media players waking up to the competition from OTT platforms for eyeballs.

    The growth of online platforms also means the continued search for both original and library content too will grow as it did in 2018. Not only global players like Netflix and Amazon announced big-budget investment in original content starring leading Hindi film stars like Shah Rukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan, local companies too have upped the ante realising the potential of the digital space. Star India’s digital arm Hotstar claimed 100 million viewers for the IPL cricket and ZEE5 has come out with some refreshing non-fictional programming.

    If online video distribution is growing in India, so has the demand for content regulation. Even as Indian policy-makers struggle to understand the business model(s) for digital players, the cry for regulation to suit Indian sensibilities (or lack of it) too has increased. Netflix Indian original Sacred Games is still fighting out a legal case, while informal warnings have gone to other Indian OTT platform too to tone down edgy programming being streamed.

    Bouncing amongst several government organisations (MIB, TRAI and Meity), the issue of online content regulation was a hotly debated topic in India with a large section of the industry pushing for self-regulation like those prevailing for TV content.

    If not in 2018, some sort of content regulation for online video will definitely come. The only thing that matters is whether in 2018 or it will be post general election in 2019.

    The action in the online video segment and its delivery mode was catalysed by the arrival of Reliance Jio that has expanded from just being a player to becoming a behemoth in a short period of time, handing out services at comparatively low prices. The rollout of Jio Giga fibre network in 2018 has sharply woken up legacy distribution players, including telcos who went on a partnership spree to source content.   

    And, if the regulators in India struggled with the issue of online  content, TRAI’s new tariff regime, proposed first quarter 2017, continued to cast a shadow in 2018 with confusion relating to some aspects (like a 15 per cent cap on discounts to consumers for TV channels) lingering on like a unfinished record playing out discordant notes. While TRAI has sought clarification from the Supreme Court on the discount issue (the next hearing is sometimes in January 2019), it has simultaneously cracked the whip on broadcasters and distribution platforms to fall in line with its new tariff regime by end of the present year.

    The formulation of a new telecom policy or the National Digital Communication Policy 2018 could also be said to be a milestone as India stopped just short of creating a mega communications regulator overseeing the realms of TV broadcast, online and telecoms, depending on having increased synergies amongst these segments and their regulatory regimes.

    Increased mergers & acquisitions seen in 2018 would continue consolidating the market and players. But such activities also raised doubts on possible creation of monopolies. Disney takeover of most of the media businesses of Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox, including Asia biggie Star, played out in India too even as Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries and its various arms went on a shopping spree buying sizable stakes in content makers (Balaji Telefilms, Eros, for example), distribution platforms (Hathway, DEN Networks) and other media assets. That Subhash Chandra-founded Zee too is looking for an investor spiced up the mergers and acquisitions space.

    Channels continued to be launched in 2018 with almost all networks rolling out new offerings in regional languages – a trend which began over 2016 and 2017. Colors Tamil, Sony Marathi, Star Sports 3, Zee Keralam were unfurled for viewers by the major players. What's keeping broadcasters buoyant is the annual expansion in advertising continues unabated at about nine to 10 per cent annually. 

    While legacy media players (like cable TV, MSOs/LCOs, DTH) in India have started a fight for survival and improved bottomlines in the aftermath of online’s growth, the #MeToo effect in 2018 did not leave the media and entertainment untouched.

    Though #MeToo in 2018 more impacted the advertising and film segments with some big names becoming casualties, the ripple effect in the broadcast sector was low. But the movement has opened up a can of worms in the Indian media, entertainment and advertising segments.

    The industry is on tenterhooks in an election year, wondering whether the BJP or NDA will make a comeback in April-May 2019 or yield to the Congress. Will the policy regime continue or will there be changes? These are questions that seem to be creasing many a brow. 

    But on the whole, will the trends continue in 2019? Of course, yes as it too promises to be quite a roller-coaster.

  • TRAI issues warning against spreading ‘fabricated’ facts on tariff

    TRAI issues warning against spreading ‘fabricated’ facts on tariff

    MUMBAI: The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Tuesday cautioned stakeholders against spreading “concocted and fabricated facts” against its new tariff directive, while releasing a list of TV channels along with their respective maximum retail prices as per information received from broadcasters.

    The TRAI statement insisted that the new tariff regime will bring about more transparency in the eco-system by “separating the network capacity fee and pay channel price” and added any “malpractice” from service providers will compel the regulator to intervene.

    Pointing out that a section of the broadcasting and cable industry was creating confusion by insinuating the new tariff regime will increase the monthly cost of consumers for watching television by making inaccurate comparisons, TRAI said comparisons were “skewed” and far from the “market discovered” prices of TV channels.

    Though the Pune Cable Operators Association some days back said it’d move the Bombay High Court against TRAI’s new tariff regime as it could hurt LCOs’ earnings as also consumers, the regulator allayed such fears saying comparisons were not based on “reasoned analysis” and the standard interconnect agreements protected the revenue model of LCOs.

    Meanwhile, TRAI yesterday also released the maximum retail price of 332 pay channels offered by broadcasters to subscribers.

    As per the MRP list released by TRAI, NHK World Premium’s HD version is the costliest TV channel in the group at a stated price of Rs 1,800.

    Though most TV channels are running against time to meet the year-end deadline to disclose MRPs and also conclude signing of agreements with distributing platforms, the issue of tariff is unlikely to settle down soon as TRAI itself has filed a petition in the Supreme Court to get clarifications on the issue of 15 per cent cap on discounts on channel pricing.

    Star India on Monday was the latest one to announce the new a-la-carte prices for its TV channels and company MD Sanjay Gupta made it clear the organisation would adapt to any new pricing structure if necessitated by a future court ruling.

  • TRAI secretary Sunil K Gupta explains need for tariff order

    TRAI secretary Sunil K Gupta explains need for tariff order

    GOA: After several twists and turns, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) new tariff order crossed its last legal hurdle in the Supreme Court on 30 October. Now, with less than one month left for the implementation of the regulations, several questions still concern the industry stakeholders. On the second day of the Video and Broadband Summit 2018, TRAI secretary Sunil K Gupta spoke on the new regime via Skype and answered questions raised by stakeholders. He also threw light on the initiatives taken by the regulatory body to make consumers aware of the radical changes.

    Indiantelevision.com needs to clarify here that since the VBS session was held in Goa last month, a development has taken place in the form of TRAI, last week, filing a fresh petition in the Supreme Court for review of the Madras High Court observations on a cap of 15 per cent discount on bouquet prices of TV channels.

    Gupta started the session explaining the need to have a comprehensive regulatory framework for dealing with the problems of the broadcasting sector. Talking about the problems faced by different stakeholders, he cited the example of the issues faced by MSOs and LCOs, broadcasters as well as consumers.

    In the case of MSOs and LCOs, the biggest problem was discriminatory treatment by broadcasters. As a result, it was almost impossible for smaller MSOs to get the content at the appropriate price from the broadcasters because the agreements were not transparent. Moreover, the problem was concerning customers as well due to the different rate of channels at different platforms. They didn’t have the power to choose and were forced to take channels provided by the DPOs.

    Broadcasters also faced various difficulties due to the lack of transparency in the entire ecosystem. While they were giving free-to-air channels, they felt that, in many cases, those channels were being actually charged. This menace reduced the probability of use of those channels resulting in fewer viewers. As the revenue of FTA channels is highly based on viewership, the business was getting affected.

    “Similarly, there were problems with broadcasters also as many time broadcasters were complaining that the content which is given to the consumers is not of high quality. Secondly, there are certain channels which were demanded by few stakeholders and because of the cap such channels could not be launched as there were serious issues particularly if you look at channels that are a requirement of a select class of stakeholders,” he said.

    “So considering all these issues and also the issues of non-transparency, we have come up with a very comprehensive framework. The comprehensive framework gives rights to the broadcasters to price their channels properly and transparently communicate to consumers,” he added.

    Gupta also explained that TRAI has made arrangements so that price of a particular channel can clearly be displayed on the electronic programme guide. He later added that due to the new regime, subscribers would have choice of channels as well as all the information. Moreover, Gupta said subscribers can get all the related information on the website of the MSOs in the tab which is called ‘customer corner’.

    “As far as MSOs are concerned, there were issues that they did not have funds to upgrade their network for good quality experience to consumers. Now, there will be dedicated money for MSOs and LCOs so the network can be upgraded and good quality service can be given to consumers. Broadcasters also have the freedom to choose what price they can get from subscribers and also appropriately optimise the prices so that they can get maximum revenue of advertisement as well as subscriptions from the consumers,” he added.

    Responding to a question from the audience, Gupta said there is no change in the license of the LCOs and they are supposed to take registration form from the post office only. But he also mentioned that they are working with MIB so that the process can be made online.

    Many MSOs and LCOs raised the concern that it looks like they are being reduced to merely a commissioned agent. Gupta said the functions of LCOs and MSOs have properly been described under the Model Interconnect Agreement (MIA) and the Standard Interconnect Agreement (SIA) divisions.

    “Here the framework is that a channel price which is being prescribed is the broadcaster’s understanding of the price of the particular channel. Now 20-35 per cent discount which is being given is to do certain work for that particular channel. Here, Rs 130 is being given differently and separately to MSOs and LCOs as they are providing the connectivity to consumers and consumers are getting the service from them. In addition to that, the portion of the discount on the content which is either 20 per cent or anything in between 20-35 per cent will also be accounted for sharing between the MSOs and LCOs,” he explained rejecting the claim that MSOs are only about to get commissions.

    TRAI is also taking measures to inform consumers properly about the upcoming change. There will be big campaigns as well as meetings in cities like Delhi, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Bhopal. In addition to that, TRAI is also going to start a programme to inform the consumers. Even jingles will be played on radio and other media to grab consumer attention.

  • Chrome DM services help optimise viewership ratings: Pankaj Krishna

    Chrome DM services help optimise viewership ratings: Pankaj Krishna

    As you walk into the Chrome Data Analytics & Media’s office on the outskirts of Delhi, you see the company chief executive Pankaj Krishna ‘talking to himself’ in the wide-glass paned conference room. Only after being ushered in, you realise, he’s actually holding a business conversation with his colleague in the Mumbai office whose live images also appear on the big TV screen placed in the room. “This connection is always ‘live’ so any issue can be discussed asap,” he informs languidly, pushing back the chair’s backrest to the maximum.

    For a technology-driven market research and advisory firm with a pan-India on-ground presence and a list of clients that include Indian and global companies, apart from a prominent political party, Krishna looks less like a chief executive and more like a person out on a beach holiday. His hair pulled back in a casual pony-tail, and clad in a stylishly crumpled linen shirt, cotton trousers and kohlapuri chappals, he seems out of place in an office that’s buzzing with activity and some serious data analytics. “Just returned to office some time back after being up the whole night in the office with the masons, plumbers, etc. trying to get the main washroom relocated and refurbished according to Vaastu (the Indian system of architecture),” the man offers an explanation apologetically. Huh!!?? Probably, that’s also an indication of the nature of the person that he likes to get involved in even the smallest details of business.

    As of late 2017, the organisation had a team of big team of field staff, 150+ managerial staff and 450 tele-callers speaking over 22 languages to gather data from over 3,000 towns. With a major presence in villages too, Chrome DM also has a fairly expansive reach into rural India. That’s what the company website states. Krishna adds that there could be some small changes in those numbers as the company forays into new verticals (human resources placements, for example) and targets new avenues to monetise the huge amount of data that’s collected on a daily basis. So, you can very well be India’s Cambridge Analytica, one asks him cheekily. Without batting an eyelid, Krishna guffaws and counters: “Yes certainly, but minus the data leaks. We are very particular about data protection.”

    Chrome DM’s office on the eight floor of a building overlooking the expressway connecting the industrial hub of Noida to Delhi offers a great view, especially from Krishna’s personal office adjacent to the conference room. The vastness of the view also compares with the vision with which the company had been set up to do research, offer advisory and indulge in data crunching for an expanding list of clients — many of them from India’s billion-dollar broadcast and cable sectors.

    Indiantelevision.com engages Krishna, a first-generation entrepreneur, on a variety of issues ranging from TV audience-related research, dual LCNs, piracy of TV signals, India’s ongoing digitisation of TV services and data analytics. Excerpts from the interview:

    How would you describe what Chrome DM does?

    Chrome DM is a tech driven primary research and data analytics advisory catering to over 450 clients (broadcasting, FMCG, policy, government organisations, etc.) with over 1,000 data collection executives (field and tele-calling) covering 3,300 towns and 315,000 villages in India.

    Chrome DM has two major verticals: broadcast and media solutions (B&MS), and consumer and brand analytics (CBA). B&MS operates in real-time distribution tracking and monitoring and content research. CBA offers quantitative and qualitative research to brands in the form of primary surveys, retail audits, focus groups and campaign assessments.

    Is the company also into TV audience and viewership measurement?

    The company acts as an advisory for its broadcasting clients to optimise viewership ratings through efficient distribution practices and qualitative content research through its proprietary tools.

    How is the company different from BARC India, which measures what India watches and its numbers are used as benchmarks?

    Chrome DM is not in the viewership ratings space, but in the advisory space to enhance the same. We provide actionable data into optimising distribution, content and FPC practices, which have a direct bearing on ratings. Additionally, there are fundamental differences in sampling methodologies from what BARC India follows. Chrome operates in real time tracking through its proprietary Chrome Boxes, installed at respondents’ homes, offered to broadcasting clients as Chrome Live. However, that does not mean we do not respect what BARC does.

    Are all the services paid-only services?

    Chrome DM’s products are a mix of subscription services and one-time cost offerings.

    What are the new services/initiatives being launched by the company?

    Chrome DM is launching Chrome Live, an unprecedented service that lets broadcasters watch what the audience is watching while they are watching it. The technology, developed in-house, uses proprietary ChromeBox (patent is pending registration) installed at the respondent end that enables access to the respondent’s TV screen. This live access to the screen is complimented by advanced data analytics to create a one-stop, fully automated broadcasting solutions. The same is used as part of the advisory B&M services, which help in optimising channel spends towards maximising ratings 

    How does live tracking work and in what way such data would benefit a TV channel or a subscriber of the service?

    Live tracking lets broadcasters know in real time the effect of their distribution practices, content planning and air presentation on audiences. It also helps TV channels to identify areas where piracy is being done and helps taking precautionary measures. It could also help government organisations in understanding how’s and when’s of piracy of TV signals and other maladies prevalent in the industry and help them in cracking the regulatory whip for the benefit of the industry at large.

    (A demo given during the interview showed how on a particular day around 12.45 pm, a popular Hindi GEC was being aired illegally to the subscribers of a cable network in a Bihar town. After the LCO had been switched off by the broadcaster owing to some differences, the LCO was downloading signals of the said TV channel from a DTH platform and illegally relaying it on his network for its subscribers. Even the logo of the DTH platform could be seen on the TV screen via the ChromeBox installed on consumer premises. The routine was repeated for another GEC and this time the piracy was happening in a small town of Uttar Pradesh.)   

    If the owners and managers of the two TV channels shown for your benefit here could get hold of such an information on real time basis, then it would help them a lot in identifying the trouble spots and take corrective measures immediately.

    Has live tracking service being formally commissioned and how many clients are there at present?

    Chrome Live has just been launched and already been subscribed by some of the major broadcasting companies across genres. We are also in the process of closing negotiations with the remaining existing clients. As a value proposition, Chrome Live is the future of distribution, content and on-air- presentation (OAP) monitoring.

    Are Chrome DM data services mobile app based or can be tracked/accessed by a client in a traditional way on his/her desktop?

    The service comes in the form of a comprehensive web dashboard as well as an Android and iOS technology, as we prefer to call them. The technology is just one of the interfaces our clients can access Chrome Live on. Incidentally, the tech itself is a global first, and a mix of proprietary software and hardware. Clients can log on to the web dashboard at chromelive.in and access the technology on Google Playstore too.

    Is the analysis of data done in-house or outsourced to a third-party vendor? How is data protection ensured considered Chrome would be sitting over huge amount of consumer data?

    The analytics division is 100 percent in-house with a 150+ strong data analytics team. All data collected is anonymous and securely encrypted. The data is also collected with the express consent of respondents so nobody can accuse of mining data illegally.

    How is generating and analysing TV-related data different from, say, data/analysis done for a political party?

    While the nature of projects remains very different, the guiding principle of reducing human error and turn-around time by introducing technology remains the same. Often, learning from one leads to procedural improvements in the other.

    What, according to you, are some of the ills affecting the distribution of TV services in India?

    A lack of transparency, even after the introduction of digitisation, remains the foremost concern. In analog feeds, we have seen under-declaration of subscribers. Piracy remains rampant. Multiple subscriber management systems in the digital MSO space, akin to keeping two books of records, is also witnessed. 

    Hasn’t ongoing digitisation of TV services brought about more transparency in the whole eco-system or is the system still as opaque as before?

    Yes, and no. Chrome Live registers some 34,000 fluctuations every week on the ground. These could be anything from LCN change to channels being switched off/on. But we also see majorly analog markets, like Tamil Nadu and parts of Andhra Pradesh, along with smaller pockets of other states, which have so far resisted the digitisation process.

    As many TV companies and even distribution platforms now have in-house anti-piracy units, do you think the practice of piracy has gone down?

    Curbing piracy will always be a function of effective monitoring of the feed at the audience end. Chrome DM monitors 3,300 unique feeds on a daily basis, and we see that piracy remains a consistent practice. In a recent week, we had 173 instances of piracy being caught by our data collection team.

    How rampant is the use of dual LCN?

    According to Chrome Live, there were some 1,433 instances of dual LCN across all genres across the country in our Week 28, for example. Of these, TV channels falling in the genre of tele-shopping, Hindi GEC, Hindi movie, Hindi news and kids were the top five genres where dual LCNs were employed.

    Did regulator TRAI’s ban on employing dual LCN impact the industry?

    As stated earlier, with 1,433 instances of dual LCN in a single week, the practice is obviously prevalent. The objective of dual LCN is to monetise the simplest law of probability on the ratings. Of the over 1,250 channels we monitor, the fight is for the 106 channels in analog or approximately 300 in digital realm. This difference in supply and demand is made worse by dual LCNs. The practice is mostly seen during blockbuster events like presentation of Union Budget (for business news genre) and during new launches as part of the channel’s marketing exercise. 

    As the data that the company generates relating to TV services are based on sample sizes, how many boxes are actually seeded in the market?

    Chrome operates on a census-based distribution monitoring service — there are over 3,400 unique cable feeds (parent + child) — and we monitor each and every one of them. Of the 183.7 million cable and satellite TV households (Urban+Rural, ChromeTrack 2.0, May 2018), Chrome DM covers 119.8 million households.  

    Are there plans to ramp up number of boxes as the total number of TV HHs have gone up?

    Absolutely. As I mentioned, this is a real time track of distribution, OAP and programming. We have a long way to go, and the seeding process will continue going strong in the foreseeable future.

    Are the Chrome Boxes made in India or imported from East Asian countries like most other such boxes?

    Majority of the boxes have been indigenously created, with small parts being sourced from markets like Taiwan and China.

    How much of the tech in the boxes proprietary?

    The software and hardware have been designed and developed in-house and third-party vendors have been commissioned for manufacturing of boxes for large-scale seeding.

    As the company expands, investments are needed. How are funds being raised and how much does the company plan to invest in the current FY on expansion, technology and manpower?

    The business itself is hugely profitable, so we have enough working capital being generated. Most of the major investments have been into R&D, technology, including setting up and expanding the in-house tech team, and shoring up infrastructure like the seeding of boxes. These investments have been promoter driven.

    Are there any plans to take the company public?

    At the moment, there are no conscious plans of doing it. But we are not averse to the idea of exploring the option at the right time.

    Are Chrome DM services available only in India or are they available in other countries too?

    Chrome DM services can be replicated in any market in a cost-effective manner owing to the wealth of experience the team brings in. We’re actively looking at several markets other than India to expand into. Apart from bagging our first international client in the Q3 of last year (Trivago, Germany, for our media planning tool Chrome Optimal), we’re looking for suitable markets in the Middle East, South East Asia and Australia/New Zealand. 

  • Den Networks reports higher revenue, operating profit

    Den Networks reports higher revenue, operating profit

    BENGALURU: Indian multi system operator (MSO) Den Networks (Den) reported growth in revenue and operating profit (EBITDA) for the quarter ended 31 March 2018 (FY 2018, fiscal 2018, year under review) as compared to the previous year FY 2017. Den’s operating revenue for fiscal 2018 increased 11 per cent to Rs 1,285.10 crore from Rs 1,157.34 crore in FY 2017. Total consolidated revenue including other income grew 9.7 per cent in FY 2018 to Rs 1,314.98 crore from Rs 1,198.67 crore in FY 2017. Consolidated simple EBITDA including activation revenue during the year under revenue increased 41.7 per cent to Rs 324.52 crore (25.3 per cent of revenue from operations) from Rs 229.01 crore (19.8 per cent of revenue from operations).

    The company’s net consolidated loss for FY 2018 reduced to Rs17.11 crore, which was less than a tenth of the loss of Rs 187.76 crore in the previous year. Consolidated total comprehensive loss for the year declined to Rs 16.77 crore from Rs 187.24 crore in FY 2017.

    Segment revenue

    The company has two segments – cable distribution networks (cable); and broadband. Cable segment revenue increased 12.5 per cent in FY 2018 to Rs 1,209.75 crore from Rs 1,075.54 crore in FY 2017. Den reported that segment had an operating profit of Rs 61.63 crore as compared to an operating loss of Rs 60.98 crore in FY 2017.

    Den reported 7.9 per cent decline in operating revenue for its broadband segment in FY 2018 at Rs 73.75 crore as compared to Rs 81.80 crore in the previous year. The segment’s operating loss reduced to Rs 31.91 crore in FY 2018 from Rs 36.31 crore in FY 2017.

    Let us look at the other numbers reported by Den

    Consolidated total expenditure for the year was almost flat – it increased by 0.1 per cent in FY 2018 to Rs 1,321.43 crore (102.8 per cent of operating value) from Rs 1319.79 crore (114 per cent of operating value) in the previous year. The company has seen a rise in content cost in actual value as well as in terms of percentage of operating revenue over the past quarters and fiscal 2018. Consolidated content cost increased 14.1 per cent in FY 2018 to Rs 539.80 crore (42 per cent of operating revenue) as compared to Rs 473.28 crore (40.9 per cent of operating revenue) in the previous fiscal. Consolidated placement fees reduced 7.9 per cent in FY 2018 to Rs 46.21 crore (3.6 per cent of operating revenue) from Rs 50.20 crore (4.3 per cent of operating revenue).

    Consolidated employee benefits expense during the year under review declined 12.5 per cent to Rs 107.99 crore (8.4 per cent of operating value) from Rs 123.37 crore (10.7 per cent of operating value) in FY 2017. Consolidated other expenses in 2018 reduced 5.7 per cent to Rs 312.79 crore (24.3 per cent of operating value) in FY 2018 from Rs 331.68 crore (28.7 per cent of operating value) in the previous year.

    Also Read :

    Aim to take phase 3 ARPU to phase 1 value: Den Networks’ SN Sharma

    DEN expands broadband services; plans Rs 100 cr capex

  • TN advisory: LCO licences may be cancelled if they bully Arasu subs into buying STBs

    TN advisory: LCO licences may be cancelled if they bully Arasu subs into buying STBs

    MUMBAI: A Tamil Nadu state advisory has informed subscribers of Arasu Cable not to pay money to the local cable operators (LCOs) for set-top boxes (STBs) which are actually being provided to all for free.

    Arasu Cable, as per a state government statement, is the only state-owned undertaking in the country to offer free STBs combined with internet services and digital cable TV, and a three-year warranty.

    Indiantelevision.com had reported that Arasu Cable (TACTV), which had early in September, claimed to have gone digital, was on 25 September asked to “confirm that you have already switched off analogue signals and are carrying only digital encrypted signals on your cable TV network.” In a letter to TACTV, sent by the ministry of information and broadcasting (MIB), the multi-system operator (MSO) was asked to reply within 10 days of issuance of the letter, “failing which your registration is likely to be suspended/revoked.”

    The state advisory, meantime, now has also cautioned subscribers of Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation (TACTV) against buying the STB from private dealers, the Times of India reported. If the LCOs were found to be bullying subscribers into paying for STBs, their licence could be cancelled, the state government has warned.

    The advisory has urged subscribers to report cases where LCOs had asked them to buy STBs from private dealers through the Arasu cable helpline.

    The state government had, a month ago, begun distribution of free STBs among Arasu subscribers. Chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami had launched the service through the government-owned enterprise after inaugurating MPEG-4 upgraded control room for digital signal transmission.

    Arasu’s approximately 70 lakh subscribers would have access to around 180 channels in digital mode. There will be four packages with monthly subscription between Rs 125 and Rs 275 with option of both free and paid channels.

  • IDOS 2017: Cable TV sector needs more collaborative broadcasters, say MSOs

    IDOS 2017: Cable TV sector needs more collaborative broadcasters, say MSOs

    NEW DELHI: Even as the multi-system operators and cable operator are doing their bit to aid digitisation, broadcasters need to participate more in the process which officially has been completed. They need to be more transparent and supportive of the distribution platform operator — in this case the MSO and cable TV operator — and not be like a tax collector always asking for more.

    This was the general view of both, S N Sharma of Den and Ashok Mansukhani of Incable in a discussion in ‘The Indian MSO: Redefining the raison’etre’, who also said it was only now that the MSO was beginning to monetise almost five years after digital addressable system was first launched.

    Furthermore, the broadcasters were still free to fund the business as they wanted, and, as Sharma put it, there are only two laws that control the broadcaster – the Programme and Advertising Codes and the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act 1995. Thus, there is virtually no regulation for the broadcaster, Sharma said.

    Both, Sharma and Mansukhani agreed that MSOs and even LCOs had put in a lot of effort to get DAS off the ground — that too in a period of four to five years, which is unprecedented globally.

    “The DAS regulation was brought in for transparency and to allow everyone to have a fair share of the huge subscription revenues that viewers were paying to watch cable TV,” said Sharma. “But, the sad part is that broadcasters are constantly asking for rate increases of 24 per cent or so without even asking if it were possible,” added Mansukhani.

    They said that it would be better if the broadcasters were to communicate rate increases to viewers and invest in promoting that, rather than expecting MSOs who are just about recovering from the hangover of the huge investments they have put into DAS as well as getting robust systems and processes in place. “Also, we are not equipped or have the creative mindset to communicate this effectively for all channels,” agreed both Sharma and Mansukhani.

    Rather than going to courts to stall the TRAI tariff order, they said, broadcasters could collaboratively work with the DPOs to take DAS on to the next level. “Neither the government nor the regulator has been able to do anything,” they said.

    “We have our own troubles, recouping our investments to bring back profitability into the cable TV sector, as well as dealing with piracy and leakages which broadcasters take time to check and stop because they have procedures to follow,” said Sharma.

    Mansukhani disagreed with Indiantelevision.com founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari that the cable TV sector will not be in a position to manage complicated skinny a la carte bundles for the millions of customers that it serves. “Our backends are ready,” he said. “Our SMS, billing and KYC of the customers is in place,” he said. “We are just waiting for the (court) order to come through.”

    He opined that the industry would ultimately survive the changes, and he was also confident that the cable industry was ready to adapt to any new technology.
    To a question about monetisation, Sharma said the MSOs were not beginning to reap the monetary benefits of Phase I. Even the DTH industry was beginning to break even only now, more than a decade after it was launched.
    Mansukhani said he was happy that the Hinduja’s headend in the sky (HITS) NXTDigital was reaching 1.5 million consumers. But, the need was to break even as early as possible and “giving a dividend to my shareholders.”

    But, he stressed the need to keep the dialogue open with the LCOs who are the ones dealing with the consumer. Consumer connect has to continue. He regretted that the level playing field that he had hoped to get from the government has never came.

    Both Mansukhani and Sharma agreed that, though the government had not made a difference between the urban and rural viewers, this was necessary if there has to be penetration in rural areas. Otherwise, they would go to Doordarshan’s FreeDish.

    Sharma said his company was soon launching a device that would not be internet-based and could be used for all gadgets including mobiles, TV, tabs, and so on.

    Mansukhani said that it was clear that the MSO will have to graduate from being a TV MSO to a multi-screen MSO.

  • Broadcast biz ease exercise progresses, TRAI expects conclusive ideas by 11 Sept

    Broadcast biz ease exercise progresses, TRAI expects conclusive ideas by 11 Sept

    NEW DELHI: More time has been given by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India for stakeholders to respond to its consultation paper issued last month on the ease of doing broadcast business.

    Stakeholders can send in their comments by 11 September and counter-comments by 18 September 2017 to the paper of 31 August based on views received by it on 19 April’s pre-consultation paper.

    The paper was issued noting that a business-friendly environment is a pre-requisite for the growth of a nation and makes a country a favorite business destination particularly with the fast changing regulatory framework for the media and entertainment sector. Seventeen questions were raised by TRAI.

    Noting that the media and entertainment sector in India is one of the fastest growing sectors, TRAI noted that it not only leads to employment generation but also helps in the growth and development of an economy.

    The economic liberalisation measures initiated in the early 1990s had focused on reduction of regulatory burden on enterprises as an underlying objective of the reform process. The government has launched an ambitious programme of regulatory reforms aimed at making it easier to do business in India. The programme aims at pinpointing the bottlenecks and ease them to create a more business-friendly environment. The efforts have yielded some results with India ranked at 130 according to the World Bank’s “Doing Business” report. But, there is still huge scope for further improvements.

    TRAI notes that the IMF has titled India as the brightest spot in the global economy. Several global institutions have projected India as the leading destination for FDI, and a number of recent global reports and assessments, show that India has considerably improved its policies, practices and economic profile. It is expected that enabling policies and determination to continue with economic reforms, various initiatives taken by the government such as ‘Make in India,’ Smart City Mission, Skill India Mission, Digital India, etc. would further spur the growth of the economy.

    The pre-consultation paper on the “Ease of Doing Business” in broadcasting which covered all media came just a few months after a similar paper on telecom. In the new era of convergence, the two sectors are expected to complement each other.
     
    The aim is also to remove entry barriers by laying down well-defined and transparent procedures and processes thereby creating level playing field and competition in the sector and to facilitate innovation and technology adoption for providing better quality of services to the consumers to steer further growth of the sector by attracting investment through investor friendly policies 

    Subjects to be covered are related to processes and procedures for obtaining permission/ license/ registration for the following broadcasting services and subsequent compliances connected with these permissions. The fields include:

    (a) Uplinking of TV channels 
    (b) Downlinking of TV channels 
    (c) Teleport services 
    (d) Direct-to-home services 
    (e) Private FM services 
    (f) Headend-in-the sky services 
    (g) Local Cable Operators 
    (h) Multi System Operators 
    (i) Community Radio Stations 

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  • Arasu ‘monopolistic practices’ decried by LCOs, TN body seeks GST exemption

    Arasu ‘monopolistic practices’ decried by LCOs, TN body seeks GST exemption

    MUMBAI: A Tamil Nadu federation of unions to which hundreds of cable operators owe allegiance has alleged that the Arasu MSO has been following  ‘monopolistic practices’ and acting against the welfare of its members.

    It also made a series of demands from the state and central governments including forming a welfare board for cable TV operators, strict monitoring of Arasu operations by the union ministry and exemption of cable TV operations from Goods and Services Tax (GST).

    The Tamil Nadu Arasu Cable TV Corporation Limited (TACTV) had set the subscription fee as Rs 70, which was below the fee recommended by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). Of this, cable operators were expected to pay 50 per cent to Arasu, the federation alleged.

    Hundreds of cable TV operators from across Tamil Nadu on Monday observed a fast condemning TACTV for acting against the welfare of cable TV operators.

    The Federation of Cable TV Associations of Tamil Nadu (FCTATN) has alleged that Arasu had claimed that it owned the complete cable the infrastructure and subscribers although TACTV was formed with almost zero investment since the necessary infrastructure and last mile connectivity were provided by the LCOs (local cable TV operators). “This is unfair,” FCTATN chief coordinator D.G.V.P. Sekar said.

    Alleging that TACTV was formed with almost zero investment since all the necessary infrastructure and last mile connectivity were provided by the local cable TV operators, the participants said that it was unfair on the part of TACTV to claim that all the infrastructure and subscribers as its own.

    The operators also accused TACTV of taking away from them the responsibility of collecting subscription fee, and asking the subscribers to directly pay it online. “Now, operators will have to wait for TACTV to credit the share to us,” Sekar said.

    FCTATN members also alleged that TACTV’s taluka-level and district-level control room operators were often appointed on the recommendation of ruling political party functionaries, and acted in an ‘high-handed behaviour’ towards the cable TV operators.

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  • TRAI seeks conclusive views on ease of doing broadcast biz

    NEW DELHI: Noting that a business-friendly environment is a pre-requisite for the growth of a nation and makes a country a favorite business destination particularly with the fast changing regulatory framework for the media and entertainment sector,the Telecom Regulatory Authority has issued a consultation paper on the ease of doing business in broadcasting based on views received by it on a pre-consultation paper issued on 19 April this year.

    Responses to the paper, which poses around 18 questions to stakeholders, have to be sent by 28 August with counter-comments if any by 11 September 2017.

    Noting that the M and E sector in India is one of the fastest growing sectors, TRAI has noted that It not only leads to employment generation but also helps in the growth and development of an economy.

    The economic liberalisation measures initiated in the early 1990s had focused on reduction of regulatory burden on enterprises as an underlying objective of the reform process. The Government has launched an ambitious programme of regulatory reforms aimed at making it easier to do business in India. The programme aims to pinpoint the bottlenecks and ease them to create a more business-friendly environment. The efforts have yielded some results with India ranked at 130 according to the World Banks’ Doing Business report. But, there is still huge scope for further improvements.

    TRAI notes that the IMF has branded India as the brightest spot in the Global Economy. Several Global Institutions have projected India as the leading destination for FDI in the World and a number of recent global reports and assessments, show that India has considerably improved its policies, practices and economic profile. It is expected that enabling policies and determination to continue with economic reforms, various initiatives taken by the Government such as Make in India, Smart City Mission, Skill India Mission, Digital India, etc. would further spur the growth of the economy.

    The pre-consultation paper on the ease of doing business in broadcasting which covered all media came just a few months after a similar paper on telecom. In the new era of convergence, the two sectors are expected to complement each other.

    The aim is also to remove entry barriers by laying down well defined and transparent procedures and processes thereby creating level playing field and competition in the sector and to facilitate innovation and technology adoption for providing better quality of services to the consumers to steer further growth of the sector by attracting investment through investor friendly policies

    Subjects to be covered are related to processes and procedures for obtaining permission/license/registration for the following broadcasting services and subsequent compliance connected with these
    permissions.

    The fields include:

    (a)Uplinking of TV channels
    (b) Downlinking of TV channels
    (c) Teleport services
    (d) Direct-to-home services
    (e) Private FM services
    (f) Headend-in-the sky services
    (g) Local Cable Operators
    (h) Multi System Operators
    (i) Community Radio Stations

    The questions raised are:

    1. Is there a need for simplification of policy framework to boost growth of satellite TV industry? If yes, what changes do you suggest in present policy framework relating to satellite TV channels and why?
    2.  Is there a need in present policy framework relating to seeking permission for making changes in the name, logo, language, format, etc. related to an operational satellite TV channel? If so, what changes do you suggest and why?  Is there a need for simplification of policy framework to boost growth of satellite TV industry? If yes, what changes do you suggest in present policy framework relating to satellite TV channels and why?
    3. Do you agree witb some of the stakeholders comments at the pre-consultation stage that Annual Renewal Process of TV channels needs simplification?
    4. Do you agree with stakeholders’ comments that coordination with multiple agencies/ Government departments related to starting and operating of a TV channel can be simplified? If so, what should be the mechanism and framework for such single window system?
    5. Is present framework of seeking permission for temporary uplinking of live coverage of events of national importance including sports events is complicated and restrictive? If yes, what changes do you suggest and why?
    6. Do you feel the need to simplify policy framework for seeking permission/license for starting and running of following services:  
    (iii) Teleport services
    (iv) DTH service
    7. As per your understanding, why open sky policy for Ku band has not been adopted when it is permitted for ‘C’ band? What changes do you suggest to simplify hiring of Ku band transponders for provision of DTH/HITS services?
    8. What are the operational issues and bottlenecks in the current policy framework related to:
    (iii) Teleport services
    (iv) DTH service
    How these issues can be simplified and expedited?  
    9. What are the specific issues affecting ease of doing business in cable TV sector? What modifications are required to be made in the extant framework to address these issues?
    10. Is there a need to increase validity of LCO registration from one year? In your view, what should be the validity of LCO registration?  
    11. What are the issues in the extant policy guidelines that are affecting the ease of doing business in FM sector? What changes and modifications are required to address these issues?
    12. Is there a need to streamline the process of assignment of frequency by WPC and clearances from NOCC to enhance ease of doing business? What changes do you suggest and why?
    13. What are the reasons for delay for allocation of frequencies by WPC? What changes do you suggest to streamline the process?
    14. What are the key issues affecting the indigenous manufacturing of various broadcasting equipment and systems. How these issues can be addressed?
    15. Is there any other issue which will be relevant to ease of doing business in broadcasting sector? .
    16. Are there any issues in conducting trial projects to assess suitability of a new technology in broadcasting sector?  
    17. What should the policy framework and process for consideration and approval of such trial projects?

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