ITV

Tag: LMOs

  • MCOF seminar aims to educate LMOs

    MCOF seminar aims to educate LMOs

    MUMBAI: Constituted just over a year ago to protect cable operators and safeguard their business, the Maharashtra Cable Operators’ Federation (MCOF), today organised its first business and education seminar in Mumbai.

     

    Held in Hindi and English,around 400 Last Mile Operators (LMOs) travelled from neighbouring states like Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Goa and Karnataka for it.

     

    The first session was to educate LMOs about the importance of customer care and enhancing the quality of service. Vishwamangal Education CEO Suman Keluskar who deals in soft skills highlighted the need for LMOs to be well groomed as well as train their subordinates to be the same to make customers feel good.
    Suman Keluskar, Vynsley Fernandes and Tony D’Silva spoke about customer care, global trends in cable TV and the upcoming HITS technology respectively

     

    “The reason why customers welcome a Pizza Hut boy is because he is nice to them,” she said, stressing that customers today were ready to pay for good service but for that to happen, LMOs needed to know the opportunities available to them as well as what customers were demanding. “Innovate in your production. Use the internet to advance yourself,” she said.

     

    Session two discussed how while LMOs across the globe have learnt to monetise their business, back home, it continues to be a loss-making one. Addressing the session, Castle Media director Vynsley Fernandes, started off by describing how developed countries such as the US, UK and Taiwan had faced the same issues that India is currently facing. But the cable ops dealt with them through innovation and have today grown to last mile digital system providers.

     

    “From the time the Gulf War happened and everybody wanted to watch TV, things are much different now. Multi-screen viewing is what is happening now,” he said.
    Citing the example of the US, where operators have increased their revenues despite a drop in the number of TV homes, and are expecting the ARPU to go up to $40 from $21 currently in the next five years, Fernandes reasoned this was because they had adapted to using TV along with the Internet and were offering viewers a multi-screen experience.

     

    He pointed out that concepts like Hybrid Broadband TV, second screen, catch up TV, time shift TV, TV on mobile etc. had already penetrated the US markets and helped cable operators exponentially.

     

    “Think long term as to whether you can monetise your product. Whenever you are investing in a technology, what is its future road map?” he urged, saying that the only challenge would come from OTT services such as Netflix and Hulu where movies and channels will go directly on the Internet without the need for an MSO or LMO. However, he was quick to add that this hasn’t met with much success in India, yet.

    While advertisers are approaching LMOs to target specific demographics on TV, the STBs taken up by LMOs are not so advanced, Fernandes said. Pointing out that in the US, LMOs provide a posse of services including entertainment, home monitoring, automation comfort, energy management and wellness assisted living, in India too, “an LMO should be the one-stop digital services’ stop for customers,” he concluded.

     

    Drawing upon his experience in broadcast and DTH to present his project on Headends in the Sky (HITS), former Sun TV CEO Tony D’Silva said this was a good prospect for LMOs to think about.

     

    D’Silva said that most consumers watch not more than 12 to 15 channels and so, it was necessary to create such packages and device-shifting technologies for the future.

     

    “You are at the threshold of a game change. Our main threat is the DTH players and we need to be above them and have a robust system,” he said, stressing that HITS was a much better option for LMOs than taking signals from MSOs. Under HITS, the agreements are directly with broadcasters, there are no carriage fees, and it would yield higher revenue (Rs 108) as compared to dealing with an MSO (Rs 59.5) or even independently (Rs 85).

     

    “The biggest cable company in the world today is Comcast. 17 million out of Comcast’s 22 million subscribers get supply services from HITS and Comcast gives its customers all the benefits that Fernandes spoke about,” said D’Silva, urging LMOs to adopt HITS through which they could choose and demand things as well as insert local channels, the revenue from which would be completely theirs.

     

    A local cable operator from Goregaon, Bernadette Dsouza, said: “I have come for the seminar to know about new opportunities as well as how to save my business from MSOs’ domination.”

    The good news is MCOF plans to hold such seminars in other states as well in the coming months.

  • Maharashtra’s LMOs to blackout TV on 2 Oct

    Maharashtra’s LMOs to blackout TV on 2 Oct

    MUMBAI: A mid- week holiday is always welcome and is a good time to catch up with friends and family as well as your favourite TV shows and channels. However, this Gandhi Jayanti will see a different type of revolt on television in the west Indian state as the Maharashtra Cable Operators Federation (MCOF) has decided to put their foot down on the alleged “harassment” that they have been facing from the MSOs.

     

    From 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm tomorrow, 2 October, about 3,000 cable operators under the MCOF have decided to blackout their screens opposing the ‘high-handed’ behavior that MSOs have adopted towards LMOs (Last Mile Operators), as MCOF president Arvind Prabhoo puts it. This includes the areas of Mumbai, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nasik and Indore in MP where DAS I and II have been implemented. Approximately 15-20 lakh customers in Maharashtra alone will not get to see their favourite shows during prime time. LMOs in Gujarat have also been approached and a response is awaited from them.
    Arvind Prabhoo feels that it is time to start treating LMOs as equals and respect their demands

     

    The federation says that its intention is not to harass customers but just demonstrate that cable operators are united and it is high time MSOs give them their due credit in the cable TV chain. Communications to customers have already started in the form of SMSes and emails as well as leading papers – both English and Marathi – are being used to inform people about the flash blackout.

     

    “If the MSOs and broadcasters sit and talk with us there is no need to do this but no one is listening to us,” stresses Prabhoo. He does not even feel that the two will reach out to the LMOs before evening of tomorrow. Initially the plan was to shut it down for a whole day but due to legal regulations, it was reduced  to three hours.

     

    This isn’t the end as well. If nothing comes out of this then more such days will see blackouts with increased hours especially during festive times.

     

    There is a possibility that MSOs may take legal action against MCOF for this move but it is ready to fight the biggies. “This is exactly what we are opposing. When an MSO switches off channels on its own, no one questions its decision but the local guy is questioned. No legal action is taken but we have to bear all the brunt from both the MSOs as well as the customers,” adds Prabhoo. Recently, InCable had decided to switch off signals to all sports channels, right before the Champions Trophy T20, a way to bully the LMOs to cough up more cash, claims the federation.

     

    The issues that LMOs have been grappling with are many. Prabhoo points out that last minute decisions taken by MSOs lead to chaos which has to be resolved by local operators. This happened during DAS Phase I when STBs (Set Top Boxes) were being installed in homes. Unending trips to customers to fill forms is a burden on them as well, discloses Prabhoo. MSOs have the power to switch off signals to channels arbitrarily as well as make channels unavailable on a-la-carte rates so that only packages exist. “They should talk business, not superiority or inferiority,” adds Prabhoo.

     

    For now, the impending blackout is on the cards for tomorrow. Unless discussions take place soon, cable TV viewers in Maharashtra could well be in for more evenings of just looking at a blank TV set or one with a flickering static-riddled picture.

  • MCOF to hold seminar for LMOs

    MCOF to hold seminar for LMOs

    MUMBAI: With Last Mile Operators (LMOs) viewing digitisation as a threat and legal tussles between them and Multi System Operators (MSOs) on the rise, the Maharashtra Cable Operators Federation (MCOF) has organised an educational and business seminar on ‘challenges and opportunities post DAS’ to address their growing concerns.

    To be held on 23 November at the Prabhodhankar Thakarey Krida Sankool in Vile Parle, Mumbai, the seminar will see the who’s who of the industry educate LMOs about the kind of business opportunities lying in wait.

    Addressing operators from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Goa will be Castle Media director Vynsley Fernandes, who will speak on ‘global industry standards and trends’; HSBC Securities (Telecom and Media) lead analyst Rajiv Sharma, who will touch upon the financial aspects; former Sun group CEO Tony D’Silva, who will discuss HITS (Headends in the Sky) technology, UPASS managing director Ravindra Deshmukh and PING Network founder Prashanto Das, who will talk about global trends in broadcasting.

    Also among the invitees are small scale industries and the State Bank of India (SBI) regional head.

    Says MCOF president Arvind Prabhoo: “There is a lot of confusion about digitisation and LMOs feel the business is going out of their hands but if you understand what digitisation is and how to go about it as well as reorient yourself to the changing scenario, then you don’t look at it as a challenge but as an opportunity. I want LMOs to know that digitisation is not a threat and remove the fear factor from their mind.”

    A few women cable operators are also expected to attend the seminar that will be conducted in both Hindi and English. Nearly 500 to 600 LMOs are likely to participate with registration fees fixed at Rs 500 per head. Leading Marathi and Gujarati newspapers will be carrying advertorials tomorrow and day after to promote the event.

    Apart from challenges and opportunities post DAS, the seminar will also cover topics such as maximizing broadband penetration, optimised network architecture in DAS and future proof, Value Added Services (VAS), identifying right equipment and spares, supply tie ups and employee training.