ITV

Tag: Local Cable Operators

  • Jainhits strengthens its presence in Andhra Pradesh

    Jainhits strengthens its presence in Andhra Pradesh

    MUMBAI: The Headend In The Sky (HITS) platform Jainhits has announced the company’s strategy to spruce up its presence in Andhra Pradesh. The HITS operator has signed up with four big distribution partners in the state. The announcement was made on the sidelines of the three day industry event – Third Cable Net Expo Vision 2014.

     

    Jainhits national sales head Jeet Narayan Singh said, “Andhra Pradesh is a big market, with a presence of 12000 big and small cable operators. Our proposition of converting even the smallest LCO into an independent MSO is not only unique but virtually the only tangible solution which can fulfill the pan India digitisation goal of December 2014 set by government of India. In a short span of time, Jainhits has signed partnerships with over 200 cable operators spread across the country.”

     

    Further talking about the company’s profitable proposition, Jainhits head Rakesh Gupta added, “In our endeavor to enable 60,000 small and medium cable operators to become MSOs and go digital independently, we are offering an integrated end- to- end single window plug & play solution. Jainhits offerings are fully regulated and DAS compliant with a wider choice of channels that is cost effective and is the fastest way to offer digital cable services in any part of India. In addition, our broadband offering gives additional edge to Jainhits partners and helps them increase revenues by increasing ARPUs.”

     

    Currently, the HITS platform offers 250 plus channels including all major pay TV channels and will soon provide full HD and multi-screen offerings to consumers. Jainhits is all set to install over 2000 Mini Downlink Headends across 672 districts in India by end of 2014.

  • Broadcasters to hike rates in both DAS and analogue areas

    Broadcasters to hike rates in both DAS and analogue areas

    MUMBAI: Things will be different the next time multi-system operators (MSOs) and direct-to-home (DTH) players sit across the table with broadcasters for renewal of channel contracts. Thanks to the price defreeze proposed by the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) after nearly seven years. The regulator on Monday released a notification, offering a 27.5 per cent inflation-linked hike to stakeholders in the tariff ceiling. The hike can be implemented in two phases: 15 per cent from April and the remaining 12.5 per cent from January 2015.

     

    Broadcasters in particular have welcomed the move. With the 15 per cent hike April onward applicable to the analogue business, broadcasters are happy that they can at least increase their ARPUs.

     

    “CPS deals in DAS areas will not be impacted with this tariff ceiling hike. But if the MSO or DTH player has a RIO deal, be it in the DAS or non-DAS region, the rates will go up,” informs Media Pro COO Gurjeev Singh Kapoor.

     

    For those wondering how rates can head north in DAS areas when the tariff ceiling notification is for non-addressable areas, here’s the logic. With RIO rates on digital platforms being 42 per cent of those on analogue platforms, a 15 per cent increase in analogue rates is bound to raise RIO rates for digital. Hence, while the hike in tariff ceiling is for non-DAS areas, the same is applicable to DAS areas as well. “This is the best thing that has happened to the industry, as we now have a platform to increase the ARPU and ask for more from consumers,” says Kapoor.

     

    While an aggregator, on condition of anonymity, puts it as: “DAS rates are related to non-DAS rates. The hike of 15 per cent is on the RIO rate. So even though many feel that the fixed deals will not get affected, they will. Because the matrix for negotiation will change now and this is not only for analogue areas, but also for DAS areas. The negotiation for fixed deals is done on the RIO rate, and if that goes up, of course, the fixed deal will also rise.”

     

    Most of the contracts are up for renewal in April; for TheOneAlliance, 60 per cent of the contracts will be renewed now whereas for Media Pro, close to 90 per cent of the contracts with both DTH operators and MSOs are up for renewal.

     

    “We have a very good scope and so, have decided to increase the rates for every MSO and DTH player in both DAS and non-DAS areas.  After a long time, broadcasters have got a hike in tariff ceiling and so, we would take the opportunity to hike the rates,” says TheOneAlliance EVP sales and strategy Makarand Palekar. “We will sit with the concerned MSOs and DTH players and try and incorporate this even in existing channel deals. And I am sure that DTH operators and MSOs will be happy with this as they can collect the same from the ground now.”

     

    Will consumers see a hike in bills this month onward? “We will move things gradually. We will sit for negotiations now,” informs Palekar.

     

    Are broadcasters happy with the percentage of hike? Palekar feels it could have been better. “But with digitisation, MSOs are currently in investment mode. So, in the current scenario, this could have been the best,” he says.

     

    Kapoor agrees with Palekar saying, “Yes, it is not enough. The increase should come in every year, but then it is a welcome move. They have finally woken up from their slumber.”

     

    According to the aggregator, “This figure of 15 per cent has been derived by the authority using past metrics and calibrations. While the hike is under the inflation rate, this is the best TRAI could have come up with.”

     

    Apart from broadcasters, are MSOs happy with the move? “MSOs will get bothered with this hike. We may end up paying for this from our own pocket if we cannot collect it from the ground,” rues ABS 7 Star CMD Atul Saraf.

     

    According to him, MSOs don’t put pressure on LCOs by hiking rates in the analogue regime. “There are chances that the local cable operator can go to the other MSO, if the other player doesn’t hike the price. So either both the MSOs operating in a particular area increase the price, or else, there will be competition,” he adds.

     

    About hiking prices in DAS areas, Saraf says, “Broadcasters have already hiked the price in DAS areas. Also, the deals are on per box basis and there is 100 per cent declaration. So why would they want to increase the price in the DAS regime? So in the DAS regime, if broadcasters plan to hike prices, a few of us may go to the court.”

     

    The increase in RIO by 15 per cent leaves a grey area for broadcasters to hike rates in both DAS and non-DAS areas, according to Saraf. “But there are hardly any RIO deals currently, as we prefer entering into a fixed deal, and especially in the non-DAS areas. But now it may be that MSOs may do a RIO deal, especially for sports channels,” he informs.

     

    GTPL Hathway COO Shaji Mathews too feels MSOs will not benefit from the tariff hike. “Given that DTH rates are also low today, this hike will lead to more competition between the MSO and DTH,” he says.

     

    Kapoor however begs to differ. “The ARPU for DAS phase III and IV is Rs 160 while for DTH, it is close to Rs 300. Even with the hike, the ARPU for cable will go up to Rs 190. There is a big gap between the two and I don’t see consumers moving from cable TV to DTH due to this hike,” he opines.

     

    Whether the MSOs and LCOs will benefit from the move or no, still needs to be seen. The question now is, whether the consumer will pay for the hiked price in the cable TV bills? “The problem is not with the consumers, they are ready to pay,” says Palekar.

     

    “We are showcasing around 400 channels, so the hike was much needed. It is also a good way to move people to digitisation,” concludes Kapoor.

  • Business digitisation is yet to start in phases I and II: Cisco

    Business digitisation is yet to start in phases I and II: Cisco

    KOLKATA: The phases I and II of cable TV digitisation may have been complete technically but a lot needs to be done as far as the back end is concerned, that is the business digitization is yet to start, thinks Cisco India & SAARC regional manager and service provider Sandeep Arora.

     

    Arora thinks that with digitisation in municipal and rural areas also being in demand in phases III and IV across the country, the headend market is redefining itself in India. Fulfilling that would be Cisco, which is planning several innovations to enhance the consumer experience.

     

    “Business and technical digitisation go hand in hand. Revenues for MSOs (multi-system operator) have started flowing in. Profitability and consumer experience are expected to go up in coming days,” remarked Arora while talking to indiantelevision.com.

     

    According to Arora, phases I and II of digitisation of cable TV were implemented in the right frame of mind. “The players adhered to the MIB rules and the phases were well coordinated,” he said.

     

    The US based tech giant set up the hosted headend facility which could be leased by MSOs and local cable operators (LCOs). This will help the company garner revenues from the small LCOs and MSOs that cannot earmark huge investments for installing headends. “We initiated this in phases I and II and its deployment will substantially reduce the capital expenditure of the MSOs and the LCOs,” said Arora.

     

    Interestingly, Cisco garnered a market share of 53-55 per cent in the first two phases where more than 25 million cable TV homes were digitised. “In the next two phases, there is a requirement of 75 million homes to be digitised and if not more we will aim to maintain the same market share of around 55 per cent,” he added.

     

    Some of the clients of Cisco include Hathway, Den, KCBPL-GTPL among others.

     

    Cisco is eager to offer cable TV operators broadband services by upgrading their existing networks. “Broadband is a key priority for us now and it will drive growth,” he said.

     

    The company is offering a technology that will enable cable TV players to start two-way communications required for Internet services.

  • Jaipur LCOs to form cooperative, set up own headend

    Jaipur LCOs to form cooperative, set up own headend

    MUMBAI: Local cable operators (LCOs) feel threatened with compulsory digitisation of cable TV services. LCOs own the end subscribers, but do not have the bargaining power with broadcasters and also access to funding.

     

    This has led to an increasing trend towards LCO consolidation, if not through the mergers and acquisitions route then through formation of associations and unions, especially in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala and Karnataka, states the FICCI-KPMG media and entertainment industry report 2014.

     

    Now, nearly 220 of the about 250 LCOs in Jaipur, Rajasthan have decided to come together to protect their business. The LCOs are looking at forming a cooperative and setting up their own headend.

     

    The move comes as many LCOs are unhappy with the monopoly of the multi-system operators with the progressing digitisation.

     

    “It is at a nascent stage, but we are tired of the MSO monopoly here in Jaipur and hence looking at setting up a cooperative and converting into an independent MSO,” says a cable operator from Jaipur who is currently taking feeds from Hathway Cable & Datacom.

     

    The cooperative has been set up under the banner Jaipur Cable Operators Welfare Society. The LCOs are meeting regularly to finalise details.

     

    While the initial investments will be made by the LCOs, they will also approach banks for loans to meet the investment demands. “We are unhappy with the way things are moving in the state. Neither the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India nor the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is ready to listen to us. And so we have decided to take this move,” says the LCO.

     

    As of now, four lakh set top boxes have been seeded in the state. “The Jaipur cable operators are in talks with us as they are looking at setting up a cooperative. We will be meeting in April in Mumbai to discuss further,” informs Maharashtra Cable Operators Federation (MCOF) president Arvind Prabhoo.

     

    It is not only in Jaipur that the LCOs are coming together to form cooperatives. While earlier such cooperatives were set up in Chennai, Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata, now LCOs are coming together in Mumbai, Jaipur, Jodhpur and parts of Madhya Pradesh to set up their own headends.

  • Manthan Broadband eyes customers in DAS phases I and II with lucrative deals

    Manthan Broadband eyes customers in DAS phases I and II with lucrative deals

    KOLKATA: The ongoing Cable TV Show 2014 in Kolkata became a platform for the Kolkata-headquartered cable TV multi-system operator (MSO) Manthan Broadband to make few lucrative deals to consumers. The show at the Netaji Indoor Stadium has witnessed an amazing response in the first two days and thus Manthan took an opportunity to woo the direct-to-home customers as it announced that any customer from the Digital Addressable System (DAS) phases I and II if switches to Manthan, he won’t have to pay anything for the set top boxes (STBs) and the installation charges.

     

    However, few terms and conditions apply as the customers will have to opt for the ‘Super Sunday Pack’ at Rs 320 per month. “As a fair offer, we have informed to all our affiliated local cable operators (LCOs) that customers will just have to pay five months subscription fees and can enjoy the Manthan cable services for six months,” said Manthan Broadband Services director Sudip Ghosh also adding that the offer is mainly aimed at high-end customers. “With this offer, a customer can save around Rs 1500 as of now,” he said.

     

    According to Ghosh, by the end of May, the MSO is aiming to poach around 50,000 connections. It is present in Kolkata, Howrah and Ranchi with around 7.5 lakh STBs in DAS I and II.

     

    Interestingly, cable TV analysts think that the region is going to witness such offers from more players in the region despite of DTH penetration being low in the region. The DTH connections in the region has just crossed the 5 lakh mark.

     

    “Last week Dish TV created a sub brand Zing to target regional markets and the STB offer was at a lower price.  And now cable TV industry players like Manthan waging a war on DTH players. More such announcement by different players can be expected to poach others’ customers,” said an analyst.

  • Resolution in sight for Guwahati electricity pole charge dispute

    Resolution in sight for Guwahati electricity pole charge dispute

    MUMBAI: The Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) and Greater Guwahati Cable TV Operators’ Association (GGCTOA) are finally coming to a resolution over payment of a fee for use of electricity poles in Guwahati.

     

    The issue first cropped up in September 2013, after the APDCL decided to charge cable TV operators in Guwahati for using electric poles to lay cable wires.

     

    The first step towards resolution of the issue was taken on 6 March, when representatives from APDCL and GGCTOA met and agreed to together conduct a survey to ascertain the number of electricity poles in the Guwahati region.

     

    It can be recalled that when GGCTOA moved the Guwahati High Court on the issue of APDCL’s decision to levy a charge for use of electricity poles, the court had asked the GGCTOA to pay Rs 10 per electricity pole per month for the period 22 January to 28 February.

    The last date for the payment of the fee as directed by the high court was 26 February.

     

    APDCL had thereafter said cable operators are using a total of 33,000 electricity poles in Guwahati. The GGCTOA challenged APDCL’s claim and demanded that a joint survey be conducted on the number of electricity poles being used by cable operators.

     

    Even after the court directive, the settlement of the dispute was not a smooth affair. The GGCTOA paid Rs 1 lakh of the Rs 3 lakh that they had to pay the APDCL in compliance with the HC order. The association, however, threatened to disconnect cable TV signals on 25 February to press for a survey of electricity poles in Guwahati. Assam’s power minister Pradyut Bordoloi intervened and also granted more time for the association to pay the balance charges to APDCL as directed by the court.

     

    “We now have time until 15 March to clear the electric pole fee,” informs GGCTOA general secretary Md Iquebal Ahmed.

     

    APDCL and GGCTOA will start a joint survey from Monday, 10 March to ascertain the number of electricity poles being used by cable operators.

     

    “In the meeting that was held on Thursday, we have suggested two rates to the APDCL: Rs 10 per electric pole, where we will have exclusive collection rights to collect electric pole fee from the cable operator and also the other players including the telecom and ISPs or Rs 6 per electric pole, in which we will not have any such exclusive right and will pay to the APDCL for using the electric pole for laying cable TV wires,” said Ahmed.

     

    The GGCTOA has also requested the APDCL to come out with payment modalities for the association. “APDCL expects us to collect the fee from the cable operators. For all this, we will need to deploy a work force. We have asked the electricity board to work out a formula which will help us pay wages to these members involved in survey and collection of electric pole fee,” he said.

     

    The association has agreed to pay electricity pole charge for 10,000 poles on adhoc basis for the month of March until the joint survey is completed.

     

    Not only this, the APDCL also needs to specify the safety measures the cable operators’ association needs to take. “While they have asked us to bear the expenses of the safety equipments needed for the safety and security of the electrical wires, we have asked them to provide us the specifications of the design and the estimated expense. We will decide on whether we will alone bear the expense or will share the expenses with APDCL, after they give us the estimates,” said Ahmed.

  • Kolkata MSOs anticipate cooperation from LCOs in two months

    Kolkata MSOs anticipate cooperation from LCOs in two months

    KOLKATA: The multi-system operators (MSOs) have started gross billing for the month of December from 7 January in Kolkata and are hopeful that the local cable operators (LCOs) who at present are showing some resistance will eventually fall in line in the next two months.

     

    The MSOs in the meanwhile are educating consumers about gross billing by publishing advertisements in newspapers. The ads request consumers to make the payment against a bill only.

     

    “We have started the billing process. Customers are happy, but the operators do not want the billing to be in place. There might be some resistance but eventually things will fall in line,” said Siticable Kolkata director Suresh Sethia.

     

    While another MSO said that the company is having meetings with operators and trying to convince them of the benefits of digitisation.

     

    “We are talking to the LCOs and asking them to hike the bill which will include amusement tax and service tax. Even consumers have to understand that they have to pay taxes now,” said the MSO.

     

    When the MSOs were asked about the disbursement of the bills, some said they have given the bills to LCOs in compact disk (CD), while others like SitiCable said that they have uploaded the bills on their system and the LCOs can easily take the printouts.

     

    However, the LCOs in Kolkata have made it clear that they will not distribute the bills unless the revenue sharing model and other details are discussed.

     

    Cable Operators Digitalisation Committee of the Association of Cable Operators convener Swapan Chowdhury said, “The MSOs who are giving the bills on CDs to LCOs need to give a hard copy of the bills as printing will also involve cost.”

    It seems the LCOs are serious about every single penny and are not in a mood to give up easily!

  • Cable operators demand a 10 year licence for better operations

    Cable operators demand a 10 year licence for better operations

    MUMBAI: If the entire digitisation process has affected any of the related bodies the most, it is the local cable operators (LCOs), who are unsure about their future completely. Keeping this in mind, the Cable Operators Federation of India (COFI) has written to the Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minster Manish Tewari requesting him to give the LCOs a 10 year licence so that they can work on various expansion plans.

     

    The letter was sent to the minister on 18 December. However, the association still awaits a response.

     

    What is notable is that when COFI earlier met the minister on 29 October along with the Cable Operator Association of Gujarat and Rajkot, member of parliament, Mohan Bavaliya requesting for a 10 year licence for the LCOs, Tewari had accepted the proposal, but there was no development on the issue thereafter.

     

    In the absence of a response, the association has resorted to sending a reminder letter to Tewari.  

     

    “You had assured us that the licensing for registered cable operators will be for 10 years at par with the multi-system operators (MSOs) and direct-to-home (DTH) operators and that ‘registration’ for LCOs in post offices will cease,” writes COFI in the letter.

     

    The move, according to the association president Roop Sharma, will help cable operators show more interest in upgradation of technology and expanding business. “When the MSOs and DTH players have been given 10 year licence citing security of business as a reason, why should the LCOs not be given such a security,” she says.

     

    While the MSOs and DTH operators are given the licence by the I&B Ministry, “the LCOs are the only distributers of content without a licence and have registration in post offices for more than 20 years”, states the letter.

     

    MSOs currently have to pay Rs one lakh for a 10 year licence. “The LCOs are anyway paying Rs 1000 to the post office for one year registration. So why not charge them for a 10 year licence? At least this will guarantee them security,” informs Sharma.

     

    In fact, the LCOs have become more certain about attaining a 10-year license because as per the new DAS rules, the LCO has to seek permission from the MSO for renewal of the yearly post office registration. Though the association hasn’t received any response to the letter, Sharma says, “We will soon meet the minister again.”

     

  • Why Assam cable operators are going on strike?

    Why Assam cable operators are going on strike?

    MUMBAI: It was in September that the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) sent out its first circular, making it mandatory for cable operators in the state to pay Rs 25 per electric pole per month, with the deadline being 7 October. However, the cable operators had requested APDCL to lower the rate as they would earn revenue from many other service providers who are using the electric poles as well.

     

    But all their efforts seem to have gone in vain as the APDCL seems unconvinced on the issue. After reviewing the request made by the operators in October, while APDCL has reserved its views on the other parts of Assam and lower Guwahati, it has asked the operators in Guwahati Metro to pay Rs 25 per electric pole every month starting 15 January.

     

    The decision which was taken in a meeting held on 17 December is set to affect more than 250 cable operators providing cable TV service in Guwahati Metro area. The operators represented by Greater Guwahati Cable TV Operators’ Association (GGCTOA) general secretary Md Iquebal Ahmed were asked to file a confirmation letter accepting the fee module.

     

    However, while they didn’t follow what they were asked to, around 100 cable operators met on 19 December to discuss the issue and have decided to switch off cable TV signals today from 4 pm – 9 pm.

     

    Apparently, GGCTOA held a press conference on Sunday and made an announcement about the same.

     

    The operators in Guwahati Metro area have refused to pay Rs 25 per pole per month. “Though we have been told that the electric poles will be given exclusively to us and that we can even give it to advertisers to put up hoardings, or collect revenue from the broadband or telecom operators who are also using the pole, but this is all verbal. Nothing has been given to us in writing,” informs Ahmed.

     

    There are approximately 2.8 lakh electric poles in Guwahati Metro area, of which around 1.8 lakh poles are being used by the cable operators. The matter is currently being handled by APDCL Lower Assam division CGM commercial P. Buzarbauah. “We need a written agreement of all that has been proposed in the meeting. When we asked for it, we were asked to sign the letter first. But, how can we be sure that whatever has been said will be followed later,” he says.

     

    Also the APDCL has given no clarity on who will be collecting the money from the operators and also the advertiser who uses the electric pole to put the hoarding. GGCTOA has also requested the APDCL to directly deal with operators to collect the fee. “We had asked them to sign an agreement with each cable operator, so that they can directly be made responsible for payment or non-payment of the fee. But, the APDCL is passing the buck on to us,” informs Ahmed.

     

    “According to what the body has proposed, it is GGCTOA which will need to collect the pole fee from operators and submit it to APDCL. But how am I responsible if say of the three operators who are using the pole for laying cable wires, two pay the electric pole usage fee, while one doesn’t? So we are demanding that the APDCL signs an agreement with operators directly and not hold us responsible,” he adds.

     

    After waiting for almost two months, while decision is still pending for other regions of Assam, Guwahati Metro region cable operators are surely unhappy. “We even plan to meet Assam Industries & Commerce, Power (Electricity) and Public Enterprises minister Pradyut Bordoloi and also chief minister Tarun Gogoi in order to resolve the issue,” concludes Ahmed.

     

  • WWIL to raise Rs 3.24 bn via warrants to promoter firms

    WWIL to raise Rs 3.24 bn via warrants to promoter firms

    MUMBAI: Siti Cable Network Ltd, formerly Wire and Wireless (India) Ltd, is raising Rs 3.24 billion from promoter firms to cut its debt and fund digitisation.

     

    The company has received shareholders’ approval for issue of warrants convertible into equity shares to overseas promoter group companies Essel International Ltd and Essel Media Ventures Ltd.

     

    The Subhash Chandra-promoted multi-system operator (MSO) has a debt of Rs 4.5 billion.

     

    The funds will also be for acquisition of MSOs, local cable operators (LCOs) and to meet the working capital requirements.

     

    Essel International and Essel Media will invest the amount in tranches with the first tranche being 25 per cent of the issue price on allotment of warrants on a preferential basis. The balance amount will have to be paid by the two promoter companies within 18 months from the allotment of the warrants.

     

    Siti Cable will issue 16,20,00,000 warrants convertible into equivalent number of equity shares at a price of Rs 20 per warrant. The shares of the company closed at Rs 20.55 per share, down 2.38 per cent, at close on Friday on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

     

    The combined shareholding of Essel International and Essel Media will rise to 29.99 per cent after the two companies pay the full price of the warrants and convert them into shares, from the current 4.90 per cent. Simultaneously, the shareholding of other promoters (which includes Bioscope Cinemas Pvt Ltd with 57.95 per cent stake) will after the conversion of the warrants, fall to 43.09 per cent from 58.53 per cent. Essel Media currently has 3.63 per cent stake and Essel International 1.27 per cent.

     

    The total promoter shareholding after conversion of all the warrants will rise to 73.08 per cent from 63.43 per cent now and that of the public will drop to 26.92 per cent from 36.57 per cent.

     

    The price of the warrants is at a premium of 10 per cent over the price arrived at on the basis of SEBI regulations.

     

    The company has filed for approval of the warrant issue with the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) as the two promoter group companies are registered overseas.

     

    The name of the company was changed to Siti Cable Network Ltd following a fresh certificate of registration based on a special resolution passed by the shareholders on 30 August 2012.